Being a Projectionist for Oppenheimer 70mm Film 

Man this video is going to blow up, there's not many good 70mm projectionist videos on youtube

As someone that ran 35 mm and 70 mm I applaud you, sir. I worked in the theater business for more than 17 years. I appreciate all you do and your videos.

My best friend who sadly passed away years ago, was a projectionist back in the late 90's early 2000's and took me up into the booth a few times. This video brought back a lot of good memories and was fascinating. Thank you for that.

Dude! My whole family went to your 70mm showing at Bridgeport! Thanks for your commitment to making this the best it can be.

This was so fun to watch. Thanks for documenting this, Drew!

Christopher Nolan would be so proud of your care for his film and the work that gets put in to watch it how he meant for us to watch it. Thank you good sir!

It's just crazy how much work actually goes on behind us a few feet up above while we get to relax and enjoy a film for 2-3 hours. Thanks for showcasing this Drew! Your efforts don't go unappreciated!

I’m only 19 so film isn’t something I was around when I was growing up. But watching videos like this, watching videos about working with film and using film makes me hope that analogue formats like this never go away. Film, cassettes, vinyl records. All of that analogue stuff is so cool to me and this video just makes me love it even more.

Didn’t expect to see my local theater on this!! Saw Oppenheimer at the Tigard theater opening night in 70mm!! So proud to get the chance to personally thank you! 😁 the film wouldn’t have looked as amazing as it did if not for you!!

Very well done all the way around! Camera placements, lighting, close ups of a clean looking projector. And not letting the leader touch the floor. Roger would be very proud.

As a kid the theatre was always such a magical place. I remember my dad taking me to see Lion King and Little Mermaid almost hundreds of times. I got to go up and see the projector and i just remember being fascinated that a strip of pictures made a film, and that i was watching drawings basically.

This was really beautifully filmed, the shots of the print running through the projection system were fantastic 🙂 It shows what a skill being a projectionist really is.

Thank you for documenting such an important and pivotal art of film history, it fascinates me all your process and seeing how fewer and fewer movies are being filmed in 70mm heartbreaks me. Hopefully the talk over Oppenheimer and the 70mm will ensure that this art and profession has a place in the future.

Really appreciate you documenting this process. I attended a 35MM, a 70MM, and an IMAX 70MM screening to work on a big video myself about my experiences, and I think it's really important documenting how stuff like this works, especially today in the digital age.

I remember watching Oppenheimer on 70mm at AMC a few months ago, and the first time I saw it on 70mm, my jaw dropped of how beautiful it looks on 70mm, and ever since, I fell in love with the 70mm film format

Back in the '80s I ran a pair of Century model C projectors that are basically the 35mm version of what you're using. individual reels, back before platters made it to most theatres. And carbon arc lighthouses. It was the best job a young guy could have had. Glad to see there are still a few places running film these days. It's becoming a lost skill.

This is bringing back a lot of memories from one of my first jobs as a projectionist 15+ years ago. Seeing you feed the film through makes me think I can do it just the same with my eyes closed!

I read somewhere that because of the huge influx of people wanting to see this in 70mm that IMAX is going to expand film projection across its businesses. With there currently only being 19 70mm cinemas in the US, thank you so much for showing us this side of it!

Hardcore nostalgia watching this! I was a 35mm projectionist for about four years before our local second run theater shut down in 2016. Thanks for sharing!

As a Tigard native, hat tip to you for getting the pronunciation right! I watched Oppenheimer in 70mm at that exact theatre yesterday and I absolutely loved it.

20 years ago a few of my friends from high school were working at a movie theater and I ended up hanging out at the movie theater a fair amount of time. I got the chance to go up to the projectionist booth a bunch of times, always thought it was a cool experience up there. Whoever was working would show me how all the machines work and all that. The theater has since been closed, remodeled and turned into a church.

This is how movies should be shown, in 35 mm and 70 mm, not in digital. When they started to show movies in digital it was when the real movies died. You are a real hero of the movies. Thank you for this great video!

