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If that 2-D movie looks really dark in the theater, here's why....

2

23skidoo

Admiral
Admiral
As if lovers of 2-D film needed another reason to hate 3-D, comes this story in the Boston Globe from back in May 2011 (but it deserves widespread attention).

Reportedly a number of theaters that have had 3-D projectors installed are not properly swapping out the lenses when using the machines for 2-D films. The result being s*itty picture quality.

http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/art...lens_leaves_2_d_movies_in_the_dark/?page=full

Before this turns into an excuse for 3-D apologists to get all high and mighty, it should be noted that the article cites numerous examples of non-3-D films (as in films never intended to be shown in 3-D) being affected, including The Hangover and even Jane Eyre. It's not just a case of a theatre being snarky because you've decided to see the 2-D version of Deathly Hallows instead of paying extra for the 3-D version. It means you could be heading in to see, say, Ewen McGregor's new film, Beginners (about a man and his dying father - not exactly 3-D material), and be screwed over.

The move to 3-D has actually prevented me from going to the movies much this past year, so I honestly haven't seen any indication of this happening myself. Maybe someone in Boston can chime in if this has been their experience?

The most handy bit of information in the article, one I'll remember when I go to see the 2-D version of Deathly Hallows this weekend, is that if the picture looks dark, look back and see how many light streams are coming out of the booth. If you see 2, then they've left the 3-D lens in. Good luck getting a refund but maybe if enough people raise a stink theatre owners will smarten up. I'd also contact the studios of any non-3-D film and let them know. Warners won't be sympathetic if you bitch about Harry Potter, but they might be if you let them know their future Best Picture nominee chick flick is being ruined.

Alex

PS. I put this in the SF/F forum because 3-D films are primarily of that genre. If a mod feels this is more appropriate for TV & Media, I've no objection to it being moved.
 
Are you blaming 3-D films for negligence on the part of the people who operate the projection equipment?
 
So if the movie theater operators did their job, this wouldn't be a problem? I don't see the big deal here.
 
23skidoo said:
Before this turns into an excuse for 3-D apologists to get all high and mighty...
Click to expand...

Isn't that exactly what you're doing though? Using any excuse launch into a tirade on 3-D even though the filming technique has nothing to do with this problem?

I think the latest 3-D fad has been overdone - mostly by studios doing a shoddy job with 2-D to 3-D conversions in an attempt to capitalize on the trend and squeeze more money out of audiences - which does a disservice to those who actually work hard to put out quality 3-D films that were intended to be that way from the start. But that doesn't invalidate 3-D filming in its entirety, just those who do it poorly.

Likewise, this is a problem of complexity of the projection system and security concerns making it costly to switch out the lenses, so theater chains are trying to save a buck at the expense of the quality of the experience, which will only hurt them in the long run and cost them more money if films become too dark to even tell what's going on.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if this was the problem when I saw the movie Pandorum a couple years ago. The setting itself was dark, but the presentation was so relentlessly dark I had absolutely no idea what was going on most of the time. At the time, I just thought the director got carried away trying to set the mood (and that may very well still be the case). I think it was after the theater got new digital projectors. But that's just a guess on my part.
 
Ford sold me a motorcar and I was out driving it one night with the headlights off and I crashed into a wall.

Before this turns into an excuse for ford apologists to get all high and mighty, I should point out that other cars have headlights.
 
Yeah, it's worth noting that a lot of theaters don't employ full-time people to handle the projectionist's duties in all the auditoriums. You can't blame non-existent staff for the problem; blame the theater owners.

If "lovers of 2D film" - as distinct, presumably, from people who just like to go to the movies - don't like 3D films well...good for them. That said, I'm afraid those of us who enjoy 3D movies aren't going to get out of their way.
 
Dennis said:
Yeah, it's worth noting that a lot of theaters don't employ full-time people to handle the projectionist's duties in all the auditoriums. You can't blame non-existent staff for the problem; blame the theater owners.
Click to expand...

Good point. Now that no one's having to change reels, I imagine there isn't much to a projectionist's job anymore besides popping in a DVD and hitting "play." Don't need full-time (or particularly bright) staff for that.
 
Robert Maxwell said:
Dennis said:
Yeah, it's worth noting that a lot of theaters don't employ full-time people to handle the projectionist's duties in all the auditoriums. You can't blame non-existent staff for the problem; blame the theater owners.
Click to expand...

Good point. Now that no one's having to change reels, I imagine there isn't much to a projectionist's job anymore besides popping in a DVD and hitting "play." Don't need full-time (or particularly bright) staff for that.
Click to expand...

So they think, but digital projectors break down more frequently than film projectors do. So there is more problems, but the thing is they're digital so the software is all set for everything from the film starting to the lights going down. Seems simpler and means they can cut down on staff, but it doesn't make for a good film going experience.
 
Robert Maxwell said:
Good point. Now that no one's having to change reels, I imagine there isn't much to a projectionist's job anymore besides popping in a DVD and hitting "play." Don't need full-time (or particularly bright) staff for that.
Click to expand...

Are you saying that the current batch of projectionists are dim? No wonder movies look really dark nowadays .... :p
 
The problem with understaffing goes back much further than digital projectors, though that's encouraged the trend. Part of the way multiplexes seem to work has been an increasing level of automation over the last several decades so that a few people can handle multiple auditoriums all day. I've had bad experiences in multiplexes going back at least to the early 1990s when something would go wrong with a movie - for example, a premiere night exhibition of Batman Returns where the sound was nearly inaudible throughout the preview trailers and the first twenty minutes of the film that required several of us roaming the corridors interrogating the kids tearing tickets and concession stand employees looking for someone who had access to the projection room and knew what to do about it. Seriously.
 
JoeZhang said:
Ford sold me a motorcar and I was out driving it one night with the headlights off and I crashed into a wall.

Before this turns into an excuse for ford apologists to get all high and mighty, I should point out that other cars have headlights.
Click to expand...
:guffaw::rofl:
 
Dennis said:
The problem with understaffing goes back much further than digital projectors, though that's encouraged the trend. Part of the way multiplexes seem to work has been an increasing level of automation over the last several decades so that a few people can handle multiple auditoriums all day. I've had bad experiences in multiplexes going back at least to the early 1990s when something would go wrong with a movie - for example, a premiere night exhibition of Batman Returns where the sound was nearly inaudible throughout the preview trailers and the first twenty minutes of the film that required several of us roaming the corridors interrogating the kids tearing tickets and concession stand employees looking for someone who had access to the projection room and knew what to do about it. Seriously.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I went to a theater several years ago that was playing a movie in film. It got jammed and the light burned through the film. Everyone sat there for several minutes, wondering why no one up above had noticed the white screen. :lol: There was no one in the projection room, of course. Walked out of that one and got a refund.
 
I've definitely noticed this dark and gloomy picture on some of the movies I've been to recently. I thought I was just imagining it, but apparently not.
 
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