Running a Film in the Weitz Cinema

The Weitz Cinema

Do you know Carleton has a cinema on campus? When I first heard about it, I was not surprised at all. I thought all colleges would have one. However, I gradually realized that it was not the case, and it’s a privilege to have a cinema on campus. Situated in Weitz Center for Creativity, the Weitz cinema is super convenient, as it eliminates the need to go to the city for a movie. Planned by the Student Union Movie Organization (SUMO), there are screenings of movies every Friday and Saturday at 7 pm and 10 pm. It’s a nice way to relax after a tiring week for many students. Working as a Weitz event manager, I helped with the film screening last Saturday night. I’d like to share this cool job with you.

My Job

To ensure the smooth running of the event, we always arrive 30 to 60 minutes prior to showtime. There are many things to check before the show starts. These include temperature and humidity, the length and the title of the film, the accessibility of the emergency exit, etc. My boss designed a detailed pre-screening report to be filled in every time. This report makes my work much easier. I simply follow the instructions while filling in the form.

The most crucial and challenging part is dealing with the various panels in the booth. The sound can be neither too high nor too low. (In fact, it’s pre-set, and I only need to check.) The movie can’t be too long or too short on the screen. The light must be on when the audience enters and be off after the film starts. My training last term took me quite a long time due to my bad memory. But, after several trials, I’m confident to run a film myself now.

I set an alarm at 7:00:00 sharp. When it was time to start, I turned off the light and hit the play button. Thank goodness nothing went wrong. The audience enjoyed a wonderful night!

The film being shown this week was Dune. There are typically a good amount of people in the cinema. While the film is running, it’s always a bit noisy in the booth. But I actually love that environment. It’s a closed dark space where I am alone with the advanced machines. Any small button that I touch could make a huge difference in the cinema (but I won’t let it happen). If I wanted, I could actually watch the film from the small window in the booth. It’s such a cool job, isn’t it?

The film ended at 9:30 pm. I finished off my work and submitted the screening report. Since there was one more screening at 10 pm, I kept the setting there and passed work on to my colleague for the next shift. That was my Saturday night.

My First On-Campus Job

Being a Weitz event manager is actually my first on-campus job. I’m sincerely grateful to my boss, who’s super nice and patient and hired me despite the fact that I had almost no work experience. The week before last week was National Student Employment Week. Even though I’ve only worked at Weitz for two terms, my boss kindly prepared a gift for my colleagues and me. The National Student Employment Week was also unofficially my boss appreciation week!

To sum up, there are many cool and interesting jobs on campus. The jobs that have interested me include but are not limited to: bakery assistant (potentially make a contribution to better food quality at Carleton?), tour guides (proudly showing Cassat, the best residential hall, to visitors), language tutor (make money by speaking your native language?!), and Admissions blogger (what I’m doing right now). Because of the great diversity and fun of on-campus jobs, sometimes I enjoy being a student worker more than being a student!

And one last word: my supervisor is hiring bloggers for the next academic year. Please shoot me an email if you’re interested in blogging!

Sherry is a first-year student from Hangzhou, China, and holds a real passion for travel and food. She is thinking about majoring in Mathematics, but would also like to explore more in Economics, Computer Science, English, and French. Things she likes to do in her free time include hanging out with friends, taking photos, writing random stuff, and finding the funny in everyday life. She also got started with alpine skiing and is always ready for the trip to Welch Village every Friday! Meet the other bloggers!