Rybow
Well-known member
Well, I had an interesting night last night. So, I got me one o' them day jobs. I manage a 5 screen cinema here in Vancouver. The company I work for is a small independent company that operates 3 cinemas. The other 2 are single screen cinemas. First run, art house, independent and still on 35mm film (which is good!). Most days I really like my job.
So last night, I'm finishing up the days work, filing the reports, and ordering some pizza for a staff screening of Thor 3D. It's about 11:15pm at this point. Then I get a call from one of our other theatres. They were having a special screening of something called the 24 hour film race. Teams are given an item that they have to incorporate in a short film. Then they have 24 hours to write, shoot, and edit their film. Then they screen them all off a DVD (lame), and people vote. Back to the phone call, it seems that their $20,000+ HD projector had a meltdown 27 minutes into the screening. Not just a simple bulb problem either, as the projector refused to read a replacement bulb. So, I am to expect 300+ people in 15 minutes so they can continue the screening.
I like to have at least an hour to test digital screenings, especially when they are burned off someone's computer (hate this, get it authoured!), plus have a crowd control plan in place. Basically, I like to be prepared. When it's nose to the grindstone, well, I'm an A-hole. "Maybe" turns to "no", "Excuse me" turns to "get outta my way", 5 minutes for picture setup, and no one is allowed into the building until all my movies are over. Sorry, I am not going to have 300+ people milling around my lobby, and 10 minutes is not a long time to wait. Crazy situation, but we pulled it off, and luckily less than 100 people showed up. The remainder wanted refunds, which I thankfully didn't have to deal with. ;D
I felt bad for the organizer. This kind of stuff can just happen. The projector was very nice, bulb had plenty of life, and really, it doesn't get used everyday. No way to prevent what happened. It is every screener's/manager's/projectionists worst nightmare, and there is literally nothing you can do about it.
Soapbox moment. Digital cinema sucks. Even the best 4K cinema projector can't touch good ole' 35. Film projectors are easy to fix. All mechanical. They don't refuse to read bulbs, they don't need software updates, they don't skip, and there is no wrong format. In fact, if you keep them clean, oiled and greased, they run forever. Sadly, even I will be forced to go digital within the next year. Bah!
Anyways, that's my rant. I got to see the first 15 minutes, and the last 30 minutes of Thor. Looks pretty good! If anyone else has a ridiculous day they want to share, feel free to post it! Whew! I feel better.
Just wanted to add that if your in Vancouver, and you want to see a movie, let me know. I'll hook you up.
So last night, I'm finishing up the days work, filing the reports, and ordering some pizza for a staff screening of Thor 3D. It's about 11:15pm at this point. Then I get a call from one of our other theatres. They were having a special screening of something called the 24 hour film race. Teams are given an item that they have to incorporate in a short film. Then they have 24 hours to write, shoot, and edit their film. Then they screen them all off a DVD (lame), and people vote. Back to the phone call, it seems that their $20,000+ HD projector had a meltdown 27 minutes into the screening. Not just a simple bulb problem either, as the projector refused to read a replacement bulb. So, I am to expect 300+ people in 15 minutes so they can continue the screening.
I like to have at least an hour to test digital screenings, especially when they are burned off someone's computer (hate this, get it authoured!), plus have a crowd control plan in place. Basically, I like to be prepared. When it's nose to the grindstone, well, I'm an A-hole. "Maybe" turns to "no", "Excuse me" turns to "get outta my way", 5 minutes for picture setup, and no one is allowed into the building until all my movies are over. Sorry, I am not going to have 300+ people milling around my lobby, and 10 minutes is not a long time to wait. Crazy situation, but we pulled it off, and luckily less than 100 people showed up. The remainder wanted refunds, which I thankfully didn't have to deal with. ;D
I felt bad for the organizer. This kind of stuff can just happen. The projector was very nice, bulb had plenty of life, and really, it doesn't get used everyday. No way to prevent what happened. It is every screener's/manager's/projectionists worst nightmare, and there is literally nothing you can do about it.
Soapbox moment. Digital cinema sucks. Even the best 4K cinema projector can't touch good ole' 35. Film projectors are easy to fix. All mechanical. They don't refuse to read bulbs, they don't need software updates, they don't skip, and there is no wrong format. In fact, if you keep them clean, oiled and greased, they run forever. Sadly, even I will be forced to go digital within the next year. Bah!
Anyways, that's my rant. I got to see the first 15 minutes, and the last 30 minutes of Thor. Looks pretty good! If anyone else has a ridiculous day they want to share, feel free to post it! Whew! I feel better.
Just wanted to add that if your in Vancouver, and you want to see a movie, let me know. I'll hook you up.
