This is topic Booth hours in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Gordon Leslie (Member # 139) on 12-28-1999, 03:47 AM:
I'm interested in how your booth is managed. I'm employed in a 4 screen complex working a 38 hour week over 5 days,we have a 6 week rotating roster of 2 shifts a day. I have 2 weekends off and work 2 Sundays (15hrs each) during this roster. Other than the usual booth maintenance we also maintain lights within the building.
Back in "95"I visited a complex in Honolulu of Consolidated Theatres.This is a 16 plex that had been open 6 months. This consists of 1 big booth that was certainly very impressive and immaculately kept.
I had a talk with the projectionist while there and he told me he was the only resident projectionist other than a casual on Thursdays for feature make-up,meaning he worked 7 days a week day and night.
I could never imagine anyone working those hours,where's the family time , where's anytime?.
Is this common in some complexes.
Posted by Robb Johnston (Member # 239) on 12-28-1999, 10:01 AM:
I rotate between 3 facilities on a three week schedule, 40-45 hours a week. I have off on Sundays and Mondays, but I am on call all the time if there is a breakdown. I oversee training and maintainence of the equipment. On paper my job is to make sure that my projectionists are getting all of their cleaning and other duties done, but I don't mind helping out with build-up or booth operations if I am not working on anything else.
Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 12-28-1999, 10:14 AM:
The 24 that I am at is done with 8-10 usher-b's with two shifts each day. Two people each shift. 1st shift is open til 5, 2nd shift, 1st person 5 - 11 pm, 2nd person 5 - close.
Posted by Erika Hellgren (Member # 22) on 12-28-1999, 02:45 PM:
At my 16 plex, I have Friday and Saturday off, and I work 5 or 6 to close Sun-Thurs, though I come in a little earlier on Thursdays since I build up most of the film. Our Head Projectionist works Friday and Saturday night, Sunday matinee and Tuesday matinee, then also comes in on Thursday night so there's two of us. Then we have a third, very amateur guy who fills in the holes. The only thing he does is thread and tear down films. The Head Projectionist and I do all the REEL work. 
So, we all work around 40-45 hours a week.
Posted by Nicholas McRobert (Member # 205) on 12-28-1999, 08:20 PM:
At my theatre, the layout consists of 10 screens split 5 each on 2 levels. Out team consists of three projectionists (including myself) and a Chief. We work a 35hour week each and have limited overtime hours when someone is on holiday. The schedule is a 4-week rolling arrangement, so the hours are repeated more-or-less every month, allowing each person two Sat/Sun's off in every 4. As well as film projection and maintenance of all related booth gear, we oversee all of the electrical fixtures and fittings in the building, so some early-morning work is usually needed to change lights on high ceilings etc. Apart from that, we are our own bosses with no interference from Management/Floor people.
Nicholas
Posted by Aaron Mehocic (Member # 15) on 12-28-1999, 09:32 PM:
I am the head projectionist at a nine-plex. Until recently, there was myself and four other operators. Of these, three were management and the other worked Sunday afternoons only. Now, one of the managers left for a better job at Cinemark and the Sunday afternoon guy went to a mill that makes bath tubs. My schedule has not changed since 1996:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 6:00-10:00
Thursday: 6:00-2:00
Friday: 6:00-12:15
Saturday: 12:00-12:15
Sunday: 6:00-10:00
Normally, I pick up extra hours through doubles on Wednesday when the kids are out of school over the holidays or summer break. I also pick up about one to four hours on Friday mornings doing make-ups. My work is supposed to be booth only, but I am not above offering help to the ushers trying to clean auditoriums when we're selling out show-after-show. I like to work alone in the booth and I stay in the booth the entire shift (even the 12 hours and 15 minutes on Saturdays!). This sends a message to anyone promoted from the floor staff that an operators place is in the booth and I, as head projectionist, expect you there.
Posted by David Johnson (Member # 173) on 12-29-1999, 12:15 AM:
Gordon, perhaps you can give Reg a hand,
David
Posted by Gordon Leslie (Member # 139) on 12-29-1999, 02:03 AM:
Your not wrong David, I saw Reg the other day he's lost 5 kilo's in 5 weeks ! better than Jenny Craig!!!!
Posted by Christopher Seo (Member # 7) on 12-29-1999, 02:09 AM:
Gordon,Wow! You are referring to the Kapolei Theaters, right? I've trained there in the past couple of months for employment with Consolidated. It's still as clean as ever, but there are two projectionists there now between whom the hours are pretty equally divided, I think.
Most people seem to like mostly 6-hour shifts with one 12-hour shift to compensate for a day off, but I know some who don't mind working 7 days a week as long as each shift is short.
