Short Film: Facts About Projection [SLYT]
January 31, 2011 6:18 PM Subscribe
Short Film: Facts About Projection [SLYT]
Though actually it was a pretty nice little film.
I'm going to go look wistfully at rhombic dodecahedrons now.
posted by Stove at 6:34 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm going to go look wistfully at rhombic dodecahedrons now.
posted by Stove at 6:34 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
Ooooh that was so lovely. This guy sounds a lot more mellow than most of the projectionists I know - they're more like this.
(Oh, and that wasn't a still in his "collecting stills" shot, it was a China Girl! So neat.)
posted by bubukaba at 6:38 PM on January 31, 2011
(Oh, and that wasn't a still in his "collecting stills" shot, it was a China Girl! So neat.)
posted by bubukaba at 6:38 PM on January 31, 2011
I hoped it was going to be about the defense mechanism, perhaps presented in this kind of format. That would have been nice, considering that everybody else seems to have a bad habit of engaging in it.
posted by perspicio at 6:49 PM on January 31, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by perspicio at 6:49 PM on January 31, 2011 [3 favorites]
Meanwhile, I hope the type of projection it actually is about gets new life breathed into it via Maxivision 48 (recently expounded upon at length in a letter by Dean Goodhill, posted at Roger Ebert's blog), because it would be really awesome to discover that it is coming soon to a theater near me.
posted by perspicio at 7:05 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by perspicio at 7:05 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
Anyone else thought this was going to be about reducing the dimensionality of a geometrical figure?
I thought it was going to be about one of my favorite bands of all time. I guess I read it a little too quickly.
posted by Xezlec at 7:10 PM on January 31, 2011
I thought it was going to be about one of my favorite bands of all time. I guess I read it a little too quickly.
posted by Xezlec at 7:10 PM on January 31, 2011
That was LOVELY. Thank you rageagainsttherobots.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:25 PM on January 31, 2011
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:25 PM on January 31, 2011
Great film. I wish I knew how to create that kind of meaning in my life.
posted by jsturgill at 10:07 PM on January 31, 2011
posted by jsturgill at 10:07 PM on January 31, 2011
That seems like a trailer to a wonderful documentary film ... that I've always wanted to see.
Or the first 3 minutes of a horror film which is just about to say: "... or, at least, until yesterday."
Either way it's far too short. Let's see what kind of film a man makes who's in love with *showing* films.
posted by Twang at 10:31 PM on January 31, 2011 [2 favorites]
Or the first 3 minutes of a horror film which is just about to say: "... or, at least, until yesterday."
Either way it's far too short. Let's see what kind of film a man makes who's in love with *showing* films.
posted by Twang at 10:31 PM on January 31, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'm surprised nobody else was supremely let down by this. It isn't about projecting at all; more of a little "human interest" feature on some bloke's job that only references projection on the dumbest 3rd grade level. Being a projectionist was a childhood dream of mine and this movie is more about the workings of a small theater than the workings of the amazing projector.
posted by ReeMonster at 10:50 PM on January 31, 2011
posted by ReeMonster at 10:50 PM on January 31, 2011
There were some details I would have liked to have seen, too (Platters? Towers? Those nifty canisters the films are delivered in?) but the film seemed to rely heavily on stock footage (The Jam Handy Organization!) of what most people think of when they think of projectors, which, while aesthetically appealing, doesn't really tell you much about the nuts and bolts of what a contemporary film projectionist does.
Not that it wasn't a sweet little film, but it didn't really show much in the way of, uh, facts about projecting. I guess Facts About A Nice Enough Seeming Chap With A Nifty Solitary Job wouldn't be a very catchy title though.
posted by louche mustachio at 1:21 AM on February 1, 2011
Not that it wasn't a sweet little film, but it didn't really show much in the way of, uh, facts about projecting. I guess Facts About A Nice Enough Seeming Chap With A Nifty Solitary Job wouldn't be a very catchy title though.
posted by louche mustachio at 1:21 AM on February 1, 2011
I like this. I especially love that he balances a thoughtful ode to his profession with a subtle critique of the Everyman cinema group.
Having worked in a small cinema in North London, everything here rings true (including the cereal). Projectionists who I've met aren't generally this whimsical, but I always found the projection booth fascinating.
Pedantry: tape splicers use a special type of clear tape - sellotape makes for awful splices.
posted by dumdidumdum at 1:28 AM on February 1, 2011
Having worked in a small cinema in North London, everything here rings true (including the cereal). Projectionists who I've met aren't generally this whimsical, but I always found the projection booth fascinating.
