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Author Topic: Why Can't Mgmt. Help me? Dean Kollet Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 591 From: Florida State University Registered: Jul 2003 posted 08-28-2003 09:35 PM                     I've been doing projection for almost 2 months know, I've gotten my rhythm down good and all, but some days it still seems like hell. We have BAD humidity problems, and we have brain wraps b/c of it. Nothing like starting a moving and having to check it every 5 minutes while running another 11 screens. I've told management, but the corperation is way too cheap to do anything, my 5.15 an hour salary speaks of it too. You think that I work my butt off for 8 months, I'd get something, but not really... I've talked to the projection manager and he told me I was gettng a raise, but I havent' seen anything on paper. I'm not afraid to voice my opinion, what do you all suggest? I love my job, but 5.15 an hour for working my ass of is killing me, it's sad when my friend sells candy for 7.00 an hour and I almost learned a trade and I get paid the minumum; no overtime paid and no holidays... Any suggestions? Thanks  |  IP: Logged Kevin Wale Expert Film Handler Posts: 167 From: Guymon, OK USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 08-28-2003 10:31 PM                     I don't have a lot of actual... do this or that advice. I know it kind of stinks making less than the guy selling candy bars when you have all the stress of making things work smoothly. I've heard the staff around here say things like... "The projectionsts have an easy job and just sit around the whole time." Yet, the sit around times are basically the same for everyone and the projectionist still has to be watching and listening and sensing everything. I don't have to tell all of what a projectionist does as far as headaches go, but the perception is a very incorrect one indeed from most of the staff around here. The kind of advise I have is a bit different. You said you aren't afraid to speak your mind... that's a good start. But also let it be known that there are other theatres that need projectionists. I'll never understand how theatres want unscratched, perfect presentations, and yet pay minimum wage to someone who if has a problem litterally makes the concessionaire's job meaningless. Usually the raise is a 3 month thing. That's probably what he means. I'm not siding with them on thier timing, it's just usually how that works. 3 month evaluation period. Humididty... as in not humid? I know one word for it that most everyone in this forum is going to agree with... FILMGAURD... and lots of it. Even if you are a filmgaurd booth, get creative. Those rollers are plastic on metal platters... mix alchohol and filmgaurd(mostly alchohol... about an inch of filmgaurd in the filmgaurd bottle and up to the beginning of the bottle neck with alchohol) in a filmgaurd bottle and spray the moving parts of those platters down with it. The alchohol will clean and then evaporate(you'll of course want to use a tooth brush while still wet) and leave the filmgaurd behind coating the roller's pins. Then when you run the film through the media pads(soaked in filmgaurd) everything gets another nice coat. I know. It might be obvious and you may be doing it, but if your not, those are the kinds of suggestions you can make to management(particularly the booth management) and if they are at all concerned with the quality of thier presentation, they will at least try it. If your not on media pads, it might be hard because a cleaning machine is a 600 dollar item and you would need more than one. But, filmgaurd is only 40 dollars a bottle and you can soak those babies down. I'm assuming your not the only projectionist having this problem. If you are, there may be something your are missing. Since you are failry new about this, you may have litterally been trained poorly. Believe me, our booth is currently scouring over every inch of this web page taking notes on the things we have been trained... oh, not so well on. You are here and that tells me a lot. I'm all a bible person and there is a scripture that comes to mind that says to not "cast your pearls before the swine." It goes on to talk about those who refuse to listen and want you to help them but never want to be considerate of you. I wouldn't hesitate to move on if I noticed that I as a newbie was more concerned about quality for my employer's business than my employer is.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 08-28-2003 10:42 PM                     I haven't tested mixing FG with anything else, so I hesitate on that recommendation, but what I can tell you WILL work...even if you do not have a film cleaning machine...is to spray a few shots of FG onto a folded up white paper towel and start the platter spinning at roughly payout speed of the trailers (around 20RPM). Then wipe from the outer edge slowly inward toward the center, coating the top edge of the film while it is laying on the platter. On that next show put a twist in the film after the projector so that the soundtrack ends up taking up the opposite direction of normal practice, then repeat for the other side (which is now upward). This will eliminate your brain wrap and static issues unless your splices are atrociously bad and sticky. Also, $40 is list. Most dealers sell about $30-35 and a bottle when used like that would service a 12 plex for a month or longer. Just wipe the prints once or twice a week. As far as getting a raise goes, good luck. Most people here can sympathize with you. It's just a difficult situation when managers have to work with payroll and budget requirements. Management frequently forgets that without the movie they would have zero customers. You can have a movie without concessions, but you cannot have concessions without a movie. The movie is #1 importance. The candy counter is second, always.