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Topic: Autmoation cues for the TA-10

Alex Grasic
Film Handler

Posts: 90
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
Registered: Jul 2002

posted 09-03-2002 10:35 PM

Hello everyone! With the rerelease of Spiderman & MIB (playing together), I have been hit with one question! Does anyone know how to setup intermission cues for the TA-10 system? Or is it different for each automation system depending on how they were initially setup? Any help would be great!!

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German Marin
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 227
From: Verbania (VB), Italy
Registered: Jul 2001

posted 09-03-2002 11:58 PM

This is the TA-10 codes we're using in 31 of our screens:
1.- Intermission (7 seconds)
2.- Auditorium lights off
3.- Auditorium lights on
4.- Auditorium lights middle
5.- Reserved
6.- Lenses: Flat to Scope
7.- Lenses: Scope to Flat
Note: If you need to use two cues mark for two differents commands the minimum distance between they won't be less than 30 cm.

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Alex Grasic
Film Handler

Posts: 90
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
Registered: Jul 2002

posted 09-04-2002 12:07 AM

This is great but unfortunately, every theatre is different in how the cues are setup. At my theatre, your #2 cue shuts down the machine, your #4 does the same, and your #7 takes the lights down all the way. I just need to find out how to figure out which cues do what on any specific unit and how to modify them if necessary.

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Peter Kerchinsky
Master Film Handler

Posts: 326
From: Seattle, WA, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 09-04-2002 04:22 AM

We are using the CE automation also and our cues are entirely different.
My suggestion is contact my buddy Don Olsen at CE and ask him. He's a wizard at this.
Also, are you building both prints on one platter table? If this is the case I don't believe the first print will shut down by itself due to the way the fail safes are set up, but could be wrong.
Ask Oly.

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Alex Grasic
Film Handler

Posts: 90
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
Registered: Jul 2002

posted 09-04-2002 08:06 AM

Does Don have an email contact??

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Bill Purdy
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 139
From: Seattle, WA
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 09-04-2002 10:35 AM

Yes, Don does have an e-mail contact:
dolson@componentengineering.com

You can also find a lot of cueing information at the same web-site. Pete's suggestion is a good one though, because Don will help you work out a solution which will save you a lot of time. Give him a call at (206) 284-9171.

------------------
Bill Purdy
Component Engineering

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

Posts: 9532
From: Toronto Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-04-2002 12:34 PM

You will need to have your service engineer install a switch on the TA10 to initiate a stop select for the intermission

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Robert E. Allen
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1078
From: Checotah, Oklahoma
Registered: Jul 2002

posted 09-04-2002 01:18 PM

Geeze guys! If you're running intermissions did you ever think of putting an operator in the booth at that time? I'm sure he/she could handle it. Even a poorly trained minimum wage employee should be able to successfully shut down a machine and turn on houselights. Next thing I expect to hear is someone trying to find an automated way to sweep the floor. Are we really trying to make human beings obsolete? It's already been shown that a well trained human will enhance your screen performance. We're not all gone yet. Look around. You may find one near you.

Bob
The Old Showman

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 09-04-2002 01:26 PM

Unfortunately, automation is a "fact of life" when you have more than a few screens. But a good projectionist is still needed to assure "film done right".

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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Alex Grasic
Film Handler

Posts: 90
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
Registered: Jul 2002

posted 09-04-2002 01:30 PM

Totally agree but when there's one operator for 18 screens, there is never a guarantee that he or she would even remember to stop the film after the first feature. I'd rather just have it so that we can start the show and not worry about it anymore after that point!

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Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 09-04-2002 05:58 PM

Do they have to be on the same deck? Then how about not hooking them together? Interslip the leaders and let the show end normally. Oh wait...that would require 3 minutes of rethreading labor and everyone knows that there is no longer a need to clean the gate between shows.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 09-04-2002 07:19 PM

quote:
It's already been shown that a well trained human will enhance your screen performance.

A quality automation properly set up enhances a presentation too.

Bob, give me a 30 plex with curtains and all of the fixins' and CA21 automations and I guarantee I can outdo you plus your 29 clones. Automation is not necessarily a bad thing. Not all automations are good news, but infering that automation in general is bad is not true. Plus automations can be frame accurate for changeovers, light cues, even the start of the show can be synchronized with the atomic clock if you want. Only can live up to frame accurate human presentations.

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Robert E. Allen
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1078
From: Checotah, Oklahoma
Registered: Jul 2002

posted 09-04-2002 07:55 PM

I'll give you "as good as" Brad. And if that were the case it would mean you are a well trained, conscientious operator. Unfortunately, there are far too many houses where that is not the case. Automation is not the problem. Corporate brass installing automation in a effort to cut down their overhead and believing it can do everything and needs be attended only occasionally by a barely trained, minimum wage employee is the problem. In my experience I have never heard as many complaints about poor screen performance as I have since automation has become prevalent. Again, it's not the fault of a good automation system but the bottom liners who refuse to hire, or fail to train, qualified personnel to run it.

Bob
The Old Showman

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Alex Grasic
Film Handler

Posts: 90
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
Registered: Jul 2002

posted 09-04-2002 08:34 PM

I don't think hiring qualified personnel is truly an issue either. We had a man working at our theatre who had been in the industry for over 20 years and just the quality of his work was total crap. He knew everything that had to be known about projection, machine maintenance, on screen presentation etc., but he didn't know how to apply it at all. I do a better job with it all now than he ever did. Ever since he was fired, our complaints of our on screen performance have dropped to about 1/10 of what they were before. I think it is also more of a matter of people who care about what they're doing, not as much as being qualified or not.

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Robert E. Allen
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1078
From: Checotah, Oklahoma
Registered: Jul 2002

posted 09-04-2002 09:48 PM

You're absolutely right Alex. To know what to do and then not be conscientious enough to do it is a real problem. I've know a few like that. How sad for the imdustry.

Bob
The Old Showman

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