Working of Digital Projector & 35mm Projector

Digital Projector & 35mm Projector side by side

Moving pictures.

Behind this there would usually be a large structure with 'platters' that the film sits on, and essentially weaves through the projector at 25 frames a second and looping back onto a platter, creating the picture below on the screen.

Control Pannel on Digital Projector

Changing your aspect ratio (from scope to flat) is done automatically by the machine, and not a Projectionist.
Control Pannel on 35mm P.

Not everything was done manually. In the initial makeup procedure of the film, the projectionist would place different 'cues' on the film, such as, lights going down when the film begins, or lights up at the end of the film, and the projector would then carry the action. It's important to understand that this is still a remarkably intelligent piece of machinery.

Lamp Ignition on 35mm P.

Done manually. Often poses a threat to the projectionist if the Lamp has not been treated properly, as the lamp can explode. (This happened to me once when i was changing a dull lamp, I tripped and pretty much threw it against a wall... have never ran faster since.)

Lamp Ignition Digital P.

You guessed it, automatic.

Digital P. Screen

This screen pretty much summarises the entirety of my job.

Each hard drive (below) that gets sent to us cannot be played without the matching 'key or 'KDM' for that particular film. This means you can't watch it days or weeks prior to its release date.

Elysium Hard Drive

This then gets ingested into the projector along with the Key, where you would then create a playlist along with your cues.

Note its file size.