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Author Topic: Need advice on becoming projectionist. Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 11-30-2002 05:36 PM                       quote: Scott if you think $10 hour is the average, I need to move to Boston. William, I just moved from there. I loved living in Mass., and made several great friends there like Scott, but a pack of hot dogs cost $5. In Eastern PA, the same pack cost $1.39! I can also get 5 or 6 pounds of hamburger here for what I used to pay for 1 in Boston.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-30-2002 09:24 PM                        William -- as Tim said, consider that the cost of living here (real estate in particular) is rather high compared with many parts of the country. Not as bad as NYC or the SF Bay Area, though. I have no idea what the actual "average" pay is, but I'm sure it varies greatly by geographical region (same for all jobs, I guess).  |  IP: Logged Patrick Jordan Film Handler Posts: 2 From: Sunrise, FL, USA Registered: Nov 2002 posted 12-01-2002 02:37 AM                     thanks for all the input guys! i gotta work the day shift monday, so no one'll be around and i'm gonna use that oportunity to talk to the projestion manager and my usher manager. i'm just going to be myself, and tell them why i want to do it, which is pretty honest. i wanna go to film school and i want to work as close as i can with the film industry. wish me luck and i'll let you know what happens! thanks again, patrick  |  IP: Logged Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 12-02-2002 02:49 PM                     When I started in the Booth in Los Angeles. You had to work the Pussycat Theatres, if you wanted to work out of the local. I got lucky, I got the extra work job at the Hollywood Pacific Theatre. For the next few years, I worked the extra board fro different chains in the area (Pacific, GCC, Cineplex, Mann, Laemmle, Edwards). I had about 6 days, every week of work. The extra board was great, you got to work theatres. And work many different theatre set-ups. (Like projectors automations, sound systems) You got to learn, alot more doing this. Another good thing was if the projectionist and the manager liked your work. You would get asked back for vacations. Around that time, I started extra work on the Bel-Air circuit. With that move, I would spend the next 11 years at Paramount Studios, Hollywood. Handling Executive and Talent screenings and Post Production Projection. Two years ago a New York Studio Projection job opened up. So I transfered to New York. We handle all Post-Production to release projection work. There is about 5 floors of cutting rooms in my building. We work directly with the film makers. Doing this move I make the same rate (40hrs,+OT) as the Academy of Motion Pictures in Beverly Hills. One problem in becoming a projectionist today is the Theatre chains. They are looking for someone to run mega screen theatres for semi-decent wage. Projectionists at Mann Theatres in Los Angeles, had to fix: seats, aisle lighting, ice machines, popcorn machines, light plumbing, paint and sometimes run the booth when the chief of staff was on break. Yes, you got to build-up the prints. But the asst or chief got to ship out the print. Like what Scott said earlier about working a single screen theatre. Or working a film festival, so you can see that there is more than two film release formats (Flat 1.85/Scope 2.40). I work with these formats everyday (1.37 , 1.66 , 1.85 , 2.40 , Sup35) plus digital video formats. Working the extra board you could learn and see almost every popular projector working. The jobs no longer support extra boards in most locals that you can make a living on. If you are going to film school, I guess working in a theatre you will be saving money on some of those Great Hollywood films. Good Luck in school From the Booth  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 12-02-2002 03:03 PM                        Definitely stay in school. Projection is a good way to work your way through college. My three years (1967-1970) in the booth have been invaluable to my 32+ year career at Kodak, but I needed the college degree too. Learn all you can, "Do Film Right", and have some fun doing it. After all, we all work in "Show Business".  |  IP: Logged

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