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Author Topic: NEED HELP : Projectionists 101 Brenda Gotty Film Handler Posts: 3 From: memphis, tn Registered: Mar 2007 posted 03-29-2007 10:09 PM                  I just started as a projectionsist and i'm having a few problem i can big loop,thread,and start the films.ok at my job we have simplexes and kintones projectors. the kin tone have these button located on the machine. mask,dousers,lamp,int.msk. some buttons doesn't have any names on them. my problem comes when the films are on the screen some are too small or too big showing on the wall. i can't fix it.. i work by myself i have to call the managers upstairs too help and they have an attitude. please help.how can i adjust the lens,foucus the picture and bring the picture back to its right formats  |  IP: Logged David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 03-29-2007 10:15 PM                        The only help I can offer you is in the form of advice: Change the subject of this thread to something more specific like "Need Help: Film Projection 101".  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 03-29-2007 10:19 PM                     Brenda, Is the picture spilling out onto the masking? Is this an issue of the masking not opened or raised? (Masking is the black area around the screen.)  |  IP: Logged Fred Georges Master Film Handler Posts: 257 From: Lombard, IL, USA Registered: Jun 2000 posted 03-29-2007 10:27 PM                     Is this post for real???  |  IP: Logged Brenda Gotty Film Handler Posts: 3 From: memphis, tn Registered: Mar 2007 posted 03-29-2007 10:34 PM                  yes sadly. projection 101..... i need help. i can do anything but i cant foucus the pictures yet, i cant get the film stretch back to its format. if its small on the big screen how to i get it back.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-29-2007 11:03 PM                        Is this a multiplex theatre? If so, make sure that you're using the correct lenses for the correct auditorium. If the lenses got mixed up, you would probably have issues with the picture not being the correct size for the screen. (This assumes that you know about the different aspect ratios for 35mm and that each projector needs anywhere from two to five or more different lenses and aperture plates to show all of them properly.)  |  IP: Logged Ron Curran Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 504 From: Springwood NSW Australia Registered: Feb 2006 posted 03-29-2007 11:15 PM                        Are you showing all films with the same lens? Does the projector have a swingover anamorphic lens for Scope? If Scope films are shown with the flat lens behind the anamorphic, the image will spill over. If flat films are shown with the Scope backing lens, they will not fill the screen.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 03-30-2007 12:45 AM                     Download the projector manuals. Usually in the first dozen pages or so there will be a picture of the machine and arrows pointing to things like "focus knob" and such that you will want to know about.  |  IP: Logged Demetris Thoupis Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1240 From: Aradippou, Larnaca, Cyprus Registered: Apr 2001 posted 03-30-2007 02:59 AM                     From what I understand this is what happens: You have are using 1 lens that for Scope and Flat films. When a scope film comes you simply swing an anamorphic in front of the lens and walla, picture is perfet. When it is not scope you swing the anamorphic away and you have a small image which is what should happen. Probably you have a second lens somewhere which is for that house. The first thing you might want to try is put a white carboard in front of the projection port and try to focus the picture on the carboard to check whether your lens is ok. If you can focus ok (to focus there is an adjustment either in front of the lens holder or underneath [a knob] and you simply turn it clockwise or counterclockwise) then check if you can focus on the screen. If your theaters are single lens holders, you might have mixed the lenses from one theater to the other. To help you realise the correct placement of the lenses, the "flat" area should be on the film side wile the "oval" area should be on the screen side. Now flat films, when you look the cells you should see the images of the people like they should be. Scope films, you see them 'stretched' a bit. From this you can choose which is the proper lens to use. Demetris  |  IP: Logged Jake Lafree Expert Film Handler Posts: 136 From: Valparaiso, IN USA Registered: Feb 2006 posted 03-30-2007 03:17 AM                        Yes, make sure the active lens matches the movie (i.e. Flat lens for flat movie). Also, make sure the aperture plate is set to the correct setting for the print. On our projectors, the aperture plate is out for flat prints, and in for scope prints. If it is not set 100% accurately (i.e. not in or out all the way) then the picture will not display properly on the screen.  |  IP: Logged John Wilson Film God Posts: 5438 From: Sydney, Australia. Registered: Dec 1999 posted 03-30-2007 03:32 AM                     Hey Brenda The correct image on the screen is a pretty basic requirement of knowledge as a projectionist. If the guys downstairs give you attitude then give it right back and say you haven't been taught how to do it.  |  IP: Logged Caleb Johnstone-Cowan Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 593 From: London, UK Registered: Mar 2006 posted 03-30-2007 05:32 AM                     If you don't know the basics then the managers need to train or re-train you. You have to ignore their attitude problem.