Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

24 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, December 31, 1949 Theatre Management Guide to Modern Methods in the Administrative and Executive Phases of Theatre Operation FOR BRIGHTER SHOWS Pointers on Projection tm4 Sound Getfthe Most from Every Day in 1950 This is New Year's Eve ! With the close of this day the bells will start ringing and the whistles blowing to announce Mr. World's change of address to 1950 Opportunity Road. The old place at 1949 is such a shambles that salvage of anything other than experience scars and mistake blisters is impossible. There are a whole lot of folks hanging around trying to retrieve unused clock ticks, wasted endeavors and overlooked or disregarded advantages, but the caretaker, Old Man Minutes, is boarding the place up tight and loudly proclaiming to the surging, disgruntled hoards : "Time and tide wait for no man." A preview of the new establishment — free and unobstructed to any and all possessing "vision glasses" — reveals a scintillating structure of unequaled promise. Even the short-sighted and blinder-burdened must be impressed with the brilliance of the mountain-high sign reading. "TIME, 1950." Then, in smaller letters but still visible to the most distant observer, "Catering to the desires and endeavors of man." An immense arrow points to "You think and fabricate," and a similar formation at the right reads, "We supply the essential element." Past records of the age-old concern indicate that the company has never failed to live up to the letter of its advertising and that the only dissatisfied customers throughout the years are those who failed in planning properly or using intelligently, efficiently and effectively the elements the outfit places at their disposal. Shiniest and Most Auspicious Harvest of Hours The caretaker, who is also superintendent and general manager, Old Man Minutes, says that the 1950 crop is the shiniest and most auspicious harvest of hours in TIME's ageless history. A peak through the crystal-clear windows reveals shelf upon shelf, from floor to ceiling, stacked with glimmering, glittering packages of hours. Old Man Minutes explains that "for the convenience of patrons we've bundled 'em into packages. Each package contains 24 full 60minute hours that are fairly bursting with opportunity vitamins. We label 'em days. All our customers have to do is plan and work each day to release a force for success that excels and exceeds the vaunted power of the atom." He meditated a few moments and then went on : "You'd be surprised how discouraging this business is at times. You know, we operate nn the longest credit terms known to man. Of course, the price is high, since the customer pays with his life for our merchandise. But, by and all, the long credit terms seem to nullify any and all consideration of the high cost, and the way some fellows scatter our precious wares to the four winds is a caution. This is particularly true of the youngsters who, with proffligate abandon, toss one golden hour after another into the gutters and cesspools of wanton idleness and thoughtless or wasteful endeavor." Leaning exhaustedly on his sheepherder's staff, he paused to take a few deep breaths before going on : "Then, just before we close up on December 31 every year — that's when my new assistant always reports to 'tend things in the new place — you find them scatting and skitting like that crowd tonight. Trying to get back what they threw away and yelling for "another chance." Oh, yes, there's old folks too in that crowd but most of the oldsters have learned their lesson. You don't find the older folks running in grabbing at random as many days as they can load into the back of their jalopy and scootin' off to throw them into some hog wallow. But you'd be surprised how few of the older people use the proper discretion in picking their days. Some run in and grab a handful from the November shelf and try to make 'em work effectively in May, and vice-versa. Of course, sometimes they happen to work out swell, but most often those days mature best in calendar order, and those who use them out of sequence usually find out when the proper time comes 'round — and when it's too late — how much more effective they'd be in their right place. They wail like hungry coyotes 'long about mid-June when they come in for July 4 and it's not on the shelf. Then we have to go to the books and show them where they used all the July element back in March or April. The same goes for other holidays, and the number of overlooked and uncalled-for days th u have to be thrown away at year's end (Continued on Page 28) * This series copyrighted and must not be reproduced in part or whole without written permission from Showmen's Trade Review, Inc. Shows will be brighter than ever as a result of new projection equipment items already on the market or promised for the very near future. The largest theatres, indoor or outdoor, will be able to get enough light for their vast screens without risk of buckling film and without increased cost for electricity. Smaller theatres can use the same developments to enable them to light their auditoriums more brightly in the interest of safety. Managers, theatre owners and projectionists will want to watch these new developments closely, since it is a reasonably safe prediction that within not more than a year or two the currently accepted level of screen illumination will be generally regarded as too dim, and obsolete. Since everything mechanical and electrical is subject to some deterioration with use and time, almost all projection room equipment needs occasional overhaul, tightening up and general adjustment. Some of this work can be done during show time, but a good deal of it cannot be carried out satisfactorily, or tested satisfactorily, except when no audience is present. Every projectionist should be prepared to have :o_ do some work out of show hours now and then, and every theatre budget should allow for such work as a matter of course. A cheap and tinny little radio may give the impression of putting out satisfactory sound until it is played side by side with a good one. Then the contrast no>t only shows up the inadequacy of the little set but makes it seem even worse than it really is. Some theatres that have good sound apparatus put in cheap and tinny p.a. equipment — speakers especially. It is poor policy; the contrast emphasizes the imperfect quality of such p.a. sound. Some items of projection room equipment — the lamphouse most of all — seem to be growing steadily larger in size from year to year. Television may come to the theatre any time now. Television in the home seems to have promoted an increasing tendency toward returning live entertainment to the theatre, with resultant need for spotlight equipment. In planning any new theatre, the projection room dimensions of yesteryear should be generously exceeded, to make sure that space will be available in the future for larger apparatus items and a larger number of them. The Society of Motion Picture Engineers is currently revising its "Projection Room Plans" for the same reasons. If a print arrives from the exchange with a break in the reel, or with a fault in the film that will cause it to break in the projector, no vigilance on the part of the projectionist can prevent an interruption to the show unless he is allowed time enough to inspect each reel very thoroughly before running it. If management will not allow the projectionist that time, it is beyond his power to guarantee continuous entertainment.