Projectionist

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Emile Reynaud at a screening of his "optical theater"

Projectors are cinema workers whose main job is to handle film copies and operate the projection equipment. That means playing programs of any kind within the framework of the cinema events and maintaining the technical equipment. With the beginning of digitization in the late 2000s, fewer and fewer projectionists are required in modern cinemas.

activity

Police ordinance on the examination of projectionists of May 25, 1940 (German Reich)

The profession of film showing is characterized by the work place projector room (projection booth). The main task of the presenter is to operate the analog or digital projector, which also includes clamping the film. Expired film rolls must be rewound. In times of digital film production, the preparation and execution of the film showing by means of a computer has moved more into the foreground. The projectionist is also responsible for the smooth overall flow of the event, and he therefore also takes care of the hall lighting at the entrance and exit, pre-played trailers or advertising clips, fades in presentations with multiple projectors and, above all, technical problems that arise during the presentation may occur.

In addition to working with film material, the projectionist is responsible for setting up the projection booth and therefore also has knowledge of light and sound technology in order to be able to assess the light intensity, volume or acoustics in the cinema. If necessary (analog projection), projectionists prepare the film for projection, i. In other words , they couple the individual film files to one another or rewind roles that have already been shown.

Until the introduction of the xenon gas discharge lamp , which can burn for hours, the movie screening required someone to clamp carbon electrodes in the arc lamps of the motion picture projectors, monitor their burn-down and replace them in good time. Also because the flammable film portions were legally limited to 2000 feet (a good 600 meters) until the official worldwide replacement date January 1, 1951, the projectionists had to assemble the film with alternating runs of at least two projectors.

Special Knowledge

Projectioners know the film formats , the picture formats , the sound systems , the correct frame rate . You should have a minimum knowledge of optics and be able to ensure a sharp projection with the help of a telescope or binoculars .

literature

  • Walter Meinel: Handbook of the film projectionist. 1932 ff.
  • Jules Jourdain: Manuel de l'operateur de cinéma. Bruxelles 1941 ff.
  • Joachim Rutenberg, Hermann Strödecke: Handbook of the projectionist. 3. Edition. Berlin 1949, OCLC 858795648 .
  • The projectionist. Monthly magazine from 1954, various publishers, discontinued in the mid-sixties.
  • Günter von Hochmeister: Handbook for the projectionist. 3. Edition. Business Association of Film Theaters, e. V, Munich 1991, OCLC 174722441 .

Web links

Wiktionary: projectionist  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cinema digitization: Cinestar also fires projectionists. on heise online from May 2, 2013.