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Topic: Michael Bay Writes To Theater Projectionists

System Notices
Forum Watchdog / Soup Nazi

Posts: 215

Registered: Apr 2004

posted 06-26-2011 04:05 PM

Michael Bay Writes To Theater Projectionists -- & Writes To Fans: "See This Movie In 3D"

Source: deadline.com

quote:
He writes this to fans today:

Thank You Note From Michael Bay
06/26/2011

I just want to take the opportunity to thank all the fans around the world for letting me have fun with the Transformers franchise. It has been a wonderful opportunity to have worked with about 4000 crew members around the world. These artists are some of the very best in the entire film business. I’m honored to have had you work along side me. We had an amazing time.

‘Dark of the Moon’ has some of the most technically challenging sequences ever shot. And shot in 3D. I must urge you to find the very best theatre and see this movie in that format. 3D was a forethought, not an afterthought in this movie. I’m glad Jim Cameron and Steven Spielberg really convinced me to shoot in this new technology. We used and invented many new techniques to make the 3D sharper, brighter and more color contrast. I think theatre owners heard their audience that they need to respect the specs of the projectors and not dim the bulbs to save money.

Many theaters are presenting it in the brand new 7.1 sound, which is awesome. This is the most complex, intricate sound track that me and my Academy Awarding winning sound team have done. They really out did themselves to make this a big picture experience. Hopefully you will have as much fun watching this movie as we all had making it.

Thanks,
Michael Bay

---
Michael Bay now writes to projectionists after he'd already called the chief executives of major theater chains to implore them to show Transformers: Dark Of The Moon in a way that burns out projector bulbs more quickly but makes 3D look brighter and sharper. Talk about being pushy: you'd think there was a lot riding on Transformers 3.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

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

posted 06-26-2011 09:03 PM

See there?? Michael Bay DID NOT ask projectionists to play the film "in a way that burns projector bulbs out faster." He simply asks projectionists not to dim the bulb, but to use it at full brightness. Which is what should be done anyway, especially with 3D.

The media is just so nerve-wracking sometimes. They're making Michael Bay look like an idiot, when he's just asking for decent presentation for his movie; and they're making all theatres look bad, when there are obviously only a few with the dim-bulb problem. Please, media, just go write some more about Anthony Weiner and leave us alone, willya?

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 06-26-2011 09:22 PM

ARE there any projectionists? Louis

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 06-27-2011 08:37 AM

quote: Mike Blakesley
He simply asks projectionists not to dim the bulb, but to use it at full brightness. Which is what should be done anyway, especially with 3D.

He actually does not say even that! He merely asks that it be played at the "brightness levels specified for the best results."

Which, by the way, may not be a "full brightness" since a competently designed system has headroom in the brightness to allow for lamp aging.

-Steve

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Martin McCaffery
Film God

Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-27-2011 09:08 AM

Who are these "certified theaters" who get to play the "Platinum Six" version and who is doing the certifying? Is every digital their eligible for this certification, or is it really just a gimmick to counter the dim buzz? And what new techniques did he invent?

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Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 06-27-2011 10:37 AM

Ah, just like the MPAA and the studios have been insinuating for years that piracy is the fault of exhibition -- lax exhibitors allowing theives to make camcopies off their screens, or worse, exhibitors who actually are themselves the pirates, now they are insinuating that it's exhibition that 3D is dark and underlit -- those cheap exhibitors who go into newly installed digital/3D setups purposely turn amperage down in their lamphousses. Is there are rash of this going on? Do exhibitors have standing policies that tell their techs to go around and underpower xenons in the 3D lamphouse?

Doesn't every install set the specs to OPTIMUM brightness and then set all the other parameters around that light level so that color is at the correct saturation for 3D? Or is it the dastardly installers in cahoots with the chains purposely putting in undersized 3D installs to save money?

