You are on the right track as far as training goes. Those that show interest and read your stack of liturature will probably do well and those who don't will suck. Turn them on to Film-Tech and see if they groove on it.
 

I find if they struggle through it a bit at the start, they have to learn why and how things work. Generally the newbies aren't too crazy about that form of training, but they all tell me after the fact that they feel they learned more.

Oh yes, I give 'em 3 shifts. If they don't have it "basically" down in that time frame, they're out (unless that person is really just dying to learn). Tasks other than simple threading get extra time to train. This is my policy as 99% of truly good operators can pick it all up quick. Having a set time span also helps to get their attention, as many trainees are just looking for a way out of the concession stand and think the booth is an easy job.
 

And to Brad I have seen that 'I want to get out of concession' attitude but that normally shows through very quickly, and those employees are quickly put back down to the floor.
 

2 summers ago I was in Larado TX for an install and it was 117 Degrees F. I called my boss on the cell phone and told him that this sucks and that they would probably send me to Alaska in the winter time. They did. I went in December. It was great. I had a blast.
 

--Chris
 

Were you that big guy helping me install the video wall at the Century 16 in Aurora, CO?
 

That's basicly how I have trained people in myself. I start them off on loading projectors. Once they have that down we can think about moving on to bigger and better things like tearing down and building film .
 

At the googolplex, I train pretty much like everybody else. At the college I do things a little differrent. When work studies come in, the first few times they don't do a whole lot. I show them how the projector works and put them to work doing chores and stuff. They clean the platter, rollers and the outside of the projector. Once the do that I have them wind up old trailers and stuff like that. From there it all depends on how well they do at other tasks and how much interest they have.

One guy (Mike B.) is pretty much the Right-Hand man. One girl is the "Official Print Breaker-Downer". Another new girl seems to like taking care of organizing stuff. After a while I expect to have a whole bunch of people who "specialize" in different things so that everything gets done right. I also try to make sure that each person knows how to do enough of the other jobs that we're not "dependent" on one person.
 

Usually, I spend the first show demonstrating the basics of threading projectors, including letting them try it themselves, and the second to c/o's and the practical matters of making the show work. It's always fun to ask them to do the c/o about a minute or so before it's time; in that way, they never have the time to think things through first.

And yes, I practise the same methods that Brad does when I teach a newbie how to run a booth. The important thing is that they learn why things happen the way they do.

Oh, and I try to pick people that are not too easily scared. I've seen too many nervous projectionists (not all of them newbies, mind you) ruin shows at other theatres for no other reason than that they are like that.
 

After having taught them the basics, and knowing that they can manage a show on their own, more or less, I usually send my trainees to other cinemas for a few days, to see other booths and gain new perspectives. My theatre is a c/o house with no automation whatsoever so it's a good thing for a newbie to try a fully automated multiplex.

I'm careful about where to send them, of course, and which colleagues to ask. I don't want the wrong type of projectionist to ruin a still-impressionable newbie.

A friend of mine who often gets to show my trainees the ways of the world at the local multiplex is a technical wiz who knows all there is to know about picking apart projection equipment (yes, he knows how to put it all back together, too). He's also a nice guy and a good teacher. Gullible, too, since he still hasn't said no when I've asked him to have a look at yet another one of my trainees.

So anyway, before sending off the trainee, I always tell him (yup; I've never had a female trainee, unfortunately) to ask my friend how to properly align the mirror and bulb in the lamphouse of a Bauer U3. It's really very interesting and not that hard to do, I tell him, knowing fully well that he will get a complete 3-hour technical analysis of the U3. It works every time.

The trainee usually returns to me a couple of days later, in a state of shock, at which point I usually fill him in and tell about the other trainees who've asked about the U3 over the years. It's important to have some fun when training newbies, don't you think?
 

For a projectionist to become competant he/she must train for at least six months with a operator of compatible personality and be evaluated on performance for one year entirely. My boss says, "We don't have a year, I need them now." WHAT THE HELL DOES HE KNOW! I think thats why some of his choices don't work out, where as many of mine do.
 

On top of that money isn't exactly growing on tree's around here. When we are being told by our district office that we can have no more than 5 concessions, 2 box, 1 ticket taker, and 2 usher/projectionist (yes, the jobs are combined here) for a 12 plex that can seat 2,000 people on a Saturday night of a weekend we opened 4 new movies...how are we supposed to have the time, much less the money, to train someone for 6 months?