During the summer of 2004, before I turned nineteen, my Dad took me out to lunch for my birthday. I had been unemployed for two months and he asked me what I wanted to do with my life other than sitting at home all day. Feeling put on the spot, I told him simply I liked to watch movies. My Dad suggested I apply to work at the local movie theater. I shrugged and decided to give it a shot. After all, what did I have to lose?
The time between filling out the application and getting the call for an interview is a little hazy, but I do remember sitting in the interview and being asked basic interview questions like "Why do you want to work here?" and "How would you deal with customer complaints?" My answers must have impressed them because I was offered the job only days later. I, of course, accepted.
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| Path of a film through a projector. |
My first tasks to tackle were ringing up snack bar transactions and scooping popcorn, a chore I became quite familiar with over course of eight years. Through what I believe was good work ethic and attitude (the incentive of free movies driving me), I was promoted after three months to an assistant manager and began training for the arduous task of projection. It took me about two months to really understand the position of being a projectionist, because not only was I in charge of four large, constantly running projectors, but I had a crew to manage as well, most of whom were high-schoolers at their first job.
Over time, I gravitated toward dealing with the films themselves, training my staff to run on auto-pilot while I was upstairs in the booth splicing together reels of a movie or rewinding trailers back onto their corks to ship back to the studios. I sometimes think that was a bad management technique on my part, but I suppose I'll never know for sure.
It was during my tenure as a projectionist that I truly felt I was doing what I was called to do. I had never wanted to learn about the process of film or the inner workings of the movie theater industry until I was able to feel the slickness of film between my fingers. Watching a movie run through a projector at twenty-four frames a second is a feeling I will never see again, but a feeling I will never forget.
It is a job I miss dearly, but, unfortunately, the way of projection is diminishing quickly. Studios are forcing movie theaters to turn digital, which, in turn, is putting many mom-and-pop movie theaters out of business. It is a trade that is going extinct and though I cannot speak for any past or present projectionist out there, I know it is a job that I will look back on and remember how fortunate I was to have been a part of it.
I solved the mystery behind the three-foot-wide window and it changed my life. Not only did I leave the job with a wealth of information that I would be thrilled to share with you should you find the interest, but while working there I met the love of my life, who also loves the movies and after three years of marriage, we're still watching movies and enjoying them together.
