The idea was to catch it with a Friday night opening weekend crowd in a typical multiplex environment, so we headed off to a recently renovated 16-plex.

I knew we were in trouble the moment I entered, because there was a trailer in progress and it was so dark and murky - there were no blacks (they were grey) and no whites (they were grey). Contrast and color were virtually non-existant and the resulting image was lifeless. I would estimate that the screen averaged about 8 or 9 footlamberts maximum, almost as if the rectifier had been left on its 'standby' setting.

Once the feature started, my friends and I noticed that the sound was so soft that the dialogue could hardly be heard. I was nominated as the one who should mention it, so I found someone who told the projectionist. No dice. Ten minutes later, one of my friends told them too. Still no dice. The quality was poor, too, almost as if they were running Dolby A. Barely any surround activity; all in all, a totally uninvolving experience.

At the end, we told a manager who listened patiently but didn't quite understand (through her own admission) the true nature of our complaint, which we condensed in the end to, 'we could hardly see the picture or hear the sound'.

She told us that we were the only ones that had mentioned anything about it, and I explained where I had screened the film recently and knew what it was supposed to look/sound like, and what I saw/heard tonight fell well short of the film's potential. She suggested that it could be the print, but we mentioned that it could not be because all the trailers looked dark too. She then asked us what they could do about it, and I said that the bulb was either too low powered or not adjusted correctly. (We didn't get to the sound). She said that she wanted her complex to be as good as it could be so the comments were appreciated, but didn't offer our money back or even complimentary tickets for next time. She mentioned something about emailing me but didn't get my details, because she promptly left after that. The whole issue felt unresolved, however, and we left frustrated.

It has never been more apparent to me that running films in this manner totally short changes the audience, who are not getting their money's worth and are not experiencing what was intended - sometimes with an enormous discrepancy. I'm sure that had the director, the DOP and the sound engineers been present, they would have been horrified, but the audience is not conscious of this discrepancy.

I'm convinced, however, that the film would have impressed them more, been more involving and more impactful had it been presented correctly, and that their opinion of the film would have been elevated tremendously, even if they weren't aware as to why that might be.

It's the reverse scenario that proves to be interesting: the theatrette I work at often receives comments from clients/critics, etc. along the lines of, 'The picture is so rich. It's amazing - when I go to regular theatres, it never looks that good'. This happens time and time again!

They notice when it's great, but don't when it's not. I'll bet that if you started a movie with 16 footlamberts and at reference level, then halfway through the feature you cut the current to half and switched to Dolby A at half the volume - THAT would generate complaints!!! With no reference, however, the audience doesn't know what they're missing.

I hope this doesn't sound too preachy but I'm most disappointed that I wasn't able to share with my friends what I had experienced. (Not to mention the irony of being paid for a great screening and having to pay for a lousy one.)

Sobering words. I'm afraid that your closing comments are all too true: without a reference to show how good a film can be presented, the audience doesn't know what they are missing. Rather than complaining about dim pictures or poor sound, they simply don't come back again because it was a unsatisfying and frustrating experience.

Projectionists shouldn't give in to mediocrity! Do the best job you can with what you have to work with, and urge your theatre's management to upgrade equipment or resolve problems that are beyond your direct control. Don't be part of the problem, as this manager was, in being "clueless", condescending, or accepting poor presentation quality.

I fear that the current poor financial situation of many theatre circuits (due to overbuilding) and the unknowns regarding the future of digital cinema have "paralyzed" many theatres into not investing in the equipment and skilled people needed to improve film presentation quality.

Let's not commit suicide like Romeo did. Our Juliette (good film presentation) is really just asleep, and will live again.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com

i do the best i can to keep the DTS film down and the non-DTS film up, but i can't turn the DTS film too low, obviously, and turning the other up really loud doesn't completely help keep out the sound of explosions. any suggestions?

jasoN

I am painting with a very broad brush, and I know it. This is certainly not ALWAYS true, but it happens all too often.

It is one thing to build many multi-screen megaplexes. It is entirely another thing to properly staff and train and in the process be able to present the kind of quality presentations that we all know is possible with a little care. Ultimately it all comes down to the people at the top who are not DEMANDING quality at every level and who are willing to pay for it.

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Oscar Neundorfer
Chief Engineer
SMART Devices, Inc.

Regarding your sound bleedthrough problem, there are only 2 things I could suggest.

1- A re-construction of the walls and ceiling areas between the auditoriums to achieve better isolation. Probably not very practical and probably expensive.

2- (SHAMELESS PLUG) Buy the SMART AFT660 limiter to allow soft digital sound levels to be heard normally, but keeps loud digital sound levels from becoming too loud and bleeding through.

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Oscar Neundorfer
Chief Engineer
SMART Devices, Inc.

Stephen

Now, the problm of course, is this: You are with your friends (who usually don't know about proper film presentation) and you don't want to make a fuss and spoil the evening. I actually think that some theater management people _count on this._

The (union) projectionist then proceeded to jack with the CONVERGENCE control!!! You should've heard the collective groan from the audience when their eyes were pulled apart (this part WAS funny)! Well, knowing the projectionist had just screwed the show up beyond hope, we demanded our money back and went to a restaurant instead.

"Regarding your sound bleedthrough problem, there are only 2 things I could suggest.

1- A re-construction of the walls and ceiling areas between the auditoriums to achieve better isolation. Probably not very practical and probably expensive.

2- (SHAMELESS PLUG) Buy the SMART AFT660 limiter to allow soft digital sound levels to be heard normally, but keeps loud digital sound levels from becoming too loud and bleeding through."

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i have thought of the first suggestion, but i came to the same conclusion you have. The second sounds good to me at this point, and we even have a SMART amp. wanna tell me more about it? a url would be nice. i can be reached at jrw78@aol.com if you dont wanna post to the group

jasoN

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Go here for a look at the AFT660. Then call me at 1-800-449-6698 if you want to talk about it.
http://www.smartdev.com/aft.htm

Let me know if I can help.

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Oscar Neundorfer
Chief Engineer
SMART Devices, Inc.

I didn't get a chance to get the name of the manager (she left too quickly) but I'm in the process of finding out.

John Wilson:

Yes, it's the same company! The floors were remarkable! I didn't mention this at first (the company, not the floors) because it may have seemed that I was merely playing 'sour grapes'. This is not true, as I definitely went along with an open mind, hoping for the best.