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Author Topic: Projection in Japan. Jon Miller Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 973 From: San Diego, CA, USA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 01-27-2005 07:19 PM                     quote: This is the Vic 5 installed in the Saturn Theater, the Ghibli Museum's screening room: A Peerless Magnarc knockoff? How popular in Asia were those "Super Master Light" lamphouses?  |  IP: Logged Don Sneed Master Film Handler Posts: 451 From: Texas City, TX, USA Registered: Aug 2001 posted 01-30-2005 03:14 AM                        I have install 14 theatres in Japan for SMT & Virgin Cinemas...complex screen # 9-14 screens...(7) Christie, (7) Strong equipment...haven't seen many Japanese equipment..there is two Japanese companies doing service & installs..Xebex & Toshiba-Denko...Xebex only will service & install Christie, refuse to service Strong...Toshiba will service & install only Strong equipment...the company I work for will service & install any equipment the cuistomer wants....Xebex is good on projectors but sucks on sound...Toshiba is great with sound but sucks on projectors...both companies cannot do both very well...that is why we are going back to Japan starting in March, the Japanese theatres now wants us back to do both....as far as sound equipment...they use mostly use Dolby CP-500 & CP-650, DTS-6D, QSC & Crown Amps, JBL speakers...I have installed about 40 Dolby SA-10 all over Japan...automations...CA-21, Strong CNA-100, CNA-150, Christie 3Q, Hi-Tech....I can say proudly...we have install the largest screen theatre for 35mm in Japan....Xebex is saying they did, but the truth is they installed the second largest, the one we did was 3 meters larger....being a projectionist in Japan is nothing like being a projectionist in the states...I once held a movie from starting due to a Lamp problem, we hit the screen 3-minutes late, & all hell broke loose for that...the theatre actually gave back money due to this & allow the customers to watch the show anyway...time & presentation is very important to the Japanese...I almost cancel the showing...good thing I didn't I might been in jail for that...they have some of the best film presentation I ever seen in my 35 years in theatre tech. business....it is a pleasure to work there & be part of it all...you have to be beyond professional...no mistake in install & projection....one time the projection staff ran a movie in Analog instead of DTS digital, they found out doing the credits that they forgot to install the DTS disk...so all the projection staff had to bow & apologize to eack of the 400 customers & hand them them a pass to return....lets see that happen in the states...NOT going to happen!!! One final note...if the theatre is a 14 screens, there is 7-projectionist on duty at anytime, a 10-screen theatre will have a projection staff of 5 at any given time...but this equipment is so clean you can eat off of it...I once had a theatre there that had a slight oil leak on a Strong proj. I told them not to clean so I can find the leak...needless to say they would not allow this to happen, I never could find the leak due to they kept the machine too clean...  |  IP: Logged Carl Martin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1424 From: Oakland, CA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-31-2005 03:43 AM                        don, that's amazing. what do you suppose accounts for such conscienciousness in presentation in japan? aren't the exhibitors aware of how much yen they can save by cutting corners in staffing and training? 1 operator for every 2 screens? is that true throughout japan or just in the big cities? do the japanese use filmguard? carl  |  IP: Logged Liam Utley Film Handler Posts: 42 From: Australia Registered: Oct 2003 posted 01-31-2005 04:31 AM                    Someone should email Tokiwa and tell them that its spelt "seat", not "sheet". I'd do it but my Japanese aint up to scratch. The TSR projector looks like they had the plans for a Vic5 with a cat 700 soundhead and were holding the plans upside down when they built it.(Check the image in the 'Down Load' (sic) section... I was hoping it would be a manual.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 01-31-2005 05:30 AM                        quote: Carl Martin don, that's amazing. what do you suppose accounts for such conscienciousness in presentation in japan? That was also my impression when I was in Japan. The reasons for this are very simple: Japan is a country with a very deep-rooted conviction about doing things properly, neatly, not just somehow and trying to get away with it. You can not go to a restaurant and get bad service. If a product is faulty or a service less than perfect, there is absolutely no discussion about it. People go to work and it is understood that they actually do their work, not just somehow fart around until the day is over. Unlike other places where it's cool to cheat your way through, they simply take pride in doing things well, that's it.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-31-2005 07:28 AM                     quote: Carl Martin what do you suppose accounts for such conscienciousness in presentation in japan? Michael almost hit the nail on the head...... Having worked for two Japaneese companies in the past, Panasonic, Canon, its really very simple..... It is the way it is over there because the people over there still believe in honor and they have a conscience that is based on honor. First, honor to your family, and secondly to your employer. Two things most of the rest of the world seems to have lost. Both of them are reflected in their daily work ethic. This is one reason that Christie has a level of quality control that you just don't get in any other U.S. manufacturer... they are wholly owned by a large Japaneese Company, Ushio and some of that system has transfered over to the U.S. operation. Both Panasonic and Canon also ran their companies based on honor, performance, and maintining quality work and by the way one HAD to work because you were graded every month on your performance and had to maintain at least a certain average to keep your job!! It also helped to detrmine how much your salary increase was. Lets see an Anerican company try to do this... Good luck! Mark  |  IP: Logged David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 01-31-2005 12:40 PM                        What are ticket prices like in Japan? How much do they pay their projectionists?  |  IP: Logged Paul Mayer Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under! Posts: 3836 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Feb 2000 posted 01-31-2005 01:50 PM                        Typical first-run ticket prices in the Tokyo area are around 1800 yen for adults, about $18 USD, all the way up to about 3000 yen for select screens. There are discounts such as for students and kids and shows that start after 9pm, typically around 1200 yen. Don't know what operator pay rates are like. Pay rates in general are high compared to here, but then again their cost of living is high compared to here. Also the differences in pay from the lowest to the highest jobs are much less than here. Sure wish I could figure out a way to get over there for a long-term stay though. A screening room gig at Studio Ghibli would be a dream come true for me, even if it didn't pay very well. I can always teach "Engrish" on the side.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 01-31-2005 02:25 PM                     quote: Lets see an American company try to do this... Good luck! ...like the automobile wars of the late 70's and early 80's - US couldn't build cars worth crap, while the Japanese were "bombing" the US plants with their well-built cars - the second "Pearl Harbor" invasion. (and the "war" is somewhat still with us today..lol..US autobuilders still haven't got it together, but still trying). -Monte  |  IP: Logged Don Sneed Master Film Handler Posts: 451 From: Texas City, TX, USA Registered: Aug 2001 posted 01-31-2005 04:15 PM                        You guys said it all, hit the nail on the head....I forgot to tell you about the meeting everyday before going to work...my first two days in Japan, I spend 8-10 hours in meetings going over things & do it again the nest day talking about the same thing we discuss yesterday....but I tell you, it is a pleasure to work with the Japanese...they are highly professional, & expect you to be the same...once you understand their ways of doing things, (which takes awhile to learn) it a pleasure working with them....yes ticket prices starts at $18.00 to $30.00, with assign seating...each ticket has a seat # on it & that is you seat...not like USA where you choose your seat..  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-31-2005 07:16 PM                     quote: Monte L Fullmer US autobuilders still haven't got it together, but still trying). Thats funny... U.S. projector manufacturers don't seem to have it together either..... except for one thats Japaneese owned! Mark  |  IP: Logged Duncan Smith Film Handler Posts: 50 From: England Registered: Jan 2003 posted 02-01-2005 06:32 AM                     Hey Paul, you're stealing my dreams!! A little work at Sudio Ghibli running private screenings for Miyazaki-san would be awesome!! I have found some websites in Japan advertising vacancies for WB theatres and others too. It seems the pay is rubbish though!! Around 900 Yen per hour, which aint a lot at all, around £4.85 or $9 per hour, shocking However those of us with Arthouse and archive experience should be able to find more money. One of my freelance projectionists is Japanese but she has never worked as such in Japan, she has offered to find out what she can for me as I REALLY plan to go. I am currently trying to translate web pages to get more info, my Japanese teacher is helping me, thankfully. Love the pic's of the Ghibli proj room too, thanks loads  |  IP: Logged Paul Mayer Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under! Posts: 3836 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Feb 2000 posted 02-01-2005 11:40 AM                        Glad to see that the pix are appreciated, though I made an attribution error. The screening room booth is actually at IMAGICA, the lab that handled Princess Mononoke. The framegrabs are from a six-hour long documentary about the production of that film ("Mononoke Hime" wa Koushite Umareta or How Princess Mononoke was Born). It's available on R2 NTSC DVD. No subtitles though--great practice for Japanese listening and reading comprehension. The ones of the museum booth are from a 20-minute documentary about the construction of the museum (on the R2 NTSC DVD of Miyazaki's signature film My Neighbor Totoro). The men with the platter are Takeshi Naitou, a popular actor who was the voice of Chihiro's father in Spirited Away, and with his back to the camera, the master himself. Again no subtitles. Actually for me, working any job in Japan would be a dream. Working at Studio Ghibli would be a pure fantasy. Good luck on your endeavour Duncan! Gambare--!  |  IP: Logged Duncan Smith Film Handler Posts: 50 From: England Registered: Jan 2003 posted 02-09-2005 05:05 AM                     がんばります　 ありがとうございます　マヤーさん　  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 02-09-2005 10:02 AM                        Tip: when you are in Japan, don't use the "polite forms" in everyday conversation, especially in a relaxed athmosphere like here. Instead of "ganbarimasu", just say "ganbaru" or "ganbatteru". Your text books may say that it is extremely essential to always use the correct forms, especially the polite forms. BS. In reality, people in Japan freak completely out if you can say one half-sentence in broken Japanese, and unless you are the ambassador delivering a formal note to the Emperor, nobody gives a shit about the correct forms. In fact, after getting over the first shock of hearing a foreigner speak in Japanese, many Japanese find it funny that foreigners often speak like reading from a textbook instead of just speaking like they do. Wakatta no?  |  IP: Logged

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