Hi neighbor, I was a projectionist at the Lake twin running 35mm prints on 3 platters for each projectors for double features back in the day. Never had the privilege to run 70mm, and was long gone by the time the digital became standard for many of the theaters. The last digital film I watched in a theaters had issues with the DRM and connection for the license, so the film was delayed 40 minutes. There are advantages to a physical print. The 35mm we had were shipped in double reel 40 minute boxes. The oldest technology I had the pleasure of running was a single auditorium running 20 minute enclosed reals with the rollers on the projector, the velocity damper, and the last resort the chain by the door to drop the fire doors for the event of a reel catching fire. Yes the lamp houses were carbon arc powered by the motor generators in the basement. Somehow I miss running the carbon arcs. I've replaced my share of the Xenon short arc lamps, as they generally need replaced annually. Have only experiences one catastrophic bulb failure. Those high pressure bulbs do go off with a bang. Maybe some time I'll drop in and say hi. If my memory holds, I think I watched Top Gun and The gods must be crazy there.

We have a 70 mm cinema in our village (one of two in Denmark). It was my intention to watch the Oppenheimer movie in 70 mm, but unfortunately the owner/operator of the cinema, who is also a big 70 mm enthusiast, had health issues. The last 70 mm film I have watched in our cinema is therefore Nolan's Dunkirk. I must still say that the Oppenheimer movie shown in IMAX was a great experience. Thanks for a great video :)

This is totally awesome. I worked as projectionist back in the early 1990s and everything you showed brought back countless memories. It funny to think splicing the trailers with the tap and everything is pretty much the same as it was 30 years ago. Watching the film as it run through the projector and back onto the platter made me think of the first time threading a film. Awesome stuff thanks for sharing.

Oh man, this is so cool. I’m a huge analog film nerd and I was actually cast as a background scientist in this movie so got to closely watch Nolan and Hoyte work together. Best MasterClass ever. It would be an absolute dream to have a 70mm film cell of me around the 1 hour 58 minute mark!

Finally getting around to catching up on any/all of the 'I was there' RU-vids from Oppenheimer. Great job! I was BL&S operator in STL [also for Dunkirk, H8]. My setup is same as yours, save for Strong console instead of Christie. One other twist; I was one of few lucky venues to get a print on 3 three shipping reels and a 'platter loading device' contraption to put the whole thing together. It did not go smoothly, but we got it done. Long story. MUCH prefer the single large split shipping reel. Your booth looks very modern and clean. We've had housekeeping issues at our location, with change of ownership between H8 and Dunkirk, the last of the regular projectionist[s] being kicked out, water main break in the ceiling in winter of '22, etc.. But we cleaned up our area as best we could and had a great 8 week run. Cheers, and great work again. // FWIW, I started my projectionists career back in .... 1978. Before H8, last worked in the booth in 2004. \\

Drew this video and editing are a work of art. Your soundtrack just adds and it's amazing the work that's been put into a 20min video. Incredible, I came for the raidoligical stuff, this was unexpected!

I watched in in 70mm in New Orleans and found it just as cool as the movie that they even printed trailers when they didn't need to. At first I though they just stuck on some old trailers that they had stored away in a desk drawer or something, but was delighted to see the (studio I presume) print new trailers for the movie when they didn't really need to. I saw the movie in 5/70 the Friday it opened, then drove up to Dallas to see it in IMAX 70mm.

Spent 10 years projecting 35mm in the 2000s but never worked with 70mm. Seeing your left finger getting that bottom loop just right by feel felt very familiar. I could thread the whole projector with my eyes closed before I was done (though it may not have been in frame!) It is wild they shipped the whole print on one reel (but I would never in a million years want to repair a bad splice on a platter for a print that big). Gods and Generals was probably the biggest print I ever had to move, thankfully we had carts. Not surprised to see the OSRAM bulbs are still packed the exact same way. Changing Xenon bulbs was never my favorite activity, though never had one blow up. I learned how to say “no” when managers would ask me to change one hot. I knew another projectionist who said yes and had it explode in his hands (safety gear protected him). The GM had to take over projection and scratched all the prints. Thanks for documenting this! I always wanted to work with 70mm, and this really took me back to an underpaid, yet fulfilling time of my life. Seeing an anticipated movie like this the night before anyone else really could was always a thrill. “Make do, that’s what projection is all about.” That is TRUTH. So many experiences where we are scrambling upstairs and our reward was for nobody in the auditorium to be the wiser.

