Meet the projectionists: Dominic Simmons

What and where was your first job as a projectionist?

I started at the Plough Arts Centre in Great Torrington, North Devon. A small rural cinema/theatre in the town I grew up in, it’s still going.

How did you first get into it, and was the training on the job?

Pretty classic start as a projectionist, as a teenager I was a box office volunteer – free cinema tickets! – and went to a theatre group in the venue. I thought that projection looked interesting/exciting and pestered the projectionist to show me how to do it. He had just started my training and then left – possibly due to falling out with the management team – and the venue was without a projectionist for a summer. Me and my mate Olaf stepped in, and we scraped our way through a load of screenings barely knowing what we were doing, until they found someone more permanent a couple of months later.  We stayed on as relief projectionists.

Of all the films you have projected over your career, is there one screening that stands out most vividly in your memory?

I think, in terms of film prints I have projected, the – at the time – brand new 70mm print of Laurence of Arabia (1962) stands out. It looked spectacular on screen and as a film is pure cinema; a pleasure to project it. Also being involved in the first screenings of the BFI’s new 70mm print of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) in 2001 stands out as a projection highlight.

What is the future for projecting analogue film?

More of the same I believe – the rumours of celluloid’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Film projection equipment was built to last and provided we can keep the knowledge of how to project film and – more importantly – maintain film projection equipment alive, then I can see it being possible to view 35mm way into the future. Which is great because it has such a rich and storied history.  Critical to this, however, is the availability of film prints and at the BFI we are uniquely placed to ensure that film prints will continue to be available for cinemas.

Why is projecting film special, and different to digital projection?

Projecting film just feels a lot more real, it isn’t perfect, has elements of risk and performance, and feels more alive compared to digital. Film prints are just cool objects too, thousands and thousands of perfectly taken pictures in each one; it’s a feat of engineering. I also love the fact that the way we project film today isn’t really very different to how film was projected in the first decades of the 20th century.  

What is the most common misconception you’ve encountered of what a projectionist does?

These days, it’s “you just press play don’t you”, but the classic is “you must have seen loads of films!” A lot of projectionists have seen bits of lots of films, but it’s hard to watch them all the way through – there’s stuff to do!

What’s your best war story of a projection that went horribly wrong?

I have a few, I think most projectionists do…  Probably the most annoying thing I’ve done as a projectionist was to splice a reel upside down and back to front in the middle of three reels then go on holiday. It was an art film and the heads and tails were on the wrong end and I wasn’t paying proper attention, left a horrible booby trap for one of my colleagues. At the reel change it would have jumped upside down and the soundtrack would have started going backwards, which would have given them a massive shock.  Really annoying to try and sort out in the middle of a screening, and I was blissfully unaware of the chaos while on holiday. Bit of a dressing down from the chief when I got back though.

Possibly the most uncomfortable was a Peter Kubelka screening of Arnulf Rainer (1960) and Antiphonin (1960) in NFT1 at the LFF. Two projectors were set up in the auditorium so we were among the audience. They were supposed to play two opposing flicker films simultaneously. One of the rectifiers (xenon lamp power supply) failed and we could only play one.  So, the performance lost a lot of its impact and I had to sit there on show feeling responsible. Peter Kubelka was very understanding on the day, but it wasn’t fun.

The BFI Film on Film Festival runs 8 to 11 June 2023.