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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Topic: "Waning Art of the Projectionist" Photos
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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 12-14-2012 01:45 PM
While I understand the point of your series; to document the names and faces of people who actually ran film projectors in the old days; you don't have to have all "old timers" in your project.
I think it would be good to have some younger guys who still run changeovers in your project, too. These would be guys who were either taught by the old timers or who learned the craft by themselves. Their perspective on "how things were done in the good, old days" and why they continue to practice their craft the way they do is just as valuable as information gained first hand.
A projectionist's job is part art and part science. It is the blend of the two that makes movies "magic." Much of the projectionist's art has been handed down from older operators to newer operators.
I agree that it is important to capture and document the names and faces of older operators but I also think that it is important to capture that "handoff" between old generations and new generations.
In another generation, we probably won't have anybody, old or young, who knows how film projection works. At least, not the way people understand today.
If you capture this "handoff," your work could become a resourse for future generations who want (or need) to learn about film projection.
By the way...
If you want to do this project right, you should document film with film, not with a digicam... Preferably with a Speed Graphic.
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Robert E. Allen
Phenomenal Film Handler
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Posts: 1078
From: Checotah, Oklahoma
Registered: Jul 2002
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posted 12-14-2012 02:57 PM
quote: Brad Miller You know there ARE some great projectionists in their 20s and 30s. They don't have to be "old" to be good at the craft
You are probably right Brad. But projectionists today who are not doing film do little more than push buttons. Film projectionists had to clean the equipment daily, service it weekly, thread the projectors about every 20 minutes, check focus as the carbon arcs heated the lenses, stand by for and make changeovers, splice trailers, cartoons and newsreels (remember those?) together with daters, replace worn parts (sprockets, shoes, pressure pads, etc.). And, of course, maintain the booth. On weekends we often worked 12 hour shifts. At least that's what this I.A. operator did. Technically today's full-time projectionists are probably more knowledgeable in digital booths but I don't think they have as much to do as film projectionists even those working platter systems.
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Joseph Holmes
Film Handler
Posts: 7
From: Brooklyn, NY, United States
Registered: Nov 2012
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posted 12-14-2012 03:23 PM
Randy,
I agree, on every count. I'm not just trying to capture only a specific group -- young, old, in between. I'm trying to shoot everyone I can contact who'll let me take a photo. It's just been a very slow process, especially since I can't afford to travel outside the NYC/PA/CT/NJ area.
And yes, in the best of all worlds I'd shoot all these on film, but since I've never used large format, I'm a long way away from shooting in tough lighting situations with an unfamiliar format.
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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 12-14-2012 05:02 PM
Even if you shot just part of the series on film, even if it's only 35 mm. or 120 format, that would be cool. You can pick up a used Pentax K-1000 from Ebay for only a hundred dollars or so if you look around. A Rolleiflex would be another neat option.
Young or old, the main thing that makes the projectionist's art important is feedback: Input, preception, reaction & response. Having a human in the feedback loop, performing his magic blend of art and science is, I believe, the heart of movie magic.
I'm a techie. I like computers and digital stuff but, unlike most people, I see the value of the projectionist/operator in the feedback loop. Digital projection, starting shows automatically with timers, everything done with computerized automation, without human interaction removes the human element from the feedback chain and it essentially sterilizes the movie going experience.
We have all seen examples of what goes wrong with digital when there are no competent people in the booth to take care of things. We all predicted these things would happen and we have already witnessed examples of digital movies gone wrong. These things happen no more frequently or no less frequently when using digital than it does with film but when it does happen, there is a potential for things to go really wrong. When there isn't a competent person there to practice his art, to take care of the customers and ensure that there experience is as magical as it should be, that's when digital falls flat.
Machines break, digital or film. There is no way to prevent that. The difference is the "sterility" of the digital movie going experience and knowledge on the customer's part that there is somebody there who can make good on the movie magic promise.
I like to use the analogy drawn by the old "Buck Rogers" movies and TV series. Buck Rogers was accidentally transported forward in time from our present to the 25th Century where the whole world was run by machines and humans didn't have to do anything. Buck Rogers was a hero, in part, because he was the only person left who could think on his own without needing machines.
We are fast turning movie theaters into a Buck Rogers movie where there are no people left who know how to think on their own.
This is one of the reasons why I am urging you to shot at least part of your project on film if you can. I would like to see somebody relate to the coming generations what it's like to have to think about things and do things for ourselves without depending on machines.
You can be the "Buck Rogers."
I'll be "John the Savage" from Brave New World. (Randy Savage! )
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