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 08-28-2003 11:28 PM                        quote: You can have a movie without concessions, but you cannot have concessions without a movie. The movie is #1 importance. The candy counter is second, always. The pay scales are definitely reversed. $5.15 to run a 12-plex booth.... That really does stink.  |  IP: Logged Kevin Wale Expert Film Handler Posts: 167 From: Guymon, OK USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 08-29-2003 12:15 AM                     quote: Originally posted by Brad Miller: I haven't tested mixing FG with anything else, so I hesitate on that recommendation We do the mix for the projector itself. I can't remember where the idea came from. The owner heard about it somewhere long before I got here. It seems to work as you can feel the slick filmgaurd when you touch the sprockets and since alchohol is an evaporative you can't feel any evidence it was ever there. I guess the logic is that since you clean the rollers with alchohol anyway and then the filmgaurd passes through the projector it's kind of a best of both worlds in that there is always some filgaurd on all the rollers and sprockets. I would be very interested in seeing any actual test results on the mixture. I know that we won't get to not use the mixture because it is believed in greatly by the owner. I just assumed it was something he got in some round about way from felm-tech. Another reason why I think this place is so cool. I've known about this forum for a couple of weeks now? I guess... anyway I've learned more in that two or three weeks than I feel I did in the last year.  |  IP: Logged Peter Kerchinsky Master Film Handler Posts: 326 From: Seattle, WA, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 08-29-2003 04:02 AM                     Dean Like Jack said earlier $5.15 an hour to run a 12 plex stinks. My suggestion: tell those people who run that theatre to kiss your ass and QUIT. You, in my opinion, are working slave labor like those that makes shoes in foreign countries for 15 cents an hour. By the way, what is your states minimum wage anyway? I believe the state of Washington is almost, if not, $7.00 an hour.  |  IP: Logged Aaron Garman Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1470 From: Toledo, OH USA Registered: Mar 2003 posted 08-29-2003 04:24 AM                     Brad said it all. There are no concessions without movies. Why can't people understand this and bring back the importance of showmanship? I forget who it was on the forum that said that we don't show movies anymore, but we sell food (please chime in if this is your quote). It's no wonder why home theatre is so popular: most commercial cinemas stink. I remember when our place first opened (cerca 1995) and even when I started (2001) was the best theatre in the area. Over the past two years, it just seems to have gone to . Weird thing is, management has not really changed that much. We have a couple new ones, but our GM is still the same (ever since 1995). I miss those days when we were the grandest theatre around this area. I was proud to work there, but lately, I am losing some of that pride. The only reason I try so hard to keep it up is because I remember the way it used to be, and I feel that I am the only one that does remember how it used to be. Ok, I'm getting off my soapbox now. AJG  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 08-29-2003 05:58 AM                        With really high humidity, the gelatin film emulsion can actually become physically "sticky", so it may not be static, which is usually worse at really low humidity. If the humidity is much above 60%, get some dehumidifiers, or adjust the HVAC so the air conditioning removes more moisture from the projection room. Also, make sure the platters are level and timed correctly, and that you aren't making any "sticky" splices. See my article: "All That Sticks Is Not Static": http://www.film-tech.com/manuals/H5056.pdf  |  IP: Logged Dean Kollet Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 591 From: Florida State University Registered: Jul 2003 posted 08-29-2003 07:58 AM                     I'm almost positive it's not static....it's b/c the film actually appears to be 'wet' sometimes. I run the humidifiers at full speed but they can't catch up sometimes. AMC (yes, I'm saying the name) won't pay to have the a/c upgraded so I'm stuck there. It's a 20 screen theater, with projectionists running the back 12, or front 8 at a time. I also found out that the salary cap for projectionists is 7.00 an hour, which is bullshit to me. The minimum wage in FL is 5.15, and quite honestly I don't know a person other that people @ the theater that make that little.... You think I'd get a pay raise