DALE HAWES

   Before the digital revolution of movie theaters, feature films used to arrive at the cinema via fed-ex in 3 containers that collectively could hold 9 reels of 35mm film. Each container could hold 3 reels and each reel held 11 minutes of film. The 3rd container, most often, only had 2 reels in it, so the cinema would receive a total of 8 reels of the feature and some coming attractions placed in the remaining space.

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   35mm motion picture film (Sound) runs through a projector at 24 frames per second. At that rate, it takes 90 feet of film for every minute of play. An average feature runs about an hour and a half (A "Goodfellas" or a "Dances with Wolves" could run 3 hours and in those cases the cinema would receive 4 containers). Each 11 minutes reel held 1,000 feet of film. The grand total of 8 reels of film came in at around 8,000 feet. Keeping in mind, a mile is 5,280 feet, we are talking over a mile and half of film running through a projector for most features.

 

   Now in the days before television you might have several "1 reelers or 2 reelers" such as "The Three Stooges" or "Bugs Bunny" or a news reel. Back then, you could spend the whole day in the theatre watching a day long program. In the projection booth, they would have 2 projectors for every theatre. (Multi-plex theatres were not popular until around the 1960s. Before then a venue would only have 1 auditorium.) Traditionally, the projectionist would load the 1st reel and start to play the film. Then he would load the 2nd reel on the 2nd projector as the 1st was playing. When the first reel was about to end the projectionist would look at the upper right hand corner of the movie screen and wait for a series of two "cigarette burns" to appear, so named because the marks looked like cigarette burns. The first mark warned the projectionist the end of the reel was near and the 2nd mark was his cue to hit the crossover switch. The crossover turned off the first projector and started the 2nd. Then the guy would rewind the first reel, replace the first reel with reel 3 and wait for the cigarette burn in the second reel, and so on until the end of the final reel.

 

   Before the film, "The Jazz Singer" (1927), movies were silent. Imagine the shock of hearing Al Jolson speak on the screen! Silent films, traditionally, ran through the projector at 16 frames per second and as such, the individual reels contain 15 minutes of film.

 

   The cinema industry as we know it today was actually born from the old vaudeville. Short films were just one of the acts touring the vaudeville circuits. A projectionist ran the film and the pit band played along to set the mood. However by the 1930s all the vaudeville theaters were converted to exclusively run "Movies" and the "Movie Palace" came to be. Once the revolution of the "Talkies" came around, the pit bands was out of work. 

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   By the 1990s most theaters advanced to a platter system. This was a device that held 3 platters that lay horizontal and one above the other. In this system the projectionist could load and splice together all eight reels of a feature onto one of the 3 platters. The feature was wound onto the platter around a removable spool that was placed in the center of the platter. With the whole mile and a half of film on one platter, to run the movie the projectionist would remove the spool from the first platter, load the film through the projector and onto a second platter. Now the film could run continuously on one projector and no crossover, leaving the projectionist free to tend to the other theaters in the multiplex. Also since only one projector was needed they could remove the 2nd projector and put the platters in that space. Also, the 3rd platter was always available to store another whole film to stand by. This would allow for double features or "midnight madness" type special features and the like.

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   Today films come in a digital video format and there is no need for reels platters or 2 miles of film.

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-D. Hawes