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This topic comprises 4 pages: 1 2 3 4
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Author
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Topic: film companies have no idea what movie theatres DO
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Melanie Loggins
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 154
From: Wayne, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 10-11-2012 10:32 AM
I'm so frustrated and amused at the same time, and I don't even know if this is the right thread for this, but I felt like I wanted to pass this along so we all know what we're up against.
I open movies on Thursday, not Friday, and my keys generally unlock my movies on Tuesday or Wednesday. There is one company, though, that only gives me keys to unlock at 12:01am Thursday morning. I find this frustrating because if I do have a problem with a drive, I will have almost no choice but to cancel a show and wait for a new drive to arrive Friday.
This week I wanted to do my QC on Wednesday night because I do actually try to have a bit of a life sometimes and Thursday didn't look like it was going to work. And, as luck would have it, I'm showing a film from the Thursday morning key company. So, I called Technicolor and asked if it was even possible to get a new key, one that would open even 8 hours earlier. I've had to ask for different versions or 7.1 instead of 5.1, but never more time. Anyway, they called me a couple hours later, said it was no problem, and sent me new keys.
Three hours after that, I get a phone call from the film company's sales rep ripping me a new one. "YOU ARE NOT allowed to do that!" she says. (Well, how the hell would I know?) I tried to explain why I even asked, and she yelled at me that she had been in a meeting and someone else approved that and she never would have and did I know that it had to go through FOUR people to get approved? (So, um, if this is forbidden, wouldn't one of those four have said no?) (And, really, four levels of authority? I think we might have a bloated middle management here.) But, I can handle histrionic women. It's not me, it's them. So, this company WILL NOT ALLOW me to have more time. Got it. But this is the part that really made me think for the rest of the day. And this is as near to verbatim as I can remember:
Me: Well, I won't have time to do any quality control tomorrow, so I just wanted a few more hours. I swear, I didn't know that wasn't okay.
Her: If you want to do quality control, we can send you trailers. You open the movie tomorrow, and if you play the movie today, I will have to charge you for another day!
Me: Well, I check the volume levels and framing and everything for each movie, and I need to make sure the movie, like, plays, and I really like to do quality control BEFORE the day of the movie, so if there is a problem I can get a new drive.
Her (slowly and condescendingly): If you need to test something, we can send you trailers.
Me: Look, I know my projector works. I know my server works. What I don't know is if that movie on that drive works.
Her: Well, of course it works. Those are brand new drives. That movie just came out 2 weeks ago.
Me: (pause) You know they reuse all those drives, right? I don't think I've ever gotten a brand new drive.
Her: (pause) Well, you cannot do that.
Me: Okay. I won't.
Okay, so she doesn't understand her own billing system (I don't get charged per day but PER TICKET SOLD) and SHE DIDN'T KNOW HOW THE WHOLE MOVIE DELIVERY WORKS!!! How is she supposed to sell me something if she doesn't know how it works?
I'm still pissed about this.
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Scott Norwood
Film God
Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 10-11-2012 03:36 PM
Edward--when was the last time you worked at a second-run theatre, repertory house, film festival, historic theatre, nontheatrical venue, screening room, or any type of motion-picture exhibition business other than a mainstream, first-run multiplex?
The first-run houses pull in the $$$, and problems with delivery (film, tape, DCP, etc.) are rare there. But there is a huge chunk of the exhibition industry that exists outside of that mold, where problems can and do occur with greater frequency, and where a single lost screening can result in permanent loss of customers.
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Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 10-11-2012 10:02 PM
Yes, your DCP should JUST WORK. You shouldn't have to pre-screen. BUT...
How many times have I been handed a DVD or a Blu-Ray to play that should have JUST WORKED but, instead froze up when it was played?
How many times have I been faced with computers to present PowerPoints to an audience which should have JUST WORKED but which crashed in the middle of a lecture with a house full of people?
How many times have I received 35mm prints that should have JUST PLAYED but which had bad soundtracks that didn't show up until Friday on opening weekend with a house packed full of people?
I can't tell you how many times I have been called into the office when a disc, fresh from the case and untouched by human hands until I put it into the player, froze up mid-show.
I can remember at least two times when computers crashed in the middle of an important lecture, after which I was questioned why this happened.
These things should NOT HAPPEN but they do. Blu-Ray players shouldn't just lock up but they do. Computers aren't supposed to crash but they do. Maybe it doesn't happen every day but it happens often enough that the prudent person should be on the lookout for it.
Now, we're talking about digital cinema technology that is largely untested as compared to film or even DVD/Blu-Ray players. Engineers and designers have gone to great lengths to be sure that these machines are as reliable as possible. Still, hard drives crash. Computers crash. Things go wrong and there is no way to prevent them from going wrong.
They're supposed to JUST WORK but, sometimes, they JUST DON'T WORK.
Now, people are trying to tell us that we can't test our equipment before we attempt to show it to a paying audience?
Ludicrous!
