House managers
House managers are responsible for making sure screenings go without a hitch. They’re in charge for the duration of the showing, so they need to be confident under pressure.
Sign up for training
To train as a house manager, you must first qualify and work as a fire officer. Then you have three extra training sessions to teach you the art of house managing.
If you are interested in this role, send our friendly chief house managers an email (film.unit@sheffield.ac.uk) and they will arrange some training dates with you. Once you qualify, you can start volunteering to manage films, signing up via our Film Unit House Staff Facebook page.
Arrive 45 minutes before the screening
45 minutes before the screening, the house manager arrives to put up signs, tidy up the auditorium and check that the film set-up is running on time. They greet staff when they arrive, brief new ushers on their role and help the fire officer with any problems they have found with the safety checks.
Your role
If you’ve been to our screenings you will know that house managers make a brief welcoming speech to the audience before the film starts. This becomes less daunting with practise.
During a screening, they have to be alert to any problems that arise. This can include technical problems with the film, problems in the audience and anything else. This doesn’t happen often and you will be taught how to react to any problems in the training sessions. Common sense is your best tool in most cases.
The benefits
Once you are qualified, like our fire officers you get a complimentary seat to every film we show. This is in addition to getting in free to any film you work at. If you work a screening you can get a friend in for free.
You can also come to all of our Film Unit socials and get a snazzy staff t-shirt to keep.
