The Journal

Issue date: 2/5/09 Section: Lifestyle

Media Credit: CAROLINE PHILIPPONE A long exposure setting on a camera creates the effect of a ghostly figure, as seen above. Dick Bauer, the projectionist for the film series, appears to be transparent during the start of the film "Forgiveness" shown in the Winifred Moore Auditorium Jan. 30.

Media Credit: CAROLINE PHILIPPONE Projectionist Dick Bauer prepares the reels for the sneak peek of Liam Neeson's new movie "Taken" on Thursday, Jan. 29. Bauer has been working as the projectionist at WU for more than 30 years and had perfected the art of transferring between reels.

It was snowing. The Webster University campus was nearly abandoned, but in the Winifred Moore Auditorium, strange things were happening. Adrift at sea, a six-armed goddess danced on a lotus flower to music emanating from a phonograph constructed from a peacock. The glowing image painted the hall in a bluish-pink hue. The auditorium was deserted - every seat was empty - but one man was witness to the weirdness.
Dick Bauer is the house manager for the Winifred Moore Auditorium and projectionist for the WU Film Series. As the snow accumulated outside he test-ran the first reel of "Sita Sings the Blues," an animated feature based on the epic Hindu text Ramayana.
"This is as independent as you get," said Bauer, laughing.
Bauer has been working the projectors at WU for more than 30 years, or as he puts it, "since a little bit before VHS was invented." Bauer, along with Program Coordinator James Harrison and Film Series Director Mike Steinberg, has provided thought-provoking cinema to WU students for decades.
There may not be any butter loaded popcorn or seven-dollar sodas, but Bauer isn't concerned with such trifles. Bauer's dedication lies with the nature of the film - its saturation, focus and contrast.
"I'm the last resort of the film," Bauer said. "It's up to me to make sure the film does what it's supposed to."
Bauer's love of the craft and his intense attention to detail have elevated a night at the Winifred Moore Auditorium far beyond a causal trip to an AMC or Wehrenberg theater. In fact, a show at the multiplex is cause for frustration to him due to his streak of technical perfectionism.
"I can always point out 10 or a dozen problems with the projection at other theaters," he said. "I'd say four out of five studio movies are terrible."
In his pursuit of a perfect picture, Bauer spends his nights reviewing films before they screen. He checks each reel for tears and scratches with only a Kurt Warner bobblehead to keep him company. Harrison and Steinberg joked that Bauer has a secret apartment somewhere above the auditorium.
"He's very meticulous," Harrison said, "He is very interested in the highest quality for the audience, whether it be an audience of 300 or an audience of two."
Before a screening of the 1950 James Stewart western "Broken Arrow," Bauer was disappointed with the quality of the 35 mm print. He watched the film on 16 mm, DVD and VHS, looking for the best transfer. In the end, he felt the VHS provided the best available quality.
"This really exemplifies Dick's commitment to the Film Series and the art of film," Steinberg said.
In some ways, Bauer's work is an art form in itself - a dying art form. A typical multiplex has one projectionist servicing dozens of projectors. A standard 90-minute film comes on five different reels lasting about 18 minutes each. The average projectionist will splice all the reels together and place them on one huge reel, known as a platter. Without the proper skills, the splices lead to jittery transitions and scratched film.
Bauer said he hasn't scratched a film since 1990. He prefers to screen films the traditional way, on two separate projectors. The two 50-year-old projectors donated to WU by an old Pevely drive-in are equipped to change reels automatically, but Bauer prefers to do it himself. Five sequential steps are taken to seamlessly transition from one reel to another. It takes Bauer seven seconds.
Even after achieving technical mastery and 30 plus years of experience, Bauer has retained a love for cinema. In between reel changes he runs down to a seat in the back of the theater to take in the show. At the end of a test run of "Forgiveness," he wondered at the credits.
"Who are these people?" he said. "It's a large world."
Like a slapstick comedy, Bauer's career has suffered its share of amusing foibles. An ice storm a few years ago reduced the Winifred Moore Auditorium's attendance down to one person. The director of the film had also showed up for the screening. Following the film, the planned Q-and-A session was limited to two people. At another screening, Bauer accidentally switched the second and third reels of Ed Wood's infamous "Plan 9 From Outer Space."
"No one seemed to notice," Bauer said.
In order to get some attention for the WU Film Series, Bauer wanted to buy a large inflatable sign to place outside the auditorium to make up for the lack of a proper marquis. Bauer wanted it to resemble a film can, rather than the instantly recognizable film reel. Film cans are octagonal metal boxes that contain the reels.
"It was a brilliant idea that just went over people's heads," Steinberg said. "It would have looked like a big grey stop sign. Needless to say, we didn't spring for it."
Aside from some ribbing and friendly bickering over programming choices, Steinberg and Harrison expressed a deep admiration for Bauer and his commitment to the WU Film Series.
"He's the patriarch of the Film Series," Steinberg said. "These films are going to be show because Dick's at the helm."

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