Where are you sitting?

The movies of 2010 still live
User avatar
The Soapmaker
Undead Horde
Undead Horde
Posts: 453
Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 10:50 am
Location: London

Re: Where are you sitting?

Post by The Soapmaker »

Maniacal wrote:Does the Empire have signal blockers? I personally think all Cinemas should have them installed INSIDE the screens and not have them outside the screens. By all means text and phone people outside the screen etc but texting/Tweeting etc inside a movie is obviously a big no no.
To be fair, they might be worried about a sick family member. Like Noel Clarke was after Heartless. :wink:
Satans Puppy
Frightfest Hardcore
Frightfest Hardcore
Posts: 1299
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 1:10 pm

Re: Where are you sitting?

Post by Satans Puppy »

The Soapmaker wrote:
Maniacal wrote:Does the Empire have signal blockers? I personally think all Cinemas should have them installed INSIDE the screens and not have them outside the screens. By all means text and phone people outside the screen etc but texting/Tweeting etc inside a movie is obviously a big no no.
To be fair, they might be worried about a sick family member. Like Noel Clarke was after Heartless. :wink:
*shudders with a sense of intense anger* Grrrrrrrr *Runs next door and burns their Dr Who collection, only the discs featuring Mr Clarke* :twisted:
[url=http://www.peopleofifrit.net/]Puppy's Blog! Yes Indeed... updated regularly[/url]

[b]Disclaimer:[/b] This post may contain... more than likely contains an idiotic comment, feel free to ignore and move on :D
Mr Bill
Running Zombie
Running Zombie
Posts: 207
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:31 pm
Location: City of the Dead (London)

Re: Where are you sitting?

Post by Mr Bill »

Commodore wrote:
Maniacal wrote:Does the Empire have signal blockers? I personally think all Cinemas should have them installed INSIDE the screens and not have them outside the screens.
I agree 100%. Unfortunately, the use of radio signal jammers by civilians in the UK is illegal.

Jamming equipment is illegal to use in the UK as it violates section 8 of the 2006 Wireless Telegraphy Act.

Different case in the US, loads of cinemas now have them installed as a matter of course. Works really well.

Chris
Hell No!

Of course it's illegal to jam peoples phones, quite rightly so, freedom of communication is as important as freedom of speech, and for some people mobiles are still important.

Noel Clarke is a confuseing example, as most people, myself included, have formed an oppinion of him independent of the Heartless incident.
I had a fortnight long period a few years ago when a close family member was extremely ill, and my mobile was a vital lifeline, It didn't ring, it didn't bleep and i wasn't playing with it every five minutes, but I needed it to be switched on and working in the event of truly life changing news.
If someone close to me is suddenly killed or taken into hospital, or any other personal emergency I'd like to hear about it immediately.
And what about Doctors on call, and other people who save lives for a living? If their phones became useless in cinemas they would simply no longer be able to go, and that can't be a fair treatment of such key workers in our society.

This used to be what mobile phones were for!

I know that many people these days use their mobiles for infinate gossip and trivia 24 hours a day, and this is not only anti-social if you're with someone, but also selfish to the point of unacceptable during a film screening.

There will always be inconsiderate or selfish people and in most cases the best solution is to let them know, and just see if they don't alter their behaviour accordingly.
I certainly wouldn't respond by embraceing yet more prohibition in an already over regulated environment.

People do take liberties, but liberty itself is not the enemy and prohibition is not the solution.

Selfish mobile users annoy me and if i found myself sat next to one i would probably have a quiet word.
But people who think that relatively trivial problems should be squashed by hysterical and heavy handed rules and measures that dramatically curtail the freedoms of all people, they actually frighten me, and detract from my enjoyment of not only the festival, but life in general, far more so than any noisy, drunk prat with a phone.

Sorry if i seem overly grumpy and militant, but I'm working through another ten hour shift in an empty shop that i own, but apparently I'm not allowed a fucking cigarette- and i blame the same people.

Respect and consideration towards other people is, I admit, very important, but so is tollerance and the accomodation of difference.
Standardisation, assimilation and even more mechanistic rules, is not the way to achieve any of these things.

Shame on you if you think it is.

I'm going to attach an appology to this post before even submitting it, I don't want to upset the fascists that walk amongst us because they do have a history of meeting criticism with bullying.

Sorry.

I will also state for the record that i have never used my phone during a screening, and this post is not intended in defence of idiotic Twitterists, who do spoil films for many people, in my oppinion they could all be rounded up, put into camps and forced to talk to each other, maybe only then will they realise how little they actually have to say.
I've come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum
AnotherSchmuck
Walking Dead
Walking Dead
Posts: 70
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2009 9:49 pm
Location: Cheltenham, UK
Contact:

Re: Where are you sitting?

