|
|
This topic comprises 8 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
|
|
Author
|
Topic: I got an interview to be a projectionist at The Majestic!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Scott Norwood
Film God
Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 03-01-2007 06:44 AM
Agreed with the others--show them that you are reliable and love movies and that you would like to help to make films look and sound their best.
This is where I point out that a brand-new first-run corporate multiplex is maybe _not_ the best place to learn the projectionist craft. Sure, you'd get to work with nice equipment that is (one would hope) properly installed and in good working order, but you won't get much experience in troubleshooting and fixing problems with balky equipment and dealing with beat-up prints that have to be made runnable because there is no alternative.
If you have the chance, go find a smaller, older second-run or art-house theatre with a good head operator. Those sorts of places seem to produce better projectionists because they force one to deal with oddball formats and damaged prints and to learn how to keep the show on the screen in the face of many difficulties. Then, go to work at a multiplex with good equipment and a service contract and everything will seem easy. You'll also have an appreciation for the importance of keeping prints in good condition for the next theatre, and will know what to do when there is a theatre rental and an Academy-ratio mono print shows up on cores with missing leaders (which is the sort of thing that most mulitplex operators don't see regularly and probably wouldn't know what to do with).
I've learned so much just by working in different types of venues with different types of equipment and by knowing some very talented operators and technicians. This is a part time job/hobby for me, but working in many different places helps to keep the job from becoming stale and boring.
quote: Frank Dubrois
I wish all theaters would start new hires on the ground floor shoveling popcorn and ripping tickets. Everyone should have to pay their dues. If you can do that for a year, THEN I'd beleive you have interest in theater work.
Are you saying that you'd hire a popcorn kid before you would hire Brad (or anyone else with years of experience and the knowledge, ability, and desire to do the job properly)? That's crazy. Does that mean that the theatre's accountants should start by shoveling popcorn, too? All of those jobs require different skills and knowledge. Concession employees need to be clean and have good customer-service and cash-handling skills. Accountants need to be detail-oriented and understand balance sheets and income statements. Projectionists need to have good mechanical and electronics skills and have a sense of showmanship. I suspect that few people have all of those skills and could do all of those jobs well.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
Martin McCaffery
Film God
Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 03-01-2007 10:17 AM
Lots of good advice from everyone, so I'll just add a little. Remember that your job as a projectionist in a multi-plex really comes down to being able to do the same thing over and over, in exactly the same way and do it right everytime. As was mentioned earlier, you will be dealing with new equipment that (one hopes) is properly installed so won't break often, so you won't get many chances to learn about trouble shooting--except when you screw up (and you will, we all have).
If you develop a reputation as the guy who does things right, maybe the tech guys will want you there when they are doing service calls, and then you can learn. It is like working in a resturant kitchen, you don't get to be chef until you've spent years on the prep line. And if you are taught wrong, or learn wrong, it can take years to overcome.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Frank Dubrois
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 896
From: Cleveland, OH
Registered: Mar 2005
|
posted 03-01-2007 01:00 PM
quote: Scott Norwood
Are you saying that you'd hire a popcorn kid before you would hire Brad (or anyone else with years of experience and the knowledge, ability, and desire to do the job properly)? That's crazy. Does that mean that the theatre's accountants should start by shoveling popcorn, too?
Well, no. Brad obviously has booth experience. I was meaning NEW hires. NO theater experience at all. There are plenty of people (not just kids) that work downstairs that would love to get a shot upstairs. Why hire someone with NO theater experience at all when you have employees that have been in the biz and at least know whats going on. Just because someone can re-install windows or install a video card into a computer, doesn't qualify them to be a projectionist does it? As far as the "higher ups" shoveling popcorn or working a usher shift..why not? Maybe that way, some of these larger corporations would make such bad decisions. Why not bring a regional manager into the booth for a shift and show him WHY parts are needed, or WHY good projectionist training is essential. Show them a bad dirty print, then show them a print that has been cleaned. Let THEM deal with pissed off customers when the sound drops out, or the bulb goes out during a presentation. I absolutely believe that only something GOOD can come of ALL theater employees working a few shifts downstairs and being shown what goes on upstairs. It builds appreciation.
| IP: Logged
|
|
Brad Miller
Administrator
Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99
|
posted 03-01-2007 01:26 PM
I agree with Frank, if I have two kids that are both the same age and both appear to be equally qualified in terms of eagerness to learn, etc, I would go with the one that has already worked downstairs. Some people would prefer to do that because they view it as someone they could "yank" from the booth every once in awhile to cover a concession shift or something, but I view it more as someone who has already proven to the company that they will be there on time every day, with a good attitude, who can take care of the equipment and not abuse it (concession and box office items have enough of this to prove that point) and also someone who understands how starting a movie late will affect the cleaning time for the next show and just how abusive angry customers can be when something goes wrong. Experiencing that first hand DOES give them the advantage over somebody who has never worked the floor before.
As far as the film motivator, that's just an old Star Wars joke between some friends of mine. Ever notice how when something breaks in a Star Wars movie it always seems to be the motivator? "Uncle Owen, this R2 unit has a bad motivator, come look." I just happen to be someone who can keep a straight face on command even if I am laughing inside. What was that word Randy Stankey used?
| IP: Logged
|
|
Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
|
posted 03-01-2007 03:03 PM
quote: Martin McCaffery
Remember that your job as a projectionist in a multi-plex really comes down to being able to do the same thing over and over, in exactly the same way and do it right everytime.
