The lost art of projection?

Last month saw the release of ‘The Good, the Bad and the Multiplex’, the new book by Mark Kermode, in my opinion the BBC’s top film critic. The book is subtitled ‘What’s wrong with modern movies?’, and Kermode tries to answer exactly that question. It’s a very enjoyable, at times hilarious read, wherein ‘Dr. K’ rants on about pet peeves like 3D, Michael Bay and the weird aversion to subtitles in most English-speaking countries.

Almost all of Kermode’s complaints are spot on and grieved about in a very eloquent way, but near the end of this book, I believe the author is going one step too far.

He protests against digital projection, and gives a very heartfelt defense of the analog, traditional way of showing, with a projectionist overseeing everything from the opening scene to the end credits. He describes watching a slightly damaged print of Ben-Hur which has celebrated “a few too many birthdays”. It’s a print with a history, that’s for sure, but to the critic, it’s like meeting a loved one of a certain age. The wrinkles tell the story of their lives.

In comparison, the digital age has brought with it, according to Kermode, a decreasing amount of attention paid to the art of showing a film. Modern multiplexes employ one or two projectionists whose job consists of not much more than flipping a switch to start the movie. Kermode laments having to watch films being projected in the wrong aspect ratio, or with the projector pointed a bit too high, thus not being able to see the top of Zac Efron’s head.

Even though I respect and understand his point of view, I think it’s important not to confuse the problems at the particular multiplex with the issues threatening cinema as a whole. It is my understanding that the problem of films being projected wrongly is mainly the fault of the cinema itself, cutting back on skilled personnel. While this is a legit problem, Kermode seems to link this with the shift from analog to digital projection. I have to disagree on this issue.

What Good Doctor Kermode calls ‘the art of projection’ is a craft that, to a certain extent, has become superfluous. Projectionists these days are there to make sure that their equipment is in perfect state and that the lights are dimmed. Agreed, more than one cinema can’t even handle this responsibility, but it’s still a far leap from the complicated and, at times, dangerous process projectionists had to go through in years past.

To illustrate my point, let’s first go back a couple of decades. Back in 1975, copies of Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Barry Lyndon’ famously came with a letter from the director himself, wherein he gave instructions to project his film as intended. Particularly note the ‘changeover dots error’ on reel 3B.

Now, let’s compare this to ‘The Tree of Life’ from earlier this year, which also came with a note from the director. Terrence Malick asks the projectionists to turn up the fader settings on the surround system from 7 to 7.5, and that’s about it. Apart from that, theatre operators are simply asked to use proper lamps and to make sure that the house lights are dimmed on time.

The slogan ‘Projectionists really have final cut’, used to hang on the walls of projection booths, but this is no longer true. Digital projection, when used well, can show films the way filmmakers really intended them to look, with a middle man running much less risk of screwing up that final step from director to audience (even though, sadly, accidents will still happen). I understand Kermode’s nostalgia for an age of analog projectors without Michael Bay and 3D glasses spoiling the party, but looking at things from a neutral perspective, digital projection itself is in no way what’s threatening modern cinema.

On the contrary. Every week, classic movies are being restored and subsequently released on Blu-Ray, often with stunning results. The new hi-def version of ‘Star Wars’ looks clearer, brighter and, frankly, better than any version of the film I had ever seen before. When parents will take their kids to the planned rerelease of the film in theatres a couple of years from now, this new generation of Star Wars fans will get to see a version of the film which shows even more of the incredible attention to detail of George Lucas and his team. All this without the distracting buzzing of the projector, the possibility of frames missing from the reel, or the fact that there are ‘cigarette buttons’ in the film to indicate where a projectionist has to change reels. If the theatre has its things in order (which, during my visits to Belgium’s leading multiplex chain Kinepolis, is nearly always the case), all eyes will be on the film itself. On the condition that they abandon the horrible plan to show the film in wretched 3D, it will be the best possible ‘Star Wars’ experience to this day.