My schedule will be changing over the next couple of months. I'm expecting to work about three days of grind ( 1/2 hr before start of first show to 15 minutes after start of last show, or about 11 am - 10:30 pm). I don't have a personal scheduling preference yet (although starvation can be a problem on longer shifts), but the grinds are desirable because they allow me entirely free days in which I can do projection elsewhere.
Posted by Rob Brooks (Member # 186) on 01-06-2000, 09:02 PM:
I just keep going. My 12-plex has booth hours of a minimum of 16.5 hrs. My six-plex 11-14 Hrs. per day. I average 75-80 hours a week. I've had some weeks over 100 paid hrs. I enjoy the challenge to keep going and stay focused on good projection.
Posted by Anthony Matarazzo (Member # 63) on 01-07-2000, 06:58 PM:
When I was working at Hoyts, the projectionist ( Cinema worker level 2 ), we were never called projectionist. Had to lace 8 projectors and open floor in half an hour. So the projectors started on a count down timer and you were never there. Plus when sessions came out you had to help clean cinemas and lace up. I left after a year in projection.. Then I moved to Greater Union. You have to stay in your box. You don't clean cinemas, you don't tear tickets. Just projection work.
I do 38hrs a week. Never any overtime. We have a cinema tech them it's me the only full timer , and about 6 casuals, which most of them do nothing on shift. We have a lot of previews so our prints come in early. So there is heaps of time of making up, which is good.
Posted by Ari Nordström (Member # 288) on 01-07-2000, 08:23 PM:
I'm the head projectionist of a single-screen theatre, the Draken in Göteborg, Sweden. When the cinema was still a commercial theatre, running shows every day, I worked there six days a week, and always on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (because of the afternoon and late-night shows). The casual(s) came in only on Tuesdays, and rarely got a chance to make any real money at all from the Draken theatre. Whatever money he made was from the multiplexes.I didn't have much of a social life outside the rather limited circle of other projectionists, but I guess many of you recognize that situation. I liked it that way, too.
These days, we rarely show films more than twice, maybe three times a week, so I usually take all of it. To pay the rent and buy the kids some new toys every now and then, I do other things, but I really miss working at the Draken full time.
Posted by Wallace Logan (Member # 225) on 01-08-2000, 09:56 AM:
Before the lockout I worked over 120 a week
then they give us only 40 hours a week but it was still with union people filling in, now
as of october 1st I have any or all staff members of this 7 plex in the booth but I still get my saturdays off.
Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 01-09-2000, 06:53 PM:
I run a 4-Plex in Sandy, Utah. I am also the projectionist and maintenance person. The company requires that I work at least 75 hours per week. Yes I find this a little time consuming, as I never get any time off for good behavior. After this week I expect to have my hours cut down to about 35 so that I can devote more time to scheduling special events.------------------
"If it's not worth doing, I have allready been there and done it"
Posted by Nicholas McRobert (Member # 205) on 01-09-2000, 07:13 PM:
On the subject of actual hours spent in work, it's probably worth pointing out that in European Countries, recently introduced legislation requires that the MAXIMUM working week is 48 hours and that there is at LEAST 11 hours between shifts worked. There also has to be one 30 (or so....not sure of the exact figure) break in between shifts at least once every seven days (in other words, a day off). Vacation time is now a minimum of 3 weeks in the UK, no matter how long you have worked for the company. Employers here can come to special arrangements with their workers regarding lengthening shifts etc, but it is entirely up to the employee, who can decline to work outside of any of the above rules. It all seems a little complicated, but the lack of social/family life is bad enough at about 40 hours, never mind 75 or 100, so it is definitely beneficial. Would I be right in assuming that there are no such rules in the USA? You guys must be *knackered*!!
Nicholas :/
Posted by Stephen Jones (Member # 16) on 01-09-2000, 07:15 PM:
Before the days of multiskilling of floor staff into the projection room, I was working 7.30 hrs a shift,then every month had a r.d.o in addition to the usuall two days off.There were myself and another person who were full time and two casuals who came in to do days off etc.At the moment I do casual work and I do the work that the full time peolple do nomally on the day that I am there eg make up film ,ads/trls and what ever else needs doing as I believe I'm getting paid to work, not to sit on my backside and do nothing while film and ads/trls are sitting there needing attention.I have known people to do this when I was fulltime and when you came back of your days off you had to work like hell to catch up,so I know what its like so thats why I do all I can to make the next fellows shift easier.------------------
Posted by Reeve Byrne (Member # 295) on 01-09-2000, 10:58 PM:
I work 3 to 4 days a week at about 6 hrs a day. a day at a nine-plex and 2, 8 hr days at a IMAX like theater (omnivision 70mm). At the nine-plex the head projectionist works 4 opening shift and one closing shift. Another projectionist works 5 closing shifts and we also have a floter that ususally opens. At the other theater it's one guy five days a week and I pick up the other two days. During the summer our hours increse to 14-15 hours a day.