Cinema Nouveau, Rosebank

Tuesday 30 July 2002

Devastating news. Leon, the head projectionist at Cinema Nouveau, is leaving. He is the chief reason that cinema's so popular. Since he's been there, I've not had to complain about focus. Not once. Which is more than I can say for Nu Metro Hyde Park, Nu Metro Sandton Square, Ster Kinekor Cresta, Ster Kinekor The Zone, Ster Kinekor Sandton City.

And talking of cinema problems. I would advise you to stay out of cinema 2 in The Zone. Aside from a really bad problem with focus (the screen seems to be slanted, making half of the picture fine, and the other half fuzzy), that particular venue also seems to have a lip-sync problem. Most people can only notice when the soundtrack and the visual track are separated by three frames. I can spot when they're a frame out. Cine 2 is often up to 5 or 6 frames out. So when someone bangs a glass down on a table, the sound of the bang happens a good deal before or after.

But wait! There's more! At Cine 2 at The Zone, one of their big bass speakers is smashed. So when the climactic scene in the movie comes up, and the orchestra is at full tilt, that speaker is crackling and hissing and protesting. I first drew their attention to the problem fourteen months ago. No change. So now I don't go there.

Incidentally, if your movie is shown in anything less than perfect conditions, you're fully entitled to get a cash refund or free movie vouchers from the cinema manager. It's about time these people started taking responsibility for the movies they show. So watch your movie, and if the sound was odd or the picture was out of focus, ask to speak to the manager, and be firm yet insistent.

Anyway, back to Cinema Nouveau. Let's all wish Leon all the best in his next gig. He's an adept video camera operator, and he'll be pursuing that for a living. Good luck, dude.

Saw an Italian movie tonight. 100 STEPS. Amazing. A true story about a kid who grew up in a little town in Sicily and decided to stand up to the Mafia. Unfortunately, some of his family members were also Mafiosi. A very cool film. Flawed. Suffers a bit from sticking too closely to the facts. But I give it a respectable 6 out of 10.

My flat, Cresta

Yay! Dan Selsick just called! He's only got one piece of music left to record for ARIA, the short movie I wrote and co-produced. Once his music is finished, we take it into the final-mix audio suite at Henley, and we'll have a little movie to show to the world! Good on yer, Dan!!!