Digital-works - Reel Stories Cinema Projectionists (2022)

From the date of the first projected film by the Lumiere Brothers in France in 1895 projectionists have been the behind the scenes technical experts locked up in sound proof rooms, the silhouettes occasionally seen as we look back and up from our cinema seats at the little windows from which are projected cinema projectionist the films that have entertained, terrified and beguiled us. The projectors themselves, often Heath Robinson like machines, with film snaking through them, have required great skill and dedication to run. With the recent move to digital projection most cinemas now do not require those skills and we want to record the working lives of projectionists in the heyday of this dying art.

What type of person becomes a projectionist? What are the skills required and how did they get them? What are the machines like? What's it like, night after night, sitting in that noisy little room, alone, overlooking a theatre full of people.

These and many more are the questions explored to preserve and share this wonderful history.

Reelstories Site

Full Version Available Upon Request