Post by AnotherSchmuck »

Mr Bill wrote:
Commodore wrote:
Maniacal wrote:Does the Empire have signal blockers? I personally think all Cinemas should have them installed INSIDE the screens and not have them outside the screens.
I agree 100%. Unfortunately, the use of radio signal jammers by civilians in the UK is illegal.

Jamming equipment is illegal to use in the UK as it violates section 8 of the 2006 Wireless Telegraphy Act.

Different case in the US, loads of cinemas now have them installed as a matter of course. Works really well.

Chris
Hell No!

Of course it's illegal to jam peoples phones, quite rightly so, freedom of communication is as important as freedom of speech, and for some people mobiles are still important.

Noel Clarke is a confuseing example, as most people, myself included, have formed an oppinion of him independent of the Heartless incident.
I had a fortnight long period a few years ago when a close family member was extremely ill, and my mobile was a vital lifeline, It didn't ring, it didn't bleep and i wasn't playing with it every five minutes, but I needed it to be switched on and working in the event of truly life changing news.
If someone close to me is suddenly killed or taken into hospital, or any other personal emergency I'd like to hear about it immediately.
And what about Doctors on call, and other people who save lives for a living? If their phones became useless in cinemas they would simply no longer be able to go, and that can't be a fair treatment of such key workers in our society.

This used to be what mobile phones were for!

I know that many people these days use their mobiles for infinate gossip and trivia 24 hours a day, and this is not only anti-social if you're with someone, but also selfish to the point of unacceptable during a film screening.

There will always be inconsiderate or selfish people and in most cases the best solution is to let them know, and just see if they don't alter their behaviour accordingly.
I certainly wouldn't respond by embraceing yet more prohibition in an already over regulated environment.

People do take liberties, but liberty itself is not the enemy and prohibition is not the solution.

Selfish mobile users annoy me and if i found myself sat next to one i would probably have a quiet word.
But people who think that relatively trivial problems should be squashed by hysterical and heavy handed rules and measures that dramatically curtail the freedoms of all people, they actually frighten me, and detract from my enjoyment of not only the festival, but life in general, far more so than any noisy, drunk prat with a phone.

Sorry if i seem overly grumpy and militant, but I'm working through another ten hour shift in an empty shop that i own, but apparently I'm not allowed a fucking cigarette- and i blame the same people.

Respect and consideration towards other people is, I admit, very important, but so is tollerance and the accomodation of difference.
Standardisation, assimilation and even more mechanistic rules, is not the way to achieve any of these things.

Shame on you if you think it is.

I'm going to attach an appology to this post before even submitting it, I don't want to upset the fascists that walk amongst us because they do have a history of meeting criticism with bullying.

Sorry.

I will also state for the record that i have never used my phone during a screening, and this post is not intended in defence of idiotic Twitterists, who do spoil films for many people, in my oppinion they could all be rounded up, put into camps and forced to talk to each other, maybe only then will they realise how little they actually have to say.

Good words my man, solid argument!

I abhor the people who just sit there with their phones lit up and messing but the considerate person who does have their phone on will have it on vibrate and if they need to use it will exit the screen then do it, I know its what I do.

Good luck with the rest of the shift!
"Horror films don't create fear. They release it." – Wes Craven

Instagram - timothyrobinparsons
Twitter - @AnotherSchmuck
Mr Bill
Running Zombie
Running Zombie
Posts: 207
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:31 pm
Location: City of the Dead (London)

Re: Where are you sitting?

Post by Mr Bill »

Ah yes; the vibrate setting.
the absolute antithesis of the ringtone, and a true technological progression towards considerate behaviour.
I use it too, and it's rather pleasant!
I've come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum
User avatar
Commodore
Walking Dead
Walking Dead
Posts: 90
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2005 4:53 pm
Location: Ruislip, Middlesex, UK
Contact:

Re: Where are you sitting?

Post by Commodore »

OK, I have no idea who or what a Noel Clarke is, but I do think that mobile signal jamming during movies would be good. I am thinking more for everyday cinema which seems to be awash with yobs who use their phones throughout, ruining the intended cinema experience for others.

I have first hand experience of mobile jammers in cinemas in the US and it makes for a better experience for all, in my personal opinion.

Similar to the smoking ban, If you want to use your phone, you can always leave the screen and go outside.

Either way, there is no chance the law will be changed any time soon, so we won't be seeing legal mobile phone hammers in British cinemas for some time to come. No need to get worked up about it.