Amazing! I never really thought about the fact that the DTS track is also literally a track on the film. We’re gonna tell the next generation we came from the hybrid era. From cars to movvies 😂

I’m going into film at IU and this is an eye opener on how projectors work, it’s fascinating yet hella complicated unless you know what you’re doing. I didn’t even know trailers had to be attached to the film reel. Such fascinating stuff

Many years ago, I was a projectionist (35mm) for a Drive-in theater in Angola, NY and in an indoor house during the winter months. I enjoyed watching your story immensely. Thank you. Just as a bit of background we used old Century heads with carbon arc lamps. Pretty cool old stuff... I remember "watching" MASH 45 times, Love Story over 40 times, Woodstock over 40 times and Gone with the Wind more than I care to admit LOL....

back in my day as a Projectionist I came in for my shift with 1 technician from outside of my theater company which had contract to do certain maintenance like changing xenon bulb, fixing broken stuff on a Project, just General things where it lies outside of my realm of duty which I shouldn't be messing around with, the technician had to do, which requires extra training from technical training is required so some college and university degree is required. So when I came in the technician was finishing up changing the xenon bulb in 1 projector, the technician made 1 mistake which cause 1 platter to spin which the bulb was inside the box but wasn't fully closed, so after the platter started spinning the blub inside the box fallen to the ground cause wide spread of the bulb glass to spread across the floor, luckily the box the bulb was in probably saved me and the technician from getting injured. It was scary but good learning experience.

watched Oppenheimer yesterday at the san antonio 70mm location near the alamo. ive never seen an imax movie nonetheless 70mm, but it was INCREDIBLE. i wrote a paper on oppenheimer’s life my sophomore year of college so the movie was amazing, but the film!! ive never seen a screen that large be so clear and captivating. thanks for your work man

I watched Oppenheimer in 70mm yesterday and it was the first time I saw a movie in 70mm, actually the first time I saw a movie on film at all. The image quality was just mind bending at easily the best picture I've ever seen.

The dedication to your tradecraft is one I can relate to and should always be applauded 👍🏼

The conception, design, manufacture and operation of these machines blows my mind.

This was fascinating. The amount of effort, money, and time to provide the audience with such perfection is so much appreciated. This is like watching magic happen. Thanks for documenting this process and showing us how it's accomplished.

As an applied media artist 12:35 is the beginning to the most beautiful montage of the film running at 24fps. My favorite part is how you can see what is playing on the film on the spools but the image is blurry and smudged only in front of the projector with the shutter can you see the clear picture.

This was special. Thank you for sharing such a thorough behind the scenes walk through of a dying art.

I was just recommended and saw this RU-vidr Patrick Tomasso’s video on why it’s breaking IMAX, and now this. RU-vid is really perfecting is recommended algorithm, but I love that it’s with talented people. Lovely 😊

just want to express my gratitude for those out there such as yourself. I'm 26 and consider myself extremely lucky to live within an hour driving distance to have seen the hateful eight roadshow (still got my program) and Oppenheimer in 70mm here in the midwest. thank you for keeping the dream alive I appreciate you so much

WHOA! This is where I came to see it opening night! I’ve actually seen the movie 5 times now. Twice in 70mm and three times in IMAX. Funny enough, I actually work for a Cinemark in Portland, but we don’t have any film projectors so I came to Tigard. I’m so happy that this is still an option for cinema. What a wonderful skill you get to partake in

05:30 Here Drew, is the beginning of your wonderful journey, the begin of history, the begin of your intrest, the theme and all people that you watching your channel and on your tours.

