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when you’d have to go out to all the
theatres and catch up on staffing
matters and all that sort of thing. One
of my jobs was to roster all the
projectionists for their days off,
holidays, long service leave and all that
sort of thing.
How many cinemas were involved?
Oh, about twenty or thirty because
it took in the country as well -
Warrnambool, Geelong, Wangaratta and
other regional cities. So I did a fair bit
of travelling and then I realized that I
was wearing my car out. So I asked,
“Hey what about a car!” and the
response was “Oh, haven't you got a
company car?” I was given a choice
and I chose a Skyline, a Nissan
Skyline, which was top of the class in
those days. This would be about 1974-
75 and I stayed in that job for about 20
years until about 1997.
And participated in the rise of the
multi-screen cinema or multiplex.
Yes, the first one on Village’s plate
was the Knox Ten (eastern suburban
Melbourne), all ten cinemas run from
the one projection room. That room was
80 metres long by about 5 metres wide -
it ran the complete width of six cinemas
looking one way and four cinemas
looking the other way, with a foyer in
between. We were closing the East End
Cinemas in the city and were allocating
projectionists from there to come out to
Top: East End Cinemas, Bourke Street in 1980. The sign ‘Palladium’ was a holdover Knox. We started off with one
from an earlier incarnation. projectionist for two cinemas, so there
Above: Cinemeccanica Victoria 8 projectors in Cinema 1, installed in 1964 for My Fair were five projectionists on the shift. We
Lady. The other cinemas were equipped with Bauer U3s. Images: George Florence gradually whittled that down to two
projectionists for the whole ten. There
film, the platter kept holding it back, So how long were you at the Dendy? were a lot of negotiations with the union
the film wouldn’t give and finally the About eighteen months. As over that one.
projector was pulled over on to its side. manager/operator there was no end of What equipment did they have at
I don't know how true this is, or in things to do: start the show, go in Knox?
which theatre it happened, but it sounds behind the candy bar and make ice- Kinoton, a German console style
logical. creams, sell choc tops, do a stock-take
projector, with the Xenon lamp
A platter is gentle on both sides of or just talk to the cashier. It was a very
included on it, not like American
the film because the film is not handled interesting time. One day the phone
equipment. The American way was for
at all, it doesn't skid against itself all rang. It was David Aalders, who I’d
someone to build the projectors,
the time like it does on spools. The met at Clayton. The Theatres arm was
someone else the sound heads,
time taken to make-up a film might be looking for a chief engineer to
someone else the lamps and offer a
a couple of hours, but once it's made up supervise at Village Theatre Supplies,
combination of equipment to suit
its light on labour. which always preferred to put in new
requirements. But the European
plant rather than fix something, and this
equipment, the Bauer projectors and the
was proving costly.
Kinotons, were all made as a unit and
So I was back with Theatre Supplies were easier to install. The Americans
at Richmond. This time I was supposed used to put it all together like a jigsaw
to be guiding them, not one of the puzzle. But Kinoton was very lovely
gang. I got on very well with them all equipment.
out there, and it was a very happy time
for me. And the office hours suited me
too, although there were occasions
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