In other news, popped into the Empire earlier today to pick up my weekend pass and lanyard. As usual, Empire staff were very friendly and helpful, even though they hadn't opened for the day when I walked in before noon.

Roll on August bank holiday weekend.
iateabee
Twitching Corpse
Twitching Corpse
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2010 1:19 am
Contact:

Re: Where are you sitting?

Post by iateabee »

I could have sworn the BFI Southbank uses a signal jammer—as soon as I approach NFT1, my mobile switches to "Emergency only". Puzzling.
webgnu
Fresh Meat
Fresh Meat
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Jul 04, 2009 1:04 pm

Re: Where are you sitting?

Post by webgnu »

Mr Bill wrote: I know that many people these days use their mobiles for infinate gossip and trivia 24 hours a day, and this is not only anti-social if you're with someone, but also selfish to the point of unacceptable during a film screening.
There will always be inconsiderate or selfish people and in most cases the best solution is to let them know, and just see if they don't alter their behaviour accordingly.
Erm, have you ever tried that? I have. Twice. The second time, the cinema staff had to smuggle me out of the building via a staff-only side entrance to avoid the teenage gang that was waiting to jump me after the screening. And no, they didn't modify their behaviour in the slightest.
Mr Bill wrote: But people who think that relatively trivial problems should be squashed by hysterical and heavy handed rules and measures that dramatically curtail the freedoms of all people, they actually frighten me, and detract from my enjoyment of not only the festival, but life in general, far more so than any noisy, drunk prat with a phone.
When I've paid over my hard earned cash for a movie ticket I'm afraid I wouldn't see it as trivial to have the thing ruined for me. Nor is getting people to switch off their phones for 90 minutes of their lives curtailing their freedom in any way. Sorry. And please don't call me a fascist when we've never even met - I find that offensive. (Buy me a beer first - if you still think I'm a fascist afterwards, carry on :P )
webgnu
Fresh Meat
Fresh Meat
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Jul 04, 2009 1:04 pm

Re: Where are you sitting?

Post by webgnu »

iateabee wrote:I could have sworn the BFI Southbank uses a signal jammer—as soon as I approach NFT1, my mobile switches to "Emergency only". Puzzling.
Might just be a signal blackspot - there are a few of those round by the NFT. Combination of the railway, bridges, tallish buildings and lots and lots of concrete with steel in the middle of it!
xLeft For Deadx
Running Zombie
Running Zombie
Posts: 242
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:47 am
Location: Oxfordshire
Contact:

Re: Where are you sitting?

Post by xLeft For Deadx »

Mr Bill wrote: Hell No!

Of course it's illegal to jam peoples phones, quite rightly so, freedom of communication is as important as freedom of speech, and for some people mobiles are still important.

I certainly wouldn't respond by embraceing yet more prohibition in an already over regulated environment.

Standardisation, assimilation and even more mechanistic rules, is not the way to achieve any of these things.

Shame on you if you think it is.
But you are denying the cinema owners the freedom to decide whether or not they should install signal jammers inside their own cinemas, essentially, you have a prohibition on signal jammers. No-one is suggesting that all cinemas should be legally required to fit signal jammers in their screens. Surely 'freedom' would be to allow each cinema to enforce whatever policies they wish within the confines of their property (blocking mobiles, keeping lights on, employing chimps on rollerskates to bring you drinks, etc), and then you as a customer exercise your freedom by choosing which cinema you wish to give your patronage to, based upon the policies of the cinema. Doctors and twitter addicts can choose the cinema with no signal jammers, those of us who can live without a mobile phone for two hours can choose a cinema with signal jammers installed. That sounds more like freedom to me. As long as you are made aware before you enter the cinema, i don't see that there would be a problem. Don't like their policies? Don't pay to watch a film there.

*sorry I didn't quote your entire post, thought I'd keep to the pertinent points*
"The suspect is armed with a machete in one hand, and his genitals in the other."
pauluspink
Running Zombie
Running Zombie
Posts: 151
Joined: Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:05 am
Location: Harrow/Ruislip

Re: Where are you sitting?

Post by pauluspink »

Pukka wrote:
pauluspink wrote:E 19 for me, funnily enough the same number as last year (but row D) !
Think I got your old seat then Paul, Hope you didn't leave any used chewing gum on the chair. I'm always doing that... sitting in someones sticky seat at the cinema and you can't do anything about it cause then EVERYONE knows :)
Clean as a whistle :wink:
I do Special Make-Up Effects & Prosthetics (SFX): Graphic Delusions: Facebook Page
The Davies
Twitching Corpse
Twitching Corpse
Posts: 29
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2007 11:49 am
Location: London

Post by The Davies »

This might be going slightly of topic, but I'm going to sitting in e16.
See you all in August.
Don't cry, it's such a waste of good suffering
Mr Bill
Running Zombie
Running Zombie
Posts: 207
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:31 pm
Location: City of the Dead (London)

Re: Where are you sitting?

