OT: Question re. Theater Projection & Projectionists

[super8film]

I don't go to the movies all that often, as there's very little in the way of new movies that interests me these days, but as an avid fan of The Simpsons, I did make it a point to see The Simpsons Movie yesterday. I've noticed that most, if not all theaters these days use a single film projector as opposed to dual projectors for alternating reels, so I'm just curious if a single projector setup is now the standard, or if there are still some holdouts that still use the dual projector setup. Also, I take it that shipping an entire release print as a single reel would be unusually large, so I'm assuming that the multiple reels are spliced together when they arrive at the theater, correct? One thing's for sure...the release prints still do have the signature cue marks, so I'd think that if all theaters were set up for single reel projection, the cue marks wouldn't be needed anymore.

Secondly, I know that in the past, the projectionist trade was a very heavily unionized industry. Is that still the case today, or have projectionist unions or even union projectionists (represented by other non-projectionist specific locals, IATSE or otherwise) fizzled out in recent years? Given a company's relative inability to regulate whether or not a union is established in its workplaces and the fact that projectionists are still needed, it would seem as if the unions themselves would ultimately determine if/when they were to cease to exist.

[wado1942]

You're pretty well on the spot in all cases. I've never seen a theater in my town with more than 1 35mm projector. Some of them have a DLP next to the 35mm, one of them has a 70mm. That's about it. Pretty much all theaters use a single projector with a platter system rather than using reels. In fact, they don't even ship them on reels, just a series of cores with about 20 minutes of film on each. That said, not only are projectionists unions pretty well gone but the projectionist is gone. Nowadays the 5' tall 16-year-old chick that serves your popcorn finishes with the people in line at the snack counter, goes up to the projection booth without washing her hands, threads the projector and hits a switch. She just walks away without checking the focus, the framing or making sure the audio amps all work. Then she goes back to selling 1/2 liter cups of coke for $6 a piece again without washing her hands. I was at a theater recently that specializes in artsy films to screen some 35mm footage we shot. I was appauled at how dirty the projection booth was, DUST EVERYWHERE. The "projectionist" without gloves or anything picks up the core of film and leans back with the whole 1200' or so resting against his chest, flops it onto the platter and procedes to thread the projector and sticks the gate into it without first checking the projector/gate for dirt. How he handled the film with his bare hands and treated it not like a treasured piece of art but rather a utility was surprising. Then I came to found later that he was one of the best guys and that was the cleanest projection booth in town.

It's all about cutting costs. Even though a new projector head that'll yield a rock steady image, sharper than anything could could imagine from even 35mm is available for $25,000, and that head automatically switches between anamorphic, matte, full gate and 3-perf ON THE FLY with only 2 lost frames in transition, it's all about making money NOW. This new projector head eliminates gate weave and is far easier on the film than the 80-year-old Geneva design. It would save money and help revitalize the theater industry because of the vast improvement in quality and less damage to the film. But again, if they won't pay to have a real projectionist, why would they pay for a projector?

[Jean Poirier]

I am a IATSE affiliated projectionist that survived a two years lockout. It is true that there are a lot of theaters that are not run by somebody with a minimum of technical knowhow. But in Canada anyway I think the trend seems now to operate theaters with a qualified projectionist. If the equipment is not properly maintained the repair costs do not justify the savings on salary. But it is also true that money pinching is often the norm. Jean