Theaters Ripping Off Audiences With Dark Projection. Lazy Turds.

I read about this a couple of days ago, and in a haze of comic books, caffeine, and probably massive amounts of post-semester masturbation, forgot to pass it along to you. Apparently lazy fuckturds at movie theaters are skipping going the extra mile and the result is a fuckload of theaters with unnecessary dark projection.

Slashfilm:

This Sunday’s Boston Globe had an illuminating piece of investigative journalism about a lack of illumination. Ty Burr, a well-respected reporter and film critic, did a story on several Boston area movie theaters who are projecting 2D digital movies with an unneeded, special 3D lenses still on the projector. This makes the 2D film look up to 85% darker than the projector is capable of simply because it takes time and effort to remove the 3D lenses for a 2D show and theaters won’t do it.

Here’s the deal. As you all know, most theaters are beginning to convert from film projectors to digital projectors, largely because of the recent boom in 3D and it helps save the studios money in print costs. Sony is one of the leading makers of these digital projectors and several theaters, instead of buying new projectors, simply took free ones from Sony in exchange for running some ads. The Sony digital projectors play movies in both 2D and 3D, the only difference being a special lens goes on the projector to create polarization for 3D. However, the report states that many theaters do not remove the lens from the projector when showing a 2D movie because it’s a difficult, time consuming process. So, when you see a digital screening of a 2D movie through one of these projectors with the 3D lens fitted, the film is significantly darker than the filmmaker intended and you are not seeing a proper projection of the film.

Motherfuckers!

How To Tell:

If you’re in a theater playing a digital print (the marquee at the ticket booth should have a “D’’ next to the film’s name), look back at the projection booth. If you see two beams of light, one stacked on top of the other, that’s a Sony with the 3-D lens still in place. If there’s a single beam, it’s either a Sony with the 3-D lens removed or a different brand of digital projector, such as Christie or Barco.

This chaps my ass particularly because I’m a raving slut for the movies. I spend a good amount of money there because I’m eager for escapism, loving the diegetic absorption like a motherfucker. I’ll pretty much see anything and love the experience. To know these motherfuckers aren’t spending a little extra time to make sure the movie is projected appropriately cheeses me off like a raving little man. It isn’t like I’m going to stop going to the theater – good lord the amount of money I’m going to spend this summer on explosions, tits, and other varieties of fluff – but it annoys me to the point where I may legitimately say something.

I live in the Boston area, where Burr did this study, so Imma keep my eye out. Maybe cut a motherfucker or two.

Go here to read the entire article.