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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Topic: Where to place the lamphouse in your training program
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Randy Stankey
Film God
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Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 10-08-2003 08:13 PM
I always demonstrate the workings of the lamphouse to new workers but I don't ask them to retain anything until later on. Each new projectionist is taught at his/her own pace.
I demonstrate how to work the controls. I show them the inside of the lamphouse and point out all the important parts. I tell them what to do if the lamp doesn't strike. The number of my cellular phone is posted above the phone in the booth. Strict instructions are given: "If anything goes wrong that you don't understand, shut everything down and call me immediately." I would rather inconvenience a few customers for 5 minutes due to a shutdown, even if it was only precautionary, than risk injury or equipment damage that could put out of commission for the rest of the night.
As workers progress it ought to become clear who's got the grey matter to understand how to do the job. Those people are trained first. Schedules are worked out in advance so that there is never a time when there isn't at least one person capable of doing the job. As more workers mature enough to handle it the task of scheduling gets easier.
In any case, each and every trainee is told the same thing upon beginning the lesson: "If you are uncomfortable working around electricity or handling lamps, that's OK. We'd rather have you bow out gracefully than risk injury or damage because you're nervous. We'll find somebody else if we have to." The psychology of this works on several levels. People who don't feel like they are being "forced" to do a "dangerous job" are more comfortable learning the job from the outset. They learn faster and better. (It also covers your legal ass to a certian extent. )
PS: If you can do so in a quasi-safe manner, explode an old, used xenon lamp for the class. Put it inside the dumpster to contain the explosion and turn on the compactor to break it. It's cool for people to see. People like to hear lamps go "Bang!" However, in the back of people's minds they will always remember, "If a xenon lamp can do THAT inside a steel dumpster, what would it do to ME if I dropped one?!"
Don't do it for the new recruits, lest you scare them off! Only do it in front of the ones who have done it a few times and keep it on a "fun" level. (As much as serious demonstration of the destructive power of a lamp can be made fun.)
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Manny Knowles
"What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???"
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Posts: 4247
From: Bloomington, IN, USA
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 10-10-2003 12:11 AM
Our film handlers are paid to thread-and-start only. As such, that is the focus of the training program. Operators are not authorized to carry out any kind of maintenance on the equipment.
There is a separate advanced course on staging prints and trailer packs.
If the theatre has a booth supervisor, that person is given a small kit to ensure that the projectors can be cleaned and the intermittent movements can be kept oiled. This mainly applies to remote locations (on other islands) but, even so, they do not have much use for those kits as the machines are maintained on a constant preventive schedule.
Other than that, the rule is "if it requires a screwdriver, call for service." No kidding -- that is one of the 'fill-in-the-blanks' questions on the test at the end of the course.
Of course, these decisions arose out of my personal experience. I have had my share of bad luck with operators wreaking havoc with the booth equipment. There is no way I would trust them with handling Xenon lamps. I have no doubt that someone would get hurt before too long. "Your mileage may vary."
Trainees are simply told that Xenon equipment is potentially dangerous. They learn how to identify any switches, handles, etc) by name and function and some of these are included on the written exam.
When they see me wearing the Xenon safety gear, they usually leave the room in a hurry.
BTW -- Depending on which test is used, there is sometimes a bonus question asking about carbon arcs, which is a topic from a brief "history" class. [ 10-10-2003, 02:16 PM: Message edited by: Manny Knowles ]
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