Pedantry: tape splicers use a special type of clear tape - sellotape makes for awful splices.
posted by dumdidumdum at 1:28 AM on February 1, 2011
Also, according to my own observations, they left out the part where dude gets blazed on the roof (this usually comes shortly before "cereal.")
posted by louche mustachio at 1:45 AM on February 1, 2011
posted by louche mustachio at 1:45 AM on February 1, 2011
Did anyone else see the poster's handle as "reaganagainsttherobots"? No? Liars...
posted by hwestiii at 3:27 AM on February 1, 2011
posted by hwestiii at 3:27 AM on February 1, 2011
I used to work as a projectionist at a porn theater. I'd splice in frames of Kurosawa films. It freaked the pervs out.
posted by Splunge at 4:14 AM on February 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Splunge at 4:14 AM on February 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
There were some details I would have liked to have seen, too (Platters? Towers? Those nifty canisters the films are delivered in?)
When you move a platter to another projector, make sure you clamp that sucker down well. Good Will Hunting ended up as a giant pile of spaghetti on the floor that took a couple hours to untangle.
I was only a lowly usher but sometimes I'd help the projectionists out. It was fun learning how to thread the projectors up. And when a new projectionist was in training we'd test them by sabotaging the projector — there are a bunch of little switches you can flip that will cause it to (harmlessly) fail... block the vent and it will automatically shut down, flip the damper switch, disable the platters, etc. They learned pretty quickly how to troubleshoot and it was fun watching them run around, half-laughing, half-panicking checking every little switch. We'd be a little disappointed when they figured it out in ten seconds.
Titanic came out around Christmas '97 and we had it easily into the summer of '98. It was a long movie and broke down many, many times. Every time it gets jammed and you have to splice it back together you have to cut out a couple damaged frames so it doesn't keep jamming. I swear the movie was noticeably shorter by the time we were done with it.
We also had a projectionist that really wanted to see Face-Off before it came out. He tried to watch it in the morning before the first showing around noon but he underestimated how long it would be. As noon approached and it still wasn't done he got nervous and tried to manually "fast forward" the film by pushing the platter faster than it normally goes. It didn't go very well as you can imagine and all the showings for the day were pushed back while he tried to fix the mess. (But hey, it was Face-Off no big loss.)
Oh, one more bit of fun I just remembered when Phantom Menace came out. In all the Star Wars movies you have that initial musical cue that hits right with the logo. Well it sounds really good loud. We'd crank it up all the way just for that bit and it really got the crowd in a frenzy for those early showings before everyone found out how bad it was. It just doesn't have the same effect at regular volume. Word got around about what we were doing and people would come up to us and make sure we'd "crank it" for their showing.
posted by starman at 5:37 AM on February 1, 2011
When you move a platter to another projector, make sure you clamp that sucker down well. Good Will Hunting ended up as a giant pile of spaghetti on the floor that took a couple hours to untangle.
I was only a lowly usher but sometimes I'd help the projectionists out. It was fun learning how to thread the projectors up. And when a new projectionist was in training we'd test them by sabotaging the projector — there are a bunch of little switches you can flip that will cause it to (harmlessly) fail... block the vent and it will automatically shut down, flip the damper switch, disable the platters, etc. They learned pretty quickly how to troubleshoot and it was fun watching them run around, half-laughing, half-panicking checking every little switch. We'd be a little disappointed when they figured it out in ten seconds.
Titanic came out around Christmas '97 and we had it easily into the summer of '98. It was a long movie and broke down many, many times. Every time it gets jammed and you have to splice it back together you have to cut out a couple damaged frames so it doesn't keep jamming. I swear the movie was noticeably shorter by the time we were done with it.
We also had a projectionist that really wanted to see Face-Off before it came out. He tried to watch it in the morning before the first showing around noon but he underestimated how long it would be. As noon approached and it still wasn't done he got nervous and tried to manually "fast forward" the film by pushing the platter faster than it normally goes. It didn't go very well as you can imagine and all the showings for the day were pushed back while he tried to fix the mess. (But hey, it was Face-Off no big loss.)
Oh, one more bit of fun I just remembered when Phantom Menace came out. In all the Star Wars movies you have that initial musical cue that hits right with the logo. Well it sounds really good loud. We'd crank it up all the way just for that bit and it really got the crowd in a frenzy for those early showings before everyone found out how bad it was. It just doesn't have the same effect at regular volume. Word got around about what we were doing and people would come up to us and make sure we'd "crank it" for their showing.
posted by starman at 5:37 AM on February 1, 2011
Man, I miss being a projectionist, that really made me nostalgic.
posted by lumpenprole at 1:13 PM on February 1, 2011
posted by lumpenprole at 1:13 PM on February 1, 2011
So I was really a projectionist at various porn theaters in and around Times Square. They had names like the Avon 7, the Avon, the Hudson (which was the S/M venue) The Doll and a few others. I was first hired as a sex performer, I did shows with my first wife originally. But that is neither here nor there.
