Give Me A Lever And I Will Move the Observable Universe

Lane had to be one the worst managers they ever got at the Neptune.

One of the funnier things I ever saw happen was when the most attractive candidate (who else would Lane pick?) who was running the projector had a problem. She threaded up and started the film normally, but the image was not centered and reached over off the screen.

A janitor and another dude, both reasonably big guys, volunteered to help out and were soon wrassling with the projector, the huge, operating, cast iron base tipping and sliding a bit as they worked at it.

I was out in the booth selling tickets. I was the most experienced projectionist there that day, but Lane gave the position to the cutie who had little training. One of the concessionaires was watching through the curtain and saw the whole image tipping and moving, and a curious saw wave looking thing over to the side, all moving around and jumping, and figured "that can't be right!" and came out and got me.

As I came in and ran up the ramp I saw the image tip and fall back through the curtain. Awesome, if scary! The sound track was clearly visible, a vertical bar that thickened and flickered if there as any sound. The fix for this sort of thing was always in the aperture, that little square metal window right at the light focus next to the film that determines where the light is cut off. It should always cover the sound track.

I ran on up to the booth and in, and told the boys to step away from the projector. Moving up beside the projector and opening the cover over the film path I reach in to the aperture and pull out the removable frame which was loose, clean it, and put it back in until it locked in place. Now the image was properly framed and the sound track was hidden, but it was way over to the left, partially off the screen.

I stepped to the back of the booth and picked up the funny looking fat club, put it under the rear of the projector and lifted and levered the base back maybe a quarter inch. Dropping the club and moving it back, then up and to the left again I did another quarter inch. It took 10 or 12 passes to undo the 3 inches and line it back up in the center of the screen at the front of the auditorium.

I didn't say much, just left the club and walked back out of the booth, down the ramps and out to the box office.