Threading a 35mm projector

Threading a 35mm projector at work. It's really difficult doing it one handed so I messed up a few times and had to put the camera down in less ideal places to do a couple of things.

[@carolanne984]

Ahhhh the good old days. I'm 19, I work at a movie theater and we recently went completely digital so no more 35 mm.. I worked in projection with the 35's for almost 2 years! :( I miss them! Threading and working with film was so cool!

[@braindeadex]

Oh my god... leader should never ever ever ever touch the floor. You should thread around the upper and lower magazine rollers then back to the take up platter before you thread the projector so that no leader hits the floor!

[@buckwilson4167]

Looks like there's a catch bin under the projector. Not perfect procedure but better than floor

[@religious8453]

im from canada quebec, i used to work in a theater and we had like 6 projector like that... And ive never been able to get the same job again, all projector went numeric and its so simple to setup u dont need a projectionist anymore Very cool job

[@leamanc]

I projected 35mm for many years. I never had a platter though. ;-) I had two projectors with an old-style changeover system. I used the big reels that would hold 3 of the small reels. With most films being 5 or 6 reels, I only had to switch-over once per screening. I started with 2 carbon-arc lamps. I moved to xenon lamps one at a time--a big mistake. The carbon-arc lamp was much brighter, making it apparent when I switched. That was fixed when I got a 2nd xenon lamp. I miss projecting!

[@GGigabiteM]

The worst mess I ever had to fix (caused by another projectionists negligence) was a tail wrap where like 74 feet of the tail got wrapped around the platter arm and another two feet got ground up in the sprockets in the projector, with one frame being melted by the xenon bulb.

[@SimonJ57]

Just seen this thanks to the algorithm. Hell of amount of spooling to do, I thought people were crazy for using reel to reel a for music, but there must be like 5 capstans in there. But I guess it is imperative that this moves at a certain speed and with the highest accuracy possible. Thanks for showing us this!

[@GGigabiteM]

The only precision movement on the projector is the geneva drive and sprockets moving the film in the projector turret. The platter tree is actually very sloppy, especially being old and worn, but it has enough slack in the film at various places that it can vary in speed quite a bit before it becomes a problem. That being said, all of these projectors were scrapped in 2011 when the theater went digital, and the theater went out of business in 2020 due to the pandemic.

[@SimonJ57]

@@GGigabiteM I hope a museum or collector was able to hold onto one, at least to keep it from degrading too much. And sad to hear about the cinema, seems like it internationally, perhaps it can re-open with the old staff, but unfortunately it's not something any of us can count on.

[@GGigabiteM]

@@SimonJ57 Nope, none of the 35mm projectors were saved, all scrapped. I tried to get one of them but the owner gutted them before I could grab one. There was a brief window in 2011-2012 where all of the film projectors were being sold down in Mexico since they still used film for movie distribution at the time, which is where all of the parts went. The theater owner did give me his personal projector, but he had taken the lenses out of it so it sat in my garage for about 7 years while I tried to find some. Couldn't find any under $1000 so I eventually had to scrap it as well. The only thing I have left is the DTS unit, the pickups and the motors. The Strong SuperHighlight II projector housings are probably still up in the projection hallway since they weren't removed prior to installing the new digital projectors. Due to the layout of the hall, this made it impossible to remove the old projectors since the new digital projectors blocked the doors, and there's no way they'd fit down the stairs. Even if I could get one of the shells, it would cost thousands of dollars to rebuild it, old 35mm projector parts aren't cheap, especially the lenses and the arc lamps.

[@GGigabiteM]

Just because new movies won't be available, doesn't mean 35mm cinemas are screwed. The alamo drafthouse has a huge library of 35mm film and still make money showing older movies. If a cinema can't afford the switch, they can always rerun old movies and do other things to attract patrons.

[@GGigabiteM]

I've never had a kink in a film on my watch. The most common problem I had were projectors eating the film tail, and only the projectors with DTS readers ever had the problem. Dolby readers never had the problem because unlike DTS readers, they sat directly over the frame sprockets and wouldn't allow the tail of the film to whip around and get sucked in.

[@JuanAfroChavez]

Awesome video. Definitely different from how I have to thread up our projectors.

[@Dax79]

Memories!

[@buckwilson4167]

Interesting method of getting the leader to catch on the platter ring. Never seen it done like that before!

