Job Title:
Cinema Projectionist – 35 mm
Number Of Years Dedicated To This Field Of Work or Lifestyle:
8
Category Of Work:
Employment – Paid Work
Country / Area of Work:
United Kingdom
Industry:
Arts/Entertainment/Publishing
Type:
Employment
Key Skills For The Job:
Flexibility, eye for detail, technical ability or aptitude work on own initiative
Vital Key Skill:
Common sense.
Your Personal Experience Of Entering This Role:
Learnt On The Job
Tips For Undertaking This Work:
Volunteer if possible at your local cinema to get experience.
Future Progression Or Developments:
Cinema management.
Gain experience wherever possible and research different types of film projection, old and new technologies. If possible volunteer at a local theatre or cinema to get experience and skills.
What Are The ‘tools of the trade’ Used Daily:
Film, film splicer, tape, projector, platter or tower to store films.
A Typical Day’s Duties:
Film arrived in 20 minute reels, each around 2000ft of film. These need to be spliced together in the correct order, to make up the film. When doing this, projectionists place a small round sticker on the film to denote the “break” which is the dot you sometimes spot flickering up in the top corner every so often. This helps when breaking down the films.The finished film is spooled onto a tower or platter for storage ready to show.
Theatres are also paid for adverts and it is an important source of income so these also have to be correctly made up according to the film and week.
When running a show, the projectionist also operates the curtains and timings as well as running the film and making sure all runs smoothly. If a film breaks during a show, the projectionist must act quickly as otherwise thousands of meters of film are on the floor in seconds!
Is Travelling A Regularly Part Of This Work:
No
Weekly Working Hours:
Full Time
Type Of Hours Arrangement:
Flexible Based On Employers Needs.
The Best Thing About The Work You Do:
Being able to watch films before release occasionally!
Your Least Favorite Thing About The Work You Do:
The noise and heat from the projector is difficult to work in as most projection rooms are also quite small.
Any Duties You Hadn’t Anticipated Prior To Undertaking The Work:
I had no idea the films were so big or heavy or needed to be made up before use.
The Top Perks Of The Work:
You run your own show, and once the film is made up and running, as long as you watch over it, you can get on with other tasks or just read your book! You can also get quite a collection of film posters!
Other Work In The Same Sector:
Sound technicians, cinema projection, many stage sets are projected these days, so there is opportunity to move into other areas.
Additional Info You Wish To Share:
Cinema projection has changed over the years, but knowing the original format will always be important. Being a projectionist can be a lonely life and if things go wrong, they go badly wrong, very quickly and you need to be able to deal with that. You need some technical knowledge and an eye for detail.
Many films now are digital and simple to operate, but it is worth learning the skills.
