Lack of presentation in multiplexes (Mick Corfield)
Is part of Mick Corfield Interview (incomplete)
Mick Corfield interviewed by Richard Wallace
Projectionist and BECTU representative Mick Corfield describes the erosion of presentation in multiplex cinemas.
The American idea was called floating screens. You have what’s called variable masking and that’s masking that comes into the side or can be lowered and it crops your picture. But what they wanted to do, they wanted to have a wow factor, so when you’d walk in you’d see a wall to wall screen. But the only problem with that is there’s no mechanism to put tabs there, or masking. Tabs are curtains, festoons are the ones that gather up and go up into the ceiling, tabs are the ones that swish along at the side. But there’s no mechanism, you see, because obviously if you’re going wall to wall there’s nowhere to put these things. So there’s your presentation for starters, ‘cause you’d go in there and you’d just start “bang” on the screen. You’ve got no tabs opening, you’ve got not the thrill of like the opening film saying ‘Your feature presentation’ and the lovely swish of the tabs opening and your house lights going down and your footlights going down and your sound building up. Well it’s not, it’s like you go in, the lights drop, “bang”, ‘cause no one’s there to mute the sound, as every join that goes through with a “tap,” “tap,” “bang,” “bang,” “bang,” “bang,” and you’re on screen, blurred away, sound hasn’t kicked in. All of a sudden you think, “Oh the sub hasn’t kicked in. Oh the sub’s kicked in now.” And of course if you’re doing twelve you can’t be – especially where there’s a few of them start at the same time – at every single one. So some would be out of rack where feet are at the top and heads at the bottom, some would be in the wrong ratio and then you’d have to... somebody would radio and you’d go along and then you’d rack it up or rack it down, like you might have a hair or the plate hasn’t gone over properly or stuff like that. So that’s the presentation side of it.
Title
Lack of presentation in multiplexes (Mick Corfield)
Subject
Americanisation of cinema
presentation
multiplexes
Description
Projectionist and BECTU representative Mick Corfield describes the erosion of presentation in multiplex cinemas.
Creator
The Projection Project
Source
Interview with Mick Corfield
Publisher
The University of Warwick
Date
08/12/2015
Contributor
Richard Wallace
Mick Corfield
Relation
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/25915
Format
.mp3
Language
English
Type
Sound recording
interview extract
Coverage
1989-
Interviewer
Richard Wallace
Interviewee
Mick Corfield
Date of Interview
03/08/2015
Location
Coventry
Transcription
The American idea was called floating screens. You have what’s called variable masking and that’s masking that comes into the side or can be lowered and it crops your picture. But what they wanted to do, they wanted to have a wow factor, so when you’d walk in you’d see a wall to wall screen. But the only problem with that is there’s no mechanism to put tabs there, or masking. Tabs are curtains, festoons are the ones that gather up and go up into the ceiling, tabs are the ones that swish along at the side. But there’s no mechanism, you see, because obviously if you’re going wall to wall there’s nowhere to put these things. So there’s your presentation for starters, ‘cause you’d go in there and you’d just start “bang” on the screen. You’ve got no tabs opening, you’ve got not the thrill of like the opening film saying ‘Your feature presentation’ and the lovely swish of the tabs opening and your house lights going down and your footlights going down and your sound building up. Well it’s not, it’s like you go in, the lights drop, “bang”, ‘cause no one’s there to mute the sound, as every join that goes through with a “tap,” “tap,” “bang,” “bang,” “bang,” “bang,” and you’re on screen, blurred away, sound hasn’t kicked in. All of a sudden you think, “Oh the sub hasn’t kicked in. Oh the sub’s kicked in now.” And of course if you’re doing twelve you can’t be – especially where there’s a few of them start at the same time – at every single one. So some would be out of rack where feet are at the top and heads at the bottom, some would be in the wrong ratio and then you’d have to... somebody would radio and you’d go along and then you’d rack it up or rack it down, like you might have a hair or the plate hasn’t gone over properly or stuff like that. So that’s the presentation side of it.
Original Format
One-to-one interview
Duration
00:01:20
Bit Rate/Frequency
320kbps
Cinema
MGM/Virgin/UGC, Arcadian Centre, Birmingham