Welcome to BigScreenBiz.com

YAAAY! After about a month since I last worked in one of the theaters, I will be going to the Rialto twice in a row this week starting tomorrow.

At our pre-screening of "White Christmas" we were supposed to show on December 7th, the bearing on our intermittent of our west 1937 Simplex E-7 froze and the gear got stripped out. We had to use DVD to show the picture on and it was quite depressing. Tomorrow, we are going to replace the gear, tweak it to perfection and then pre-screen "Hustle & Flow" which we show Wednesday.

I am just excited to get my "theater fix" and wanted to share it with you! Thanks for reading!

Tony

Today went great! We got our "grand old ladies of the booth" working like clockwork again and test ran a beautiful print of "Hustle & Flow". Hope things go well for tomorrow's presentation.

Even after 7 years of making them, nothing excited and chalenges me more that a changeover! Do any of you still feel that way?

Know what 'ya mean... Been doing 'em for more than 40 years and still admire a well done changeover... It's a reminder of when projection was an art, as well as a science... Almost a lost art these days!...

This could easily degrade into a thread about the rotten things we used to do to the other projectionists when we were starting out in change-over houses. Like, say, oh, swapping the reels from one feature to the other for the guy who bragged about being the fastest threader in the west. We'd let him get good and comfortable about 30 sec. before the change-over then ask why he threaded up the other movie. Come to think of it, he was pretty fast...

Show went tonight without a hitch. Isn't it something how two projectors built and in use since 1937 can still provide one of the best presentations? The newest 35mm I deal with these days is a 1945 Motiograph AAA at The Park Theatre which is wonderful as well.

Reminiscing to my Cinema Saver Six days and those fussy, 1980-something Simplex machines makes me wanna swear......

Tony

[This message has been edited by Parktheatre1913 (edited January 19, 2006).]

P.S.

I often fear that the general interest and knowledge of proper film projection and handling as well as the proper way of managing a theater is something non-existant in my generation, or most folks under 40 or so in general. I have been so blessed to have many wonderful film handlers and theater owners/operators/managers...some of which were quite elderly, take me under there wing, befriend me and teach me what I know today. Heck, I still am being taught every time I run a booth with couple of my mentors.

Tony

I have been around E-7s myself. Just recently retired my last one, after it stripped a gear on the main shaft. In fact, I went through about 4 E-7s and that particular gear on the main drive. I did like the one shot oil system. Still running a motiograph soundhead in one of the screens.
More Later Cue Mark

I have been around E-7s myself. Just recently retired my last one, after it stripped a gear on the main shaft. In fact, I went through about 4 E-7s and that particular gear on the main drive. I did like the one shot oil system. Still running a motiograph soundhead in one of the screens.
More Later Cue Mark

hmmmm...as I stated in one of my posts, our west E-7 stripped an intermittent gear during our test run of "White Christmas" in December. Finally got her running again.

Tony

You can still get those gears. You should not have retired the E-7!

It is amazing that the rugged and reliable film projectors from the past are still running today several times a day and seven days a week.

Too bad those silly video projectors can't even last two weeks before they are declared obsolete and ready for the trash.

I still have my E-7s and have replaced the gears in question. They are back ups in case I need them. I replaced them with Century projectors. I have nothing against my E-7s but I like the dual shutters on my JJs, seems to be less ghost on the credits.
I have seen pictures of E-7s with the dual shutters, but mine were removed when I acquired them. more later
Cue Mark

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by outaframe:
Know what 'ya mean... Been doing 'em for more than 40 years and still admire a well done changeover... It's a reminder of when projection was an art, as well as a science... Almost a lost art these days!...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Agreed. For the 25 years I worked as a projectionist on change-over machines I took great pride in creating a great screen performance from opening the curtain to closing it. "Showmanship" is lost in most "modern" multiplexes as screen performance seems to have taken a back seat to selling popcorn. There is just no one who gives a rip about how the film looks on the screen. I did what I could to make the screen performance first class in the 10-screener where I worked last year but after you push the "start" button you have little control over the machine.

---

Bob Allen
The Old Showman

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Cue Mark:
<B>I still have my E-7s and have replaced the gears in question. They are back ups in case I need them. I replaced them with Century projectors. I have nothing against my E-7s but I like the dual shutters on my JJs, seems to be less ghost on the credits.
I have seen pictures of E-7s with the dual shutters, but mine were removed when I acquired them. more later
Cue Mark</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The dual shutters on the E-7s were removed when CinemaScope bowed as the 'scope lenses couldn't fit on the machine with the front shutter in place.

---

Bob Allen
The Old Showman

I have to agree that pulling the curtains before the feature is a neat deal. My main screen still has an operating curtain and on certain movies I will try to be in the booth to cycle it between the previews and the feature. One of our screens has waterfall type curtains but I have had too many problems making it function properly.
More later Cue mark