Since 2006, local Dave Cox has worked as the assistant manager of Lenton’s beloved local cinema The Savoy, but he also has decades of experience in the art of film projection, having started as a projectionist long before cinemas went digital. Delightfully, since the start of 2025, Dave’s used that skillset to facilitate The Savoy’s 35mm Films on Film showings. On learning this we were set-a-wondering: what was it like to work as a projectionist over decades, and how was it to return to that field after so many years? Dave was all too happy to tell us...
In 1977 at the age of fourteen I went into my local cinema in Newark and asked the manager if he had any part time vacancies. I explained to him my passion for film and my interest in what went on in the projection room. He told me to come back the following weekend, and he would see what he could do.
At the time, I thought I would just get an usher job and might get a peek at projection. The following Saturday I turned up at about 2pm and asked at the box office for the manager. When he appeared he took me straight to the projection room and introduced me to the chief operator. I was fascinated to see these huge projectors with large towers that contained reels of film.
I was to start the next weekend. The manager told me I could also work weekends and school holidays, if I wanted. I asked if I could stay for a little while just to watch the operator in action. I stayed for about two hours, not wanting to leave. And that’s where it all started.
For the first few weekends I wasn’t allowed to do anything other than watch what the projectionists did. After I started to learn the basics: how to thread a projector (lace up) with film, start the projector, auditorium lighting, opening the dowser to let the light from the xenon lamp project an image, lens changes and aperture plate changes for different film formats (widescreen and scope) and how to close a film down at the end.
After mastering this I moved on to building a film into a long play format. Films came in reels, numbered 1-5 or more depending on the length of the feature. Using a splicer, you would join the reels together onto a large long play spool, turning your five reels into a one long play reel. After a feature had finished its run it would then be broken down (spooled off).
Projectionists were responsible for all the light maintenance throughout the building, changing the quad posters, maintaining emergency lighting batteries and changing film titles on the front of house canopy.
I got to show all the new films like Star Wars, Superman The Movie, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and Grease to name but a few, and also older films on a rerun like The Godfather and Jaws. It was a great job that I loved doing. To present a new film to an expectant audience would give you a great buzz.
When I first started I worked with a team of four other operators. We had great camaraderie with each other; they were great fun to be around. In 1980 I decided to ask for a transfer to a different site. I wanted to work in London, but there were no openings at any of the cinemas there. There was however a position in Guildford just outside London.
I started there in January 1981. This was a very different experience, as it was single manning. It put a very different aspect on the job, as you worked alone 90% of the time. You still had all the other cinema staff of course.
The 35mm nights have a real buzz about them. I think there’s a magic in the audience knowing there’s a real person up behind the portholes manually presenting the film, not an automated machine
The operation of cinemas has changed in quite a few ways: you would see large queues before people could book online. The biggest operational change is of course going from manual to digital projection. In a lot of places projectionists were made redundant, because of course projectors once programmed will run by themselves.
Most cinemas now have popcorn warmers and carbonated drinks towers, instead of bottles of coke or bags of popcorn. Years ago you didn’t have allocated seating or reclining seats. Managers also now build the showings, adding ads and trailers where necessary.
To explain, all content for digital cinema is now sent by the internet to our TMS (Theatre Management System). We then build the content into our templates, which already have light, sound and film format cues built in, so it's just a matter of dragging and dropping the required content into place. This creates a playlist, the playlists are named, i.e. Snow White and then transferred to the weekly scheduler screen by screen for the whole week.
When this is done all the playlists will transfer to the relevant screens. All new films are encrypted with a digital key (KDM) so they can’t be played until the key unlocks the feature. Often this is at midnight the day before release. We are then able to test all new features before show time.
I joined the Savoy in 2006, as a 35mm Projectionist as they had not at that time gone digital. We made that transition in 2013. As obviously there was no longer a need for projectionists I was lucky enough to be asked to stay on as an Assistant Manager/Projection Technician. I had already done some management at Savoy, so it was a no-brainer; I would just have to learn the digital side of projection and, of course, I got to stay in an industry that I loved.
As we still had a 35mm Projector in Screen 1, our General Manager Paul came up with the idea of doing screenings of 35mm film. Just like vinyl records are having a resurgence in popularity, people are still interested in seeing films as they were originally played. Digital and 35mm are also so very different in how they look onscreen. I think Paul knew how much I missed that world, and this got me to revisit it.
We decided on a list of films we thought that people would want to see in 35mm format, and we’re now in our second season of Film On Film. On receiving our first print, I naturally was eager to get my hands on it. There’s something about the feel of film and it also has a distinct smell. I had to make it up reel by reel, as explained above, and after this was done I ran it through to look at picture quality, and get the sound levels right for the night of the show. I also needed to make sure that I still had the timing right for the lights to fade and curtains to open seamlessly, like the old days. Pleased to say I hadn’t lost my touch.
The 35mm nights have a real buzz about them. I think there’s a magic in the audience knowing there’s a real person up behind the portholes manually presenting the film, not an automated machine.
I am of the opinion that lesser-used arts like projection should be preserved for the younger generation to experience. It’s all too easy for the youngsters of today to take a perfect picture, or make a short film on their phone with little to no effort. Technology is a great thing, but we must not forget that cinema projection was new and wonderful for the generations of the past. For my part, I am training our other Assistant Manager Kate in the art of film projection.
The next Films on Film 35mm presentation at the Savoy Cinema is for Django Unchained, on 12 May. For more information about future events visit their website.
In the print version of this article the writer was misnamed - that mistake was corrected above.
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