This is topic Pre-Show Rituals in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Colin Wiseley (Member # 247) on 06-16-2001, 09:13 PM:
Anyone out there have any pre-show rituals (not the voodoo kind) that they do before the start of a show to ensure it's success? I for one always clean and thread the projector before I do anything else when I get to the theater to show the projector that I appreciate it the most so it will be kind to me 
Since I also help out in the lobby before the show I also close the auditorium doors in a certain order before I go upstairs to start the movie. So far I haven't had a breakdown in 2 years since I started doing this.------------------
Colin Wiseley
Lyric Theatre
Blacksburg, VA
www.thelyric.com
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 06-16-2001, 09:25 PM:
First, I always power up the breaker box. Then and only then I thread the platter and finally the projector. Then to make absolutely sure everything runs perfectly, I set the automation timer and walk away.Works every time! Perfect! Never a problem! 
Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-17-2001, 12:54 AM:
When working at the college theatre I used to go backstage and check the setup before making sure the lights were out, the backstage phone had its ringer shur off and the doors were locked. Then I'd walk down the outside hallway. (Walking through the auditorium is tacky!) Once I got up to the balcony I would make one last check of the projecor. I usually had it threaded up at least 1/2 hour before showtime. From there I would stand at the front of the balcony watching the customers flow in until the phone rang in the booth. The box office girl would give me the go-ahead and I would shut off the ringer on that phone and let it rip. Once the previews had gone by I'd give everything one final check and then go down to the back of the auditorium and watch a few minutes of the film. If anything needed to be tweeked I'd take care of that before settling into a seat at the back of the balcony right near the booth door.The Work Study students that helped me had little idea what a cue dot was really for. All they knew was that every time they saw one they had to get up and go check the projector. There were usually two or three students. Work Study in the projection booth was a pretty cushy way to make money so I had to do something to make it look like they were doing a useful job.
After the film was over I went backstage to tear down the speakers and fly the screen out. The Work Studies would break the movie down. We were usually out of there by midnite. I often hung around and tinkered with something before going home. The students usually had class in the morning so they had to leave as soon as they were done.
That's pretty much the extent of my rituals. When I work at the googolplex it is pretty much "Let 'er rip!"
Posted by Rick Long (Member # 213) on 06-17-2001, 01:22 AM:
I think we all have our own rituals that we perform each day before starting a show. Having worked with many projectionists, I had the opportunity to watch them perform their own rituals. Although we all (effectively) perform the same job, each of us has his or her own daily order that we follow.
The one thing I have noticed, in observing these rituals,however, is that Rule 1 is: the ritual must ALWAYS be done in a certain order and hopefully, without interuptions.
Its kinda like threading a projector. You have done it so often it becomes automatic and your mind wanders. You are not thinking necessarily about the film on the sprocket. Yet, if you get interupted (say by an intercom call) and then return to the projector, you may find it difficult, at first, to pick up on where you left off. The ritual has been broken.
It could, I suppose, be an elementary form of Obsessive, Compulsive Behaviour, but hey, it works for us.
Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-17-2001, 06:51 AM:
Oh! I thought of something else!I have this old, beat up soldering iron that I kept from my Vo-Tech days in high school. The cord has a couple of burns in it. The tip is all coroded. (When it gets too bad I just file it down to a point again.) The thing is close to 20 years old and it still keeps on ticking.
When I started this job, my boss gave me a brand new Weller. It's still in the originalpackage. He keeps wondering why I don't use the new one.
I just tell him it's for the same reason Wayne Gretsky used to wear the same old, worn out jersey.
Nobody gets it.
Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 06-17-2001, 09:48 AM:
At the cinesphere the routine is
Go to the basement and turn on the cooling water, The CCU (cooling conditioner unit) Rectifier, air compressor (and let run 2min before loading airtank) Go to amp room and check amps and cooling fans for racks,
Check theatre HVAC fans are running
check theatre emergancy lights
check exits
Go to the booth
Vacume carpet
Turn on the Imax and let run for 10 min
Clean machine, PTR's and Field Flatner and roll new wiper bars
Clean mag head on dubber
thread up turn on music
make coffeeIf just running the DP70's all the IMAX stuff is skipped and the DP70's run in for 10min before threading
At the end of the night after rewinding the films and putting them away the reverse occurs
then go to the pub (most important item)
Posted by Andy Muirhead (Member # 712) on 06-17-2001, 07:31 PM:
Dunno about pre-show rituals, but the thing that really gets me is unloaded machines. I can't stand it - first thing i do when i get into work is throw my bag down, then go round, clean and load all the machines, and then, only then, i can grab a coffee or catch up with gossip with the staff or whatever.I dunno what it is but i hate a machine sitting unloaded, must be some sort of compulsive disorder!
Posted by Rick Long (Member # 213) on 06-17-2001, 11:40 PM:
Naw, it is just knowing there is work to be done, that could be done, and you ain't done it yet.
Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 06-18-2001, 01:46 AM:
I used to pace around the booth in my early days, until I would peer over the machine and see the start time on the clock. fade out the pre show music, and run over and punch start. I still get the butterflies before every show.Josh
Posted by Rick Long (Member # 213) on 06-18-2001, 09:41 PM:
Yeah, but that's the thing about this buisiness isn't it? The second you know you got it wrong, EVERYBODY knows you got it wrong. When there ain't no more butterflies, it's time to look for a new line of work.