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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: AMC Sensory Friendly Showings?
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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!
Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 03-28-2018 07:42 AM
So a friend of mine (from the high school days) posted a humerous experience he had at an AMC movie theatre. I say humorous because I wasn't a participant but reading, with great humor, his experience. WTF is this "Sensory Friendly Showings" BS? I'd never go to one of those. They can't be good for the industry.
Anyway, here is his story. Note, he is not, in any way, part of the cinema industry but is definitely technosavy and has had friends in the industry enough to have an idea of what goes on in the industry.
quote:
Hey, I know, let's just pop in and see a movie. In the theater. You know, for that cinematic experience that makes it worth the ticket price.
Click. Clickety-click-click, search, tap. Using AMC's web site, buying directly from them. Ah! A $3.50 "convenience fee." Grrr. Fine, we're already this far. It's Tuesday night, it's not like we really need reserved seats, but, fine. Movie is in our choice of "3D" or "Digital." 3D is a bad thing, so Digital it is. Two good seats, dead center in the auditorium. OK, off for a casual bite of food with time to spare.
Walk into the large theater, where there are ... two other people. Hey, dudes. So, the four of us are watching the pre-show ads, and a theater employee wanders in and comes overs to us. In a barely audible sheepish mumble:
EMPLOYEE: "Just saying, this is a cents petting throwdown."
WE: [stare at her with eyebrows raised]
DUDES IN FRONT OF US: "It's a ... what?"
EMPLOYEE: [even less audibly] "Flemmish smelting goose down." [walks off after we try to ask her what she's on about]
THEATER: [starts the feature ... leaving the auditorium lights on full]
ON SCREEN: "Welcome to a Sensory Friendly Showing! For your enjoyment and safety, we're leave the lights on for you. Feel free to get up, walk around, text, chat, dance, sing and just be you!"
WE: [simultaneously] "What the f...!"
AUDITORIUM: [for the first 15-20 minutes of the movie, groups of three or four people keep wandering in and shuffling around to different seats]
I believe AMC has just received our last ticket dollars ever.
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Lyle Romer
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1400
From: Davie, FL, USA
Registered: May 2002
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posted 03-28-2018 08:17 AM
I guess this is some kind of thing for autistic people. This is from AMC's website:
quote:
AMC is proud to partner with the Autism Society to offer unique movie showings where we turn the lights up, and turn the sound down, so you can get up, dance, walk, shout or sing! Our Sensory Friendly Film program is available on the second and fourth Saturday (family-friendly) and Tuesday evenings (mature audiences) of every month. Please check your local theatre listings for specific showtimes, and don't forget to share your family fun with #AMCSensoryFriendly.
There can't possibly be enough people that would buy a ticket specifically for this type of show to offset the revenue and customers lost from these showings. I don't understand why an autistic person would want to pay for this let alone anybody else.
Not meaning to come of like a jerk but if you or a friend/child/relative has autism that doesn't allow them to enjoy a standard movie theatre experience, then don't go to a movie theatre.
Accommodations for disabled people and people with hearing or vision problems (although the solution for the latter is more like an audio book than a movie) can be made without adversely effecting other people. Unfortunately for people with autism (which from the latest statistics seems to be 135% of the population), this type of accommodation adversely effects everybody else.
If AMC is going to have shows like this, they need to be VERY clear before you buy the ticket. Not just have some little logo or small print on the show time listing that nobody understands.
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 03-28-2018 11:45 AM
quote: AMC Sensory Friendly sales pitch
AMC is proud to partner with the Autism Society to offer unique movie showings where we turn the lights up, and turn the sound down, so you can get up, dance, walk, shout or sing!
Yeah. I can just see how this sort of thing could creep into many other feature screenings.
Sound turned down lower? Check. That's a common feature in many theaters already. The volume is up just enough to let you know you're not at home, but the sub-bass response and overall dynamics is still limp and wimpy enough to remind one of TV set speakers. But maybe that's a new thing to please these younger whipper snappers into little sound bars, pill-shaped bluetooth speakers and ear buds for their smart phones.
Lights turned up? Check. I've already seen that a few times where the automation wasn't set correctly. Why even bother with the automation? That's just something extra leg work that costs us on labor! Let's just leave the house lights on all the time! We might even save on insurance costs since people can see the aisle stairs better!
Audience members getting up, talking, walking, shouting or even singing? Well, why not? Can't be any worse than audience members compulsively playing with their phones, kicking seat backs and being messy with their food and drinks. Let's remove all those burdens that come with being considerate of others an proving one has a functional brain. Hell, making a trip to restroom is a big problem. The customer will miss some of the show. But now we have new policy at Ronco Cinemas: customers can piss and shit on themselves without leaving their seats! Diaper is optional, but much appreciated!
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 03-30-2018 08:26 AM
The root cause of the problem here appears to be the nature of this screening was not properly and clearly explained to the customer during the online booking process.
One theatre I worked at in England in the 1990s did a low volume, and played on 01/mono (because there were complaints that the surround sound scared people) show of whatever was the blockbuster of the week at 1pm on Wednesdays, specifically for seniors (or OAPs, as they're known in Britain). If anyone who was clearly below the target age group tried to buy a ticket, this was explained to them, and as a result, there were almost no complaints.
The major accessibility issue locally to me now is Spanish language screenings. For a typical blockbuster, my local 14-plex will usually have two or three screens playing the original version, and one playing the Spanish dub. Sometimes all the English houses sell out, leading to complaints when only the Spanish show has open seats. Apparently they used to play subtitles, but a lot of the Spanish speakers complained that they had a hard time reading them, hence switching to one screen playing the dub. This issue boils down to straight math, I guess: if they sell more seats for the Spanish version than they have to turn customers away who want to see the English one, it makes sense to do it.
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Justin Hamaker
Film God
Posts: 2253
From: Lakeport, CA USA
Registered: Jan 2004
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posted 03-30-2018 06:34 PM
My company does sensory friendly showings the second Saturday of most new animated movies. The number of people we get varies by the movie, but those small number of people who attend are always extremely grateful.
Families who have a child - or even an adult - on the Autism spectrum often do not get a chance to go to the movies. The reason is their ASD person often engages in behaviors which might be disruptive to a more general audience. These include scripting - which mean reciting movie dialog or facts about some aspect of the movie. Stimming - which is often repetitive motions such as rocking in their seat, flapping their arms, or other similar motions. Sometime ASD people even need to be standing and moving around. These behaviors are part of how some people on the ASD spectrum process information. It's kind of like the mindless tapping of a pen, tapping a foot, or other similar things many of us do without even realizing.
Another common trait among people on the spectrum is they can be sensitive to extreme sensory experience. This includes the loud volume in am movie theatre, the large crowds, the lights being too dim, and more.
The purpose of providing sensory sensitive shows is to give these families an opportunity to see movies in an environment where they feel safe and comfortable.
Although we have had a small handful of customers make a stink about one of these shows, they are usually very accepting and understanding once the purpose is explained. However, if you get a low level employee who doesn't understand the purpose these shows serve, they can really create a negative perception.
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