Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Projecting 1.33 and 1.85 with manual masking

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Topic: Projecting 1.33 and 1.85 with manual masking

Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 03-15-2008 01:22 PM

Before we got curtain and masking motors, there was a small box on the wall next to the curtain ropes with a set of 6v pilot lights; a light for each format (except silent 1.33) and lights for the curtain position. Corresponding switches in the booth allowed the projectionist to simply flip the switch to the correct masking aspect ratio -- 1.37, 1.66, 1.85, and 2.39. For the curtains, there were three positions -- closed, intermediate-opened and full-opened (intermediate-opened was used for both 1.66 and 1.85). The stagehand got a time schedule with the runing times for each engagement with the aspect ratios and curtian pull cues on it. All he had to do was watch the lights.

This manual system worked like a charm....that is if and when the stagehand actually got to his position on time. We now have motors, but the projectionist still has to push buttons manually on his control panels next to each projector.

I agree with the above solution -- show the trailers with the same lens as the feature, but with the 1.85 plate. And Scott is right -- only in rare circumstances should the size of the screen shrink for the feature after it's been a larger size for trailers.

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Tony L. Hernandez
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 158
From: Windsor, CO, USA
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 03-18-2008 01:41 AM

Hi Everyone. Thanks for all the replies and advice. I am glad to have this information for future use. Do to the short notice I posted this and the small amount of time I had to think it all over, I decided to go with my original idea of just running the trailers, tag and feature in 1.37 plates and lenses. I realized how impressive it looks on screen, even to myself after seeing it for so long, when going from 1.85 to scope and figured how it would be just as dramatically a disappointment to go from 1.85 to 1.37, even if I could. The end result was really not all that bad at all. Besides,the movie only drew around 40 people total for both showings(surprisingly low with the business we usually do these days) and I figured they would be willing to forgive the trailers as even the feature being shown in 1.37 in my huge, 500 seat theater looked extremely small and unimpressive.

Thanks again for the advice and all worked out in the end! I will keep my eye on this thread in case any of you had anything else to add or wanted me to give any additional details of my show.

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Carl Martin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1424
From: Oakland, CA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 03-19-2008 02:20 PM

so... what was the film you showed?

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