Of course I wish there were more short films about projectionists. With letterpress operators getting all kinds of internet attention I think it’s high time that proud film projectionists make more films like this. It’s very accurate to my experiences as a projectionist at the Myrna and at Paramount, but doesn’t make any reference to one of the uncommon but memorable duties projectionists have: telling the audience that the film is unplayable because of technical difficulties. As in, it’s technically difficult to deal with two thousand plus feet of film once it’s fallen off the platter or wound itself into an intractable solid mass around the initial rollers.
There is a lot more danger involved in projection work than this guy lets on. Film is tough, but it’s not hard to ruin, and once it’s ruined it takes a long time to replace.
Via Kitsune Noir
I got an email from long time reader John Stanbury telling me I should check out a little video called Facts About Projection by a fellow named Temujin Doran. Temujin is a Projectionist in Islington in London, where he works at The Screen on the Green. It’s a really sweet video that gives you a beautiful glimpse into a dying art form. Movies have and still are shown on 35mm film around the country, but the stockpiles of these movies certainly aren’t growing.