Post by Mr Bill »

Oh gosh. so much to respond to, and i really need to get home and to bed, but i'm not one to disregard others' feelings or oppinions, and as that's ultimately what my post was about, i feel obliged to give it a go.

RE: freedom of companies to choose their own policy.
Maybe it should be up to the cinema to decide about mobiles, but they don't need signal blockers to do this, they could simply put it in their t&c s and take a hard line. They could do this if they wanted to (hell, they certainly manage it with cigarettes), and it would filter out the doctor's on call or considerate people expecting important news via the vibrate setting, but I'm not sure they can be bothered, and a jammer is an expensive but lazy solution.
The management however should have ultimate say in what their policy is.
I'm all for this in principle, I'm a smoker and I run a small videoshop, so i would love more freedom regarding how i run my business, and taylor it to suit the customers i wish to attract.
But the laws around freedom of communications exist for many reasons to protect our safety, security and liberty. To attempt an amusing over the top horror-film-styley example: I'm not suggesting that any cinema would ever kidnap a couple of hundred innocent popcorn munchers and feed them to rabid, mutant badgers in the basement, but if they did want to, first thing they would need to do is jam your phones. That was a hysterical and willfully silly example, but its part of what the law still protects us from. The law is also about freedom to pass information, we may be talking about cinemas, but in press conferences, political rallies or party conferences you can probably understand why it would be "a dangerous and slippery slope" to allow the politically motivated host to control the flow of information in and out of the building. Frightfest sure ain't no conference but i can understand why the same laws apply to the venue.
Conversely, when it comes to smoking, companies have no choice as to their policy, the smokeing ban (even in it's infancy) is nationwide, mandatory, heavily enforced and total.
So when people say: "you can vote with your wallet and choose your cinema (or bar, or restaurant, club, cafe, etc.) according to their policy" I'm afraid i can take no comfort.
And when people say: "If you want to smoke you can always (fuck off and) go outside" I have to lament their sense of understanding, inclusion and tollerance, and usually try to think of a better word to call them than the one i too often end up useing.
(unless i just pull out my own hair shouting "But it's my bloody shop!")

RE: the F word.
I do regret banding around the word "fascist", reading back my post it's the one sentence that most jarrs, i feel like a man who badly needs a thesaurus, and also feel a bit of a twat.
I will, of course, buy anybody who felt personally offended a beer, but can we take them outside, cos I'd like a fag and i'm not allowed indoors.
I badly need to find a less provocative word to describe people who have a flippant attitude to loss of liberty, and embrace forced assimilation for the sake of an easy, pragmatic solution and a subjectively "better experience" for themselves.
And whatever that word is, i certainly wasn't accuseing anyone i haven't yet met of being one.
But i still say they walk amongst us, and i do personally hold them responsible for my discomfort in public places.
My pre-emptive appology to any who may take offence at this oppinion, was intended sincerely, although reading it back now, i can see how it didn't look like it.

RE: louts, gangs and bullying.
I am genuinely shocked and sorry to hear that someone had to be escorted out of a side door at the Empire to avoid what sounds like a nasy incident. I think however the fact that you were quietly escorted through it, rather than the teenage gang propelled through it at speed, is even sadder.
I think it shows that the management/powers that be/whatever don't really take hostility and bullying seriously enough, and I'm not sure that a signal jammer would represent a change in this attitude, or indeed have saved the day in this incidence.
In short- I don't think we're really talking about mobile phones anymore.
The majority of frightfesters would loathe to see anybody's weekend ruined in this way, and i like to hope we are sufficiently galvanised that nobody will endure such bullying this august.

RE: rules
as is probably becomeing clear from this libertarian rant, I'm not a fan, but i do understand why we need a few of them here and there to avoid both trivial and serious problems.
But on the whole we are talking about social problems that arrive out of differing social behaviour, and machinistic rules on behaviour (like bans) are a crude and heavy handed, albeit clean way to attempt to resolve them. The problem with machines is that they don't think, they just do what they do, a paper shredder doesn't care about the difference between last years bank statements and your favourite, and completely innocent, shirt.
What's my point? Rules, and particularly bans, often have a detrimental effect on the lives and liberties of people who weren't even causing the problems they were brought in to resolve in the first place.
Are we all so beyond getting along without rules that we need so bloody many of them narrowing and standardising our life experiences?
I feel utterly compelled to argue with people who take a flippant attitude to this, which they normally do because they aren't the ones being forced out.

