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Jay Sheldon

Creative Technologist

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Documentary

Going Dark: The Final Days of Film Projection

I co-directed and edited a documentary preserving the final days of 35mm film projection, capturing a disappearing profession through intimate storytelling and small-crew production.

Role
Co-Director, Cinematographer, Editor
Year
2012
Project type
Documentary

THE STORY

Preserve the people behind the projector.

Going Dark follows the final days of traditional 35mm projection at Penn Square Mall, focusing on the projectionists whose craft shaped the theater experience for decades.

The projection booth was largely invisible to moviegoers, yet it was where every theatrical experience began. Going Dark follows the projectionists who kept that machinery—and the tradition of film exhibition—running during its final years.

THE APPROACH

Let the booth tell the story.

A two-person crew worked inside active projection booths with compact equipment and restrained lighting, using the atmosphere, machinery, and daily routines to carry the narrative.

Rather than focusing exclusively on machinery, the documentary centered on the projectionists whose careers and daily routines were changing as theaters transitioned to digital cinema.

THE OUTCOME

A human record of a disappearing profession.

The completed 15-minute documentary balanced observation, interviews, cinematography, and editing into a quiet portrait of technological change. It received a Heartland Emmy Award for Best Short Format Program.

One of my favorite sequences in the documentary follows the projector as it reaches the end of its run. As the final frames pass through the gate, the light fades naturally into darkness—a simple visual metaphor for the disappearance of traditional film projection.

Selected evidence

A closer look at the work.

Every frame existed as a tangible piece of film. Handling, inspecting, and threading those reels was part of a craft that largely disappeared with digital projection.
The projector transformed individual film frames into motion through light. Close-up details like this helped illustrate both the beauty and complexity of traditional projection systems.
The official poster created for the documentary following its festival run and release.
Going Dark received the Heartland Emmy Award for Best Short Format Program, recognizing the documentary's storytelling and production.