In my experience it was a weird combination of that and keeping a level head and responding sensibly when the shit starts flying too fast to duck, as Michael says. Sometimes it's a routine, monotonous job; at others you're under a lot of pressure. If it's 10pm on a Thursday night and you've got four prints to take down in time for a midnight collection, you've both got to meet that deadline and pack off the prints without scratching any of them. You learn how to do it by doing it time and time again when you're not under high pressure, so that when you are, you keep a level head and get the job done.
The same applies to emergencies. My first 'in at the deep end' experience was only my second day I'd worked unsupervised as the only projectionist in the building. It was the opening night of Jurassic Park, and all 904 seats had been sold for the early house. Timed the CD to finish on cue ... lights down ... tabs open ... open dowser; picture is bang in rack, pin-sharp focus ... no sound.
After the minor heart attack which followed, I basically just checked everything I could think of, in a blind panic and no particular order. This was an independent house: the company we had a technical support contract with was 200 miles away, and the cost of getting them out plus 904 refunds would have been a financial disaster for the owner.
The problem turned out to be that the internal fuse in the transformer which powered the exciter bulb had blown. In the absence of a spare I shorted the contacts with a bit of kitchen foil, which got us through the evening. It took me 20 minutes of panic to find the problem, though; and about the first thing I did after recovering was to make a checklist of things to check in the event of a sound failure in future. If it happened again, I'd go through them one by one. When the chief came back from leave, he liked the list and added several other things to it - which, if they'd been the culprit that night, I would never have found.
To sum up, the two most important things I'd look for in a trainee are the ability to work reliably and consistently in normal circumstances, and respond systematically, do the right things and not do anything stupid when the shit hits the fan. When I later had to rescue situations caused by inexperienced projectionists it wasn't really the inexperience which caused the problem, but making a stupid mistake which would probably have been prevented by stopping and thinking. In a projection booth there are all sorts of seemingly minor mistakes which can cause major, serious problems.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Bastiaan Fleerkate
Film Handler
Posts: 85
From: Linschoten, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Registered: Jun 2006
|
posted 03-01-2007 06:57 PM
In my opinion you’re the type of man that loves to go to the cinema to watch a movie (or set up the DLP beamer in your home for hours). This is good if you want to work with your home-cinema set or setting up a beamer in a professional way.
The love to see movies doesn’t fit in well with being a projectionist. Don’t understand me wrong, you can see many movies, but you will get tired of watching them, and you will have more things to do, then only looking at one movie. There are more projectors en auditoriums to be served and you will never have the time to watch something.
Before I got a job in a cinema at the age of 18 (a 1 screen cinema in Woerden, The Netherlands. Philips FP5 pre 1950 projectors!) I had seen 4 movies in a cinema. Because it was a 1 screen cinema I did get to see more movies. I was jammed between two projectors and the make-up table in a room 2 by 4 meters, not the best place. If you want to see films it is better to buy a ticket then to be a projectionist.
Now I work in a 2 screen theatre in Woerden (age 22!) (2 vic 5’s and much more room) and there are much more films to be showed. Occasionally I see a movie when I’m pre-screening one. In the time I work in this cinema I have seen 4 movies as a customer and that is it.
All I want to say is:
Being a projectionist is not about seeing movies, it’s about showing movies to people who enjoy watching movies.
Last I want to say. In our cinema I always chat with the customers. They come with output and I usually do something with it. Many people have helped me fixing problems with sound and other items. And those people never heard of film-tech or where aware of the face that a man was standing in a booth starting up the projector. We get this remark often: “O, I thought you showed the movie from a DVD.” Or something similar. We let those people see the booth and they leave with a smile… (and 24 frames of film).
If I’m wrong you can leave al this behind you, but for other people who want to work in a cinema and are movie seeing type. DON”T APPLY FOR A JOB IN A CINEMA. It sounds great, but you will see less movies instead.
Bastiaan Fleerkate (AnnexCinema, Woerden, The Netherlands) o, I’m Dutch so the grammar isn’t that good, I know….
| IP: Logged
|
|
Mark Strube
Master Film Handler
Posts: 322
From: Milwaukee, WI, United States
Registered: Feb 2007
|
posted 03-01-2007 11:17 PM
I do enjoy watching movies and the whole cinema experience, but it seems lately I don't dedicate much time to the whole "experience" of that anyways. Lately I've become much more selective with the movies I take the time to go out and see or screen at my house. I do however think I might have at least a sliver of showmanship in me. I love having a big group over, dimming the lights, popping in my HD-DVD trailer disc (converted from the QuickTime site and kept in full 1920x1080 with 5.1 intact if it's in the source), showing them the latest trailers... hand-picked of course, so there's no stinkers in there... and then onto the movie - sometimes throwing a Dolby sound trailer into the mix.
Still, it's home cinema, I won't dare make that comparison again here, but maybe that helps you understand my personality more.
I'd also like to genuinely thank everyone for all the advice given here. A few misunderstandings and surprising yet helpful responses later, I think I've got a better shot at this. Thank you!
(Something I just remembered... back in the day, when VHS was still popular and I was a lot younger... I would record the trailers off of either Coming Attractions on E!, or from the Pay-Per-View channel when they'd feed the trailers to the local cable companies on a weekly basis... and edit those onto tapes before other movies, which I'd show friends and family. Perhaps I do have a bit of showmanship in me.)
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
This topic comprises 8 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|
Home
Topic Closed
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[thumbsup]](graemlins/thumbsup.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Before he even decided to get a projectionist job, not that long ago, I swear he already knew more about this stuff than I did (and I started when I was 12...plus I'm a service tech)! I've never seen anything like it.![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
How did you keep a straight face?!
Printer-friendly view of this topic