I used to own some independent cinemas and I was a film booker/buyer for a number of screens. I ran my own booths at my 35 mm twin screen. This was just the best seeing you working so professionally at your craft. I share your love of motion picture exhibition.

Drew, first off, exceptional production of this video. as I learned from some of your previous videos, it’s really neat to see you going back to your roots and having the opportunity to run a machine like this especially since it is focused on the content of your channel. I have been waiting for this film for about a year now, and I have my tickets for the IMAX version on Thursday. Thank you for what you do 👊🏼

You got a new fan from South Africa

Hats off to you for showing your projectionist skills working with the "Oppenheimer" 70mm print and the 70mm projector. Love viewing 70mm movies. When I was in 7th grade in 1968, our entire class went to a premier screening of the 70mm Cinerama version of "2001: A Space Odyssey" at the now defunct Belle Meade Theater in Nashville Tennessee. Before the theater was closed in the 90's, they showed the 70mm re-release of "Lawrence of Arabia" and the 70mm special release of the original three "Star Wars" films. I live about 35 miles away from Nashville and I traveled there to watch the 70mm IMAX "Oppenheimer" film this past weekend at the Regal Opry Mills & IMAX Theatre. No trailers. Before the pandemic, I saw the IMAX version of the film "Apollo 11" at the same theater and it was jaw dropping amazing. People need to go to screenings of films presented in 70mm because, as you said, they are slowly going away.

Really loved the insight into how a film reel is delivered, set up and tested beforehand. I’d’ve just assumed everything was mostly digital after post-production, but seeing the mechanics of reel projection up close and learning how well maintained you keep it (especially the bulb change part) makes me appreciate the unspoken heroes that bring us our cinema experiences to us. Great video!

A really outstanding video, Drew! You perfectly captured what it is like to run and project 70mm film, a format that I think is superior to IMAX and is still the very best projection format that has ever existed. Truly great to see you take such great care of the print as well as care of the projector as well.

I don't know too much about the history or the science, but the Paul Newman movie Fat Man and Little Boy back from the 80's was also a good one depicting the Manhattan Project. I'll always know Dwight Schultz as Murdoch from The A-Team, but I thought/think he was really good as Oppenheimer too haha.

This video really tugged at my heartstrings. In the 70's, I was a projectionist all through college and worked in numerous theaters around Ann Arbor with different types of 35mm equipment. Most projectors still had carbon arc lamps and 20 minute reels but one theater had seven auditoriums with Christie platter systems and Xenon lamps. I loved that job.

Thank you for your dedication to keeping film alive and running a great show for the audience. I have seen Oppenheimer 3 times now, once in 70mm and twice in IMAX and I really appreciate the work projectionists do.

I’m a huge cinema fan. I only recently discovered your channel. This is a surprise to me that you’re a projectionist. I think it’s really amazing that Christopher Nolan still fights so hard to both shoot and exhibit on film. Being from Rochester, NY (the birthplace of Kodak), I feel a sense of pride watching this. I loved the film by the way, excellent all the way around.

I used to be friends with people who worked on these film cameras in Vancouver British Columbia. And being a Hasselblad user I also had a 70 mm magazine for both film and they used to give me their extra bits of leftover film they had no use for. It was quite a hoot to be shooting on a 250 ASA Kodachrome film stock

Imagine how hard this job is. Having to regularly clean the film to avoid wear and tear, keeping the audio synced with the film (mentioned on another video i saw way before), and even regularly having to hold a "grenade" just to project this. For a movie like Oppenheimer, this must be very rewarding. Would be such an honor to see the movie that many times on film! Though what I think would be unimaginable would be the pain of doing it with the Star Wars sequels.

Thank for posting this. Projectionists have helped to entertain for what? over 100years now? The final care and prep at the presentation/theater is critical to a positive experience for all watching.

