Meet the projectionists: Mike Sanderson
Tales from the projection booth courtesy of our Film on Film Festival projection team.
What and where was your first job as a projectionist?
It was at the Dome Cinema in Worthing.
How did you first get into it, and was the training on the job?
During down time working at the Dome Cinema, I would pester the projectionists Ellie and Barney to show me how to run the projectors. The only other training was from various projectionists over the years, combined with lots of trial and error.
Of all the films you have projected over your career, is there one screening that stands out most vividly in your memory?
It’s not a single screening, but it might be an extended run of the Sex and the City film. We played it so many times that we could (and would) act out half of the film off by heart in the back of the auditorium.
Either that or rehearsing the BFI Archive’s multiple versions of Pasolini’s Salo, 120 Days of Sodom (1975). I’m not sure which of these was the most traumatic.
What is the future for projecting analogue film?
Thinking optimistically, I think there will definitely be enough demand to continue running film. Not only for cinemas such as The Prince Charles (one of my favourites) who continue to programme classic films shown on 35mm and 70mm, but also in archives, universities and other institutions.
To stop this way of showing film completely would leave a hole in available resources. The show must go on!
Why is projecting film special, and different to digital projection?
As running film becomes more and more rare, it always grows more of a privilege to carry the torch of the (mostly) dying trade. Running analogue film feels like a real live performance. It gives a real physical sense of connection to the audience.
A great sense of this and a personal favourite part of the job is when you hear a round of applause after a screening. It means you haven’t fluffed it up.
What is the most common misconception you’ve encountered of what a projectionist does?
No, we don’t get to watch all the films.
What’s your best war story of a projection that went horribly wrong?
A difficult one was a screening of a silent film with a piano accompaniment where the pianist didn’t turn up. I used the soundtrack from a Blu-Ray of the film, but this meant constantly adjusting the speed of the projectors to match the Blu-Ray for the entire film. I’m about 70% sure it worked ok.
The BFI Film on Film Festival runs 8 to 11 June 2023.