[@GGigabiteM]

The end of 2013 thing from Hollywood was a scare tactic to get theaters to switch. They've gone back on that for now and are going to keep printing film until some unknown date so that they can get as many movie screens going as possible. They're probably feeling the pinch with the terrible economy and must think $1500 for a print still gains them more money than without it.

[@GGigabiteM]

Because of the way the film is wound. The beginning of the film is in the center (brain) of the platter, while the end is on the outside. You need several rollers to get the film out of the brain, down to the platter cutoff and back up and over to the top of the projector.

[@GGigabiteM]

Movie theaters don't know what to do with their old projectors. There was a brief window where they could sell them to Mexico for some pocket change, but that went to the wayside. They're now pretty much being scrapped for metal. You can probably offer to cart some off, all equipment included for $500 or less (I got mine for free) and you can rent old and new film prints for $300 or so. It's just a matter of having a buildup table.

[@GGigabiteM]

@oalternativo During the night shift, I do this 22 times throughout the night (5:30 PM-1:00 AM.) It usually only takes me 2 or 3 minutes to thread a projector, the camera made it take longer. Alcoholic beverage consumption isn't allowed during a shift, and I don't drink; It's not a problem.

[@shylockakita]

Great fun when the platten motors aren't running well... they can cause the film to slip on the platter and once its elliptical the surging can make it worse. I don't miss making up double features with adverts and trailers. I much prefer the 6000 foot spools, perfect for carbon arc but that's also another story ;-)

[@GGigabiteM]

@MrHat2184 It didn't get piled on the floor, there were black plastic bins under every machine that the leader was piled in to avoid getting dirty. "Motoring it through" would be a pain since the flywheel would keep the film going after the motor was turned off and have to be stopped with a rag, which could become stuck.

[@GGigabiteM]

I'm glad I never had to deal with carbon arc, it would have been a nightmare maintaining 12 projectors using them. Though I did have to deal with my fair share of exploding xenon bulbs and 150 lb power supplies the size of full size PC towers exploding or catching on fire. I really want to get my 1 kW STRONG projector working, but I can't find any lenses for it that don't cost $500+ (I need both scoped and flat lenses.)

[@GGigabiteM]

@zeejenkins They're called rollers. There are 5 in the back of the platter tree to reduce the amount of weight placed on the film so it doesn't stretch out.

[@GGigabiteM]

@Audiowithalex Well, if it was on the other side of the machine, you'd still have to walk around the platter tree to thread the film through the failsafe roller and top roller and back to the machine. The way they're currently setup makes most sense.

[@oalternativo]

Sorry. I was just kidding about the beers. I am very interested in movies and theaters. Unfortunately it's not so easy to be allowed into a booth. You could make more videos showing other aspects, such as the amplifiers, the loud speakers and the screen itself. Congrats on your initiative to show us your job and how it all works.

[@braindeadex]

I can assure you as I have been a service/install tech for many years and having worked on just about every make and model of projector and platter out there in every possible configuration that there is no reason you would ever need to pile up the leader in a box or barrel. How often do you clean out this barrell? Using this method any dirt from one leader will come off into the barrell and get on all the other leaders. Who cares about dirty leader? Well look at how it wraps itself on your take

[@Philitron128]

I imagine its quite easy to get a kink in the film, what do you do if that happens? Replace the whole film or what?

[@ETGR]

Awesome

[@cameronkillian408]

Thats interesting. I have seen some 35mm cinema projectors that some people are selling on ebay instead of scrapping them for metal. Some cinemas that have already got some digital projectors or have already went completly digital are selling them on ebay instead of ruducing them as scrap.

[@senilefishstick]

What theater was this at? I swear it looks just like the theater I worked at to a T. The rags, the cord wear on the tile, the lights in the auditorium, etc. I worked in San Marcos, Texas.

[@GGigabiteM]

Yes, it is the theater you're thinking about and we worked there at the same time lol.

[@GGigabiteM]

Film prints for new movies will continue to be released until the end of summer in 2013, after which everything will only be released on digital distribution via hard drives.

[@GGigabiteM]

Small town theaters are going to have to keep running 35mm unless they want to take out huge loans to upgrade to digital. The upgrade to digital NEC projectors at the theater I used to work at (which had terrible picture quality, Barco is far better) cost $65,000 per projector, which had a $30,000 lens and $15,000 silver screens. This isn't counting the JBODs, central distribution server and the server controlling each projector. It was well over a million dollars for 12 screens.

