It is a unique experience when the lights go down in a movie theatre and the action on screen begins. But as people enjoy their popcorn and let their senses be taken over by Surround Sound and 24 frames a second, somebody is adjusting, focusing and watching over the film that is being projected on screen.
The projectionist is the crucial person who brings the film to life and ensures an audience has the best cinematic experience possible.
The Tenterfield Cinema is no exception with volunteer projectionists putting their skills to work on weekends and during the week. A projectionist like Matthew King, who has worked in the industry for almost a decade, devotes his time to a craft that he loves.
“I hadn’t touched a movie theatre projector again till last year,” he said.
“It’s good to do as a volunteer, to give back to the community that I am living off. It is a very rewarding thing.”
Mr King began his career as a projectionist in California while he was at university. One of his friends at the time re-ferred him to the cinema that was set up as a drive-in, and was later converted to a walk-in cinema.
“Originally it was a drive-in theatre with what would have been one of the largest screens in the world, 96 by 42 feet,” he said.
“I saw almost every film that was made for six years, for free, between 1985 and 1991.”
The complex was managed by a man who lost his original movie theatre in the 1930s due to the anti-trust case brought before Hollywood courts dealing with the monopoly of cinema ownership by film companies.
Mr King was trained by one of the original union projectionists who learnt the skill as a professional trade and had been in the industry since 1936.
Mr King said stories of the industry’s old days demonstrated the change in the way people approached going to movie theatres.
“There used to be days when people would go to the movies each week because it was to attend the show.
“Now the industry has changed. It’s all about the blockbuster.”
Working in the film industry presented opportunities for him to cross paths with well-known identities, as Mr King discovered after a phone call in 1987.
“I talked to Stanley Kubrick in the September of 1987 with the release of Full Metal Jacket,” Mr King said.
“The local newspapers had censored his movie ad. He rang the theatre from London and asked if I would send him a copy of the ad that was censored.
“For one brief moment I talked to the master Stanley Kubrick,” he laughed.
But it is not the chance of running into celebrities that makes him passionate about being a projectionist. He enjoys taking the 35mm film from the platter, threading up the projector and projecting the movie onto the screen.
“It’s for those who have an appreciation of films,” he said.
“It can be very self satisfying to see a movie projected, and it is the tip of the technical iceberg in the film industry.”
Tenterfield’s School of Arts is always looking for more volunteers and presently has openings for projectionists. Some may be daunted by the responsibility of the role, but Mr King said it is not so intimidating.
“It is a well-proven technology and it only has one way of working correctly,” he said.
“Novice projectionists always have someone to call if something goes wrong.
“For some people that can’t work in the Australian film Industry, you can at least become a projectionist.”
Harry Bolton and Christine Foster from the School of Arts are both projectionists and are happy to see new people who would like to be trained up in the rare skill.
“It would suit someone who is reliable, responsible for other volunteers and is interested in movies and theatre and being part of our complex,” Mrs Foster said.
“To learn a skill like projection, it’s a very seldom-learnt skill, and you get to see the movies.
“Tenterfield is very fortunate to have such a facility for a town our size.”
Mr Bolton agreed with Mrs Foster and said the cinema is something the volunteers are proud of, and it could not run without them.
“A community cinema runs on the back of the community,” he said.
“It’s a benefit to the community and you mix with new and nice people.”
Anybody interested in learning to be a volunteer projectionist should contact Christine Foster at the School of Arts on 6736 6100.
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff
Twitter