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Author Topic: Disneyland projectionists Michael Rourke Expert Film Handler Posts: 159 From: San Luis Obispo, Central Coast of CA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 11-30-2002 12:48 PM                     I was recently at Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks, and there are three 3D attractions, and a large format flight simulator. I'm sure that the 3D Muppet Movie was film because it had a scratch at the end, and I'm sure the Flight simulator (Soaring over California) was film because of tiny little specks of dirt here and there, but I saw no dirt or scratches on Honey I Shrunk the Audience, or It's tough to be a Bug which leads me to believe that they were digital presentations....but is there such a thing as digital 3D? I was glad to see Disneyland employing so many projectionists, and if I didn't have my kid with me I would have asked to take a tour of the booth, especially to see the booth for Soaring over California because it must have been a huge water cooled bulb for that screen. Anyway, I was mostly posting this to see if any of those Disney boys or girls were lurkers here and could fill us in on their operation. I should point out also that their presentation was great and any dirt or scratch I noticed was because I was REALLY looking for them.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-30-2002 01:12 PM                        Do they really have "projectionists?" I would bet that all the Disney films are on endless loop systems and are all run automatically, for the most part.  |  IP: Logged Ian Price Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1714 From: Denver, CO Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-30-2002 01:21 PM                     Yes they have projectionists. I met one old guy at Show East the past two years running. They use a shitload of Ballentyne Pro 35/70s. Yes they use loop cabinets. This projectionist told me that they unthread every day and clean every roller. They are pretty proud of thier ability and performance. And they are well paid. Most of them are Projectionist/Technicians.  |  IP: Logged Michael Rourke Expert Film Handler Posts: 159 From: San Luis Obispo, Central Coast of CA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 11-30-2002 01:47 PM                     I'm sure Jan Hackett considers herself a projectionist even though she runs an endless loop. It all depends on what you're doing when you're not threading (or lacing) up all the time.  |  IP: Logged Lionel Fouillen Expert Film Handler Posts: 230 From: Belgium Registered: Nov 2002 posted 11-30-2002 02:10 PM                     I saw "Honey I shrunk the audience" when on holiday in California in October 1998. Very spectacular, mainly when the rats (or was it mice?) go down the stage and run through the auditorium... BTW, was it a 35mm or 70mm process?  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 11-30-2002 02:42 PM                        Considering it only takes about a minute to thread a platter and projector, 99% of the time I am pretty much running an endless loop.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 11-30-2002 03:09 PM                        A tech over here was telling me that they have some pretty jazzed-up PRO-35s... selected because Disney finds them quite easy on film. On the other hand, they've got a number of components that are designed for the Disney venue... such as direct coupling to the intermittent sprocket (after all... with endless loops and real projectionists you don't need framing, right?). Pat may be able to fill in some more... but I understand there are some gate & trap components that were specced by Disney to make the machine run the way they wanted... like stable! Sure surprised me when, after we went through their shows, I heard about how many PRO-35s they use.  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 11-30-2002 05:49 PM                     My parents and I were at Walt Disney World in Orlando, and we visited the "Hall Of Presidents" attraction. It was a large oval auditorium with 5 or so screen "panels" covered by curtains, which would open up throughout the presentation to reveal more of the screens as the picture grew larger "around" you. A sort-of Cinerama type process. Very Impressive! But, it was painfully obvious they were using several projectors. A big difference in screen brightness between sections, one of them being especially dim with horrible shutter ghosting. And the far right panel had a base scratch. My parents fell asleep halfway through, and I just kept being distracted by the flaws. On the way out, I noticed three projectors in the booth, but there may have been more. Couldn't find anyone around to comment about the presentation, and we were in a hurry to catch the parade. =TMP=  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-30-2002 05:56 PM                     An aquantaince of mine in Rockford, Il was a projectionist at Walt Disney World and Epcot Center in Florida. He retired from Disney about 8 years ago. Mark  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-30-2002 06:30 PM                        I guess I should have worded my question differently. I have no doubt that they have people maintaining the equipment, cleaning, threading, etc. I was wondering if they had people "in the booth" on an ongoing basis doing that work as opposed to someone who just pushes the buttons. Obviously, they do have projectionists. Although I have seen that tired presentation of "Hall of Presidents" that Thomas wrote about. I saw it in '00 and remember that one screen was incredibly dim. Wonder if it's fixed yet.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 11-30-2002 08:24 PM                       quote: And they are well paid. That's not what I heard. At least, not at Disney World. When I lived in FL, I serviced a lot of theatres in Orlando, union. I was told that the IA agreed to "leave Disney alone" in Orlando, if Disney returned the favor in CA. There were several ex-Disney guys in the booths there who said they didn't make as much at the park as they did in the regular theatres. And WDW was always trying to recruit new techs from the theatres -- I'd been asked several times, while making routines. The wages they offered didn't come close to what I was making.  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 12-01-2002 12:23 AM                    I have heard that they rebuild those pro 35's every 500 hours. Does anyone know if this is true or not? As far as the Hall of Presidents goes the images on all the screens looked evenly lit when I saw it in june of this past summer.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 12-01-2002 01:15 AM                        2 or 3 (or???) rebuilds per lamp change? W O W !  |  IP: Logged Josh Jones Redhat Posts: 1207 From: Plano, TX Registered: Apr 2000 posted 12-01-2002 04:31 AM                        I tried to see some of the venues in Universal Studios, and had no luck. I was rather frustrated  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-01-2002 10:37 AM                     Josh, You have to be 21 to see the Universal Studios booths!! Hang in there, it is approaching faster that you think! Mark  |  IP: Logged

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