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Topic: Women relly projectionist?

John T. Hendrickson, Jr
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 889
From: Freehold, NJ, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 10-16-2006 06:05 PM

We're beating a dead horse here. I've delt with two women. One was a disaster and the other, one of the best people I have trained.

Throw out the gender on this topic. Either you have good people, or you don't. Male or female- makes no difference.

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Mark J. Marshall
Film God

Posts: 3188
From: New Castle, DE, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 10-16-2006 08:01 PM

For what it's worth, "gender" = masculine/feminine. "Sex" = male/female. But I agree we can throw out the gender and the sex on this topic.

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 10-17-2006 01:45 AM

quote: John T. Hendrickson, Jr
We're beating a dead horse here. I've delt with two women.

I hope that wasn't the way you dealt with them! Projection booths can be stressful enough places without bringing domestic violence into the mix... [Big Grin]

I once asked my vet what would be the best way to persuade a cat to swallow his anti-worm tablets after a week of him spitting them out. 'Well...' the vet said, 'there's more than one way to skin a cat.' I replied that I was very fond of the creature in question and that, however irritating his behaviour was, I had no intention of skinning him.

As for woman projectionists, my experience was that they're in a minority, but of those who are there, there are good ones and not so good ones, just like their male counterparts. I'd imagine that the typical working hours in a theatre would make it pretty difficult to combine the job with raising a family. But that's not just a problem for women or projectionists: my experience was that of all the theatre staff I worked with, those with young famiilies were in a distinct minority.

I did get mildly annoyed with one female colleague who decided that she didn't do moving films from their delivery point to and from the booth, which was 6 flights of stairs away. Every morning I'd come in after an evening she was on, there'd be three or four prints needing to be put out and the same again to come up (this place was an rep house which changed its programme daily). Even if she'd left a note saying 'Sorry; don't feel comfortable lifting that weight, please could you do it?' that would have been fine. It was just the casual assumption that I wouldn't have any issue moving all her films for her which got up my nose.

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Bernard Tonks
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 619
From: Cranleigh, Surrey, England
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 10-17-2006 10:44 AM

I know of three cinemas that had a husband as chief, and wife as 2nd projectionist. There was a South London ABC chief projectionist, who had a team of four female projectionists always on his staff. Two women worked in projection at the Gaumont, Rosehill for many years.

quote: Leo Enticknap
I did get mildly annoyed with one female colleague who decided that she didn't do moving films from their delivery point to and from the booth, which was 6 flights of stairs away...

You and your lady colleague would have liked the multiplex I’m helping out at the moment. There are lifts to the 7th floor projection area, and better still, the complex handymen always moves the films between projection and the transport room.

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Caleb Johnstone-Cowan
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 593
From: London, UK
Registered: Mar 2006

posted 10-17-2006 12:54 PM

There is a woman who does film delivery in the West End of London. Where I worked the upper projection booth was probably 7th floor but more like 10 storeys up (some double-height levels). Our lift didn't work most days. One time she had a film box in each hand and ran up the stairs from the foyer. I was impressed to say the least.

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Dick Vaughan
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1032
From: Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 10-17-2006 05:12 PM

quote: Richard Hamilton
I only know of 1 other large format theater that has a girl operator

Two of the best and most respectedIMAX/Omnimax projectionists I know,who also do quite a bit of 35mm work, are Ingrid Lae from Science World in vancouver and Cherie Rivers from Boston both of whom help out at Telluride Festival .

There are many other female projectionists out there in Large Format land. In the UK there 's at least one each in Bristol,Bradford and London. I also know ones in Seattle,Chicago and St Paul, Mn as well as an ex projectionist in Townsville , Australia. All of them have been conscientious ,keen , capable projectionists.

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Alan Plester
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 209
From: great yarmouth england
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 10-21-2006 08:15 AM

Years ago there was a woman who was the chief at a cinema in Coventry, very qualified lady.

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John T. Kuriger
Film Handler

Posts: 2
From: Portage, IN USA
Registered: Apr 2006

posted 10-27-2006 11:28 AM

I am 3rd generation theater connected. My grandfather and grandmother were both booth trained and operators.

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Allison Parsons
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 630
From: East Peoria, IL
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 10-29-2006 12:39 AM

Hypothetical question:

You have two employees. Both have been employeed at your theater the same amount of time, both have very good work ethics. Ones female, ones male. Which one do you ask if their interested in training in booth first: The girl or guy?

I've delt with probably an equal amount of good and bad female and male booth ops. However, excluding myself, the projectionist that have been working the longest at the theaters I've worked at were male. Doesn't mean girls suck, but most females I've delt with have quit to work at another job.

quote: Leo Enticknap
I did get mildly annoyed with one female colleague who decided that she didn't do moving films from their delivery point to and from the booth, which was 6 flights of stairs away.

I've had knee surgery, a buldge disk in my spine, and I still carry those damn things upstairs. I like to say thats how I keep my girlish figure is by moving prints and cans haha

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Ron Curran
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 504
From: Springwood NSW Australia
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 10-29-2006 01:14 AM

The problem seems to be that women are superior to their male counterparts in cashiering and kiosk positions so you don’t want to lose them to the equipment. Any female who is really passionate about projection gets the training. As long as the pay is good, regardless of the sex or position and as long as the team is happy and respects one another there shouldn’t be a problem with who does what.

Allison, I have managed to keep my girlish figure moving prints around, ushering and cleaning. Not the best look for a bloke.

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Kelly Arciniaco
Film Handler

Posts: 6
From: Brick, NJ, USA
Registered: Nov 2006

posted 11-08-2006 10:45 AM

I'm surprised there is an issue of male vs. female projectionists. I worked in Donna's theatre and we had a lot more female projectionists than males. I'd have to agree that it's not an issue of what chromosone an employee has, but rather who is better at the job.

As far as moving canisters is concerned, I'll admit that most of the time I physically cannot move the heavier canisters up three flights of stairs, but at least I try, or find someone who can and ask personally and make sure they are moved. Some of the female floor staff even refuse to take out garbage.

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Chad M Calpito
Master Film Handler

Posts: 435
From: San Diego, CA
Registered: Apr 2006

posted 11-08-2006 12:15 PM

At my theatre, there are 4 certified women projectionists and another one is currently being trained. Personally, they are good projectionists, with one of them being excellent. It doesn't matter what gender a person is just as long as they do a good job at film projection.

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 11-08-2006 01:54 PM

quote: Allison Parsons
You have two employees. Both have been employeed at your theater the same amount of time, both have very good work ethics. Ones female, ones male. Which one do you ask if their interested in training in booth first: The girl or guy?

I would interview both of them for the position and make a decision based on how that goes. Have either or both of them expressed a desire to learn the booth? Maybe give each of them a (separate) tour of the booth, explain the job, watch their reactions, see what questions they ask. Then go from there.

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Jeremy Fuentes
Mmmm, Dr. Pepper!

Posts: 1168
From: Corpus Christi, TX United States
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 11-08-2006 06:18 PM

Female projectionists? Is it not a problem that women have a smaller brain than the men? [Razz]

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Donna Siegwart
Film Handler

Posts: 63
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Jun 2005

posted 11-08-2006 09:52 PM

Ah yeah Kelly I know how that is moving the cases. I personally have a nerve injury in one of my arms and lose feeling in my right arm and hand if I over work it, so I ask for help if I need it, but I generally try to do my best. Maybe its to prove a point or maybe its because I love my job [Wink]

who knows.

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