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Stephen, that would indeed be a BUSY shift! I wonder, does anyone know if back in the early days of sound (Jazz Singer) if there was 2 operators on duty?

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I would guess a lot more than two; well after sound on disk days A Chief, two operators and a rewind boy was quite normal. At least one more than this would seem propable if disks were being used, but I don't know for sure.

In many places, it was a requirement of the regulations to have at least two operators if nitrate was being run.

Some photographs I have seen of a large cinema, probably from the early '60s show at least three operators, all wearing white lab coats, I know one old chief who still wears one today. Apart from film projectors, most large cinemas had at least two follow spots, and quite often slide lantens and Brenographs as well. All this stuff needed operators to run it. Into the '60s Cinerama needed four or five operators, Bradford now does it with one.

Even today, two operators are often used for a complex show, e.g. where numerous clips are being shown during an on-stage interview, using several different gauges and formats of film, or where very old, shrunken, warped film is being used, which needs careful watching, and a projector cannot be left for even a moment while it is running.

Sound on disk was new technology in its day. New technology in its early days may well need extra staff to look after it. I have seen DLP twice, each time there were several people gathered around the projector.

In some ways things have changed greatly, but in others, are they really that different? Most projectionists no longer operate follow spots and Brenographs, but they now have to cope with automation systems, platters, digital sound systems, and even digital projectors, which the old ones did not. I would have absolutely no idea how to set up a platter (anybody in the London area care to show me?)

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Stephen, that would indeed be a BUSY shift! I wonder, does anyone know if back in the early days of sound (Jazz Singer) if there was 2 operators on duty?

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There's a picture somewhere, Cinema Technology ? of two operators at the Plaza, London West End in 1929, one operator is threading, and the other one is setting up the disc. I would think that it was extremely likely that there was a third operator looking after the other running projector.

Up until 1960 there was always at least two operators running a show.
Most of the large cinemas had three on each shift. After this period single manning was slowly introduced. ABC Cinemas were one of the first in the UK to install an emergency projector shutdown device named A.C.O.P!

Sound-on-Disc days must have been a grind. I've run 2 projector 3D, but that wasn't too bad with 5,000' spools. To name three, the Odeon, Marble Arch. Davis, Croydon. Warner, Leicester Square - all had four projectors and changeovers for 3D. And the Warner ran 3D "House Of Wax" with stereo sound on seperate interlocked soundheads.

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In many places, it was a requirement of the regulations to have at least two operators if nitrate was being run.

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This is only a guess, anyone know for sure?

Can you imagine running a twenty screen multiplex with sound on disk? Interlocking could be rather interesting, how about a turntable with several pickup arms, each playing at a different place on the disk at the same time!

Come to think of it, how do you do interlocking with DTS? do you need a second set of disks?

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Gordon wrote,

Morganite made a lamphouse called the autoarc that used a set of rollers to advance the copper coated carbons through the jaws and supported longer carbons. It also autostruck and used a thermostat styled position sensor like the mighty90/futuraII
I always wanted to get a pair of those if any are kicking around cheap

Les Brock wrote,

Favourite Booth. Odeon Leicester Square. Also Nigel makes a mean cup of tea !!!!

Here is the Odeon, Leicester Square in the days of the Victoria Xs and
Elidophor television projector. The Auto-Arcs having been converted to xenon. One of the Victoria X 35/70mm machines has been installed in the projection room of the Projected Picture Trust's Enigma cinema at Bletchley Park.
www.ppttrust.org

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JJ

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I never worked at the Odeon, Marble Arch, so I can’t help you as to the size of the deep curved D 150 screen, which was later removed for the normal slightly curved type. Yes, unfortunately it is now carved into 5 screens.

I did work in the West End as chief projectionist at the Carlton Theatre, Haymarket 1968 – 1972. After which I did a freelance spell for 9 months at the Columbia, Shaftsbury Avenue, Philips DP70 projectors.

Leo - surely you could list York as a contender for favorite booth ? Air conditioned, carpet, CCTV view of the pretty young things on the floor plus a historic river view !

I think my favourite booth would have to be MOMI as was (now NFT3), for the sheer range of equipment in there, the variety of films we got to show and the general atmosphere at the South Bank before BFI political correctness made it all go nasty. Its only quirk was that (in those days), there was no motorised masking - you had to go down and adjust it with a pulley. As there were never any ads or trailers with NFT shows, this didn't really matter though.

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I like NFT1, and will be sorry when it goes, I haven't heard anything about the new BFI centre recently, and there was certainly no sign of any construction taking place the last time I walked past the site. NFT2 is another matter, Just one asile down one side makes it difficult to get in and out, the front rows are too close to the screen, the screen is also too high from those rows, if you are sitting at the back, the ceiling is very low, due to the projection box jutting out into the auditorium, giving it a rather claustrophobic feel. The auditorium is rather long and narrow, but at least that is useful for showing 3D.

Then there is the projection box, because of way it's positiond inside the auditorium, the throw is short, it's not too bad with the 35mm machines, being in the centre, but with that platform on the right with the video gear etc, the 16mm machines have to be way off axis, it's equal to having six machines in that short a throw, the keystoning from the left-hand one, both vertical and horizontal is terrible, this machine is also very close to the left wall of the box, which, as it's a left-handed machine, must make access to it rather difficult. When I visited the box I couldn't believe the crazy angle this machine is at. Sadly most of the material I see at the NFT is in 2, and in the past a lot of it was on 16mm, today it's more likely to be on video.

What are the windows high up on the right-hand wall of the auditorium?

MOMI (now NFT3) is not bad, 70mm in there looked good, only having one 16mm and one sound follower did limit it somewhat, compared to the other two. It was the only one of the three to later have 1" C format installed. I'm not sure if it's still there, but I did see it used quite a few times.

Before MOMI closed there was a still from 'The Smallest Show on Earth' on the windows of the projection box. The acient projectos shown, I think they were Kalee 8s or 11s, or something similar, were probably about 35 years old when the film was made, younger than the DP70s which were then in use in MOMI.

I saw the Kalee 20s when they were still in place, but out of use, for the old NFT3, complete with mechanical interlock (metal bar) for 3D, they later went to Bletchley Park, but I never saw the auditorium, it had been converted to an office then. it must have been very small, how many did it seat?

It's a pity the gold shutters, I can't call them a curtain, in NFT1 are no longer used, they were rather noisy, but they were unique to the place. Whenever you see old photographs on intervies taking place on the stage those shutters are always there, and you know at once where it is.

The loss of the bookshop is also to be regretted. The NFT is not what it was, I am renewing my membersip this year, but this may be the last time, I am thinking about moving to North Yorkshire, in the not too distant future.