Projection Issues at Medina, Ohio Regal Cinemas

I am a film projectionist.

I would think that this Regal most likely has already converted to
digital cinema, but maybe not.

It is true there are not many projectionists left. Any time the word
projectionist is used, it is frequently a misnomer. A person who runs
projectors is not necessarily a projectionist in the expected sense of
the word.

I can think of one reason (there may be others) why a film print of
Men in Black III would have focus trouble for the first ten minutes.
Unfortunately, that reason is print damage which means, unless they
replace the print, every show utilizing that print will be that way.

"Not quite centered." What do you mean by this? Did the picture appear
to be off center to the left or right? Or was the image actually split
vertically? This can happen with film. We call it "out of frame."

As for the employee yanking the screen into place, that is impossible
in the literal sense. What they may have done was pull a curtain out
of the way. Curtains are used to hide from view any portion of the
screen not being used.

"During the movie." What do you mean? They performed these fixes
during the movie? That's appropriate. They are never going to better
train the staff for projection. As long as the bottom line is
satisfactory and they don't have a horde complaining to them, they
don't care.

are automated, unlike the old days where someone sat in a booth up top
and ran the projector. It's likely no one was even aware there was a
problem.

As others mentioned, you might have gotten a better result actually
flagging down a manager or other staffer so they could take care of
the issue.

God knows movies are too stinking expensive these days to have to
watch them all messed up!

We went to a movie a few months back and it was off center, I went to
complain and we got 2 free tickets and they fixed it in about 3
minutes.

Did you speak to the manager about it then?
I would have to guess many people complained about it. They probably
got the free passes.

I've had two occasions where a movie really messed up like that at a
theatre.


The first time, the movie started shaking and then caught on fire. We
notified them of the problem and they issued us vouchers for free
movies. We did get to finish the one we were watching though.


The second time I've had it happen... the movie didn't even start.
They offered us a refund - OR a free upgrade to the 3D version.




It's always best to ask right away if they don't offer. That way they
know exactly what issues you're talking about and they can try to make
amends.