Not all audiences may realize that most theatrically screened films are not actually film at all.

Outside of venues like art theaters – The Block included – and the occasional multiplex special occasions, most contemporary cinema presentations are digital projection rather than analog. As cinema has evolved, so too has the role of projectionist, and the necessary skills training to project analog film has become less and less available. 

This lack of training opportunities and hunger for projection knowledge in the field rose again and again during The Block’s recent candidate search for a projectionist.

“We saw how rare it is for people to actually get this training,” said Michael Metzger, The Block’s Pick-Laudati Curator of Media Arts. “And even how there wasn’t a widespread understanding of the nature of film projection. We thought we might have a role to play in this knowledge gap.” 

To contribute to the Chicago film community and foster a wider understanding of the history and exhibition of analog film, Block Cinema partnered with Chicago Film Society in November 2023 for a two-day workshop, hosted at The Block, on archival film handling and projection. 

Michael Metzger describes Chicago Film Society as natural partners for a projection workshop. “Like Block Cinema, Chicago Film Society is deeply invested in maintaining the viability of the film medium through both exhibition and education. While they are best known for their brilliant film programming across Chicago, they take a holistic approach to making celluloid accessible, from sourcing and servicing the nuts and bolts of vintage projectors to preserving rare films.”

“At The Block, We are thinking about creating educational resources like this analog projection workshop as a way to open the access points to an essential cinematic practice, skill set, and labor that can often be exclusive or inaccessible. We hope to support the growth of this knowledge within the Chicago community,” said Malia Haines-Stewart, Block Cinema’s Associate Film Programmer.  

In keeping with its mission of accessibility, the workshop invited fifteen applicants – artists, filmmakers, and projectionists from around the Chicago area – at no cost.  

“We wanted to create opportunities for people outside of really specific institutions so that we can help create a more representative field,” Metzger said.  

While multiplex film exhibition was commonplace until around 2012, analog projection in arthouse or repertory cinemas is different in a number of key ways. Multiplex film projection employs a platter system that lets projectionists assemble all of a film’s reels (each typically about 20 minutes long) into one for continuous projection and easy transport between screens. Art house and repertory cinemas, like most still operating in the area, typically use a dual projection system where reels are played one at a time on a pair of projectors, with the projectionist switching projectors and loading reels based on cue marks on the print (small circles in the upper right-hand corner of the image).  

The latter practice is more labor intensive, but also more practical for an art theater setting where films are unlikely to be shown on multiple screens, and for an archival context, in which it is imperative to protect a print that may be rare or one of a kind. Dual projection requires a broader skillset of the projectionist, who must serve not only as an exhibitor but also as a custodian of a valuable object.  

The workshop walked attendees through some of the processes of caring for and projecting archival prints and the rich history of analog film. Lectures included an overview of films’ rise and fall through the multiplex and a deep dive into the unconventional elements that often arise in silent film and avant-garde film projection.

“The Chicago Film Society syllabus was incredibly comprehensive, covering dozens of sound and image formats across the entire 120-plus-year history of cinema,” notes Metzger. “Few could cover so much ground as enthusiastically and indefatigably as Julian, Rebecca, and Kyle!”

“The curriculum is both a hands-on look at how to work a projector, but then also historical context about film projection history,” said Rebecca Lyon, projectionist and programmer with the Chicago Film Society. Lyon was joined in presenting the workshop by Chicago Film Society’s Executive Director, Julian Antos. Film Society co-programmer and writer Kyle Westphal also presented.  

While the casual film viewer might be used to loading a Blu-ray in a player, clicking a title on a streaming service, or sitting down for a multiplex matinee and seeing a film exactly as intended, there’s more work to analog projection to ensure proper presentation, Lyon says. 

In addition to alternating reels smoothly during the screening, the projectionist’s work also involves research and care to ensure that the film is projected in the correct aspect ratio (the scale of the image’s width vs height) and with the correct sound. 

“When you’re running film in a projection booth, for aspect ratios, there are different lenses that you can use, which basically create the aspect ratio on screen in the way that that movie was intended to be shown,” explains Lyon.  

There’s also a degree of showmanship to good projection, notes Madison Brown, a Block curatorial fellow and doctoral student in Northwestern’s Department of Screen Cultures who attended the workshop. It’s not only running a film smoothly but also putting on a proper show; turning down the house lights to let an audience know the film is starting and raising them ever so slightly when the credits role – not so much as to invite viewers to leave early, but enough that those who choose to can exit the theater without tripping.  

