Keith Dutton, 47
Title Head projectionist
Employer Navy Pier IMAX Theater
Salary range $18-$25 per hour
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Q. How did you get started as a projectionist?
A. Through my father and his father. My grandfather was in the union in 1913 or 1914. He brought my dad into the craft after World War II wrapped up. I was born a few years later and my dad asked me in the ’70s, “Do you want to get into this?” Some of the guys here had audio-visual experience in high school, but my connection was through my father.
Q. Describe a typical day.
A. From the time I start to the time I finish, there are at least 35 to 40 critical steps to the entire process. For example, I thread [the film] over 100-and-some rollers. Until you remember how to get [the film] from point A all the way back to point B in the path, you could scratch a print very easily. Of course, 3-D screenings require more steps than 2-D.
A lot of this job is listening to the sound of the machines. If you don’t learn to notice even the slightest little change, then you’re not going to be able to stop something going wrong.
Q. What are some of the differences between operating an IMAX booth versus a standard projection booth?
A. The film itself is six to eight times bigger. Another thing that separates an IMAX projectionist’s duties from the 35mm convention is that the [IMAX] print does not have a soundtrack on it. We have to make that connection.
If you want to sum it up, everything about it is more complicated. Multiply every step you do for 35mm projection times a factor of five or six.
It’s kind of obsessive, the way that you have to be very careful with everything. When a 35mm print has a problem, you could lose a reel; that’s maybe $200 to $300. With these [IMAX] reels, every minute and a half costs over $2,000 to replace. You have a problem here, you could easily cost the company $30,000 to $40,000.
Q. What kind of special training did you receive when you moved up to an IMAX booth?
A. It’s almost like an apprenticeship, like secret-society type stuff. IMAX will certify that you can operate their equipment if you’re trained directly by one of their service technicians or if you’re trained by someone who’s been trained by one of their service technicians. The way they enforce that is they simply tell theaters: If you have someone operate the equipment who isn’t certified, we aren’t paying for the parts [when something goes wrong].
Q. What’s the best part about your job?
A. I’m responsible for what I do. Therefore, if the managers are intelligent, they leave me alone and let me do it. They realize that I’m capable of managing myself. It’s a very autonomous thing–especially in an IMAX booth. So the best part is that I’m important.
I’m the whole show. We’re like captains of a ship here; everybody’s genuinely very proud of what they do.
Q. What’s the worst part?
A. Probably the same thing that is the best part. If I don’t do my job right, there ain’t no show. I’ve had experiences both good and bad with management. If I have a manager who doesn’t appreciate how important my job is, then I’m not treated with respect and I’m interfered with.
Q. What three qualities are essential to doing this job?
A. You have to enjoy your responsibility. You have to be comfortable being by yourself. And you can’t get easily bored. You’re in this booth all day long; you have to maintain intense concentration.
Q. What advice would you give to someone interested in the projectionist field?
A. If you’ve got any kind of experience handling film at all, say cinematography classes or video technician stuff, that’s helpful. Also any experience with computers and software applications helps because you’re dealing with computer-controlled systems here. Anything that helps you prove that you’re smart enough to handle the job.