And if you've got a link to that film-done-right thing, I'd love to have a look!

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Most managers I know started off as floor staff and most of them made their way to projectionist before becoming a manager.

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Brad, you're pretty darn Chipper yourself!!!

My current projectionist is great and although he enjoys his job he really can't afford to keep working there. He does make just under what an assistant makes at that theatre, it's still not enough for someone as skilled as he is. From what I understand the previous projectionist had that title by default.

I would hazard a guess that there are managers who don't know what quality presentation really looks/sounds like and they may think their half-assed projectionist is doing a great job - a "booth god" even - only because he can come in and turn on the center channel amp when they forget and wonder why they can't hear the dialogue. Or come in on his day off and open the curtains when the picture looks all folded and blue.

My real home is in the booth and I'm transferring to a single screen theatre and I won't have a projectionist there. Fortunately my new assisstant is booth-savvy as well.

Please don't trash me for being a manager/operator as that's just how things are where I'm at. If this were 1954 I know I'd be adjusting carbons eight hours a day rather than running up and down the stairs threading film, tearing tickets, selling popcorn, unclogging toilets, counting money, adjusting sound, greeting customers, cleaning gates, displacing anger, filing reports, arranging shipments, ordering concessions, building up prints, leading meetings, etc. etc. etc...

That's not to say that with a good audience, a fabulous staff and upper-management with a sincere appreciation of quality presentation (with respect to a limited-sometimes-teetering-on-bankruptcy budget)the job is by any means miserable... I really can't get over some of you who apparently work in deplorable conditions. I guess if and when you do get that 'perfect job' you'll have a reason to say "it could be worse!".

I think I wandered off...Now what was this thread about?

I know how hard it can be to get quality staff. I used to be amazed at some of the employment applications that came in to theatres. That doesn't mean that finding someone good in the booth is impossible if you check the right places. A high-school counselor might know of a mechanically inclined student needing work-study. A retiring auto mechanic might want to pick up a few hours. There are alternative places to look for employees.

The concept I'm trying to promote is that people who are treated like line workers will act like line workers. People who are treated like they have responsibility and standards to uphold will often act appropriately. Those that don't need to move to a situation where they can be treated like line workers.

The concept isn't new. It is even used in concession and other positions. An employee is given the lead position, a set of guidelines and told to take charge of the trainees and less capable workers. The person learns to lead, the trainees are trained, and the manager is freed to do other duties.

Tonight, while counting the stock room (which is in the projection booth) I stopped and threaded a film in our theatre #7 for practice and to help my projectionist. On my way downstairs he was heading back upstairs after his break and I warned him to check the projector before running it (I never trust myself if someone else is starting the film). He called me downstairs and told me that my loops were off a bit but other then that it was fine. We weren't all that busy so when the next show let out I headed back upstairs to do the same thing....Same outcome, my loops were not sufficiant for him....grrr But he did say they were better. Next show, the same thing....this time he stayed with me while I was threading, he pointed out a couple to tricks to make threading easier and I got the loops right (or at least he said that to make me happy ). I hate threading....I hate doing the booth....but I do want to know how to run it the way my projectionist runs it so I do not mess up his way of doing things.

If you are a manager it doesn't take much to ask the projectionist for help and to show you how s/he runs the booth. It may take a couple minutes a day but will be worth it to make the projectionist happy and to maybe even teach you a couple of new things. No one knows everything, no matter how long you've been doing it.

*I do have experiance running projectors at 2 other theaters where I was the mng/proj but this equiptment is quite different and teaching an old dog new tricks can be difficult.

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About two weeks ago, the booth manager started taking one shift a week in the booth. This happens to be on a slow night, when not all of the shows will run. I find myself wondering if he's staying in practice with that one shift. I mean, even if I tried to tell him about all of the idiosyncracies with our 22 projectors, I know I'd leave something out. And it bothers me. The rest of the week is divided between myself and another projectionist. So we know everything that's going on. Also, the management relies on me to fix anything that could go wrong, to the point of calling me at home on my days off. And those guys just aren't practicing enough. I take a lot of pride in my presentation, and I don't mind changing Xenon lamps or cleaning lenses and such. But I hate to hear a print got scratched or Dolby Digital track won't play because of excessive wear. So if I had my way, I'd keep my managers down on the floor where they're needed, and they can focus on what they already have time for, and leave the booth to me and my much older co-worker, regardless of policy.