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 03-30-2007 06:09 AM                       quote: Brenda Gotty i work by myself i have to call the managers upstairs too help and they have an attitude. please help.how can i adjust the lens,foucus the picture and bring the picture back to its right formats These are pretty basic things. If they're not concerned about it, I wouldn't be, either. How long have you been a projectionist?  |  IP: Logged Joshua Waaland Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: Cleveland, Ohio Registered: Dec 1999 posted 03-30-2007 09:17 AM                     It sounds like this poor lady got no training whatsoever. If Tennessee were still in my sales territory, I would stop by and help her.  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 03-30-2007 10:07 AM                        Brenda, if this is a real post -- and it certainly can be given how exhibitors run theatres now-a-days, you need to tell SOMEONE, preferably your supervisor or manager that you simply do not have the knowledge to run the projection booth. You can't fake this. Someone who has worked that booth with some modicum of competence needs to show you things that we can't possibly know because they are unique to that booth, like the masking control switches (which sounds like this could be one of the issues) lighting controls, etc. No one should be thrown into a booth without the operator before him/her running through the booth controls. Is there anyone besides you who runs this booth and runs it without showing the movie on the theatre walls? If so, find this person and get a quick tour of the ins and outs. Certain quirks of a booth operation could baffle even the most competent projectionist -- the booth lights needing to be turned on by a panel in the manager's office, for example -- actually happend to me; the aperture plates being kept in a draw hidden below the rewind table, etc. Sometimes a simple word from someone who has worked the booth can save you hours of searching and hair-pulling. That being said, the FT guys, as you can see have already tried to unravel the possibilities for you. But there is more information that we need to know. 1) is the theatre set up so that when the different types of movies are shown, usually referred to as Scope and flat., the Scope image is a much wider than it is high, while the Flat image is the same height as the Scope, only not as wide? OR -- is it set up so that no matter what type of picture is being shown, Scope or Flat, both are the same width, but one shrinks from top to bottom so that it is the same width as the other, but not as tall. 2) is it clear that there are only two sets of lenses -- Scope and Flat? Usually you can tell which is which -- the Scope is usually larger and if you can look into the lens, nothing looks round, it looks oval and curved; the Flat lens everything looks normal -- not oval or distorted. If your theatre runs other than first run, there may be additional lenses that will have to be investigated. 3) do you find aperture plates in the booth as well? These are metal plates about 2 inches by 1 inch with a handle on one end and either a squarish hole in the metal or a rectangular hole about the same size as a film frame. How many of these do you find near the projector? Do you find only two -- one in which the hole is an obvious rectangular shape and the other has a hole that is square shaped. You should likely find markings on either punched somewhere in the metal near the handle or even hand written on the handle itself that would say 2.35 or 2.39 (that would be for the Scope features) and the other would have 1.85 or some other number. Making things more complicated, they may both have the same number, something like 2.1 but the holes will still be shaped differently. If you can find these plates, we need to know what is marked on them and better, what they look like. Do you have any kind of digital camera that you could take pictures of this and other items in the booth that the FTers here could ask to see? -- that would be of great help. If there are only two plates and two lenses, then it will be a piece of cake to determine which goes with what lens and how to set the mask to match which format is being projected. Which leads me to as an obvious question, but from what you say, we need to ignore what may be obvious here and ask everything. When you change lenses, are you also changing aperture plates -- the metal things with the little handles (for the Simplex). The plates are essential to stopping parts of the image from being projected taller or sometimes wider than the screen. If you do not put in any plate at all, the image will, as you describe, be all over the walls. The aperture plate prevents this. Tell us more. We might even be able to get it right from this end, but it certainly would be easier if you found someone who worked the booth (and isn't a jerk with an attitude) to show you where the aperture plates are, what lenses to use and how to change the masks. You probably should also know what all the switches do. The unmarked ones may very well be controlling something that was customized for that booth but were never etched or marked. And damn them for throwing you into the booth without so much as a cursory run thru on it's operation. And just a word of wisdom -- remember this whenever you get "attitude" from someone -- people with attitudes usually have those attitudes because they are insecure and don't actually have an answer to what you are asking in the first place -- attitude is an insecure jerk's cover for lack of knowledge. Best of luck Brenda -- not to despair....you got the film threaded correctly and the picture focused and I assume you've got sound going....that's a good start. We'll continue to help where we can, but if you can take pictures, that would go a long way to letting us help you. Especially pictures of what the picture looks like in the auditorium on the walls and such would be very helpful.  |  IP: Logged

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