Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: 16mm in theatres ?!?! huh?!!!!!!

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Topic: 16mm in theatres ?!?! huh?!!!!!!

Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 01-15-2003 02:21 AM

Part of the issue is the relative cost of prints. Economies of scale dictate that 16mm is no cheaper than 35mm for the software: in fact, the lab we use most of the time charges more per foot for 16mm release prints than for 35, and I'm told that the reason for this is the cost of raw stock and of maintaining printers and processors. When the multiplexes came in during the 1980s, the demand for 35mm release prints skyrocketed and so the labs equipped themselves for very high throughput to cope with the demand. The result has been that 35mm release printing is now probably cheaper than it's ever been in the history of the industry. Even arthouse films which are still being originated on 16 (or super 16) are now routinely being blown up to 35 for theatrical release. But while demand for 35mm prints was rising, demand for 16mm has steadily decreased as the previously big markets for 16mm - schools, promos, industrial films, training films and so on - all went over to video. So the upshot now is there there is no economic point in the big chains using 16mm, even on screens that are small enough to make it an obvious technical choice. The only places that are interested in 16 are art and rep houses that regularly show 'legacy prints' of older titles.

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Tim Reed
Better Projection Pays

Posts: 5246
From: Northampton, PA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 01-15-2003 03:19 AM

quote:
Back in the early 70's?

Well, late 70s - early 80s, former Jerry Lewis's. I serviced several over the years, throughout the east and midwest. Without fail, all of them had XeTron 2000 lamphouses, IREM rectifiers, and Centurys. I think the circuit might have started out with 16mm, and then switched to 35mm when they had to begin running regular product.

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