Reason #624 for Not Going to the Movies: Focus!
Let me just say right up front to whoever’s doing the projecting at the Pioneer Place 6: it’s really not difficult to focus a movie. There’s a knob on the side of the projector and it twists, just like on a pair of binoculars, and then the picture on the screen either gets sharper or less sharp. And once you hit the button to start the damn thing, all you have to do is wait till the first “this movie has been rated ____” green screen to come on to make sure the letters are sharp and then you can walk away.
I hate to be pedantic about this, but when you go to a movie and you ask the usher to check on the focus and then you see another customer run in and out of the theater to presumably ask about the focus (too short a trip for snacks or the bathroom) and nothing happens, you’d think you were asking someone to climb freakin’ Everest or something.
There’s been tons of debate for years now about going to the movies vs. staying home, and both the studios and the theaters are attempting to find ways to cut costs (check out the Broadway Metroplex downtown– they just enacted a $6 all shows price — and the newly opened Living Room Theaters have already dropped their initial $15 price twice in the last few months) and keep up their profit margin. Well, as far as I’m concerned, the very first thing you can do is project the feature correctly. I don’t even care about the ticket cost, really, as long as the movie is in focus, the sound is good, and it starts more or less on time.
Now, I didn’t walk out in protest or demand my money back as some people might argue that I should’ve, so I’m still culpable in the situation; the picture was mostly focused and really, last night was the only time this week I could fit going to a movie into my schedule, so it wasn’t like I was going to miss the opportunity. It’s just more the idea that the theater doesn’t even consider the experience or the customer’s satisfaction in the equation that gets to me — as long as you buy the ticket and maybe some popcorn (well, really, all they care about is the popcorn for their bottom line). And I know I’ll think long and hard about going back to that theater any time in the near future, though I’m happy to report that I’ve been back to the Fox Tower 10 a few times in the last couple months and all was well there.
Related posts:
Keeping movies out of focus is a financial decision for theater chains…projector bulbs are extremely expensive, and to keep proper focus, you need a full-time projectionist making sure that the bulb and the film don’t come in contact.
Here’s a more complete explanation:
http://www.slate.com/id/2133612/
Excerpt:
Not uncommonly, theater owners delay changing projector bulbs even if they do not produce the specified level of brightness on screen. Or, rather than using a separate projectionist for each film, multiplexes use one projectionist to service up to eight movies, an economy of scale that saves seven salaries. While these projectionists are able to change reels for one film while other movies go unattended, this practice runs the risk that the other films might momentarily snag in the projector and get burnt by the lamp. To prevent such costly mishaps, projectionists slightly expand the gap between the gate that supports the film and the lamp, even though this puts a film slightly out of focus. This is often considered an acceptable trade-off to the financially pressed chains. “I’ve never heard a teenager complain about PQ [picture quality],” one movie chain executive said. “If they find it too dark, they still have the concession stand.”
Movies are better than ever!
well, A, I agree, it’s a financial decision to not get new bulbs and to then risk customers not coming back.
but B, I worked at a theater (with 10 screens and a single projectionist most nights) for a number of years as a projectionist and hardly ever (if ever) had to change a bulb and never had a film melt or touch a bulb. focus was checked when the film started and then we knew that it was good to go. as long as a film is threaded right, it’ll stay in focus (as the gate doesn’t move) and not touch the bulb.
Geez… in the “big chains” I wasn’t aware that actual film still existed! I thought by now everything had become digital.
now, that’s really where the $$$$ consideration comes in, going digital. most theater chains say it’s too expensive, though a number of Regal theaters are going all-digital this year, probably some in Portland as well.
Regal Theaters are notorious for poor presentations. That probably won’t change anytime soon, but it definitely won’t unless customers let them know. Just pick up one of those comment cards in the lobby, politely fill it out, and a few weeks later you get some free passes in the mail.
I’d like to point out that there are two THX certified theaters in the area:
Century 16 at Eastport, and Century Cedar Hills Crossing at Beaverton Mall. (There’s also one in Cornelius if you’re out that far…)
It’s more to go there, yeah. but NO commercials (you see ads but not off the television), great sound, and bulk bins of candy.
Just a suggestion. I don’t ever go to Regal anymore (I heard they were too cheap to stay THX certified and that’s why they aren’t anymore)
It’s not so much Regal that makes me angry, it’s the fact that Century Theaters sold out to Cinemark. Now you have to sit through more commercials than Regal ever shows. Century used to make it a point to let folks know you would “never” be watching commercials before a movie. I guess not now.
There’s been massive debate about seeing movies at home versus in the theaters? Who knew? From talking to my friends, it feels like this issue has been firmly settled, and movie theaters are going the way of the passenger pigeon.
Hmm, let’s see, I can go out to a theater and deal with commercials before the movie, late start times, sticky theater floors, noisy movie watchers, crying babies in an R movie, poor focus and concession prices that require financing for a box of milk duds. Or I can rent the DVD and watch it at home, pausing when I want to hit the bathroom, watching the extra content, enjoying a drink and snacks from the kitchen upstairs. Oh yeah, and the DVD rental is cheaper. Hell, at most theaters, buying the DVD is cheaper than a pair of tickets.
To me, it doesn’t even feel like a contest.
i don’t know, there’s still something to be said for going to a movie and seeing it on a huge screen (when presented right) and with a (not often, granted) appreciative audience.
That’s kinda how I rank movies - those that need to be seen (and heard) on big screen, those that can wait for beer theater, and those that can wait for the DVD.
But that’s why I’m with BLF - we try to go to Century 16 out on Division or bite the bullet and pay for Cinetopia when we go to first run movies - ’cause it’s a big action flick or something with beautiful visuals and I want it to look and sound good.
We got a moderately sized plasma HDTV, it’s plenty big enough to make almost any movie look good, plus the quality of the picture is better than you get in a theatre.
There are very few things I will go see at a theatre now, and even fewer that I will pay full price for.