Eventually the sex shows were phased out because they were constantly busted by the Vice Squad.
Anyway, to keep working I ended up as a cashier and my wife went back to burlesque (also known as stripping). When one of the projectionists called in arrested for drug dealing, I was called up to the projection booth. I was given minimal training. But my first job was a small venue with smaller 16mm projectors. It was a matter of threading up a two reel crappy porn movie. Occasionally they got a "sex team" to go up on to the filthy mattress on the stage. They were paid chickenfeed compared to what the ex and I used to get.
On the upside hey didn't get busted because by then the Vice guys didn't care. Crack was a big deal then. An all hands on deck kind of thing. People having sex on stage was no longer a priority.
Eventually I ended up a the Hudson theater, a huge place. They had these monster 35mm projectors that used, I think, burning plutonium as a light source.
And I had no, zero, zip training. It was rote. Do this, do that and you'll be fine. I had to keep things moving by making sure the film didn't do that chattering thing. I used a pencil to pull down a loop of film for that. I was lucky that I never broke a film. But I did accidentally set one on fire. You know that thing that you see in various movies where the film stops and burns? It's not just an effect. It happens because the bulb is so damn hot that if the film stops moving, it will melt from the heat. The film moving as fast as it does actually keeps the film cool. It should not stop.
Why might it stop? It might stop if the last asshole that used the reel taped the end to the reel. If i ever find the guy that did that I will stab him in the face.
So I did the reel change and did not hear the flap, flap, flap from the first reel. As well I was stupid and didn't kill the power on the first projector. This isn't an IMAX theater. Sometimes the first projector shows white for a second or two over the film.
Trust me, that doesn't stop the masturbation. These guys are pros.
In this case the film melted and actually started to burn in the projector. I knew that using one of the ancient fire extinguishers was not an option. So I stuck my hands into the guts of the projector and actually pulled out fragments of burning leader, burning myself thoroughly in the process.
The bulb was fucked by the fumes from the celluloid or whatever the film as made of. Hey, no training, okay?
I found out later that those bulbs are expensive. Well, plutonium isn't cheap.
I was demoted to a different theater where they had hookers that danced between 16mm film and brought johns to back rooms between dances.
Cest le vie.
posted by Splunge at 5:14 PM on February 1, 2011 [3 favorites]
Eventually the sex shows were phased out because they were constantly busted by the Vice Squad.
Anyway, to keep working I ended up as a cashier and my wife went back to burlesque (also known as stripping). When one of the projectionists called in arrested for drug dealing, I was called up to the projection booth. I was given minimal training. But my first job was a small venue with smaller 16mm projectors. It was a matter of threading up a two reel crappy porn movie. Occasionally they got a "sex team" to go up on to the filthy mattress on the stage. They were paid chickenfeed compared to what the ex and I used to get.
On the upside hey didn't get busted because by then the Vice guys didn't care. Crack was a big deal then. An all hands on deck kind of thing. People having sex on stage was no longer a priority.
Eventually I ended up a the Hudson theater, a huge place. They had these monster 35mm projectors that used, I think, burning plutonium as a light source.
And I had no, zero, zip training. It was rote. Do this, do that and you'll be fine. I had to keep things moving by making sure the film didn't do that chattering thing. I used a pencil to pull down a loop of film for that. I was lucky that I never broke a film. But I did accidentally set one on fire. You know that thing that you see in various movies where the film stops and burns? It's not just an effect. It happens because the bulb is so damn hot that if the film stops moving, it will melt from the heat. The film moving as fast as it does actually keeps the film cool. It should not stop.
Why might it stop? It might stop if the last asshole that used the reel taped the end to the reel. If i ever find the guy that did that I will stab him in the face.
So I did the reel change and did not hear the flap, flap, flap from the first reel. As well I was stupid and didn't kill the power on the first projector. This isn't an IMAX theater. Sometimes the first projector shows white for a second or two over the film.
Trust me, that doesn't stop the masturbation. These guys are pros.
In this case the film melted and actually started to burn in the projector. I knew that using one of the ancient fire extinguishers was not an option. So I stuck my hands into the guts of the projector and actually pulled out fragments of burning leader, burning myself thoroughly in the process.
The bulb was fucked by the fumes from the celluloid or whatever the film as made of. Hey, no training, okay?
I found out later that those bulbs are expensive. Well, plutonium isn't cheap.
I was demoted to a different theater where they had hookers that danced between 16mm film and brought johns to back rooms between dances.
Cest le vie.
posted by Splunge at 5:14 PM on February 1, 2011 [3 favorites]
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