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Author Topic: What is the most moronic beef you have with this industry? Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 03-15-2003 05:50 PM                     This curiosity came from this thread. What do you think is the most moronic thing we have to deal with in this industry? Is it the bone chilling thought that someone in the general public might gain access to a low resolution ID frame image? Perhaps it is the constant shipping back and forth of prints for screenings that ensures by the time your theater opens the movie that you get a worn print? Pre-show "entertainment" ads? Cyan dye tracks? Dolby tone loops that are not accurate? Opaque splicing tape? Pepsi instead of Coke?  |  IP: Logged Michael West Film Handler Posts: 67 From: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Registered: Apr 2000 posted 03-15-2003 06:12 PM                        public apathy, the dumbing up of the projectionists trade by corporations, the false perception that every thing digital is better, ads - have i said to much?  |  IP: Logged Ray Brown Expert Film Handler Posts: 111 From: Dayton, WA, USA Registered: Sep 2002 posted 03-15-2003 06:15 PM                        Technicolor's Thursday delivery is my biggest pet peeve. I like it when ETS delivers on Wednesday. The bootleg excuse is a bunch of . I'm not a opaque splicing tape fan either. That don't peel off of the film at all and looks horible on the screen. Neumade clear tape rules. It would be nice to have access to the reference frames online. I don't see a need for a secure server for this.  |  IP: Logged Sean McKinnon Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1712 From: Peabody Massachusetts Registered: Sep 2000 posted 03-15-2003 06:20 PM                        shouldnt this be in yak? (Just Kidding ) My biggest beef is when Technicolor wont let you circuit a print to a theatre 5 minutes away.  |  IP: Logged David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 03-15-2003 06:25 PM                        Pre-show ads are reaching the point of absurdity. Recent visits to Regal have been dragged down with 6 or 7 pre-show ads. Many of the ads are blow-ups from that look like . Some of them are even for shows (now THAT makes sense: Advertise competitive entertainment and then try to figure out why your theatre is empty during the week). The PSAs are often annoyingly heavy-handed with their messages. Then Regal follows the ads with too many previews, also numbering around 6 lately. Enough is enough already. But I'm sure that when CineMedia rolls out here, the barrage of ads will get even worse.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-15-2003 06:38 PM                        At the most basic level, I'm upset by the fact that very few people in this industry (on both the production and exhibition side) seem to understand that the general moviegoing population simply desires quality entertainment at a reasonable price. Instead, "the industry" (in the broadest sense) seems to assume that moviegoers are morons who visit theatres from time to time in order to buy popcorn. Long lines, poor service, dirty theatres, crappy projection and sound quality, bad movies, high ticket prices, and shipping nonsense are all symptoms of this attitude. (Not that there aren't exceptions to this. Obviously there are plenty of genuinely good films [though many are poorly marketed]. There are manufacturers who make great equipment and excellent service technicians to install it and keep it running. There are good theatre managers and projectionists, too. Unfortunately, all of these are relatively rare in this business.) Another, more specific, issue is the relatively short release cycle of most films and the way in which a typical "wide" release is booked in order to completely saturate the market (e.g. four prints of the same damn feature in a medium-sized multiplex), with a very short release window and most of the boxoffice dollars being collected in the first week or two of release. Part of this is a problem with too few films that have "legs" and part is just poor booking practice. I'd much rather see longer release windows with fewer prints and more opportunity for small towns and second-run houses to play more titles. I'd also like to see a longer delay before the video release of most titles and--crazy as this may sound--I'd like to see some well-known director refuse to release his films on any video format (including TV) and insist that theatrical exhibition is the _only_ proper way to see his films. I can dream, can't I? A related issue is the fact that most distributors only seem to care about their current first-run releases, while they allow second-run and repertory venues to suffer through lack of advertising materials and good prints. It can be difficult to get a good 35mm print of many films which may have been initially released only a few years ago. And getting posters and trailers for titles released only a few months ago can also be problematic. Again, there are some exceptions (e.g. Warner Bros. Classics, which has plenty of great prints of older titles), but the poster/trailer issue is a big deal for smaller towns and repertory houses, many of which end up having to get these items from collectors or other theatres rather than distributors.  