RE: "I paid £150 quid for this, I'm be damned if..."
We all did. The sober, the drunk, the quiet and the noisy, the thursday-night die hards and the saturday morning latecomers, the sensible, the rowdy, the freaks, the geeks, the smokers, tweeters, hecklers, and even the downright troublemakers. Cash or card, we all paid for our tickets.
Why am i being a bit of a bitch about this? Well, i guess i match a couple of things on the list and sometimes feel marginalised for it, but we all still pay in to this world, tickets, taxes, the lot.
We are all customers, we're all paying for our long weekend of awesome horror festival and are all equal in that respect. So before we hastily introduce rules to protect people from certain things that may reduce their enjoyment of the fest, remember the door swings both ways, and those you may seek to exclude are fully paid up frightfesters (and tax paying members of society) who also equally deserve to enjoy their investment in a weekend ticket.

RE: the Empire staff
I have to agree that the Empire staff do seem lovely, they went out of their way to quickly resolve a card booking snafu that left me briefly seatless last year at 5 mins to Triangle! I think we took the piss a bit last year sneaking the Thriller documentary onto the bill and makeing them stay so late, I didn't hear any or them complain or even grumble about that. Now there's tollerance deserving of respect (and, i hope, at least time-and-a-half) so hats off again to the Empire staff.

RE: mobile phones
I'm a very light mobile user, i can live without it for two hours at a time, and a ban really wouldn't bother me, it may even make for a more pleasant cinema experience.
I hope nobody is in any doubt that this epic post is really no longer about bloody mobiles.

It's about takeing a flippant and casual attitude towards telling people what they can't do. That goes for all the subjects that have drifted onto this thread- drinking, smokeing, shouting, etc.
Just because you may be happy to live without something and can't see what the big deal is, others may feel differently. There is nothing trivial about telling people how to live their lives, especially when we are all surposedly equal, broad minded, ticket buying, frightfest friends.

I honestly don't want to offend anyone with this post, which is only my personal (but deep felt and considered) oppinion.
I will always be approachable for anyone who feels offended by my posts or behaviour, I will even offer a free cigarette to anybody who wants to talk to me in person, and i roll my own so there's not only money, but effort and love behind that there pledge.

It sometimes feels like the fest and the forum is in danger of becomeing a segregated environment, split (Quadrophenia-style) between "the sensibles" and "the mentals", a hegemony and an underclass if you like, and i'm not even sure which side i'm on.
We could snipe at each other with vague criticism and make rules to decide who is right and wrong, but we'll still be "stuck with each other for five days in august" as a friend put it, and perhaps instead we could just... all try to get along a bit better.

Dammit i sound like a hippy now, and i fucking hate hippies.
I've come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum
PeterPan
Running Zombie
Running Zombie
Posts: 194
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 1:39 am
Location: Swansea

Re: Where are you sitting?

Post by PeterPan »

Mr Bill wrote:
Dammit i sound like a hippy now, and i fucking hate hippies.
I find your hatred of hippies to be both cruel and segregational. Please re-think your attitude.
"The little pissed Welsh tit is here. And pissed"
User avatar
ZombieCommand
Twitching Corpse
Twitching Corpse
Posts: 36
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2009 2:03 pm
Location: Safely bugged in
Contact:

Re: Where are you sitting?

Post by ZombieCommand »

Re: Phones, talking, drinking and smoking
A lit up mobile phone draws the eyes in a cinema, everyone appreciates that it might have to be used in emergencies but if you're constantly on it during a film, you're an asshole (I think we're all agreeing here).

If you get pissed and act up in public place, you're an asshole. This applies to anywhere.

It's generally accepted that you don't talk during a film at the cinema as it's disturbing to those who are interested in it, more so at somewhere like Frightfest where it may be disrespecting the director, writers or actors who are there that you're not interested in their performance. While there are odd cases of heckling that are justified, fit in with the mood of the crowd and funny, if you are just chatting with your friend during a movie, you're an asshole.

If you can only enjoy a film by talking over it then stay at home to watch them, the cinema is not for you and don't cry that we're taking away your freedoms as you're basically trying to kill what the experience is. You want something different (either talk along shows or cinemas where it's acceptable), make one or petition the existing ones to put on special showings, but don't try and destroy what's been established and enjoyed by me.

Trying to justify smoking in a public place is a ridiculous argument. While everything else is an inconvenience second hand smoke actively damages my well being.
Last edited by ZombieCommand on Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Saving you from the zombocalypse one forum post at a time - Zombie Command
Twitter | Facebook
Post Reply