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Movies Forum Index » Movie Technology Forum » Theater curtains: open before or after the movie starts.
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| Guest |
 Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 5:58 pm |
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On Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:10:07 +0000 (UTC), snorwood@redballoon.net
(Scott Norwood) wrote:
Quote: In article <jM6dnXwfw-vzez3anZ2dnUVZ_t_inZ2d@rcn.net>,
Robert DiMucci <rdimucci@erols.com> wrote:
Sadly, about half of modern multiplexes are designed this way, with the
result that academy-ratio films are shown on larger screens than scope
films.
Agreed that there is no excuse for this in a new build. I was referring
to venues which were designed and built prior to 1950, where there were
no other options when they converted to show widescreen and scope formats.
I wish it weren't so, but there actually are excuses for such designs.
A limiting factor in most multiplexes is the width of the screen, and
fire laws that dictate exits near the screen. In retro-builds, where
the original construction supporting columns are spaced without regard
to the need for a larger theatre span, smaller auditoriums have to fit
a lot into that width.
In new construction, the cost of the added square footage can drive a
location into unprofitability. Typically (with some notable
exceptions, like Herman Stone's concept of equal auditoriums), the
auditoriums are differently sized to accomodate different sized
audiences effectively and efficiently.
The big auditoriums will have all the bells and whistles, and most
casual moviegoers may never even see the smaller ones. As movies go
from first week into subsequent weeks, they are moved to smaller
auditoriums to make way for new product. Some films lose in the move,
and some actually benefit from not having a sparsely populated barn of
an auditorium.
When the architect or engineer designs the complex, he often does so
with the expectation that a couple of smaller auditoriums may rarely
host a scope film. If the management and bookers hold to that, it
works fine. If not, then the audience suffers. On the side of the
audience, stadium seating seems to promote the wider auditoriums that
handle scope well.
One major new issue in theatre construction is the limited time of
viability of a site. One theatre that I ran as a premier theatre for
a major city became more valuable as retail space within 15 years.
Another new construction lasted about ten years before being torn
down. Wasting money on empty square-footage makes even less sense
when the cost can only be amortized over a short time.
IMO, changing demographics, changing marketing decisions, and changes
in the technology all seem to be conspiring to turn movie theatres
into either traveling tent shows or large screen destinations. The
continuing inroads of 3D will likely create the need for more changes,
possibly back to narrower sight lines, or even (micro-) louvered
screens. My crystal ball is a bit cloudy where it will all end. |
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| Brian |
| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:12 am |
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Scott Norwood wrote:
Quote: In article <jM6dnXwfw-vzez3anZ2dnUVZ_t_inZ2d@rcn.net>,
Robert DiMucci <rdimucci@erols.com> wrote:
Sadly, about half of modern multiplexes are designed this way, with the
result that academy-ratio films are shown on larger screens than scope
films.
Agreed that there is no excuse for this in a new build. I was referring
to venues which were designed and built prior to 1950, where there were
no other options when they converted to show widescreen and scope formats.
The worst example of this that I have seen in a new (well, ten years ago)
venue is one that uses a common _width_ screen, so Academy is about twice
as tall as scope. This is a college and not a commercial venue, but it's
still pretty bad.
Well, it has to be better that a Regal multiplex I visited a few years
ago that used the same standard screen for everything. The film was
anamorphic and one of the on screen captions showed the location as
"Worth", presumed to be a suburb of Fort Worth and then the action moved
to "Lon Eng". In the end guessing the locations proved the most
enjoyable part of the movie!! |
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| Martin Hart |
| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:55 pm |
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In article <fnqdud$bdb$1@reader2.panix.com>, snorwood@redballoon.net
says...
Quote:
In article <MPG.220a4c13e5e872309896a4@newsgroups.comcast.net>,
Martin Hart <oldtornperf@nospam.net> wrote:
Just a minor correction. The 'scope screen maskings moved in and out,
not up and down. The method of presentation that you describe was used
by virtually every theatre, regardless of size, in the U.S. until
General Cinema Corporation showed everyone how to save money. A dozen
blue flood lamps cost considerably less than fifty feet of drapes.
...until someone realized that the company could save even more money
by dispensing with the blue lamps and just showing advertising slides
on the screen between shows....
Yeah, I neglected to include that part. It's all pretty nasty nowadays
and I just detest going to what is passed off as a theatre.
But I guess I can't bitch too much. Even my own home theatre uses a
common width screen, being video based. Had it been film then I'd have
gone with common height.
Marty
--
The American WideScreen Museum
http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/ |
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| Matt Lutthans |
| Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:50 am |
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Two relatively recent curtain mishaps I've witnessed, both at the
Cinerama in Seatte:
1. At an 11PM screening of Oklahoma! in 70mm, the lights dimmed all
the way, the curtains opened all the way, then the overture started.
Ugh! Complete darkness. (To make matters worse, the overture started
at a slow speed -- presumably 24 fps -- then somebody flipped the
switch and the speed increased to the proper rate.
1. At a DLP screening of "Signs" a few years ago, the curtains opened
fully, then there were all sorts of flashes on the screen, like
somebody forgot to turn the projector on or didn't have things patched
in correctly. About 15 seconds later, the "film" started.
I hate to only pick on the Cinerama, but very few theatres around here
I know of still use curtains. There's the North Bend Theatre in North
Bend, and I've never seen a problem there.
Matt Lutthans
Seattle |
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| Martin Schemitsch |
| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 4:22 pm |
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On Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:55:08 +0100, Martin Hart <oldtornperf@nospam.net>
wrote:
[...]
Hi Marty,
Quote: Even my own home theatre uses a
common width screen, being video based.
Some time ago I mentioned our setup here at home, which has been tweaked
into "nearly" common height thanks to the CRT-projector's flexibility in
the area the rays are scanning on the tubes (I reserved full width for
scope only, everything else uses more and more "underscan", optical path
remains unaltered)... ...no dedicated screen area, just a white wall, so
there are no masking problems with the slightly differing height
whatsoever...
....anyways, this solution isn't perfect, but there is one out there:
Marty, you surely know about these special (expensive  motorized
anamorphic lenses in combination with digital 16:9 panel projectors which
give you perfect common height automatically (and brighter picture as a
bonus!) with standard letterboxed 16:9-enhanced scope transfers? 
(they simply discard the black bars by stretching the image back to
16:9-height and than do a 1.3x anamorphic expansion with the lens moved
into place by motors)
Which doesn't work with Ben Hur of course, LOL!
I'm not into HD, so who knows what they come up with in that arena...
Martin |
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