Cinema vision

Sir, Your report suggesting that the role of projectionists in cinemas was in terminal decline was somewhat premature (“The End is in sight for the unsung heroes of cinema”, Business, Mar 12). Although the skills required to handle 35mm film reels are no longer needed, the digital world has not yet solved the problems of putting on a “good show”. We receive many reports of digital cinema presentations falling well short of the aspirations of the movie makers, whether for simple issues such as failing to dim the house lights, or for more complex problems such as 15-certificate trailers being shown with U-certificate main features.

Digital cinema has brought many benefits to the industry — copyright security, image stability, lower operating costs — but it has not yet allowed for the driverless cinema, or the removal of proper showmanship that still sets the cinema experience apart from viewing at home. Several cinema chains have begun to remove or reduce their technical staff, which is having a significantly detrimental impact on that cinema experience.