Hi there, thanks for posting this, I went to work as a cinema projectionist when I left school; it was at the ABC Selly Oak, Birmingham, England. That was back in 1965, since then I’ve been a radio/TV engineer, a qualified electrician, company director several times, I’ve owned companies and employed lots of people but I'll tell you what, the job as projectionist was the best job I ever had, I loved every minute of it. I can’t find any trace of the Oak Cinema now. All the best ... Andy GWØJXM
Great video. I used to work with changeover systems back in 1977-79 (actually just watching my father) and again in 1987 (ran the projectors). I can smell the carbon burning now! Thanks for posting this.
Thanks for posting this. I operated very similar equipment up until 2002 (Westar 2001As with Western Electric 2002 Soundheads and Peerless Magnarcs). Happy days indeed. I will never be convinced that a short-arc Xenon can come close to matching the quality of a properly trimmed Carbon-Arc. I have used both !!
Thanks to the theaters still running carbon arcs & 2000 ft reel changeovers. These machines will never wear out. Platters and xenon lamphouses made the job of the projectionist obsolete and it's a shame, a true art was lost! So nice a few still survive! Beautiful piece!
Interesting how the older technology seems to be built to last much longer than all the fancy technology of today which is basically built with a short planned obsolescence. Thanks for sharing this video.
Thanks for the video, I was apprenticed on a projector that used the Peerless carbon arc lamphouse and a Simplex projector. Alas, the theater closed in the 80's and was torn down in 2002. I always thought that carbon arcs threw the strongest and whitest light.
those are 20 minute film reels not 40. So the changeover was at 20 or less minutes between projectors.They had "doors" over the reel in case of a film fire of old nitrate film burning. I ran Carbon Arcs too and know all that equipment running it. Good video to show it in operation.
Actually he was running 2000 foot reels, so his change-overs were not every 40 minutes, but they would be approximately every 18 to 20 minutes. With musicals like MY FAIR LADY or WEST SIDE STORY, the reels could be as short as 10 to 12 minutes because film editors were loath to make change-over breaks in the middle of a musical number. That meant that breaks needed to be based on the content on the film, not on the running time of the reel. It was not advisable to make breaks during a musical number because whereas in any other part of a movie, if the projectionist missed the change-over point by a few frames, most of the time it would be unnoticeable to the audience, but in the middle of a song, even a frame off at the change-over would be immediately apparent because you would hear that the beats in the music didn't match which is very obvious. Even the best, most seasoned projectionist were not able to make absolutely perfect change-overs which match perfectly (referred to as "frame accurate" or "frame perfect" change-overs). In fact, film editors would always try to cut reels so that the change-overs happened in quiet sections of the reel whenever they could (although that is not always possible) as music is the easiest element to notice when the last frame of one reel is not perfectly matched to the first frame on the new reel. BTW, a quick glimpse of the screen as the projectionist started the first reel was visible, and GLORY BE, this theatre has a screen curtain which you can see just opening as the video camera looks out the projectionist's view port. Screen curtains were the norm before single screen theatres became these utilitarian, cookie-cutter, assembly-line affairs -- the spawn from hell that we now call cinemas -- multiplex things that we have to endure today. Back in the day of the Golden Age of the Movie Palace when single screens reigned and theatres had class and each had its own personality because designers tried to make the theatres unique rather than the numbingly the same. In those days of the great movie palaces and "Wonder Theatres" that could be found in even the small towns across the country, one of the great "sins" of showmanship was to have the audience come in to the auditorium and see a "naked" screen. Screens all were clothed with the grand curtain which was lit by curtain "warmers"-- lights playing its folds to create a dramatic cover it until the start of the show when it swung opened as the movie started. For some reason this grate movie tradition has faded except for just a handful of exceptional, very special theatres.
I saw the thick metal door of the projection booth that suggested nitrate based film was still in use because the place would have to be a fireproof vault. Could you quench the arc fast if you had a film break & prevent a fire?
No, they have feed motors. The knobs are to make slight corrections as necessary (and to strike the arc), due to fluctuations in voltage and/or carbon composition. With good carbon and good power, you never had to adjust them. Only the very first arc lamps - like in the 1910s - had totally manual feeds... and that didn't last long!
Hi there, thanks for posting this, I went to work as a cinema projectionist when I left school; it was at the ABC Selly Oak, Birmingham, England. That was back in 1965, since then I’ve been a radio/TV engineer, a qualified electrician, company director several times, I’ve owned companies and employed lots of people but I'll tell you what, the job as projectionist was the best job I ever had, I loved every minute of it. I can’t find any trace of the Oak Cinema now.
