What is the machine pictured in this David Letterman transition?

What is the machine pictured in this David Letterman transition? - Crop ethnic man with navigator in taxi

I was watching old David Letterman segments. In an episode from 1982, I believe, the transition to a commercial break showed this image (5:17 in the video), which I'm assuming is of some sort of film-related utility room:

enter image description here

For some reason, I'm fascinated by this image. My question is, what is that machine (and bonus, what/where is that room)? If it helps, assuming it's an image of a room in the studios somewhere, Letterman's show was shot at 30 Rockefeller in NYC.



Best Answer

That is an old movie theater projector. You can see the housing for the movie reels on the top and bottom, which match this video at around the 54 second mark:




Pictures about "What is the machine pictured in this David Letterman transition?"

What is the machine pictured in this David Letterman transition? - Ethnic driver in taxi with partition
What is the machine pictured in this David Letterman transition? - Crop unrecognizable male passenger in casual clothes with backpack inserting ticket in entrance machine of automated gate while entering modern subway station
What is the machine pictured in this David Letterman transition? - Interior of modern workshop with manufactured bag





Top 10 Most Memorable David Letterman Moments




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Tim Samuel, Tim Samuel, Samson Katt, Rachel Claire