Thanks! I didn't even mention the times when I'd end up selling tickets or sweeping theaters when we were short handed--that was when I really needed to use those timers on the projectors, and my eye would be glued to the status panel in the lobby as each projector was started by its timer.
I am so glad that I found your comment on Stand-up Maths video. I LOVE watching people who are passionate about a subject; you're a great presenter too! Subscribed! Time to go through the rest of your videos.
Thanks for the good words! When I saw that Stand-up Maths video I felt like that kid in class going "OOO ooo ooo... I know this one!" Anyway, hopefully you won't be bored to tears with the randomness in my other videos :-)
Fun trip down memory lane, thank you! The junior high school I attended had a projection booth for the main auditorium, and it was built in the days of carbon arc lamps and nitrocellulose film, so was built entirely of asbestos panels, even the floor tiles were asbestos, and there was still some of the carbon arc equipment abandoned in a corner when I was there in the early 80’s (I was the “AV nerd” who knew enough to operate a 16mm Bell&Howell classroom movie projector, which was all that was functional in that projection booth by the time I was a student there). Had I known of the cool equipment being used in the local movie theaters I would have tried to get a job there when I was in high school.
I was similarly unaware of the cool stuff they had--when I was an usher, my only knowledge of the setup had been those rare moments when I was walking up to the manager's office at the same time the projectionist opened the door. I looked in and saw those Christie platters (the most unusual thing) and was super curious about the setup. One of these days I'm going to do a followup on this video because there was so much interesting detail and neat stories to accompany. Fortunately, I worked at a time well after safety film became the norm. The safety film thing reminded me of a change in film stock after my time that caused a surprising problem: Occasionally the film might get tangled around the "brain" on the platter, called a "brain wrap" and this would cause the film to get stuck in the platter. The projector would continue pulling film through, and this would normally just cause the film to break. When they introduced Mylar film around the time I left the field, the film was apparently more difficult to break, so in the "brain wrap" circumstances the force of the projector pulling on the film would be enough to eventually knock the projector or platter system on its side. Wow!
Though I'm sure somebody got busy in that booth at least some time over the years, it was more along the lines of years of greasy grime, probably from popcorn grease and nacho cheese sauce. It looked like the kind of furniture you would see in a college-town furnished apartment. And why so much popcorn and nachos? We could eat those for free, along with unlimited juice (no soda) as long as we used our own cups and containers. The theater cups and buckets were how inventory was maintained, so we had to improvise.
Had to think of that Columbo episode when you showed that picture of the projectionist room.
Very interesting! There was a lot more to your job than most people would have realised. Thanks for making this!
Thanks! I didn't even mention the times when I'd end up selling tickets or sweeping theaters when we were short handed--that was when I really needed to use those timers on the projectors, and my eye would be glued to the status panel in the lobby as each projector was started by its timer.
I am so glad that I found your comment on Stand-up Maths video. I LOVE watching people who are passionate about a subject; you're a great presenter too! Subscribed! Time to go through the rest of your videos.
Thanks for the good words! When I saw that Stand-up Maths video I felt like that kid in class going "OOO ooo ooo... I know this one!"
Anyway, hopefully you won't be bored to tears with the randomness in my other videos :-)
Fun trip down memory lane, thank you!
The junior high school I attended had a projection booth for the main auditorium, and it was built in the days of carbon arc lamps and nitrocellulose film, so was built entirely of asbestos panels, even the floor tiles were asbestos, and there was still some of the carbon arc equipment abandoned in a corner when I was there in the early 80’s (I was the “AV nerd” who knew enough to operate a 16mm Bell&Howell classroom movie projector, which was all that was functional in that projection booth by the time I was a student there). Had I known of the cool equipment being used in the local movie theaters I would have tried to get a job there when I was in high school.
I was similarly unaware of the cool stuff they had--when I was an usher, my only knowledge of the setup had been those rare moments when I was walking up to the manager's office at the same time the projectionist opened the door. I looked in and saw those Christie platters (the most unusual thing) and was super curious about the setup.
One of these days I'm going to do a followup on this video because there was so much interesting detail and neat stories to accompany.
Fortunately, I worked at a time well after safety film became the norm.
The safety film thing reminded me of a change in film stock after my time that caused a surprising problem: Occasionally the film might get tangled around the "brain" on the platter, called a "brain wrap" and this would cause the film to get stuck in the platter. The projector would continue pulling film through, and this would normally just cause the film to break. When they introduced Mylar film around the time I left the field, the film was apparently more difficult to break, so in the "brain wrap" circumstances the force of the projector pulling on the film would be enough to eventually knock the projector or platter system on its side. Wow!
Mind the questionable stains...
Though I'm sure somebody got busy in that booth at least some time over the years, it was more along the lines of years of greasy grime, probably from popcorn grease and nacho cheese sauce. It looked like the kind of furniture you would see in a college-town furnished apartment.
And why so much popcorn and nachos? We could eat those for free, along with unlimited juice (no soda) as long as we used our own cups and containers. The theater cups and buckets were how inventory was maintained, so we had to improvise.