He Operates Film Projector But Rarely Sees A Show

Chronicle (Levin), 10 September 1949, Page 4

He Operates Film Projector But Rarely Sees A Show

, . His hame is Charles Gillespie and every night -youTl' find him in the proje&tion room behind the dress circle in Levin's Kegent Theatre,' provided, of eourse> you' are privileged to gain 'admitt^hce to that sanctum.. / « * • . . After .some six years of bringing the outside world before the eyes of local theatre-goers, Mr. Gillespie had to admit to your newsman yesterday that he had 'Na-rely :had the opportunity of seeing a picture himself, at least never more than just a few glimpsesmow and then. His work was far too exacting, the maehines taking his undivided attention. MXt just doesn't pay to get too interested in a film in my job,"" he confided. The reason for this he made etuite elear as the interview continued.

Contrary to popular belief, no full-lehgth' films are- kept in storage in case of accidants, as-all are passed on from theatre to theatre on a strict schedule. - So far the local theatre has got by without mishap but there have been some narrow escapes. For instance Mr. Gii:espie ,tp;d. of an occasion when? hue fp a .mishap in transit only one part • of a double fe'atur.e pr ogfamme arrived at the iheatx e. The- last -reel of the; fir^t 'feature was being showii as the other - picture- •arrived at the projector -room ddpr- and the,' day was saved., " Oh another occaslon " ; a picture Was $ent ' minus .the first -reel'? A-fasf trip- t'o Paraparaumu resuited in: it being secured in. tirhe and the show w.ent on without the patrons being any the wis'er., ' •/ " , .Mr.> Gillespie has pienty'of room , in which to work arid he ' keeps these .ijuarters meticulousiy clean and t'idy. . Everything "has its proper piace' and the 'Whole' ' r.dbm has the appeararice of a carefully kept -mechanic's workshop. * He says the plant is not new but it is a r particular ly . good :one._ r'' 'f Causes Of Faults. . . Many people were inclined to blame ' a '. projectiohist if -any thing happened during , the fiiming of a picture but Mr. " Gillespie pointed out that a,:"prpjectionist ,is only 'as good as M material with which he is Working will' let him' be. As far as the plant itself went there -had been np serious inishaps diiring the fime he has been projectionist but the , fluctuation ' of power — something . over which he had no con'trol — aff ected a film. • Faults often lay in the film itselL He. did not know what he was getting until it arrived. • Sometimes it. was a ,bad sound track. Buck ed film Was quite common and a "jumpy'* seqiience. which was in the film itself. There were the "fuzzy" orl indisUnct parts. They were in the • photography and- there was nothihg a , projectionist could do about it. An oily film was also a cause . of tr ouble. "*'On each film was a "start" and "finishing" mark which • gave prolecti.Qnists warning when to change reels over. Sometimes these marks * were ' indistinct-^- 1 sometimes barelv there at all and projectionists had to be on| the alert to watch for . them coming round. "If you miss a queue mark you get those figures and writing which mark the end of every film flashed -on to the sereen," said Mr. Gillespie. The trouble was that the operator had only six seconds in which to make UP his mind whether or not it was a queue mark. ^

Demonstrating vthe production of background music, Mr. Gillespie turned to an electric turntable on which records were played during the interval or as a background to- a'dvertisements. For the next few minutes Mr. Peter Dawson's strohg voice was heard throughlOiit the theatre, fhe operator gaining an idea* of the: yoiume by the use pf a loudspeaker In the projection room. . This, -however, was not ; always aHrue guide,.' he said, and as a double -check a member pf the 'staff ' was statiohed. ir^' the ■a-uditorium. and by means of ' a buz.zer, communicated to the projectionist- if'-'tlie "pitch • was "*too high. ' • ' • The constructipn of a. theatre had jmueh' to do with sound and also the number of patrons in • it. , In Mr. Gillespie's room there are two projectors, an , amplifier, a slide-machine for advertising slides and two- ,turntables. The two projection maehines are very complicated and would take more space than is possible for compjete anblysis, but it maybe of interest to know that they are made up of parts. frpm seyeral "cbuntries. The actual projectors . are 'German. Then there are the low - intensity automatic • arc lamps which produce the beam— these are American, New Zealand is represented in the sound head, which is made' in Wellington, , The arc is made up of a mirror and two carbons. They are fed from a generator producing 110 volts and a motor of 240 volts drives the generator. Of the two carbons, one is positive and one negative and to "strlke an arc" these . two carbons are brought together. The resuRant light is so strong that when they are exposed one can only look at them through coloured glass. Hpw Sound Starts. . Sound starts from a small light which makes an' impression on the film and is then picked up by a phpto-electric cell, -. it then being taken to an amplifier and strengthened into sound. The sound is not actually made un'til it reaches the back of the stage. Becoming a qualified operator meant much hard work and study, combined fpr a-.time with practical " experience in the projection room, said Mr. Gillespie. He was very interested in the work and to him W was also a' hobby. He joined the Regent Theatre during the war when operators were hard to get. He is also a fully qualified motor mechanic as manv patrons, struggling with ^imresopnsive vehicles in heavy rain after a show, have found out to their relief, fpr "Charlie" is also a very obliging person.