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Author Topic: Projection training - the road to engeneering Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 02-12-2003 06:12 PM                       quote: I've heard about a chain that doesn't use the term projectionist. Does anyone know exactly why they do that? Cinemuck did that. They invented the title "Usher-B" to circumvent union contracts.  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 02-12-2003 07:22 PM                    quote: Cinemuck did that. They invented the title "Usher-B" to circumvent union contracts. They are not the only ones. At least they recognize that you have booth experience with the B. Loews years ago just called them opperators. That word could mean anything. In some locations Cinemark still use union opperators and usher-b's in the same booth. still if these people are trained well and they care about what they are doing they can do just as good of job as a union man any day. Sometimes you just have to overlook the pay and appreciat the experience. If you stay at it long enough you can earn good money. Problem is it is a rarity anymore to find someone who can look at it the same way as I did starting in this business. I have been told I am the last of a rare breed. Sometime I believe that more and more each day. About 16 years ago I tried to get into our local union here. At the time we had General Cinemas here. They had me on a waiting list but time ran out when Loews bought the GC theaters and the unions went bye bye. I found out later that as soon as the unions contracts were up. GC sold the theaters and loews took right over. So I just decided that I would keep doing what I was doing, learn from a lot of different people and techs such as John Harvey. I am happy with what I am doing now. Some management and responsability of our booth.  |  IP: Logged Tim Turner Film Handler Posts: 87 From: Chula Vista, CA, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 02-12-2003 07:39 PM                     Darrly's definitions of Projectionist and Operator are funny! But I think he's right about their a strong distinction between the two. I've only used the term operator in my post because of what Johnathan was saying in the original post. But I've never used it before. There are some less experienced guys working in the booth here that fit the "operator" category. But I always tease them say stuff like "We'll he's just a button pusher!". Anyway is it common for projectionist to first call another projectionist at another theater within the chain about technical issues/questions that maybe able to be explain over the phone before they call the Technician? I thought about doing this once and realized I don't even know the other projectionist working the 8 other theaters in our chain.  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 02-12-2003 07:47 PM                    Tim, They call me all the time if they need to. I am available if the tech needs me to go to another theater to check a problem for him. I wouldn't be afraid to call another theater and ask questions. You may want to find out if there is anyone in your area for your chain that has the most experience and call them especially if you can not get in touch with your tech.  |  IP: Logged Rick Long Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 759 From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Registered: Nov 1999 posted 02-12-2003 10:01 PM                     Even us Union projectionists are members of; "International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees and Motion-Picture Machine OPERATORS of the United States and Canada"..ect. Film cement, by any other name, would still give you as good a rush. What's after all in a name? First requirement: Desire. Like acting, you do it not because you want to, but because you feel you HAVE TO. Second requirement: Experience as an operator/projectionist (pick the term which you feel applies to you). In order to understand the problems of the customer, you have to have, at one time actually BEEN a customer. If you have these two, you will seek out the necessary education.  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 02-12-2003 11:42 PM                    Rick, that was very well said. Very good points.  |  IP: Logged Mark Maxwell Film Handler Posts: 55 From: Tyler, TX, USA Registered: Jul 2002 posted 02-13-2003 01:06 AM                     If you're company has a tech service, and when they come out they get the job done quik instead of screwing around, get to know them. Find out what their' background is. The tech we use worked as a projectionist from the 60s to the 80s whe he realized the industry was about to go down. Since then he has been with a company That repairs and installs theater systems. I'm not going to say who he is or what company he's with because we are friends now and it's a small crew of only 30 techs nationwide, so I don't want to put any names on here without their' concent. THIS GUY knows his stuff. The first time I met him, was the first time he came to our theater. He had wires and microphones and tons of monitors all over the place. The first time he got to the top of the stairs, he barely looked around and knew everything we had. Our old tech wasn't like that. The new one knew instantly we had rare Norelco FP20's, Ballintyne platters, the projectors had been converted to century automatic lens changers, with Xenetron failsafes. In my experiences with him, he has never been wrong despite what some might say. He has tought me alot about the way it was when it was an extreme profession, and alot about the new technology. That's the best way to be trained. Face your' problems with the guy who's there to fix it, and ask alot of questions about anything you can think of. And make sure he has the experience to back it up.  |  IP: Logged Dave Callaghan Film Handler Posts: 60 From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Registered: Jan 2003 posted 02-13-2003 03:11 AM                     Just for information, the IA has become the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts ... The new name suggests Projectionist and Operator, not to mention Exhibition in general, are obsolete/unnecessary from the IA's point of view. Their focus is on production. In the past, working as a Projectionist or Operator was recognized as a profession. Today, booth training can amount to little more than threading and pushing a button to start the automation. Then the learning stops. Any problems, and that person - whatever you care to name him or her - is lost. If the situation is even recognized as a problem. The Projectionist or Operator is different when it comes to learning. Try to adopt the attitude you learn something new every day, and we can all learn from each other. My experience has been that knowing and understanding projection is not something that can be done quickly, because there are so many details. Unfortunately, you can read general material, study the manuals, and still be surprised by what does or doesn't happen in the real world. Experience is essential, and it only comes with time. Reflecting on Jonathan's original list of things to know, I have to wonder, how much time he has available and what he intends to do. If he is opening his own theatre in a month, I would suggest he concentrate on his business and hire a good technician. For booth technique, try to find a theatre with a professional still working, and see if you can spend some time under his or her supervision. This is the way I learned it. It is called an apprenticeship, and I still recommend it.  |  IP: Logged Robert Throop Master Film Handler Posts: 412 From: Vernon, NY USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-13-2003 07:58 AM                     The projectionist vs. operator debate goes back at least to the thirties. F.H. Richardson insisted that professionals were projectionists. His early books however were titled "Motion Picture Handbook for Managers and Operators".  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 02-13-2003 08:55 AM                     Here in England both terms have been around for a long time. Architects' drawings from the '20s and '30s often label the projection room as the 'operating box', and documents of that era often refer to 'operators', though the term seems to be less used now than it was. Maybe it was more widely used when projectionists were operating other equipment, Brenographs, follow spots, slide lanterns, generators etc., as well as film projectors. The term 'operator' seems to be almost universally applied to follow spots, and to arc lamps used in studios. On the other hand, projectionists now operate other equipment, automation systems, platters, towers, video systems, computers etc., which they didn't then. I would say that 'projectionist' is the most common term today, but you also see 'technician', which seems to be more common in multi-purpose venues which show film as well as various other events, and I know of at least one cinema which has a 'chief engineer', or at least did a few years ago, I don't know if they still use the term. This is a theatre with a fully-equipped stage, but which was designed and built in the '30s mainly for film, and only hosts occasional live events. I wouln't say that 'operator' has any lesser status here than 'projectionist'. [ 02-13-2003, 10:46 AM: Message edited by: Stephen Furley ]  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 02-13-2003 10:11 AM                    These are all good points that I am reading. I think that it is important to remember that it is the professional attitude that sepperates you from being a button pusher. every booth is different out there. They each have there own problems. It is an everyday learning experience.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 02-13-2003 05:08 PM                       Darryl, as Robert noted, projectionists have been called operators from the beginning. Loews didn't come up with that. As Rick Long mentioned, the (former) official name of the union referred to the position as operator... that also went back to the beginning. Cinemark was the first company to parse words in order to get around the union.  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 02-14-2003 03:11 AM                    Actually the term that cinemark came up with was done in 1991. Prior to that you could wear different clothes other than the uniform at the time. At least in our area. As far as loews is concerned when I worked for them they told me that operators was what the non union people were called in there guidelines. When I left them 10 years ago they had just started making it where you had to work 1 position in each area. Box, concession and doorman. Booth was not included in the catagories but I think they had people doing it anyway. the last Loews left our area 2 years ago. But does it really matter what term they give to a position. So long as you work with a professional attitude torwards what you are doing. I edited my post so I would not reflect any info that may have been incorrect as it was handed down information not absolute fact.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 02-14-2003 03:28 AM                     Darryl, FYI the facts and reasons presented in your first paragraph in the above post regarding Cinemark are incorrect (except for the 1991 part).  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 02-14-2003 03:35 AM                    That is just the info that was handed down to me over the years. Now I know that they could wear something other than the uniform at the time because I witnessed that at least in our area that is. But like I said at the end of the post does it really matter what the term is. By the way just to clerify to me what really may have happened for them to come up with the term can you PM me a response. I like to keep my facts straight. people twist things around by the time you hear it.  |  IP: Logged

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