Cinema Machine Operator

In the city of Chania, the profession of cinema machine operator is about a century old. The city center of Chania has a long tradition of cinemas and the public has always gathered there by the hundreds. At a time when other cities did not have a single cinema, Chania had six open air and…Read more

Watch the video below
Print article Print article

Description

In the city of Chania, the profession of cinema machine operator is about a century old. The city center of Chania has a long tradition of cinemas and the public has always gathered there by the hundreds. At a time when other cities did not have a single cinema, Chania had six open air and seven regular cinemas.

Apart from the Municipal Cinema “Kipos”, which is the oldest open air cinema in the city – and among the oldest cinemas in the world, there were five other open air cinemas that operated for many years: Attikon, Olympia, Rex, Regina and Orfeas. There were also seven regular cinemas: Olympia, Apollon, Regina, Asteri, Pantheon, Ellinis and Attikon. The apprentice cinema machine operator had to serve as an assistant in a movie theater for about three years.

The films came from distribution offices, packed in metal boxes and distributed to cinemas.

The films were very heavy and very flammable. A two-hour film weighed about thirty kilos. The cinema machine operator placed the film on reels and then the reels were placed on the film projector for projection. In the end, after the screening, the films were put back in the boxes and returned to the distribution offices. Until the early 1950s, two cinema machine operators were required to screen a film. In foreign language films where Greek subtitles were required, the operater would apply them manually. Subtitles were later embedded into the film. Today digital technology has replaced films and all this arduous work is a thing of the past.

Watch the video

Watch the video

Photos

The following is a series of photos for this profession, which open in a gallery with descriptions

10 photos

More professions

  • Βαρελάς
    Barrel Maker

    We know that in ancient times the products, the fruit, the oil and the wine were stored in jars. When wooden barrels began to be made, wine was stored in them. In Chania, the construction and sale of barrels took place in the current old port, a place where maritime trade took place. Already from…Read more

  • Καμπανάς
    Bell Maker

    The bell is a musical instrument which, with the percussion of a sistro, produces only one note. The bell was a means of communication and was used mainly for naval or religious purposes. In our land, the bell was introduced from the West and replaced the iron semantron in the churches. Metal casting is required…Read more

  • Βιβλιοδέτης
    Bookbinder

    For many centuries people maintained and disseminated memory and knowledge through inscriptions and manuscripts. Later, with the invention of typography, text reproduction became easier. The need to protect and bind manuscripts or printed texts into one section gave birth to the art of bookbinding. The art of bookbinding developed in monasteries and urban centers. Bookbinding…Read more

Εικονίδιο σχολιασμού If you have a comment on the content of this page or you would like to provide us with new content, please visit the content review form.
Back to top