How did you become a projectionist? I was working in theatres as a sound and lighting engineer and I just fell into projection. The advantage I had was that I was already very technically minded, and that’s the most important qualification for the job.
Is it just a question of pressing Play and watching a film? You really don’t have time to watch the film. There is so much you have to do to keep things running smoothly.
Do you have to do anything to the films before you show them? Oh yes. The films arrive in reels that are about 20 minutes long — that’s 5,000m on each one. We have to check them all for damage and scratches and repair them where necessary, and then splice them together and load them on to the spools that feed the projector.
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What’s the worst thing you can do at this stage? Load the film upside-down. When it goes through the projector it then shows the film backwards — I’ve seen it happen.
What about during the film? You have to make sure that you load the spools and time them as one finishes and another starts so that you get a seamless join. An average feature will have about six or seven reels, so there is quite a lot to do in the average 90-minute feature.
What problems commonly occur? The film can jam or even snap. If it snaps you have to take it off and repair it before reloading, which can leave you with a five-minute gap in the action.
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Does that happen often? No, now films are printed on to polyester, which is much more durable than the old acetate.
What’s the worst problem you can encounter? One projectionist I know started a film, but there was no sound. When the manager went down to investigate, he found that someone had stolen the speakers.
How much has the technology changed since you started? When I showed my first film, Brassed Off, ten years ago, we were using the old method of having two projectors, switching from one to the other. The equipment is much more sophisticated now. Multiplexes even have a system that removes the need to rewind a film.
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Cinemas screen films late into the night; isn’t there a danger of falling asleep and missing your cue? Not if you pace yourself. When we run the Chichester Film Festival we show movies from 10am until as late as 3am. There’s certainly no time to get bored!
Chichester Film Festival (www.chichestercinema.org 01243 760235) runs from Aug 24 to Sep 9. Interview by Anita James