Students who complain about their Saturday night activity choices, listen up: Tufts Film Series (TFS) has been showing weekend movies in Barnum 008 for over 20 years - and they're free. Beat that, Loews.
Founded in 1982 with second-hand 16mm projection equipment, TFS upgraded to 35mm projection in 2001 as the old projection equipment began breaking down and the repair parts became increasingly difficult to find. With a larger booth containing two Orcon lamps and a Dolby Sound Processor, the quality of movie screenings increased sharply.
In the summer of 2002, TFS decided to stop charging the $2 admission to the movies, and attendance began to increase, with several films showing to a full house.
Freshman Alexander Berrian, who attended this weekend's screening, explained that TFS is a valuable campus presence. "It's not really a replacement for partying, but it's a great way to start off a Saturday night," he said.
Senior and Film Series Programmer Jennifer Tam explained TFS' process for choosing films: "At the beginning of the semester, people suggest what movies they'd like to see at the Film Series meeting. We go to companies and see what we can get, and people vote on what they'd like to see - with an eye to our budget, of course," she said.
Suggestions also come from campus groups interested in cosponsoring the screening of certain movies. Tam estimated the rental and the right to screen each film reel for one weekend costs between $750 and $1000 for newer films and $500 for older ones.
According to Tam, movies tend to fall into certain categories: blockbusters, like "Zoolander" (2001), "Pirates of the Caribbean" (2003) and "Anchorman" (2004); critically acclaimed films, such as "City of God" (2002); or films that many people might not pay $10 to see, like "Snakes on a Plane."
Tam pointed out that after the first few meetings of the semester, held every Tuesday in Eaton 202, other meetings consist mainly of scheduling and programming, though she noted interested parties are always welcome to attend.
Once the movies have been decided, a schedule is drawn up, and TFS members choose the time slots in which they operate the film screening.
"We try to show good movies and get an audience," she said. Publicity for the screenings comes from Tuftslife.com and an e-mail list.
Those interested in assisting in a screening must to attend two training sessions and a supervised screening before they are allowed to show films on their own, explained sophomore and Film Series member Lizzie Sullivan, who conducted this weekend's screenings of "Transamerica" (2005) and "Superman Returns" (2006).
"It's nerve-wracking at first; you need to weave the film in a certain way and it needs to be perfect. But everything runs fine if it's set up properly," Sullivan said. (The film weave refers to the horizontal movement of a film as it travels through a projector.)
Other screener duties involve setting up the two projectors, downloading previews and Film Series information to be screened before the movie, rewinding movies if they are to be screened again, and returning the films to the Campus Center, where companies from whom the reels are rented pick them up. All these duties mean that screeners need to arrive at Barnum about half an hour before the screening to prepare.
Sullivan doesn't mind the work: "I think it's just really interesting," she said.
That's not to mention the financial perks: those who help out in Film Series showings are paid around $10 per screening, sophomore and Film Series Chair Daniel Eisenberg said. (Helpers get a bonus if there is splicing involved, and less for a supervised screening, he said).
"We're just students who want to show movies," Tam said.
