Projecting the movie onto the screen: The Front Row
Just how are films projected onto the screen? Sit right back and I'll tell you!
Ok, now how does a movie get up there onto the screen?
First, the film rests on this big metal dish which is known as a platter. It feeds through a mechanism in the center, the "brain" as we call it, onto the rollers along the side of the tower holding the platters, or better known as the "tree" or "post."
The film then runs through the projector and projected onto the screen through one of two lenses.
Finally, the film runs back through more rollers along the tree and winds onto another platter, where it eventually becomes a big circle of film again, ready for another show!
Ok, so what's this about an interlock? Explain this to me...
Have you ever noticed some really popular movies are playing at your local cineplex on two screens, and not only that they both start at the same time? Seem odd? Well, that's easy to explain. You see, that's due to a process known as an interlock. Here is how it's done:
Here is a series of rollers which run along a metal beam which hangs from the ceiling. The movie is threaded through one projector, then runs along these rollers, and finally runs through another projector. It's a little bit complex, but very effective for showing one print of the movie in two auditoriums.