“The role of the projectionist is maintaining the vibe and feel of a good show that’s interesting above and beyond just the projection itself,” Brown said. “It is important to have a person doing that.” 

For Leila Sherbini, Programs Manager with Chicago Filmmakers, learning about the nuances of projection enriches the experience of watching a film. 

“There’s a physicality to watching something on film that I think your casual viewer sometimes ignores,” she said. “Once you’re doing the projection yourself, the realness of it all is on a different spectrum. The act of watching becomes more active than you think it is.” 

The Block’s workshop offered attendees a bite-sized immersion into the culture and lore of film projection – from the “film prayer” that’s often sent around with archival prints cheekily reminding projectionists to care for them (and that’s posted in The Block’s projection booth) to a screening of a newly struck print of Finding His Voice, a 1929 instructional short about the sound on film process. 

“It’s like a whole little world,” Brown said. 

In addition to discussing 35mm film, the most common gauge in theatrically screened narrative films, the workshop also emphasized 16mm, a medium with important ties to experimental filmmaking.  

“16mm has this history of a more direct relationship to artists,” Haines-Stewart said.  

That emphasis also aligns with The Block’s commitment to exhibiting film in a range of formats, 16mm included.  

“As a museum as a whole we’re invested in the material specificity of the work of art. In all forms of exhibition and presentation we want to be able to present that work in as close to the ideal state as we are able to get.” Metzger said. “We have a real investment in being a space where if you’re going to see a film in 16mm or 35mm, you’re gonna see it projected well and with care.” 

For Paige Taul, a Chicago-based experimental filmmaker and film educator, working with and learning about 16mm film through the workshop was an important part of preserving film’s significance and longevity as a medium.  

“How do you prevent something from becoming obsolete?” she said. “It’s through this kind of exchange of information.” 

The workshop’s 16mm education included hands-on experience with portable 16mm projectors in The Block’s auditorium.  

“It was totally delightful to see these different artists handling 16mm portable projectors,” Haines-Stewart said.  

Brown was fascinated by the way that the portable projectors could redefine what constitutes a screen and an exhibition space. Unlike the cinema’s pair of 35mm projectors, housed in its projection booth and fixed toward its screen, the portable 16mm projector could turn even a small section of wall into a screen. 

“At first the wall just seemed like such an inconsequential piece of real estate. Our work really emphasized the magic and utility of projectors to make quite anything a screen,” she said. 

Sherbini was excited to bring projection skills from the workshop back to her work with Chicago Filmmakers. 

“I’m lucky in that Chicago Filmmakers has a 16mm projector,” she said. “I’m definitely gonna be in the booth as much as possible.” 

Metzger added that in addition to education, the workshop could offer participants and artists skills to engage with analog film in new ways. 

“As much as it can be significant to catch a 35mm print at an art theater, projecting 16mm projects for friends and peers can be equally so. Film exhibition can exist outside of theatrical spaces and that might also lead to something really transformative,” he said. 

Preserving analog film history and practice is a key commitment of both Block Cinema and Chicago Film Society. November’s projection workshop, was a first but hopefully not last for The Block. While this iteration was offered primarily to Chicagoland artists, professionals, and projectionists, Metzger said the Block Cinema team hopes to involve Northwestern students in future opportunities to work hands-on with the medium. 

“This workshop is for anyone interested in the format itself,” Lyon said. “There are many ways to interact with the film medium and use it and have it in your life.” 

Preserving projection knowledge is important for historical reasons, but also practical and cultural reasons.   Unlike digital cinema, which requires routine technical upgrades and maintenance, the basic components of analog projection are essentially timeless, Lyon notes.  

It also preserves history that’s absent from most digital restorations.  “There are layers of information and experience that are available when you’re looking at a print that I don’t think are available when you’re looking at a new 4K digital restoration,” Metzger said. “It tells you about its history, it tells you about the particular technical limitations and possibilities that were available when this film was made, and it’s a place where you can draw meaning and have an aesthetic response to the image.” 

While this iteration was offered primarily to Chicagoland artists, professionals, and projectionists, Metzger said the Block Cinema team is cognizant of its roots in student engagement with analog film and hopes to involve Northwestern students in future opportunities to work hands-on with the medium. 

Scenes from the Workshop