Running a
movie projector while
sightless isn't as
far-fetched as it might sound. In the movie
Cinema Paradiso, there is a
projectionist who is blinded - he claims that he
can always tell if the
film is
out of focus by
listening to the audience; a good picture
quiets the
audience.
Having just recently learned about being a movie projectionist, I was surprised at how possible this idea might be, though Cinema Paradiso gives short shrift to touch. While the framing and focusing of film by listening to the audience is certainly beyond my abilities (and likely those of average people), by sound and feel it is certainly possible to develop a strong sense of when the movie is under too much tension, or is about to melt, or has a weak splice, and when the projector needs oil, needs cleaning, or has a loose screw. It isn't difficult to fix most of those problems without looking. Enough important tasks, like repairing film that snapped unevenly (which requires cutting along the frame border - something can be difficult even with sight), are impossible while blind that a blind projectionist is an untenable position.