All the best ... Andy
GWØJXM
Great video. I used to work with changeover systems back in 1977-79 (actually just watching my father) and again in 1987 (ran the projectors). I can smell the carbon burning now! Thanks for posting this.
Thanks for posting this.
I operated very similar equipment up until 2002 (Westar 2001As with Western Electric 2002 Soundheads and Peerless Magnarcs).
Happy days indeed.
I will never be convinced that a short-arc Xenon can come close to matching the quality of a properly trimmed Carbon-Arc.
I have used both !!
Excellent. Great to see Carbons again and a two projector Box (Booth). Thanks for sharing this video. FP30E
That is just absolutely amazing!
Thanks to the theaters still running carbon arcs & 2000 ft reel changeovers. These machines will never wear out. Platters and xenon lamphouses made the job of the projectionist obsolete and it's a shame, a true art was lost! So nice a few still survive! Beautiful piece!
Interesting how the older technology seems to be built to last much longer than all the fancy technology of today which is basically built with a short planned obsolescence. Thanks for sharing this video.
I work with newer Strong Simplex 35 projectors, Its interesting to see the internal film gate area hasn't changed much through the years!
Thanks for the video, I was apprenticed on a projector that used the Peerless carbon arc lamphouse and a Simplex projector. Alas, the theater closed in the 80's and was torn down in 2002. I always thought that carbon arcs threw the strongest and whitest light.
We run Cinemaccanica V8's. They are as old as the hills but you can't break them. We changed from carbon out years ago
those are 20 minute film reels not 40. So the changeover was at 20 or less minutes between projectors.They had "doors" over the reel in case of a film fire of old nitrate film burning.
I ran Carbon Arcs too and know all that equipment running it. Good video to show it in operation.
beautiful work,is the best.today digital craps ruins everything.
wow!! classic!! christie projector:D
Actually he was running 2000 foot reels, so his change-overs were not every 40 minutes, but they would be approximately every 18 to 20 minutes.
With musicals like MY FAIR LADY or WEST SIDE STORY, the reels could be as short as 10 to 12 minutes because film editors were loath to make change-over breaks in the middle of a musical number. That meant that breaks needed to be based on the content on the film, not on the running time of the reel. It was not advisable to make breaks during a musical number because whereas in any other part of a movie, if the projectionist missed the change-over point by a few frames, most of the time it would be unnoticeable to the audience, but in the middle of a song, even a frame off at the change-over would be immediately apparent because you would hear that the beats in the music didn't match which is very obvious. Even the best, most seasoned projectionist were not able to make absolutely perfect change-overs which match perfectly (referred to as "frame accurate" or "frame perfect" change-overs). In fact, film editors would always try to cut reels so that the change-overs happened in quiet sections of the reel whenever they could (although that is not always possible) as music is the easiest element to notice when the last frame of one reel is not perfectly matched to the first frame on the new reel.
BTW, a quick glimpse of the screen as the projectionist started the first reel was visible, and GLORY BE, this theatre has a screen curtain which you can see just opening as the video camera looks out the projectionist's view port. Screen curtains were the norm before single screen theatres became these utilitarian, cookie-cutter, assembly-line affairs -- the spawn from hell that we now call cinemas -- multiplex things that we have to endure today. Back in the day of the Golden Age of the Movie Palace when single screens reigned and theatres had class and each had its own personality because designers tried to make the theatres unique rather than the numbingly the same. In those days of the great movie palaces and "Wonder Theatres" that could be found in even the small towns across the country, one of the great "sins" of showmanship was to have the audience come in to the auditorium and see a "naked" screen. Screens all were clothed with the grand curtain which was lit by curtain "warmers"-- lights playing its folds to create a dramatic cover it until the start of the show when it swung opened as the movie started. For some reason this grate movie tradition has faded except for just a handful of exceptional, very special theatres.
I saw the thick metal door of the projection booth that suggested nitrate based film was still in use because the place would have to be a fireproof vault.
Could you quench the arc fast if you had a film break & prevent a fire?
Amazing stuff, are the carbons automatically adjusted as they burn away? How fast are they comsumed?
Carban arc is white light so white balance and colour is good that time no zenon lamp option
they are manually adjusted. the projectionist had to watch when the light got dimmer and advance the rods closer together.
No, they have feed motors. The knobs are to make slight corrections as necessary (and to strike the arc), due to fluctuations in voltage and/or carbon composition. With good carbon and good power, you never had to adjust them. Only the very first arc lamps - like in the 1910s - had totally manual feeds... and that didn't last long!
Cool
Good
Ummm... try a Century C projector. There ain't a Christie nuthin' in THAT booth!