The Customer Isn't Always Right



  • This place seems to be a great source of "other" (not as many IT) WTFs: The Customer Is Not Always Right

    (A teacher calls me to her classroom. She is trying to project an image on a screen behind a student for a TV camera shot with the projector at eye level in front of the student.)
    

    Teacher: “There is a shadow behind the student now. How can I get rid of that?”

    Me: “You can’t. He is blocking the light from the projector from getting to the screen. You could put the projector behind the student, but the image would be smaller on the screen.”

    Teacher: “Then what can we do?”

    (I get the idea of holding a piece of paper over part of the lens of the projector to create a square area where the student stands where no light would shine. This gives the shadow a bit neater of a shape rather than a human shape.)

    Me: “Here, hold this paper over the left side of the lens where the student is standing.”

    (The teacher puts a piece of paper RIGHT IN FRONT of the students face.)

    Me: “No, right by the lens so a square unlit area will be where the student is standing.”

    (The teacher moves the piece of paper and puts it directly BEHIND the students head.)

    Me: “No, here…”

    (I put the piece of paper in front of the projector lens, leaving a nice square dark area on the screen where the student would stand.)

    Teacher: “Well now there is a square there! There is no image directly behind the student, just around the student!”

    Me: “Yeah, I know. There is nothing you can do about that, though. It’s the physics of light.”

    Teacher: “What if I ask your boss? Think he could do it?”

    Me: “No, he cannot bend light around objects.”

    Teacher: “Why not?”

    Me: “Because he’s not a black hole.”

    We all feel your pain.



  •  What is this?  The Dukes of Hazzard?  Projecting behind actors, EL OH EL!

     There are a million better ways to achieve this in post with very simple blue/green screening, or at the very least, a simple mask rather than the "piece of paper" physical mask.  I'd expect at least one of the students to know how to do something like this.  Hell, back in highschool I did.



  •  Did he try to reverse the polarity of the deflector dish?



  • Without the <PRE>:

    @redct said:

    (A teacher calls me to her classroom. She is trying to project an image on a screen behind a student for a TV camera shot with the projector at eye level in front of the student.)

    Teacher: “There is a shadow behind the student now. How can I get rid of that?”

    Me: “You can’t. He is blocking the light from the projector from getting to the screen. You could put the projector behind the student, but the image would be smaller on the screen.”

    Teacher: “Then what can we do?”

    (I get the idea of holding a piece of paper over part of the lens of the projector to create a square area where the student stands where no light would shine. This gives the shadow a bit neater of a shape rather than a human shape.)

    Me: “Here, hold this paper over the left side of the lens where the student is standing.”

    (The teacher puts a piece of paper RIGHT IN FRONT of the students face.)

    Me: “No, right by the lens so a square unlit area will be where the student is standing.”

    (The teacher moves the piece of paper and puts it directly BEHIND the students head.)

    Me: “No, here…”

    (I put the piece of paper in front of the projector lens, leaving a nice square dark area on the screen where the student would stand.)

    Teacher: “Well now there is a square there! There is no image directly behind the student, just around the student!”

    Me: “Yeah, I know. There is nothing you can do about that, though. It’s the physics of light.”

    Teacher: “What if I ask your boss? Think he could do it?”

    Me: “No, he cannot bend light around objects.”

    Teacher: “Why not?”

    Me: “Because he’s not a black hole.”

     


  • What? No complaining about the part of the image that is projected on the student?



  •  The student obviously was an afro-american wearing a black shirt. Anyway, I wonder why "relocate either the fscking beamer or the fscking student" wasn't an option.



  • In that case, you could pretend the shadow was him.

    Awful, awful joke. I'm sorry. (Not enough to not make it, of course).



  •  I've got this lovely line of mirrors that may interest you.  *kicks DOA under the table before he spouts off with his "reflector dish" nonsense again*

     



  • The Real WTF is that in a good half of the stories on notalwaysright.com there are idiots on both sides of the phone/counter.



  • @emurphy said:

    I've got this lovely line of mirrors that may interest you.  *kicks DOA under the table before he spouts off with his "reflector dish" nonsense again*
    Fine. But when the romulans blow up your projector don't come crying to me.



  • Was this at DeVry? 



  • Where's the WTF? I can greenscreen on my laptop. 



  • @merreborn said:

    The Real WTF is that in a good half of the stories on notalwaysright.com there are idiots on *both* sides of the phone/counter.
    Are you implying that the idiot ratio is high or low? 

    -MBirchmeier 



  • @MBirchmeier said:

    @merreborn said:

    The Real WTF is that in a good half of the stories on notalwaysright.com there are idiots on both sides of the phone/counter.
    Are you implying that the idiot ratio is high or low? 

    -MBirchmeier 

    I would definitely say high.

    Caller: “Excuse me, but what state is Kentucky in?”
    ...
    Caller: “Well, there’s 52 states if you count Alaska and Hawaii.


  • @merreborn said:

    The Real WTF is that in a good half of the stories on notalwaysright.com there are idiots on *both* sides of the phone/counter.
     

    True. For example,

    @notalwaysright.com said:

    Me:  ”Thank you for calling ***, how can I help you?”

    Customer:  ”Yeah, I want to get on the Internet.”

    Me:  ”Alright, are you interested in dialup or DSL?”

    Customer:  ”Whoa, whoa, whoa! You’re speaking Greek to me!”

    would definitely get the mug here.

     


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