from working concession and ushering for 6 months, but I guess not...and it's not like I get in trouble a lot. We have like 100 people working there (5 projectionists) and I constatanly rank in the top 10 as far as reviews go...oh well, I'll talk to them today, I really LOVE my job besides the pay and I don't want to quit unless I have to  |  IP: Logged Dave Macaulay Film God Posts: 2321 From: Toronto, Canada Registered: Apr 2001 posted 08-29-2003 09:06 AM                     Hopefully you meant DEhumidifiers... But realistically dehumidifiers in a projection room are hopeless. With 11 exhaust fans running, too much new air is being pulled in for any portable dehumidifier system to make a difference. It sounds like someone is trying to save $$$ on the climate control system. Obviously Florida is hot, so the facility should have a decent system. Or you have a system just incapable of humidity control. Set up properly, a climate control system manages the heat, cooling, and fresh air intake to regulate temperature and humidity. A system which is unable to control humidity costs a lot less to buy. A system that can do so costs a lot less to operate if that capability is disabled. If you have a fairly modern building, see if you can have the climate control system checked over. Tell the management there is a humidity problem that is likely to cause lost shows, maybe they'll listen and get the AC working properly (if it can). $5.15 to run 11 screens??? I've seen movies in Florida and actually wondered why the presentation standards were so low. Now that Ontario has dropped projectionist licensing and the chains have broken the union, things are not much different.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 08-29-2003 09:20 AM                       quote: but the corperation is way too cheap to do anything, my 5.15 an hour salary speaks of it too. This is precisely why the union was a good thing. It's going to get a lot worse before it gets any better, folks.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 08-29-2003 11:40 AM                        re $5.15/hr... quote: This is precisely why the union was a good thing. It's going to get a lot worse before it gets any better, folks. That may be, Tim... but don't you think it's likely the proponents would just use that as a tactic to help push their cause? I'd bet a lot of unsuspecting exhibitors would think they could totally eliminate operators... maybe just hire in a service guy to change the bulbs when they blow. There have been stories about how you can reclaim booth space & put seats in there, so projectionists may be heading for the same fate as the unions.... oh..... any time now!  |  IP: Logged Martin Brooks Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 900 From: Forest Hills, NY, USA Registered: May 2002 posted 08-30-2003 08:53 PM                        It's about time that corporations realize that if they don't pay decent wages, no one is going to be able to afford the products and services that they're trying to sell. I simply cannot understand how the projectionist makes less than the popcorn pusher. How cheap do you have to be when a projectionist handles 10 to 20 screens? Who can possibly live on $10,000 a year (and that's if they get to work full-time hours.) I think I've said this before, but if the economics of the megaplex are so bad that they can't pay the projectionist a living wage, let them go out of business. And if they continue putting amateurs in the booth in these cookie-cutter megaplexes, as home cinema gets better and better, people will simply stay home. Corporations who don't pay professional wages to professionals will turn this country into a third-world country before too long: we'll have the very rich, the very poor and a very small middle class. I would love to see the unions come back and put picket lines at the doors of theaters and strongly encourage the truck drivers who deliver the films (and the snacks) not to cross the picket line. It's one thing to hire high-school kids part time to earn a few extra bucks as concession stand workers at minimum wage and quite another to force trained professionals to work for virtually nothing.  |  IP: Logged Jesse August Film Handler Posts: 58 From: Vancouver British Columbia Registered: Jul 2003 posted 08-30-2003 11:21 PM                     All I can say is that my sympathies go out to every under paid projectionist. Keep it reel.  |  IP: Logged Robert D. LaValley Film Handler Posts: 58 From: Florida Registered: Aug 2003 posted 08-31-2003 01:15 AM                     I think everyone in the theatre business knows what it is like to be underpaid unless you have "VP" or "CEO" after your name. I've worked from floor staff all the way to GM and with the amount of hours and effort I put in, it all still translates to below minimum wage.. But that is the sign of the times, isn't it? As for your booth problems you have been having, I too have had the film have the "wet" look. I actually run the A/C all the time and I have two de-humidifiers that run constantly. It pulls about 5 gal. of water out of the air per day. And knock on wood I haven't had that many problems with brain-wraps. My mom is thrilled because she receives all this free distilled water for her irons.  |  IP: Logged

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