- Home
- Cinema glossary
- Projectionist
The projectionist, after digital
A projectionist is responsible for presenting films in a cinema. Since the move to digital, the job is mostly files, keys, playlists and maintenance rather than threading film.
Also written: projection booth · projection room · cinema technician
What changed
A 35mm booth needed someone present: prints arrived in reels, were spliced onto platters, threaded, watched and broken down again. Digital projection removed almost all of that, and in many cinemas the dedicated projectionist went with it. Shows now start from a TMS schedule, and one person can oversee a dozen screens.
What did not go away is the need for someone who understands the chain. When a show fails at 19:58 on a Friday, somebody has to know whether it is the key, the playlist, the ingest or the projector.
The job now
| Task | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Ingest | Loading DCPs from drives or network delivery and verifying them |
| Keys | Requesting, loading and checking KDMs against the booking dates |
| Playlists | Building show playlists with the right trailers, adverts, cues and feature version |
| Scheduling | Matching playlists to sessions in the TMS |
| Maintenance | Lamp or laser checks, port glass cleaning, brightness and sound level checks |
| Presentation | Masking, lights and the first minutes of each show |
In a small cinema, it is everybody's job
Independents rarely employ a full-time projectionist. The duties are spread across the manager and one or two trained staff, which makes documentation the real safeguard: a written checklist for ingest and keys, and a named person who checks Thursday's playlists before Friday's openings. The glossary entries on ingest, KDMs and show playlists are written for exactly that person.
Film prints have not vanished entirely either; see film prints for the venues that still run 35mm and 70mm.
Frequently asked questions
What does a projectionist do?
Presents films in a cinema. Today that mostly means ingesting DCPs, managing KDMs, building playlists, scheduling shows in the TMS and maintaining the projection and sound equipment.
Do cinemas still have projectionists?
Many have no dedicated projectionist since digital projection. The duties are shared by managers and trained staff, with specialist projectionists remaining at venues that still show film prints.
What is a projection booth?
The room behind the auditorium that houses the projector, server and related equipment, projecting through a port glass.
Keep reading
Ingest
Ingest is the act of copying a package from its carrier into the server's own storage and hash-checking it, so the film…
KDMKey Delivery Message
A KDM is a small XML file that unlocks an encrypted DCP — for one named playback device, and only between a start and…
SPLShow Playlist
The show playlist is the entire performance as the screen runs it: pre-show, adverts, trailers, certificate, feature…
Projection and playbackFilm Print
A film print is a physical photochemical copy on reels — how every cinema ran until digital, and now a specialist…
Projection and playbackAspect Ratio (Flat and Scope)
Aspect ratio is the width of the picture divided by its height. Cinema runs on two standards: flat, at 1.85:1, and…
Projection and playbackB-Chain and X-Curve
The B-chain is the part of a cinema's sound system from the processor output to the room — amplifiers, loudspeakers and…
Projection and playbackCinema Masking
Masking is the movable black border that frames the screen to the aspect ratio of what is playing — and a missed…
CPLComposition Playlist
The CPL is the XML file inside a DCP that defines the composition — which track files play, in what order, for how long…