[@GGigabiteM]

@oalternativo The amps are nothing to write home about, they're basically black pizza boxes with two knobs to control the dB output of sound. You can't control the treble or bass. Most of the theaters (besides 4 and 6) have the amps behind the screen, which can't be gotten at easily. Speakers are also behind the screen, though there are speakers on the walls on the sides and back of the theater.

[@GGigabiteM]

@Agent766 its written on the tail of the film as I wrap it up with the magnet.. How could you possibly miss it?

[@crimsonvipor]

What projector is this? The cinema I work at uses Christie Projectors and I want to become a projectionist as soon as I can because I hear that we are going digital by the end of next year.

[@terminalblue]

Ahh, good ol Speco platters. I always liked them over the older Christie platters because they were so much less likely to wrap. I swear the AW3 was designed to be as horrible as possible. My theater has an LP-720, but that seems to be a different model because the brain has one more roller than ours as well as a slightly different tree design. Also: I've always envied the booths in multiplexes. I swear single screen theaters always have the most cramped goddamn booths.

[@buckwilson4167]

The LP-270 went through a handful of updates keeping the same model name over probably close to 20 years. Workhorse of a platter. As you mentioned, they started out with a very simple brain payout, with only the arm, big roller, and a keeper or two. The take up elevator originally had 3 rollers, later going to 5. I prefer the older 3 roller design, but it is a little easier to break the film with it if you're not careful lol! I miss film...

[@cameronkillian408]

It will be sad to see film go at the end of summer of this year. Film has been used in cinemas for decades. But we are in the digital age now and all cinemas are going digital. Very few markets are still using film projectors.

[@tdhooge]

Where was this at? This platter looks like the ones my dad use to make. He made the red ones. Hi company closed in 92.

[@GGigabiteM]

San Marcos, TX. The 35mm projectors were replaced with digital projectors in 2011 and subsequently gutted. 10 of the 11 platter trees are still there, the 11th is in my garage with a Super LumeX 35mm projector. The shells of the 35mm projectors are still there because there was no way to remove them.

[@GGigabiteM]

@HorrorFilmCentral 16mm isn't practical for large screens like in big theaters. Since the frames are smaller, less detail can be shown on the screen, leading to a blurry image. Also since the frames move slower through the projector (even at the same frame rate) the sound quality wouldn't be as good. 16mm isn't a bad format, it's just suited better to smaller scale things.

[@GGigabiteM]

@braindeadex And I messed up the first time on the takeup platter because I'm holding a camera and it was hard to do it with one hand. I rarely miss when using both hands.

[@Agent766]

What movie? That looks a bit tedious. Seems that there would a tiny learning curve.

[@dontastodgh1067]

Despicable Me on 35mm film?!

[@GGigabiteM]

Yeah, it was available on film. I think it was one of the last movies to see a widespread 35mm film release before digital took over.

[@cameronkillian408]

So when new movies on 35mm film are no longer going to be avalible, theaters will have to go digital for those theaters that can afford it. Those that can't afford digital projectors will probably close their cinemas for good. So that's why cinemas have to save money to go from 35mm projectors to digital projectors as soon as possible.

[@GGigabiteM]

@jabberjaws09 Why are people idiots that can't read that I had a camera in my hand? The world literacy fund needs more donations. And sadly I'm not a projectionist anymore, our theater went digital and either fired or moved all the projectionists to other more degrading departments, time to find a new job... The new NEC projectors are huge, ugly and have a horrid resolution (like 1152x806) and you can see the huge pixels on the screen, it looks ten times worse than 35mm.

[@marcowant722]

one hand!!

[@GGigabiteM]

@braindeadex The leader goes in a trash bin, not the floor as seen at 2:13-2:14. And you can't use that method on these projectors. One of the newer managers at my theater tried what you said, even as I advised him not to (he was used to Christie projectors with no toothed sprockets) and the film almost broke, while his method took about 10 minutes, while mine usually takes two minutes. Even if there was no trash bin, leader isn't going to be damaged by sitting in a pile on the floor.

[@benlee4839]

I start Saturday restoring old reels!!! google Englewood fine arts theater. Vaults & vaults full of reels needing some TLC

[@GGigabiteM]

@crimsonvipor STRONG SuperHighlight II

[@MsNewToTheGame]

takes me about 1.5 min to thread the 35's at my work =D

[@oalternativo]

Gosh... Do you have to go through all of this every showing of a movie? Seems like doing this after a couple of beers can be potentialy messy....

