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» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Ground Level   » Cranking "Cleaning lights" up too fast at the end of a film! (And I'm still there!) (Page 1)

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Author Topic: Cranking "Cleaning lights" up too fast at the end of a film! (And I'm still there!) Jason Whyte Expert Film Handler Posts: 132 From: Victoria, BC, Canada Registered: Sep 2002 posted 02-03-2003 02:25 AM                        Hey everyone, There has been an irritating thing that a local multiplex theater in Victoria, BC has just started doing. The credits come up, the automation hits (a wonderful cross-cue that is easily visible on screen and bumps the soundtrack ever so slightly), and then we see the garbage cleaners file in almost a few seconds. To make matters worse, one cleaner hits the "cleaning lights" (very very VERY bright halogen lights) which come on at full blast, making the reading of film credits very difficult. (I even heard one couple at a screening remark "Oh, the garbage cleaners are here. We better leave.") This happened both times I visited this particular theater this weekend, and was very frustrated by the "Thank you, now GET OUT" attitude that the management seems to impose on their customers. If this persists when I go back next week, I will certainly complain to management, but I shouldn't have to. Has anyone had a similar situation with this? Regards, Jason  |  IP: Logged Nate Lehrke Master Film Handler Posts: 396 From: Denver, CO Registered: Oct 2002 posted 02-03-2003 03:19 AM                     We used to turn the cleaning lights on full if we had less than 8 minutes of intermission time in an effort to try to move the customers out so the ushers could clean quicker in a busy auditorium. I did feel bad to blind the patrons with the cleaning lights but it did beat seating 2 minutes before the show started or just having a dirty theatre. No matter what, it's rude. Customers pay for the whole film, it's just plain annoying to have lights & ushers everywhere the second a film hits end credits.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 02-03-2003 06:12 AM                        I used to have terrible troubles with usherettes (one in particular) switching cleaners' lights on while people were watching credits and/or forgetting to switch them off after admitting customers for the next show. In the end I got a bit Nazi about it and made it known that on the first occasion this happened, the cleaners' lights in all screens would be switched off at the master breaker and thereafter would stay off for the rest of the day. After some initial mieowing and hissing, they got the message.  |  IP: Logged Dino Panagiotopoulos Expert Film Handler Posts: 139 From: Windor, Ontario, Canada Registered: Jan 2003 posted 02-03-2003 07:02 AM                     At my theater, unless we had a pretty tight turnaround time (which we havent seen in a long time), the cleaning lights go on when the last person has the left the auditorium. The only other exception would be if the ushers were in some kind of rush. In that case, the lights would come on as soon as the lights came up and the wonderful non-sync came on to entertain movie goers everywhere.  |  IP: Logged Darren Briggs Master Film Handler Posts: 371 From: York, UK Registered: Dec 2001 posted 02-03-2003 07:51 AM                        Im running 'Catch Me If You Can' with a 4 minute turn around. I turn the lights on my self if the audience has left, otherwise the breaker Leo mentioned stays off. Also if you clean with only house lights, you can make it look spotless, its only when the cleaners lights are on you see all the little bits under seats etc. So most experienced ushers use this trick to aid fast turn arounds. The sceen then gets fully cleaned on a morning and in any large gaps in films. Darren  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 02-03-2003 09:29 AM                        Anything that "rushes" the audience out of the auditorium before the final credit shows disregard for the customer AND the filmmakers. "Showmanship Done Wrong".  |  IP: Logged Barry Martin Expert Film Handler Posts: 203 From: Newington, CT USA Registered: Jul 2002 posted 02-03-2003 10:05 AM                        Jason, glad to see you are still posting to some boards other than Home Theater. I used to have this problem at my theater, but not usually with the ushers. Occasionally when we were short staffed on a busy weekend the company would call the company which handled the overnight cleaning of the theater and have a couple people sent out. They were used to cleaning with the flourescent lights on so they turned them on and often not waiting for people to exit. Some of them didn't understand (or want to admit to understanding) english so I made up signs in Spanish and communicated the problem to their supervisor. The real problem with them switching the lights on from inside the auditorium was that the switches are faulty. If you don't push the switch all the way up/down it will still turn the lights off/on but cut off the projectionists ability to turn on the lights at the end of the night from the booth. So now the closing projectionist has to go down stairs, switch the light, go back upstairs, try the switch and if it still didn't work go back downstairs and flick the switch the other way. BIG PAIN IN THE ASS. I always waited to turn the house lights up until everyone left the theater and if the ushers requested I would turn on the cleaning lights after that.  |  IP: Logged Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 02-03-2003 10:30 AM                     A few years ago, I was on pass to see a movie at GCC Hollywood Galaxy Theatre. They started to clean during the end credits. This theatre gives alot of time during intermissions. It was a 5 o'clock show during the week, with about 40 people. After the show I got one of those GCC comment cards from the lobby. The next day I sent it in. Around that time I worked afew shifts at GCC Sherman Oaks. A few weeks later my manager comes into the booth and gives me the comment card that he just got for the DM. He told me that I should not send these cards. Because they go to Boston, before coming back to the district office in LA. So everytime the DM came to the theatre, he would ask send in any cards lately  |  IP: Logged John Spooner Expert Film Handler Posts: 186 From: South Australia, Australia Registered: Jan 2003 posted 02-03-2003 10:47 AM                     Like the general concensus to the question of the cleaning lights coming on, I would say that doing this is both tacky and unprofessional. It becomes even worse when it is done to blatantly save a tiny amount of money!  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 02-03-2003 12:22 PM                        I once complained enough (huge under-statement) about having the lights turned on during the credits that I got myself a cash refund. I asked the manager why they didn't have the cleaning lights on during the 12 minutes of ads and 15 minutes of trailers. He told me that people would get upset if they couldn't see them. I then asked him how much more upset they would be about not being able to see the ads than I was about the credits. He then immediately gave me my refund.  |  IP: Logged Jesse Skeen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1517 From: Sacramento, CA Registered: Aug 2000 posted 02-03-2003 01:53 PM                     When the show ends, dump the trash cans on the floor and say "That's for not waiting til the end of the movie!"  |  IP: Logged Mark Lensenmayer Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1605 From: Upper Arlington, OH Registered: Sep 1999 posted 02-03-2003 03:13 PM                     I've had this happen a number of times. I simply take my business elsewhere. I don't tell anyone or complain...I'll just take my dollars to places that "do film right". Why don't I complain? Because it just doesn't do any good. Letters aren't answered, and complaints to corporate just get free passes which I can't use for the films I want to see when I want to see them.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 02-03-2003 03:26 PM                        Although letters or complaints to the local theatre may not help, don't give up. Someone "up the chain of command" may care, especially those on the technical side (e.g., VP Projection, VP Engineering, VP Operations). Copy them on any complaints. Likewise, distributors do care how their films are shown, including cutting off of the closing credits: http://www.filmjournal.com/applications/guides/alpha.cfm?PageID=11111170 http://www.filmjournal.com/applications/guides/alpha.cfm?PageID=11111130 http://www.boxoffice.com/scripts/content.asp?terms=2042 http://www.boxoffice.com/buyers.html Be polite, and provide the needed details to investigate the problem, including theatre location, date, time, and names of any theatre personnel you dealt with. If you want to provide additional feedback on presentation quality, here are some guidelines: http://www.film-tech.com/manuals/SMPTEEVALPROG.pdf http://www.film-tech.com/manuals/TAPGUIDELINES.pdf  |  IP: Logged Jesse Skeen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1517 From: Sacramento, CA Registered: Aug 2000 posted 02-03-2003 05:26 PM                     I complained to a UA theatre when they turned the janitor lights on during the credits (among several other inexcusable problems) and was given 4 passes, but the next time I went they did it again! Since UA had merged or whatever with Regal after that, there was then no way to contact anyone regarding that particular theater. It would be nice to be able to contact the studios about presentation quality but not sure who to contact about that. Since I've been working at a non-theater job I've made an effort to go to all films that use the PHONE-THX service though.  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-03-2003 08:27 PM                     I like the idea of dumping a bucket of popcorn on the floor in a very messy fashion.  |  IP: Logged

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