Weeks, sometimes months, before they want to show a film, groups have stake out their intended flick, lowing "13 easy steps," accord the Science Center's Web site to place a valid reservation.
Groups must reserve their timeslots a semester in advance--this week, groups can begin signing up for fall 1999--and vie for particular movies.
Student groups can "yellow tag" up to 15 movies they are considering, preventing rival student groups from claiming those titles themselves. Other groups interested in showing a "yellow-tagged" movie can force the "tagger" to make a final decision in two days.
If not challenged, at the end of two weeks, a group must have "red tagged" their film--securing movie delivery from the distributor and declaring their intent to show the movie. Otherwise, it becomes fair game for others.
In recent years, the process has sometimes been an exercise in endurance and strategy. In the bowels of the Science Center sits a book that contains years of hand-written movie requests, chronicling the clashes between groups hoping for the same film.
After dutifully re-reserving "The Phantom Menace" every two weeks since last fall, Perspective's Levine missed a week, only to see another student group yellow-tag the movie. Levine re-secured the rights for the film two weeks later but says he has been less diligent as of late, leaving the yet-to-be-released "Star Wars" movie up for grabs.
In general, however, student leaders do not fault the tagging system for the decline in movie showings.
Tiffs between student organizations have actually declined in recent years because of lack of interest. Before tagging, the Science Center used a lottery system to deal with the number of requests.
More recently, groups ranging from the Prefect Program to the Mainly Jazze company to the Canadian Club jostled their way through the tagging system. As the pages of the log record show, few days went by in 1997 without someone requesting a film.
As of yesterday afternoon, though, no one had tagged anything since April 9.
Risky Business
If the rules are not the problem and costs--while high--have remained steady over time, the decline in movies shown may be a result of fewer groups willing to undertake a venture that will inevitably be spoiled by a small turnout.
Costs include $300 for a Harvard police officer to monitor ticket sales, another $300 for the projectionist and the machine and upwards of $1,000 for the actual film. Usually, the more popular the film, the more the distributor charges.
"You want a blockbuster, but the new movies will run you about $800. It all depends on how much you're willing to lose," Levine says. "You'll make about $200 to $300 on a good weekend."
With no guarantee that the money will be recouped, movies are a gamble some groups experienced with the process are now less willing to take.
"Usually organizations only charge around $3 per student, which means they need at least 280 viewers to break even," Yang says.
Still, for some groups such as the Intercollegiate Model UN team, there is little choice in fundraising options.
"It's one of the only ways we have to raise money," Gilbert says.
In the meantime, Smith suggests an extensive renovation of College facilities to make the Science Center a better draw for student audiences.
"It's time to make the Science Center into a first-run luxury theater. We need surround-sound, skyboxes and low-cal popcorn," Smith says. "Get 'Phantom Menace' into Science Center B, move C.S. 51 to the crappy Loews down the street, and all is forgiven. Are you listening, Neil?"