Photos: 35mm film equipment

I may have mentioned I work in a small movie theater.

Tonight as I was waiting for the digital projector equipment to shut down I snapped a couple photos of the old 35mm film equipment. I just used my Samsung Flight- a texting phone with a very unfancy camera. They turned out surprisingly well!

The front of the projector with a flat lens

This one above is my absolute favorite. I used no filters and no flash, and did not edit them. They're a bit grainy, but they feel so nice and vintagy. Without a smartphone/Instagram, I have to make do :)

Meters on the side of the bulb house.

We went digital in December, so all of the old film equipment has been pushed against the walls in the projection booth

Film rings- about 12" diameter, these were at the center of a movie when the film was in use.

Going digital made my job a lot easier and a lot less stressful. With film projecting, there were a lot of little places where you could screw up. With every show, a manager had to go upstairs to carefully thread the film through the projector and start it right on time- not easy to do on a busy night! Now it's all automated (as long as everything is scheduled correctly).

This style of reel was before my time; not sure how old it is. It's huge- 3' diameter!

Still, I miss film even though I only projected for about seven months. Most movie companies are discontinuing film printings because it's too expensive- that was the impetus for our switch last year. Sadly, some theaters in the US will be put out of business because going digital carries a huge up-front price tag. I'm so glad The Vine will still be around!

Have a great week, everyone!