Wow, that was fascinating to watch. All those spools and sprockets and how you’re able to keep it all straight is quite impressive. Thanks for the behind-the-scenes look!👍🏻

Watching from Australia, where the Sun theatre in Yarraville, an inner suburb west of Melbourne, Victoria, has a 70mm projector. We watched Oppenheimer last Monday and it was spectacular. I’m a huge fan of the Sun theatre, an old rundown edifice, loving restored with HUGE lounging leather couch type seats with leg room to brag about. When one enters, one is transferred back in time to how we loving witnessed newsreels and even black and white flickering early issue moving pictures. The 70mm is so visually impressive and stable with no movement blurring, very sharp and clear. Absolutely amazing clarity.

Hey Drew, thanks for coming out to our theater. I’ve seen you a few times up in the booth whenever I’m cleaning theater 8. One of my managers mentioned your channel, so I came here to check it out.

Wow this is such a surprise. As a child I saw the teacher set up the 16mm projector for our class so many time in the 1960's. Today with 70mm film it appears that the projectionist is actually INSIDE the projector which is amazing! The area where the film runs has to be so large because the film has been scaled so much! Also I really appreciated your interpretation of what was left out of the movie at the end - i knew about the demon core stories but not about other nuclear accidents at Los Alamos ...

I used to work at Australia's largest drive in and we had the old 70mm projector still in the protection booth. Sadly it was out of commission but it was rather cool to see one in person. Now I get to see how one operates thankyou for sharing history with us

MAN! This took me back to my time running projection at Regal/Edwards. Some of the best times of my life then. Got to tell my kids about how you could diagnose a film's flaws to know what happened to it... platter scratches/roller alignment scratches/gate scratches/pully tension scratches. Also reminisced about when DTS, DD and SDDS systems first started getting added. BTW ... Kudos to you not using the gloves when installing that Xenon... ballsey my guy. You talked about cleaning... I remember running "Shindler's List" when it came out and it shed an ASTRONOMICAL amount of film coating (whatever they put on it to keep the black and white from deteriorating too quickly). We had to have pressurized oxygen tanks brought in to clean the projectors between showings. Sooooo many memories. I loved projection. Thanks for putting this up! Side effect of being a projectionist however is knowing when you're seeing a sub-par showing. (I've had many a conversation with theater managers letting them know what was wrong with their presentation and what to check if they didn't know.) :D

I did 10 years as a projectionist on 35mm film before both me and the projectors were replaced by digital. It was a great experience. Nice to see inside a booth again, it's been a while.

My father was at Trinity. He gave me pieces of trinitite about 1950 ( I was 5), then a couple years later, it disappeared. Later he said it all been recalled.

I worked at this same theater and built the Dark Knight in 70mm IMAX. It’s unfortunate that this location didn’t opt for 70mm IMAX. It was quite an experience seeing the Dark Knight on that massive screen. Film had its issues, but it looked so good. Damn, I miss my time working with film.

Crazy culmination of over a century of film projection technology. And with so much film exposed to the air at every given moment, that room must have to be near clean room specifications. Super cool video, thanks.

That brought back memories of when I was a licensed projectionist in college back in the early 1980s. We had two 35 mm projectors in the booth and one 16mm. The projectors were carbon arc lamps. That meant that we had to keep a close eye on the burning rods to maintain the appropriate amount of light by cranking a bit closer every few minutes. The reels held only half an hour so we had to swap the projectors every 30 minutes. One of the major reasons for the scratches on the film back then was that there was a wheel on a rod that the film passed by. When the film was down low enough, the rod would ring a bell and we would get ready to swap by looking for the marks on the right-hand upper corner of the film. Those marks were often punched holes, which would add to the deterioration of those old reels. Fun memories.

Loved this film, and dragged my family to Denver to see it in 70mm. Loved the movie, the black and white scenes were incredible! Unfortunately, there seems to have been a problem with the projector, as the film kept moving in and out of focus the entire time. I didn’t notice at first, but once my dad pointed it out, it became somewhat annoying (thanks dad, lol). Glad to see this cool process, and I am so happy to see folks still keeping this part of cinima alive. And I’m also happy that your projector worked better than ours, lol.

