The Quality Management System that we are using is based upon one devised by the international standards organization named ISO. Their number for it is ISO 9000. Actually, ISO 9000 describes the system and ISO 9001 gives the elaborate details of each requirement. Sometimes you will see the numbers used, one for the other. Don’t be confused by that. The point is to get away from confusion!

The idea is to do 3 things. Instead of relying upon random visits from professionals to visit and judge the equipment you use and the processes that you do, ISO 9000 says: Train the people who are responsible for the end product. Have you noticed that in the cinema theater, people think that is you? They need someone to rely on, someone to talk to. Great! Let’s use that.

Part 2, after the training, is to make a list of all the things that need looking at. Something might need looking at every hour, somethings every day, some things only once a week. Some things only once a month or once a year.

For example, filters on the computer. They need to be clean, but it would be silly to check them every hour or every day. But Security doors. Maybe the insurance company gives a discount if they are checked every day, or every hour. So cool. We put on the list, Check Security every day.

Every year a very expensive technician makes a visit with some very expensive equipment to calibrate the brightness and contrast and color of the projectors. As we learn in the lesson A Look At Light – Part I, we know that the projector is basically a computer with a bunch of lights and mirrors and connection cables. And usually, things work great.

It seems like the product of the projector is what the audience sees. But really, the audience sees the product of the media library system, the media player, the projector, the focusing lens, the port glass, the screen, the masking on the sides of the screen, the chains that hold the speakers, and the room that is supposed to be dark but has safety lights and cleaning lights. Any of these things could cause a problem for the audience member.