The Great Big UGC & Cinema Thread

[funkyukgal]

Miss Congeniality 1 is really funny. I love it, its one of my favourite films

 

looking forward to Guess Who? and Star Wars 3

[Grissom]

I see that the UGC is on the list to get a digital projector

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/4583933.stm

 

any idea when you'll be getting it ?

[AndyC123]

Originally posted by rtapper

I see that the UGC is on the list to get a digital projector

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/4583933.stm

 

any idea when you'll be getting it ?

 

if you wade back through this thread, I said a couple of months ago that we are having 2 but apparently no idea when as we dont know what the timescale is like on these orders (or that was the last I heard anyway)

 

Would have been nice to watch Star Wars in Screen 7 with it though

[Grissom]

Yeah i know - but the site i went to suggests you may only be getting one, and no mention when u get the projector - hence the questions. U better repeat star wars when you get one !

[Guderian]

Years ago I went to see Hannibal at the UGC. Everything was fine, until the climax of the film. Lector had been handcuffed by Jody Foster, and the audience waited with baited breath......

 

Then, the projector failed. The screen went black for about 2 mins. All of a sudden it came back on, but the credits were rolling! I found it hilarious.

 

This was Screen 7 (Full Monty Screen), and it was packed. After some confusion, everybody piled out intothe foyer to take on the poor manager on duty at the time. He claimed it wasnt as simple as just rewinding it. When asked what he was going to do, he actually, now get this, attempted to TELL THE CROWD HOW THE FILM ENDED!!

 

He was shouted down with rage. It ended with him offering free entry for everyone next time on production of their stubs.

 

And me? Oh, the next day I phoned the Mirror, Sun and Star, and it ended up on Page 3 of the Daily Star, humiliating UGC in the process. And it felt good!!

[troyhark]

Rather foolishly I have just waded through the entire post. Eyes are feeling a bit frazzled now. The reason I found out about this post was the UGC Uber Manager mentioned to me a few weeks ago that UGC had been getting some bad press online. Quell surprise. Although it's one of the best designed cinemas in the country [bar the lack of masking on the screens which looks really amateurish and which UGC won't stump up for] - this info was directly from the head projectionist, it is woefully understaffed when it comes to projectionists. 20 Screens, 2 staff! Virgin designed the cinema BTW and not UGC who simply bought cinema several years later.

The reason I know the manager. It's because I've complained a lot, far more than needed and contrary to one moronic assertion it's not because I like complaining [i really, really hate it], it's because I love film and the cinema and I'm not stupid enough to watch films when they are out of rack, out of focus, off the screen as I hate that even more. I should point out that I actually know what I'm talking about when I complain unlike some of the staff, who display an amazing lack of knowledge about cinema technical issues. I studied optics at both school and university, I have experience of projection, filmmaking and producing images, that are in focus, is something I am paid for.

One UGC lickspittle mentioned a customer who called the staff 'incompitent'. Embarrassing word to misspell, I actually called them incompetent, definition: bungling, showing lack of skill or aptitude. A projectionist who repeatedly fails to do his job correctly cannot said to be competent. If this UGC Muppet employed a hangman whose victims survived, he'd say the baying mob were all scum and didn't really know what death actually was. It was so bad at one stage, I used to complain before I went in so I wouldn't miss the film. And yes focus was always out when I did that and sometimes focus was corrected b4 film started, but not always. Many times when I pulled them up on focus issues the projectionist actually made it worse or simply did nothing, so I had to complain again. Missing yet more of the film. My girlfriend has complained of feeling sick and headachy after staff failed to sort projection issues on several occasions. I walked out of one film after the projectionist corrected the focus so badly I felt like I had a migraine. And the only reason I kept coming back was because I've got an Unlimited card bought when the projection was fine, but I've steadily been going less and less. Other cinemas have problems too and it costs you even more to go. I go to the cinema to relax and unwind, so it annoys me that I have to complain so much. It also bugs me that so few others will, so I'm the one who has to. Take a full cinema and the film so far out of rack that you can see half the frame below and they all just sit there like that's the way it was shot, duh!

