In other areas, those same people may perform a top-notched job. Maybe an aptitude test would prove valuable for a certain job consideration.

It is like a college professor who cannot run or is not qualified to run a 16mm classroom projector. Seen those type a million times over.

As a college professor teaching film criticism, I only wish we HAD 16mm (or better yet, 35mm) to run the films on. Instead, we're forced to use (mostly) DVDs and crappy LCD projectors. The images were worse when we were using VHS. No one consulted the film faculty on what WE might like when they did the installation.

On the original topic, lack of care is why I rarely go to the multiplex anymore. Alack! There's no more SHOW in show business. It's better if I don't have to deal with the concession staff, who act as if they might just as well be working at a fast food joint. Fortunately I know several of the local projectionists and can visit the theatre when I know they'll be working and the presentation, at least, will be good.

Of course, the pay is one factor in the quality of the staff. Pay is why I'm no longer working in exhibition--not that I make much more as a college teacher. I agree that people should take pride in their work regardless of what they're paid, but nobody does, and businesses shouldn't be relying on pride as a substitute for decent wages anyway.

I got a laugh out of the first paragraph of your post. I agree with everything you say.

I also think you agree with what I mentioned about people not being able to adapt to the job. One of many instances come to mind on this one.....we tried to train some people in the booth, and even though they were well motivated and really wanted to do it right, they just could not get it, even though we spent weeks at it to try to help them break through the brick wall, so to speak.

In high school, I was in the movie projector club. It was funny to be called into a classroom and see the film tangled in a knot around a 16 mm B&H Filmosound 500. It looked like they were wrapping the projector up for a Christmas present. Some teachers were desperately afraid of those projectors. This allowed us kids in the MP club to skip classes to run a movie in the girl's PE classes.

Now, THAT was a good deal..

I have attended a couple of college classes from time to time several years ago, and it was like watching a monkey in a banana factory when some of the professors made their attempts to run a 16 mm projector. But when it came to teaching their subject, they really knew their stuff!

The idea is not to spend too much time training a person who can't learn projection; show them a little, then see how they do. Also, I need to somehow put a stop to people who don't know much, teaching new employees bad habits.

John's idea takes into account of the fact that, to paraphrase Shakespeare, "Some are born to projection. Others have projection Thrust upon them." I'm just glad I have the chance to learn from everybody on film-tech. Believe me, there's plenty of stuff on these pages I carry into the classroom (see, for example, the discussion on the quality of carbon arc light vs. xenon--something I hadn't really thought much about until it came up here.)

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