Going Dark: The Final Days of Film Projection (Documentary 1080p)

It brings tears to my eyes, I am from India and a great fan of film projection. I used to look back to the projection booth to see that huge film projector running and the dare man who holds its control. Those reels containing advertisements had a special charm and luckily had a chance to see a 3d movie in film format too. Even in my village all theaters now got fully digitalised and the film projection is almost dead :(. Dear film projectionists & projectors we miss you a lot....

I hear you brother. . . I was a union projectionist from 1981 to 1988. It was the funnest job I ever had. I am glad that I had the opportunity and was in the right place at the right time to be a projectionist. Digital will never be the same no matter the resolution or sound. It is missed. Thank you David Ward and Henry Finch.

I was a projectionist my junior and senior years of college. It helped pay for my education. It was the perfect job. This was before 'platters'. We had 2 projectors. We got the film delivered in heavy metal cases in 20 minute reels. In between switching from projector to projector, I had time to study, write my term papers and read. The bell would go off, and I would jump up to get my hands on the switchover knobs and look out into the theater for the circular 'markers' on the film (oval, if it was widescreen). It always surprised me that, even when I pointed them out, my friends could never see those markers. It was one of the best experiences in my life - no multiplexes - just stand alone theaters with projection booths. I even did some drive-ins. It was always exciting to me to switch from the flat lens to the anamorphic lens and lock it into place when the frame was perfectly rectangular. Just, unfortunately, another job lost to history and progress.

In my early twenties, I worked for a local theater and I became a film-projectionist. I loved the job a lot. The last theater I worked for (Galaxy Theatres in Riverbank, California) converted to digital and I was eventually "phased out" of the job. It wasn't a pleasant experience. That was back in 2008 and I haven't worked at a theater since, tho I do miss it everyday. I still have dreams that I'm working in the projection-booth.

I spent five years as the projectionist at an 8 cinema complex and just loved the job, the equipment, and everything associated with cinema projection - I certainly miss that job and will never forget those five great years in the bio box. That was five years back now.

And Digital ended the Projectionist's nightmare: Receiving a 4 reel print with it's heads and tails detached and missing. Sure you could figure out which were the first and last reels, but the two in the middle? It happened to me when we got a foreign film through Miramax. Well, there was a 50/50 chance of getting reels 2 and 3 in the right order. After the first showing we asked the audience what they though of the movie. Most of the audience was confused, so we switched reel 2 and 3 and again asked the audience what they thought of the film. Now everyone was confused. Turned out there was a missing reel, as discovered when the film was released on VHS with a running time 18 minutes longer that what we showed in the cinema....

Wow, way to tug at the heart-strings! As a former projectionist, this beautifully shot documentary really captured the essence of what it meant to be a vital part of the cinema experience. There was a real art to being a projectionist that is now sadly lost. Thank you for capturing the beauty and humanity of this important time in history.

I was a projectionist and service technician for over 25 years....and reluctantly trained for and did a few digital installs....but the reality is, I was and always will be a film projectionist and technician. I started at an Air Force base theatre doing the old school reel changeovers with two projectors, later running an 8 screen theatre with the platters shown in the video. I then went on to a company that built specialty 35mm projectors for film locations, and ran 35mm film for many Hollywood celebrities and studio heads in their home screening rooms. It is that part I miss the most..I got to see films before release and met some great (and a few not so great) people in the industry. The latter part of my film days was spent running 16mm, 35mm and video screenings for a University Film Studies dept. I am now just an electrician, but I have a full 35mm projection, platter and sound setup that will eventually end up in my own private screening room.

I have seen just one film in digital format here in New Zealand. After the film started the auditorium lights were still on, I complained to a staff member who did not know how to turn them off. The picture was bright and clear but I could see the iris moving trying to keep the contrast high. Once I spotted this, that's all I could see. Sound was way to loud. I was told it was always set at a pre set level. That was the last time I have been to a cinema after a life time as a projectionist and technical engineer within the industry. All my film viewing is now at home.

I was a projectionist in the UK for twenty years, from 1961 to 1981. There were no cakestand platters containing a whole programme in those days. We had two projectors and went from one reel to the next and back again every 18 to 20 minutes or so, in a process called 'changeovers'. It was a very heavy and involved job, particularly with regard to dragging the very heavy metal transit cases full of film from the loading bay up the stairs to the rewind room. No motorised rewinders, either. We turned a handle on the rewinder to rewind the reels and splices were made with film cement, not Sellotape. Videos such as this give the mistaken impression that films were shown like this forever until replaced by digital and that is far from the case. Cakestands didn't come in until the late 1970s in some circuit cinemas and most none circuit cinemas kept the two projector system until they closed down.

So happy to see this still making the rounds. It was a wonderful experience to be a part of this, and by far the coolest momento of that time of my life.

Two monts ago, our local cinema brokes down, my fellows get fired and for me the beginning of a change start.I was moved to another cinema of the company that only runs digital, not to long i quit. My last day in the cinema was one of the most trist things i ever live, I love the cinema, the projection in general, but most important: The 35mm projection, Threading for the last time, and listen at the end of the movie the motor of the machine shutdown was the end for me, a very important part in my life will get extint. I have 24 years old, i regret the fact of take this profession to young. For all operators / Projectionist i say that this tragedy in the history marks forever our lives. Good bye 35 mm Projection, In our hearts and our memories you will keep forever.

I used to go to every theater and saw every movie and it runs on 35mm film. Those were the good old days. The last film I saw was Disney/Pixar's "Brave" which was shown at the South Hills Mall. The rest of the theater chain are all digital. I go back to analog film and collect cartoons on 8mm, Super 8 and 16mm film. And I also have three movie projectors in my possession.

Nice piece. But I had to laugh at the remarks that the chatter of the projector was part of the audience experience. When I was a projectionist in a very old-school theater, it was very important that no noise escaped the projection booth. If you could hear the projector downstairs, someone did something wrong, like removed a porthole glass.

Worked 25 years on projector and currently working on digital. Love this job!

I grew up watching film and I remember there were times when after the movie started, I noticed that the image looked funny and would go out to tell the staff that they had to flip the projection lens to either flat or anamorphic. Even though I'll miss 35mm, I do enjoy the benefits of digital. The focus is usually spot on (I remember going to many film screenings when the focus was slightly off), the picture doesn't degrade (prints look beat up after a few days of screening) and most importantly, you're watching pretty much what the director was looking at during editing (because most movies are all digital intermediates now). BUT, I can say 70mm and IMAX is definitely something that hasn't been replicated yet.

The last film I saw in analog (until last year) was Inception in 2010, then I saw the 70mm roadshow of the Hateful Eight at the end of 2015, it was amazing. I miss film projection :(

Great doc. This really unlocked a lot of memories from working the booth when I used to work at the theatre when I was younger. 

Career as a projectionist for 12yrs overseeing 8 cinema projectors/halls. Missed those sounds. Sad to see it being replaced by digital. Any ol skool projectionist will tell you the same thing.

Thank you for posting, it brings back so many memories for me :)