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 03-15-2003 06:45 PM                        As a patron, the thing that bothers me the most is the use of theatre personal running most shows today instead of qualified professional projectionists in order to cut costs.. When I saw "SIGNS" at the Waikiki #2 shortly before they closed, the surrounds was not working when the SDDS sound trailer was shown. I complained and Alan Sakaida was called to check out the problem. The surrounds was once again working towards the end of the film. The reason for the problem? It was a usher who started the show and did not realize something was wrong. Do you suppose it was a theatre staff in the booth when the lights was not turned on during the intermission of "GODS AND GENERALS"? -Claude  |  IP: Logged Matthew Nock Film Handler Posts: 82 From: Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia Registered: Jan 2003 posted 03-15-2003 06:47 PM                     quote: I'd also like to see a longer delay before the video release of most titles and--crazy as this may sound--I'd like to see some well-known director refuse to release his films on any video format (including TV) and insist that theatrical exhibition is the _only_ proper way to see his films. I can dream, can't I? Didnt Mr Spielberg do this? I was under the impression that that was the only reason that ET was not released on video/dvd for SOOOO long - was because he beleived that it can only be truly experienced in a cinema!  |  IP: Logged Matthew Nock Film Handler Posts: 82 From: Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia Registered: Jan 2003 posted 03-15-2003 06:50 PM                     Oh yes, and another beef I have .... working in a cinema complex with people who really dont give a damn or care about film. I was taught to show film by people who showed film cause they loved it - and that is why i show film - that is why I take pride in my onscreen, and off-screen preparation.  |  IP: Logged John Westlund Expert Film Handler Posts: 204 From: Burney, CA, USA Registered: Jun 2001 posted 03-15-2003 06:58 PM                     Number 1 on my list is crappy splicing tape. When I get prints used 80% of the time I have to deal with this garbage that wont come off since I am not one to cut frames to save time.\ Number 2 is having an empty auditorium 5 minutes til showtime and when everyone finally shows up and is seated having 80. They must think that all movies start late or something.  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 03-15-2003 07:09 PM                    people who don't understand the concept of the raw corn goes in the kettle first then the oil. It reads plain and simple on the popper. Raw corn first oil second. The same people who don't understand how to dump a kettle of popped corn before it burns. The same people who don't understand when to turn off the heating element in the kettle when popping the last batch. Of course those same people just started a print of an R rated film for fifty kids waiting to see a G rated feature.  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 03-15-2003 07:12 PM                        If a film is very good, it will have a very long theatrical run and make a lot of money for everyone. A classic example is "MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING". It made tons of money for the producers and brought in the crowds to theatres. Now that it had a long life in theatres, patrons like myself can once again enjoy the film in the comfort of my home theatre from the DVD. "GODS AND GENERALS" which had a very short life in theatres should do much better on home video and I just cannot wait for the film to be released on DVD. Films that has 'legs' will be highly profitable during it's theatrical run like "STAR WARS", the"LORD OF THE RING" trilogy, the Harry Potter films and the first"SPIDERMAN" film. Films such as "WINDTALKER" and "GODS AND GENERALS" at least have a chance of recouping their production cost and even make a profit from home video. -Claude  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-15-2003 08:34 PM                        The film co's know that the very best advertising vehicle is TRAILERS and yet they don't make enough to go around. Why can't each theatre (even the small ones like us) sign up to an automatic mailing for all trailers? That would make a lot more sense than thousands of them sitting in multiplexes, unused.  |  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 03-15-2003 09:20 PM                        quote: people who don't understand the concept of the raw corn goes in the kettle first then the oil. It reads plain and simple on the popper. Raw corn first oil second. I absolutely hate popcorn that is made 'raw corn first'. I find it way too dry. I've got a Twin Citation popper that says 'oil first, corn second'. Then again, I also prefer Pepsi.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-15-2003 09:24 PM                     Acording to the old manleys aristocrat machine(the only real popper in my books) oil is placed in the kettle and when it starts to smoke seasoning and corn are added result good corn  |  IP: Logged

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