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» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Film Handlers' Forum   » How does AMC get away with something like this? (projection off centre) (Page 1)

 
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Author Topic: How does AMC get away with something like this? (projection off centre)
Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003


 - posted 12-12-2010 11:44 PM      Profile for Tom Petrov     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Ok, I saw The Tourist tonight at the AMC 24 near my area.

I could not believe how they built the theatre. This theatre was the largest theatre of the complex with about 500 seats and three exits with two level access.

What I could not believe was that the projector was not centred with the screen. It was like the port glass faced 12 o-clock (and off centre) while the projector was facing 11:45pm while the screen was dead centre and curved.

It was the strangest thing I have seen.

During the credits I put my hand directly in front of the port glass at centre, and the hand was projected towards the right half of the screen.

I could not believe this. It was very hard to tell unless you actually really paid attention.

How does a company that builds a multi-million dollar super-plex cut costs like this?

For what its worth, the theatre had 8 track SDDS with the surround speakers at the corners of the wall/roof.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 12-13-2010 12:13 AM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
You answered your own question with this:

quote: Tom Petrov
It was very hard to tell unless you actually really paid attention.
Or, the auditorium was one that was "twinned" a long time ago when such things as sightlines and projection angle and keystoning were not considered -- the only important thing was making two auditoriums out of one.

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003


 - posted 12-13-2010 12:14 AM      Profile for Tom Petrov     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Mike Blakesley
Or, the auditorium was one that was "twinned" a long time ago
No way. This was a 24 plex since the get-go.

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Jake Spell
Master Film Handler

Posts: 294
From: Johns Island SC
Registered: May 2009


 - posted 12-13-2010 12:16 AM      Profile for Jake Spell   Email Jake Spell   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
So your left with they didn't care. Could had been something in the way, plans that were changed, and they didn't want to spend any more money to do it right.

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003


 - posted 12-13-2010 12:19 AM      Profile for Tom Petrov     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Jake Spell
plans that were changed
Like what. They all of a sudden figured out that they wanted to build 100 foot wide theatre instead of a 90 foot wide cinema after the port wall was built.

Come on' corporations don't think like this. This is easy cookie-cutter stuff for AMC, isn't it?

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Edward Havens
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 614
From: Los Angeles, CA
Registered: Mar 2008


 - posted 12-13-2010 03:54 AM      Profile for Edward Havens   Email Edward Havens   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Did you ask someone who works there what the deal was?

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99


 - posted 12-13-2010 05:02 AM      Profile for Joe Redifer   Author's Homepage   Email Joe Redifer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Stuff changes all the time during construction. Suddenly you find out that your exit door needs to be here instead of there. That means your screen needs to move a few feet in one direction or the other. Or maybe someone in the corporate office had a "great" idea in the middle of construction. This happened at the UA Greenwood Plaza 12 which was designed for flat screens, but then a guy from corporate named Larry wanted to have curved screens in every auditorium, so the screen size shrank and the exit doors needed to move. It all boils down to poor planning. Larry then left and went to bother AMC for a while. I think he helped with that Torus nonsense.

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Mark J. Marshall
Film God

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From: New Castle, DE, USA
Registered: Aug 2002


 - posted 12-13-2010 07:33 AM      Profile for Mark J. Marshall     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Tom Petrov
Like what. They all of a sudden figured out that they wanted to build 100 foot wide theatre instead of a 90 foot wide cinema after the port wall was built.

Come on' corporations don't think like this. This is easy cookie-cutter stuff for AMC, isn't it?

This is pretty much what happened at the Marple 9 movie theater which became the Marple 10 pretty close to construction time. A 10th theater was added (theater 3). It was a 100 seat theater. At the time it was a front/surround configuration but has since become a 6 track theater.

For the first several years of its existence they could not show scope movies in that theater because the keystoning was ridiculous. Even the keystoning on the flat picture was ridiculous. When credits scrolled during a flat movie they started on the bottom pointing at 3:30 instead of straight across at 3:00, and by the time they got to the top they were pointing at 2:45. People walking from left to right on the screen got taller.

They have since re-positioned the projector a few times and made it somewhat better although there's not much difference in the width of the picture between flat and scope in that auditorium. At the time I was told by several people that this auditorium was added late in the game. It was part of the original construction, it was just "added on" late in the design phase.

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Bruce McGee
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1776
From: Asheville, NC USA... Nowhere in Particular.
Registered: Aug 1999


 - posted 12-13-2010 08:08 AM      Profile for Bruce McGee   Email Bruce McGee   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
So, he puts his hand up in front of the port glass during the credits? WTF? [Eek!]

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Sam D. Chavez
Film God

Posts: 2153
From: Martinez, CA USA
Registered: Aug 2003


 - posted 12-13-2010 09:47 AM      Profile for Sam D. Chavez   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
That would be Larry Jacobson, who came from AMC, did some work with UA and back to AMC for a while. He ran a firm, LJ Associates until it went belly up years back.

Presently, he is heading a company that builds and installs those boothless projecotrs.

He considers himself a visionary, pun intended.

As to off center projectors, it it appaling but happens for all sorts of bad reasons, including the HVAC contractor using the projecotr space for his own. Same thing happens with the speakers, except it is not visually glaring.

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

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From: Toronto Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 12-13-2010 10:07 AM      Profile for Gordon McLeod   Email Gordon McLeod   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
It happened that the projector ended up being moved if this is the location i am thinking of because the stair case to the booth and the plinth the machine had to sit on did not provide the clearance that the local inspector insisted on

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 12-13-2010 10:09 AM      Profile for Mark Gulbrandsen   Email Mark Gulbrandsen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Tom...

What I marvel at is that you keep going to this place at all when there are so many other plexs and good ole singles in Toronto... It appears more that you have it in for AMC.

The last digital projectors I installed were placed atop 6 foot wooden platforms... The result of a twin add on to an existing booth. But at least they were on screen center both vertically and horizontally. Servicing is a pain but I'd rather have this than a podthat goes up and down.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99


 - posted 12-13-2010 12:21 PM      Profile for Joe Redifer   Author's Homepage   Email Joe Redifer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Sam D. Chavez
He considers himself a visionary, pun intended.
And that is his biggest weakness. He doesn't know how bad his "visions" are.

There was a small party at UA corporate after he left.

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003


 - posted 12-13-2010 01:11 PM      Profile for Tom Petrov     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
What I marvel at is that you keep going to this place at all when there are so many other plexs and good ole singles in Toronto... It appears more that you have it in for AMC.
Its not my number one place I choose to go to. However, the theatre is very close by to where I live. I don't live in Toronto so it is a 30 minute drive to the theatres in Toronto. There was also a snow storm last night, so leaving the area was the best of ideas.

I also wanted to see two movies last night where the other theatres were not playing the other feature I was interested in.

I don't like Cineplex at all. So I will not go there under most circumstances.

What singles in Toronto are you talking about? They are all second run theatres.

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Tony Bandiera Jr
Film God

Posts: 3067
From: Moreland Idaho
Registered: Apr 2004


 - posted 12-13-2010 01:28 PM      Profile for Tony Bandiera Jr   Email Tony Bandiera Jr   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Like I said before AMC is the bottom feeder of exhibition, and has a long glorious history of making incredibly stupid decisions. Off center projection is no surprise. Too bad Tom is stuck in an area where AMC is the lesser of the evils.

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