[@Audiowithalex]

wow man Having the Platter on that side of the lamphouse would be hella annoying to walk back and forth.

[@cameronkillian408]

So if you get a job and a hold of threading a 35mm projector in your local movie theater then do it, because it may be your last chance.

[@HotelErotica]

dat film

[@GGigabiteM]

@deCraze888 Cell phones have become a plague to society.

[@RaymondHng]

Has there ever been an incident where the take-up reel would fail to rotate and the projectionist returns to a room buried in loose uncoiled film all over the place?

[@GGigabiteM]

I never saw that happen in the time I worked as a projectionist. The only problem we sometimes had was the arm dictating the speed of the platter would get stuck on and cause a massive brain wrap if you didn't catch it. The worst I had to fix for someone else was 4" thick, had to spin the platter backwards manually for an hour and a half to get it unwound. Tails getting sucked into the projector head was a common problem on projectors with DTS heads, when the tail fell out of the roller from the platters, it would sometimes loop back around and both ends would get sucked into the upper sprocket and shredded. Whatever frame was in front of the light would also melt, causing a disturbingly creepy image on the theater screen that looked like melting spider webs. I made a special guide to stop this from happening but management wasn't having any of it and threw it away. The worst problem I had to fix was a head and tail wrap, along with melted and shredded film inside the projector head. The previous shift projectionist fell asleep and wasn't properly watching the machines to notice that the tail end of the film came loose and wrapped around the platter arm and got stuck, which also caused the head to wrap about 2" thick. This tripped the safety and shut the machine off, but the inertia on the platter kept it going to cause more damage. The tail wrap was his fault, he had a habit of placing the magnet to secure the tail of the film right at the edge of the tail, despite me and others warning him. The magnet needed to be placed 4-6" back from the tail to stop this from happening. He was eventually fired for constantly being late and sleeping on the job.

[@ktkaraffa5919]

Fucking brain wraps man. It’s been 5 years or so since I’ve been a projectionist but sometimes I come back to reminisce and make sure I still know how to thread lol. I feel for the guy doing a lot of it one handed but damn he slow. Anyway, brain wraps and melted film sucks, also one of our projectors had an oil leak and it would make the film stick together. Once there was a bizarre brain wrap that kept stacking higher and higher. Like a tube a film a foot high lol. But the worst thing that can happen is a dropped film. Saw that happen twice. One was mostly still in one piece but the other turned into a pile. We had to take turns fixing that, I don’t remember how many hours it took. Good times. RIP film.

[@religious8453]

u almost fucked it up near the end hahahah xD

[@renskebakker1522]

Why must somethings change. They didn’t have to you know 😥

[@plushblueep]

Despicable Me on 35?

[@GGigabiteM]

It had both a film and digital 3D release at the theater I worked at. I don't know if subsequent sequels (2 and 3) and the prequel (Minions) had film releases, because the theater switched to pure digital in 2011 and I stopped working there in 2013. Film releases would have been very expensive and limited by request of the individual theater after 2011 because the movie distribution houses wanted to stop shipping film cans and the production companies didn't want to pay for the production of reels. At the end of my tenure there, movies requested on film had a $1500 surcharge per reel set and it was expected to go up. Film quality also started getting really bad as the film duplication process was likely shipped overseas or to much cheaper shops. The film stocks we received in the last couple of years had problems with audio and wearing out rapidly, despite extensive cleaning and maintenance on our machines.

[@plushblueep]

GGigabiteM Thanks for telling.

[@GGigabiteM]

@braindeadex I can assure you I've been doing this for 3 years and some change, and learned from a man that's been doing projection for 25 years. There's absolutely nothing wrong with putting leader in a trash bin, and it doesn't get the leader dirty. The same strip of leader on our projectors regularly lasts 6 months or more. You're blowing something insignificant way out of proportion and are starting to look like an idiot.

[@topman749]

My god, Super 8 is easier 😆

[@jabberjaws09]

Six minutes? You must not have worked at AMC.

[@GGigabiteM]

@jcabeza1000 Clearly you're an idiot that knows nothing about projection. You're probably a pasty face concession worker who got a brief tour of the projection room and thinks you know everything. 100 feet of clear leader is between $5 and $20, depending on the supplier and that will easily cover two projectors for 6 or more months. And you're blocked for lacking the ability to read.