Hey, Mr. Bay, if you REALLY are so concerned, maybe your TRANSFORMERS DOTM should play only in IMAX dual projector 3D and in those "certified" screens (whatever THAT means) that can get that mythical 6FlLams and in nice bright 2D everywhere else. I say he should have thought about the fact that MOST 3D projection only gets 3-5 FtLams when he made the decision to do 3D, or just be content to play it only in 3D in theatres that somehow have been certified to get 6FL. And STOP WHINING about the rest.

Sorry, I am with Martin, it sounds to me like maybe Paramount and Mr. Bay are setting the stage so that if TRANSFORMES doesn't preform the way have been ballyhooing it will, they can save some face and blame it, yet once again, on exhibition.

And like Louis says, WHAT projectionists? Who is he writing this to...this "open letter" is going into the hard drive boxes?

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 06-27-2011 11:22 AM

quote: Martin McCaffery
Who are these "certified theaters" who get to play the "Platinum Six" version and who is doing the certifying?

http://www.film-tech.com/ubb/f18/t000075.html

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Frank Cox
Film God

Posts: 2234
From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 06-27-2011 11:58 AM

I don't see the word "certified" in that thread anywhere.

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Martin McCaffery
Film God

Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-27-2011 12:04 PM

quote:

The special brighter digital prints will go to about 2,000 theaters, all using the RealD 3D system. Remaining screens, including all RealD competitors, will run at standard brightness.

It appears "certified" means "purchased RealD."

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 06-27-2011 12:46 PM

quote: Frank Cox
I don't see the word "certified" in that thread anywhere.

I assume this means you didn't read the article that's in the thread. The article is about the exact same thing as mentioned in this thread.

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Frank Cox
Film God

Posts: 2234
From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 06-27-2011 12:58 PM

The article doesn't mention anything about "certified"; it just talks about Real D vs all the other 3D systems.

Are we to assume that "certified" means "has Real D"?

I have Real D but as far as I know I don't have any special certification for it. The tech set up the Real D stuff when he installed the rest of my digital system.

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-27-2011 02:09 PM

If he really cared, he would restrict bookings to theatres that meet the relevant specifications.

Am I the only one who thinks that most of these "letters to the projectionist" are completely pointless? Operators who have good equipment and care about presentation will put on a good show regardless of the presense or absense of these letters. Those who either do not care or do not have equipment that is capable of meeting the relevant specifications are not going to magically improve things overnight due to one of these letters.

I can understand and appreciate these letters when there is something unusual about a particular print (e.g. films that start with sound and no picture or vice-versa, have hard-to-see changeover cues, are shot in non-obvious aspect ratios, etc.), but they are a waste of time in cases where they say, essentially, "show the film properly." They might as well start saying things like "show the reels in the correct order" and "focus the picture." In any case, these letters usually make the director come across as a pompous ass, who expects his film to be treated differently from any other.

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Victor Liorentas
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 800
From: london ontario canada
Registered: May 2009

posted 06-27-2011 02:41 PM

I want a letter to urge keeping keeping 35 mm alive inspite of digital! [Smile]

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Frank Cox
Film God

Posts: 2234
From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 06-27-2011 03:06 PM

quote:
have hard-to-see changeover cues,

This I have never understood. Some bright light decides to put the reel start or end in the middle of black nothing with no framing lines.

It's like the way that they design cars -- the engineer isn't the one who has to service it; lets make it so you have to drop the whole engine to change the air filter.

"Lets hide the reel change." And projectionists around the world are dragging out light boxes and flashlights trying to find a marker.

If it's hard to find, it's a bad place for a reel change. Seems obvious to me...

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Dan Biegner
Film Handler

Posts: 13
From: Northampton, MA USA
Registered: Dec 2010

posted 06-27-2011 03:42 PM

I got a similar kind of letter from Terrence Malick for "Tree of Life." Unfortunately, I don't have the equipment to do some of what he's asking. So I just do what I can to provide the best presentation.

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