Brings back so many memories. Being a teenager in 1962, I used to hang around with a good buddy who was a projectionist. I became familiarized with all the necessary steps. I remember this theater used, (I think it's called a dynamotor which ran off 220VAC which at the same time produced the necessary DC Voltage to run the arc lights) I am now knocking at the door of 77 years old, (God willing) Thank you for this wonderful video.
This brings back fond memories of my Dad running old Super Simplex Projectors at the old Capital Theatre in Welland Ontario in 1965. Those old machines also used Peerless lamphouses. The Capital used vintage Western Electric sound equipment
Nicely done. I really enjoyed watching. It reminds me of my many years as a projectionist in Ocean City, NJ. We had peerless magnarcs and ran the same 20 minute reels, it used Simplex XLs instead of your Century’s. But the sights and sounds all remind me of what I could probably still do in my sleep. It’s been 34 years since I worked there. The changeover cues were a brilliant detail. Back in 1988 I took a few videos of our projection room, but never thought to put something like this together. Good work! Thanks.
The back wall of the booth was lit up with the projected image reflection from the clear glass in front of the lens. Was a very interesting time, and we always ran from the drive in's playground when the cartoons started. I remember the liquid fuelled heaters provided in the winter time to later be replaced with electric heaters.
Beautiful! The projection booth is the cornerstone of a movie theater. A well presentation from the projection booth it becomes a great theater. A great changeover of each reel is the key of a great projectionist. No matter how beautiful the theater is, even a palace theater, the key is the projectionist. People come back to the theater depends of the projectionist.
Wow...I'm 7 decades old now and remember the Kingsway in my youth! Our family operated a hardware down the street for many years up until the late 80's...I am SO glad you guys (and gals) are keeping the Kingsway open...just don't let the marquee collapse like the Revue theatre's one some years ago!! One other comment: I drive/walk by at night and I've noted that for MANY years, the 'traveller' mechanism for the marquee lights seems to be missing one of the three contact points..Not sure if the actual 'traveller' mechanism is broken - but you REALLY need to get that fixed...It's irritating in the extreme to watch the sets of lights on, on - then OFF and repeating the cycle...it's a three-cycle circuit, as I remember (I helped repair one of these 'traveller' marquee lamp controllers down at the old theatre in New Toronto - 40 years plus ago!!) I'm fairly sure it's just either a missing contact bar or possibly just disconnected. It should be fixable. Obviously, the motor is working fine in the traveller switch. See what you can do - it's SO disconcerting to see the marquee lights in 'fits and starts'... It's problably a 'Signatrol 33-C3' unit - or similar 'chaser' unit - 3 contacts. This company is in the States - but the chaser/traveller units are not expensive. It may be just contacts needed. nationalsupplyonline.com/Mechanical_Border_Chasers.html cheers! James
It is actually a solid state unit that I bought as a replacement a few years back. It is a 4 flasher - one of the contacts does not work properly and the unit has yet to be replaced. Only three contacts work - but it was wired for 4. 1 length is doubled up - which is fine because the bulbs are now low wattage LEDs. Has to be fixed at some point.
This projectionist seems like he was trained by me. Starting with the reel bin "marker" to keep track of the next reel and where the last reel came from, the fact that he never let the film touch the floor by threading the take-up reel directly from the supply reel before threading the machine, he used pliers to trim the carbon arc and not a rag, and his inspection of an incoming print carefully checking head and tail leaders and the film edge of the entire reel. His precise movements throughout the operation reek of professionalism and good habits.
Very good demo Sir for easily understand. This is old model projector with carbon rods lighting. First invented system as all most all old theatres are following even now In rural areas...
My my, you take a reel of film out of the take up spoolbox, then while it's rewinding, open up the projector and soundhead to thread up the next reel that has been placed in the top spoolbox Then you thread up the reel... we always cleaned the gate first and also the film rollers through the projector and gave the lens on the soundhead a wee clean as well.Hmm,
A former IA operator (L550 and L513) before moved over to stage, at the end of the carbon-arc eras. Had a chance to work many houses but my all-time favorite equipment were the Simplex X-L mated with the Ashcraft Super Cinex. Damn, it was such a fun job in the changeover days. The folks in today's automated digital booths have no clue what projection is but given today's equipment, do they need to? Still, it was a busier, yet simpler time. BTW, thanks for including the daily breaker routine! It was a key element.
a superb job but also thankless. at home, in Algeria if the film is cut from the reel. the operator will have a hard time, especially if the film cuts, in a beautiful action. like the power cut during a football world cup final match. if he was in colombia, they will throw les farcs on him. the operator will flee on foot from medeline to toronto 😂😂😂
I worked one of those. Kar Vu Drive In, Brighton, CO. It was my 1st assignment on my own, 1972. Union pay scale was $3.25/Hr. Simplex Projectors, Excellite 135 lamps with Metal reflectors. That's right, metal reflectors. Film would get so hot in the aperture gate it would warp. It made threading a challenge in the last few reels of a movie. The generator for DC power was not in a separate room. Extremely noisy work environment.
