Project: Projecting

I had my first day in bio the other day (the name for the projection department at work, as the duties they handle extend beyond the projection room to the environmental up-keep of the site as a whole. That means if things like lights, air-conditioning, etc. break, they're the first people you call).

Essentially I spent 8 hours (7 1/2 if you minus my lunch break) threading up film. I get the feeling I didn't do so great. I'm not the most technical person at the best of times, but when it comes hand-in-hand with general first day anxities, I tend to get a bit clumsy. Threading film is very, VERY complicated. There are so many spools to run the film through and so many small things you could do wrong that it gets a bit stressful. In the actual projector itself there are three sprockets that you have to get the film onto, with little teeth that have to be placed just right. You then have to make sure the film is framed correctly, which is difficult as the only way to judge it is by looking at a tiny, tiny picture and seeing if there's barely-visible black lines at the top or bottom. It's intricate stuff, and it's hard to get a feeling for.

I get the feeling it's something that could become second nature to me (just as setting up the sound and lighting equipment when I DJed was) but it's going to be stressful getting to that point, especially seeing as the technical manager is already expressing disappointment in the amount of trouble it's causing me. I think the fact that I was in the beginning stages of a cold didn't help, nor the fact that I'd had less than five hours sleep.

I have my second shift tomorrow, from 10am to 4pm. I'm hoping I'll be given a bit of time and space to get the threading under control (the most stressful part is trying to get it done between sessions, when you have about ten minutes to do it and no idea where to start). That said, the idea of six hours of nothing but more threading, followed by another shift of the exact same thing, is a bit ominous. Be careful what you wish for, I guess.

All of that said, I got a call back from a publishing company about a job I applied for and had completely forgotten about doing so. So maybe that'll pan out. Hopefully. Kinda.