The Projectionist

At one time theaters across the land had within their projection booth skilled craftsmen called projectionists. These men and some women turned still images into motion, turned acetate into stories, and ensured that for the low cost of admission, the audience had a show to watch. The lamp houses were the domain of the carbon arc and later the xenon bulb. Before the days of the platter, these magicians controlled a two-projector changeover system. Projectors would hold twenty-minute reels. When the reel was about to finish a small circle appeared in the upper right corner of the screen and bells would ring in the booth.? The projectionist then would provide a seamless transition from one reel to another.

It was magic. From a dark small room, the projectionist wove decades of stories and thrilled audiences. They were a big part of the show and their skill was more than evident. Technology started to shift. Movies started being mass-produced, moving from acetate to a form of polyester. With three thousand runs, prints had to be produced quickly and cheaply. Sprinters were invented and the print quality as a result was reduced. The second projector was ripped out of the booth and a platter was installed. The platter enabled a whole show to be laid out, eliminated the need for reel changes, and reduced the need for a skilled operator. Soon the booths were no longer being manned by skilled veterans but by university students and former ushers.

Platters were rough on film prints, they stretched and scratched prints rendering them unusable after one or two runs. To this day no self-respecting film archivist would allow one of their acetate film prints to run on a platter system. In fact when a film is released from an archive, often an agreement is sent out agreeing to the non-playing of platter system.

The removal of a changeover system began the steady decline of the theatrical experience in my estimation. When you move from artfulness to process then the product suffers. Ushers are removed, and a single ticket taker replaces them. Projection becomes automation. What was a 19th-century technology quickly evolves into a digital process, made up of ones and zeroes where a booth that services six theaters can be manned by one pseudo projectionist.

Take a walk into the classic projection booth of the 1950’s. A heavy metal door usually is the portal of a projector booth. Called a fire door which was designed to contain a fire in the days when highly flammable nitrate film was used. A hint of smoke hung in the air, smoke from the firing of carbon arcs. The hypnotic sound of an acetate print running through a projector at 24 frames per second. A movie by its nature is an optical illusion, a series of still images shown quickly enough to feign motion. Shutters would open and close, a film claw would advance a film frame, and the frame would sit still for 1/24th of a second and then would advance. We in the audience would be none the wiser. The floor would be slightly slick from projector oil. Bells would ring advising the projectionist of a reel change. With a synchronized almost ballet-like movement the projectionist would advance the next reel. A good projectionist would always check the focus after the reel change to make sure a lens was not bumped or taken out of alignment.? The projectionist then would rewind a reel from another show, and take apart splices until it was time to change the reel again.

There was a zen-like bearing the skilled projectionist brought to their job. You had to know when to look at the screen. The cue market placed when a film was printed showed up for? 1/6 of a second in the upper right-hand corner.? In the time when most of us blink a projectionist would be given the instruction is now the time to change from one reel to another. These monks of the movies would be sedate and elegant in their performance.

IN 1895 the Lumiere Brothers would project the first movie and for the next 105 years that was what went on.? In the early 2000’s some theaters would begin experimenting with digital projection. By 2011, the National Association of Theater Owners estimated that 41% of U.S. movie theaters had converted to digital. Today that’s almost 100%.

At one time names like Strong, Century, Strand RCA, Brinkert, Cinema Meccanica and Simplex dominated the projector market. Now names like Sony, Barco, Christie, and NEC hold sway. Projectors of today have only one moving part and that is the fan. It's otherwise just a light source and a computer. The whirr of the motors, the smell of ozone, and the stench of projector oil are long gone. What only remains is the outline on the floor, in the rust of where a 35mm projector once stood.

In many ways, theater owners are missing why theaters do not seem to contain the same magic they once did. At its core, this business of exhibition has become more process than art. A coldness has settled in as exhibitors that once focused on seamless shows when the rare film frame burnt or the first few seconds of a reel were out of focus reminded us that we were part of a human presentation, telling us human stories and being watched by a bunch of humans.

I have operated both 35mm and digital projectors. I was not very adept at operating a 35mm projector, for me it was too much skill, and frankly a bit nerve-wracking. A digital projector was a matter of clicking a couple of buttons. But I think at the core of the difference lies a simple fact. The craftsmanship of exhibition has been depleted and I think that’s sad.

Sometimes in life, when things are harder they are also so much better.