Drew, this was was absolutely awesome video documenting the art and science of sending 70mm film through a massive projector. I own over a dozen 8, 16, and 35 mm projectors, but obviously no 70 mm, so this was truly a treat! The bulb change was the icing on the explosive cake! You are 100% an asset to the science and technology of the projection of film. As for the Manhattan Project… I am fortunate to be the owner of a Leeds-Northrop Decade/😮Resistance box that was used to develop the first atomic bomb. It has asset stickers and tags from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Atomic Energy Commission, etc, that was used to develop the very first atomic bomb.

Ran across this video and had to watch. I was a part time 35mm projectionist on Fairchild AFB for about 5 years(2004-2009). One of my favorite jobs I ever did and I miss doing it. Even though 70mm is different than 35mm is still brought back good memories. Those bulbs are no joke. We only had to replace a bulb once and that was nerve racking. You didn’t mention how much those “hand grenades” cost. Not cheap. Thanks for the video and would love to see more videos on projecting.

I was a projectionist in the 70s and 80s. I didn't know film was still being distributed. I thought it was on an industrial type Dvd. I would not be surprised to learn that studios would not send out prints at all anymore, that they would live stream the presentations to the cinemas on a schedule. Good job, good video!

Very cool to see some of what goes into Oppenheimer from this perspective. Thanks for making this!

Huge respect to Drew and other film projectionists out there around the world who’s doing the at most brilliant work behind the scenes and contributing to a beautiful and memorable experience. You are the last piece that completes the “filmmaking”puzzle! 🫡 📽️🎞️

This is so cool Drew! Never knew any of that about you. Huge respect for this profession, thank you for the behind the scenes look at everything that goes into it.

As a projectionist I’ve ran film size from 8 mm to 70 mm and this was a great video. Déjà vu all over again I truly miss those days. I was one of the first people to show E T in 70 mm on the west coast. I’m back in the 80s I didn’t have film shipped in a huge box. It came on reels.

Cool video! Nice to see you post this to show your passion in what you do and love!

I discovered your channel by accident, and I’m really glad I did. You have a new subscriber brother. This is really fascinating work and a dying art. Massive respect to you. Thank you for showing us this process

Thanks for going through explaining such complex machine. As a cinema nerd, I love these videos. Thank you man.

This was so satisfying to watch, great work!

Awesome short film, thank you for making this. I've watched this 3 times now. I used to live very close to an IMAX theatre most of my life growing up in Southern California . I now live over 6 hours from the nearest IMAX location, and I'm feeling pretty down about the fact I can't afford the trip, and wont be able to see Oppenheimer in 70MM. Watching this is cathartic.

I really enjoyed your comment about "preserving" the heritage of film projection. You're right, using "real" (no, that's not a pun) film is a dying art. My grandfather was a projectionist (35mm) for nearly 25 years at a large (3000-seat) theater in the Midwest. I had the unique opportunity (at age 7) to go with him (several times, too), climb the seven flights of stairs up to the projection loft (that's what he called it) while hauling up boxes of film reels at the same time (and you are right--they are HEAVY). How I miss those days of peering through the small window in front of each projector and watching the dance of images on the huge screen four floors below us. I even watched him change out the carbon-arc rods that provided the light for the projector. For one thing, one did NOT look at them in operation without tinted goggles. And he had to wear heat-resistant gloves for doing the changeover because they got HOT (as in nearly 2000 degrees or more). I congratulate you on being part of an (unfortunately) dying breed.

This really is a lost art. Thanks for showing how it was done in the (not so long ago) old days... 😎✌️ Fun fact: the IMAX projectors are controlled with a PalmPilot PDA. Well, not really - they are controlled by an iPad running an emulated Pilot m130... 😁

Oh man, you're such a great projectionist. Appreciate all your hard work so much. God bless you! Long live Cinema!

This video brought me to tears. I was a 35mm projectionist right up until the transition to digital, and watching you thread the projector head took me straight back to the booth. I miss it.