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Edward Havens
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 614
From: Los Angeles, CA
Registered: Mar 2008
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posted 10-12-2012 04:46 AM
quote: Scott Norwood
Edward--when was the last time you worked at a second-run theatre, repertory house, film festival, historic theatre, nontheatrical venue, screening room, or any type of motion-picture exhibition business other than a mainstream, first-run multiplex?
June 3, 2010.
quote: Melanie Loggins
I'm not running an anonymous multi-plex in a big city.
Neither am I.
quote: Melanie Loggins
But you know what? I'm proud of my theatre. I work hard to make sure everything is perfect...
Before you start jumping to conclusions about why I was asking or how I was going to respond...
It's not asking too much to have time to make sure problems don't happen with your presentation, but if there is going to be a problem, you'll probably know about the problem before you get to the QC. I can still count on one thumb the number of issues I've had with a bad DCP file (of the 150GBs of information for a major Thanksgiving release last year, somehow the last 1K of info didn't get uploaded), and I was able to get a replacement file uploaded to my LMS within ten minutes of discovering the issue, three days before the movie opened. Yeah, I QCed that one fully, but for the most part, I only QC now to verify all the lighting and masking cues were inserted in the right places and to check the first two or three minutes of the movie. Cause when you do run a multiplex, regardless of the size of the town, you sometimes don't have the time to QC five new features, like I have this weekend, even if the keys unlock several days in advance (as usually Disney movies do).
I have no doubts that every single person in our business who participates in these forums wants nothing less than the absolute best for their theatres and their patrons. I applaud your desire to make sure everything is perfect for your customers. I do as well, despite having returned to college this fall for the first time in twenty-five years. I trust my managers to be able to pick up the slack. Maybe one of those volunteers can be trained to do a QC, so you can enjoy other activities from time to time.
Just a thought. Take it or leave it. It's all good.
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Tony Bandiera Jr
Film God
Posts: 3067
From: Moreland Idaho
Registered: Apr 2004
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posted 10-12-2012 04:23 PM
Melanie. try to ignore Edward's attitude and read the meaning of what he is trying to say. His condescending attitude is well known on here. I have learned to apply a filter to what he posts, because he does post some useful info now and then. ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Edward: Did you stop to think that not every theatre HAS an LMS to be able to do quick downloads to? A lot of places have stand-alone servers. Brad will easily vouch for the FACT that bad drives can and do pop up, (in fact there is a thread on here about that) and more often than in your corner of the world. It has happened several times to folks here on the Bel-Air circuit (home screening rooms) so it is not impossible or unlikely to happen to an independent theatre. If they don't care enough to send NEW drives out to the Bel-Air circuit, they sure as hell aren't going to bother to do it for smaller operations.
Back to the main point of this thread: A studio with a shitty attitude and a complete lack of understanding of how things work.
I like Mike's idea:
quote: Mike Blakesley
Maybe you should just book your movies with that company to open on Wednesday, turn in zero grosses for that day, and if you get a phone call asking WTF, explain that is your QC day since they won't give you one any other way.
Or, better yet, make the first show of your scheduled opening day be your QC show, report zero grosses on it and sell tickets anyway. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) If they holler, tell them to go get ![[fu]](graemlins/fu.gif) ![[sex]](graemlins/sex.gif)
BTW, unlike your tech thread, this is one where you should at least name the studio/distrb invovled. ![[thumbsup]](graemlins/thumbsup.gif)
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Edward Havens
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 614
From: Los Angeles, CA
Registered: Mar 2008
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posted 10-13-2012 12:19 PM
quote: Tony Bandiera Jr
His condescending attitude is well known on here. I have learned to apply a filter to what he posts, because he does post some useful info now and then.
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
quote: Tony Bandiera Jr
Edward: Did you stop to think that not every theatre HAS an LMS to be able to do quick downloads to? A lot of places have stand-alone servers. Brad will easily vouch for the FACT that bad drives can and do pop up, (in fact there is a thread on here about that) and more often than in your corner of the world. It has happened several times to folks here on the Bel-Air circuit (home screening rooms) so it is not impossible or unlikely to happen to an independent theatre. If they don't care enough to send NEW drives out to the Bel-Air circuit, they sure as hell aren't going to bother to do it for smaller operations.
Thanks, Tony. Did you ever stop to think that a problem hard drive or problem file would still be a problem regardless of whether it's ingested on to an LMS or on to a stand-alone server?
Yes, I know I am very fortunate that my multiplex in a town of 52,500 now gets 90% of its content from Technicolor's Thingest system or Deluxe's Echostar system. I'm fortunate to have a centralized LMS to store all those files. And I'm fortunate to be able to get movie files now up to a week before the start of the playdates because of all these tools that not everyone has yet. But that matters only a little in this discussion. Regardless of whether I ingested Alex Cross yesterday or wouldn't have been able to do so until Tuesday, whatever system management software is being using on an LMS or individual cinema server would still show if the file ingested was corrupted and not ingested properly as soon as ingestion was completed and the list of content on said server refreshed.
In the end, we all want the same thing for Melanie: to be able to enjoy more free time and not be tied up with potential issues in her booth. Let's stay on topic and try to keep the ad hominem at bay, please.
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