HAY RIVER - Gordon Norberg's part-time job matches up nicely with one of his hobbies.

The teenager is a projectionist at Riverview Cineplex in Hay River.

Gordon Norberg, a projectionist at Riverview Cineplex in Hay River, watches closely as the movie "300" plays on April 16. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

"I like watching movies," he said. "I'm a movie collector."

Norberg has about 200 movies in his own collection.

The 18-year-old, who has been a projectionist since September, said the main part of the job is to load the projection machine properly.

"It's not very complicated," he noted. "Once you know how to do everything, it's pretty simple."

Norberg, who is one of five projectionists at Riverview Cineplex, sets up several movies a month.

"You have to set the movies up properly," he explained, noting the movies arrive in big canisters.

Every Saturday, two new movies arrive at the cinema and Norberg or one of the other projectionists load them onto the projector and watch them to make sure the picture and sound quality is good.

"You have to make sure the film is not on backwards," he said, noting that sometimes they are rewound incorrectly before coming to Hay River.

An entire movie can consist of six reels, he added. "It depends on how long the movie is."

When a movie is showing, Norberg has to run the projector and fix any problems that might arise.

"I check to make sure everything is going good," he said.

Norberg said he has not yet had any big problems to deal with while a movie is playing, although he notes the film can sometimes come loose and get tangled.

After a movie plays, he has to clean the projection machine. Norberg, a Grade 12 student at Diamond Jenness Secondary School, has worked at Riverview Cineplex for about two-and-a-half years.

He began on the concession stand, until an opening arose to become a projectionist.

In that role, he works two out of every six days.

The best part of his job at the cinema is his co-workers, he said. "Working with the people there is fun."