I have to say the posting on this forum from the UGC staff reflect the service at the cinema, a mixture of exceptionally helpful advice and offensive, patronising nonsense.

E.g. My girlfriend went in before me to see one film and just as I reached the door she came back out and said the film is on the ceiling. I went in and sure enough it was literally on the ceiling with a big gap at bottom of screen where it should be. When this was pointed out, the very petite female duty manager was extremely curt and offhand with me, as if it was my fault the image was splayed over ceiling, no apologies or anything. Made a change as she is normally just patronising. When I walked out of a film after the bungling projectionist's refocus attempts, I said to her that I was thinking of not renewing my unlimited card, she said and I quote 'Don't bother then.' I think she may have been the manger who came up with the daftest excuse ever 'Our projectionists are taught in the art of soft projection'. What impressed me was the straight face kept whilst telling that particular porkpie.

However, if Paul Plant is on duty and there's a projection issue it gets sorted very quickly and efficiently and with him it is most certainly not the customer's fault.

I will say that projection standards have risen dramatically of late. I asked if there was new staff there was such a sudden difference. After complaints in this forum, there was some reshuffling of projectionists and I was told by the Uber manager that the new blood, so to speak, care more about what they do. Maybe the chap Paul Plant referenced is no longer there. Saw 'Downfall' the other day and subtitles were off bottom of screen, but without anyone complaining it was corrected, shouldn't have happening in first place but a definite improvement. Focusing is pretty spot on too.

[DanSumption]

Thanks for the post, troyhark, and for reassuring me that I'm not developing some kind of chronic eye problem. I posted here a while ago about the severe focus problems on Robots. Well, a few weeks later I took my daughter to see another film that was in one of the second-floor screens (I think it was the Winnie the Pooh thing). Exactly the same problem, not quite as bad as with Robots, but distinctly noticeable from the ads before the start right through to the end credits. Again I didn't complain, mainly because I didn't want to drag my daughter out halfway through the film but also because it was a Winnie the Pooh film and I really wasn't all that bothered whether or not it looked great, and because I'm not by my nature one of life's great complainers (in person, at least; obviously online I'll kick up all kinds of fuss ).

 

I wonder whether the improvement you mention has come since then? (I think that was about 2 months ago). Your idea of complaining before you go in to see the movie sounds like a great idea, and I might have to try it out next time I visit UGC, so as not to spoil my "viewing experience".

[troyhark]

Robots was very poorly focused when I saw it too. And on an animation feature, it's most definitely the projectionist at fault as there is no focus puller with a wonky measuring tape trying to keep focus during a complex steadycam shot.

In animation everything is by default in focus apart from when try to emulate film and deliberately put the background out of focus, which usually I think looks really awful in this context Partly because they forget to add 'noise' to the out of focus area and partly because you know its 'drawn' and should be in focus which is why it doesn't quite work - to my mind anyway.

 

Before every film should be some focus test footage. The old style film certifcate cards were quite handy for that, good projectionists would use them to get film pin sharp. The relatively new ones are useless in that respect. Which I think was part of the problem.

[chill]

Thanks for the post troyhark, I didn't fancy trawling through 18 pages and I think you've summarised it all quite nicely.

I'll just add my name to the list that is sick of crap projection at the UGC. I've seen enough problems there to understand that it is probably a lack of staff and training that are the main causes of problems. I too have sat in dismay as a film starts with no sound, or the projector is pointing at the ceiling, or the wrong lens on the projector, or it's out of focus, it's not masked properly, or the subtitles are cut off the bottom of the screen, or there's an annoying humming sound from some of the speakers.

Those problems point not simply to poor quality control, they point to a total lack of any quality control whatsoever. If a film is pointing at the ceiling and you have to go and tell the staff yourself to get it corrected, it is pretty clear that there is nobody actually watching the film as it starts to make sure it's OK, in focus etc. That's just inexcusable and the UGC really do show themselves to be extremely poor.

The really frustrating thing is that they inherited a fantastic cinema complex - huge screen - steeply slopped seating - comfortable seats, but due to the fact that they don't care about the quality of the service they provide, it is 50-50 at best as to whether you'll have a good time when you go there.

[chill]

.....double post......