I was the youngest and last 35mm film operator in my town. I loved it so much. Getting the film to run just right to have the perfect hum and getting it focused just right with the lenses. Perfecting the timing it was so nice. Building the film on the platers was fun for me except when I built Lawless out of order and no one noticed for a week. Since we were a first run theater I knew making the right cuts was important as second run theaters would base their builds off of me. I also remember the night before the premier of Brave the projector needed a new intermittent system or whatever its called and luckily we had one however we needed it installed that night or the next day was going to be a mess so I called like 4 people who were suppose to know how to fix it and one of them finally walked me through how to do it over the fun. I got it all installed and the timing perfect when checking with test film. Well the next day before my shift started I get a call from my boss telling me the movie looked smeared..... What happened was the bolt that kept the blade in time slipped a bit and so the timing was off. People watched the whole movie that way and I dont think we even gave a refund I was lucky. I raced in there and got it perfect again but it was a crazy time. I only had one film melt on me and that was the end of a movie so it was not that bad of thing. I actually have Brave themed hats from Disney for Perfect projection there was a like a forum you filled out when the movie came and then like months later the hats showed up it was so kinda funny. Batman Darknight was a tough one only because it took up the whole platter so would almost slip off. Man was a blast of a time. I would work film again any day.

Never had any idea that this was so complicated especially adding in previews and how many rollers, loops, and turns that film makes. Love the mechanics of it and it truly is an art form! Bravo!

This video is for me a piece of art. I really enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing this process. I'd love to show it to my kids 10 years from now when film might be less than it currently is, and when they are old enough to appreciate it.

After doing a lot of research, I was already sold on 70mm. This video made me appreciate it more, thanks man. Very excited to watch dune 2 in 70mm Imax.

This was so fun to watch. Thanks for documenting this, Drew!. This was so fun to watch. Thanks for documenting this, Drew!.

What an interesting view into your job! Thank you for sharing!

When I was in elementary school, I was always the kid who set up the 16 mm reel to reel movie projector when the teacher was going to show us a movie. I was good at threading the film and getting the correct tension. But man, this is next level stuff. So very cool! Thanks for showing the process of setting this up.

Nice video. Brings back memories of when I was a projectionist for an AMC for 5 years. It was a very large cinema with 20 screens and an imax, and before they went full digital, I was running 20 screens all with 32mm film. Working till the last showing at night sometimes till 3-4am, and having to move the 32mm films between platters for the next day schedule. Then having to rebuild dropped 32mm films that new projectionists didnt clamp right while moving between platters, was a crazy puzzle that could take hours sometimes trying to wade through the jumbled film to match reel frames. The loud rumbling sound of 10 projectors running in unison. Loud as shit but like a loud AC white noise that i miss often. Films jamming and getting scorched by the xenon bulb, and having to remove off the burnt sections and splice the film back together mid midnight premier showing! Good times good times, thanks for the nostalgia mate. PS: That 70mm print size is insane. I can only imagine the final weight on that oppenheimer reel fully assembled is rediculous.

Had the pleasure of coming to see a showing of Oppenheimer on 70mm at this location. It was my first time seeing it and so much fun. My girlfriend is one of the managers there so I have been hearing a lot of the behind the scenes. Thanks for making the video, it was great and hilarious to see as I was just watching your Trinity site video before this was released.

This is a phenomenal documentary! Thank you for doing this, and props on the quality of the shots, composition, editing, music choices, etc… That all enriches an already priceless look behind the scenes at such a fascinating role in the entertainment industry! 🙏

As someone who used to work in a movie theatre (including Projectionist), and also worked for the DOE, this is a uniquely interesting video to me. I'm debating on taking my trinitrate with me to see Oppenheimer.

This video is amazing! Projectionists for these type of formats should be credited with the rest of the staff of a movie.

Enjoyed thus behind the scenes video! Thank you, Sir!

It may give you a tough time for you to put it to projector but that 70mm format is very rare like you have touched a diamond. To see something like that again with is gonna be a long time. I hope you enjoyed & appreciate that rare 70mm comes to your theater.