Introduction.

Cinema projection went digital in the early twenty-first century. In Britain, the major chains completed the transition in the early 2010s, with the Odeon chain finalising the process in November 2011, while the process was expedited in the art houses and other, particularly regional, venues through the UK Film Council's Digital Screen Network initiative launched in 2004.[1] By 2014, 35mm film projection had become an exception, limited to specialist occasions and exhibition contexts. Film festivals, such as Birmingham's Flatpack, or well-established independent cinemas such as Dalston's Rio or Newcastle's Tyneside, advertise 35mm screenings as special events for cineastes. In this transition to digital, most cinema projectionists were made redundant. A few projectionists, particularly in specialist, subsidised cinemas, retained posts which were redesignated 'technician'. For most multiplexes, though, film files arrive on a hard drive or are downloaded, and are simply dragged-and-dropped into pre-existing playlists with pre-set timings; the employees in the building are primarily there to sell drinks, popcorn, confectionery and tickets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]