Many thanks for this video. I myself am a projectionist and I had the chance to shoot in double shift (but not with arc lanterns). It is for me the maximum purity of the profession. It is thanks to my grandfather that I do this job and he transmitted to me the love of film and the projection booth. Thanks again .
I am also a keen passionate guy since my 80s childhood when 16mm projector used to show movies on Saturdays evening. It was very expensive to buy a one so I developed my own DIY reel projector with 500w metal halide lamp which could project and light up 50 feet screen. It was so mesmerizing to see its dancing beam passing through fog, smoke and rain sometimes. I could get up early in morning and could project in a good ambient dawn light. Now I developed my DIY anamorphic lens using wedge prism. I use it with BenQ w1070 to project 42 feet wide screen on boundary wall specifically painted for projection. The memories of reel projector gives immense pleasure, I can think of it everytime!
I too ran the Peerless Magnarc lamps with Simplex XL projectors at The Mayan Theatre in Denver (before they made it a 3-plex) from 1973-1974. We had 2 rectifier units in another room (it cut down the noise), and a full bank of dimmer rheostats for the house and atmospheric lighting. I didn't have the opportunity to run Century projectors except in once in a while relief work. The Arvada Plaza theatre in Arvada, CO had Simplex XLs and Ashcraft Corelite lamps. My longest assignment was at the Esquire Theatre in Denver (still there, but turned into a twin). The Esquire had a pair of Simplex E-7 projectors. I didn't like them, but even after 50 years of use they ran fine. These were paired up with Strong Futura (?) carbon arc lamps. I don't remember that part. I was a member of IATSE Local 230 in Denver for 17 years. All these years later, I really miss those days.
Those E-7s leaked oil like there was no tomorrow. I never liked them, but they were workhorses. XLs were the best Simplexes, but my favourites, hands-down, were Cinemeccanica Vic-8s. Just amazing machines. I even worked on Vic-10s (they were bigger and heavier). Both the 8s and the 10s were 35/70. The 10s you could mis-thread and be 1.5 seconds out of sync. Ask me how I learned that factoid .
I don't' want to remember having that bell wake me up on the last feature getting close to 11PM and I need to get some sleep to work the next day. Century Projectors would run forever. We had Ashcroft light houses that had 2 huge 3-phase rectifiers to power the arc. And it was water cooled on the clamps holding the positive rod and a water feed went to the film gate to keep that cool. Slightly noisy machines. I have heard some pricey European projectors that are really quiet operating. I was familiar with electronics and had a Dynaco Preamp ahead of the power amp to give the audio a nice sound. And wired in one push button switch at each projector position that eliminated have to hit the petal on the floor for the movie transfer and button on the wall for the sound to switch projectors. One press of that button and it was complete. The ventilating system was broken from a fan belt worn out and the tile floor was black from the soot of the lamphouse. I fixed the fan and stripped the tile floor till it looked NEW. The manager was impressed and I got a little raise
Great documentary. My dad was IATSE 313 in upstate NY. Played that number every day for years. Hit it once...I think. I filled in during my senior HS year.
Great classic style old theater, I work in a cinema where my favorite motivational films were released and I achieved it as Projectionist I learned the manual books of the cinematographic projector I remember my training and everything was a success, I do not rule out one day being able to acquire an old theater and remodel it in the style of the 70s to 80s to restore the old projectors that I came across historical and project those classics that inspired me, although there would be few original films left in the film roll cases, if they are not kept lubricated, the old films will be lost, it would be sad, I remember not allowing any dirt or dust particles to be on the projector rails because they scratch the film It was my priority to preserve it with a good image on the big screen of the cinema ,,,, what tremendous times , the old film projectors that used lamps with carbon electrodes, I remember using them in an old cinema in my country they hired me for a season, I put them together but change the rolls in the middle of A film , it was several rolls, it had to be fast because the film was paused, with a powerful flat lens, but when the projector was modernized, flat lenses were used in the shorts of advertisements sponsored by the cinema and some films that were image Flat lens and when the movie started you had to switch to the scope lens. Then it was modernized to the giant plate method where all the rolls of the film are connected together all rolled up. But the modern ones were with a great DTS, CD, DVD and then to Bluray ,,, the old method was eliminated, which was more my traditional style, it was rather for me a profession, the audio contacts of the film had to be kept clean, a good lubrication in the rollers, an additional replacement lamp, a treatment to the film to avoid deterioration with the heat of the lamp, a good packing of the pressed film tape so that a dismantling does not occur in the roller in full projection of the film . I remember projecting the same movie for several rooms at the same time the tape ran down the wall from one projector to another projector in another movie room, ..I remember everything... 📽🎼🎬👊👍👁🗨
this theater in the 70's would show a different couple movies every night for cheap . it was a stoner hangout.one time they had texas chainsaw massacre and someone ran out with a running chainsaw with no chain from an exit behind the screen . people freaked. 6 months later they had on the schedule texas chainsaw massacre and meat cleaver massacre . on the flyer they wrote no chainsaws and no meat cleavers either please.
