Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Ok I know that I am a once virgin but,

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Posted by Sean M. Grimes (Member # 445) on 10-10-2000, 01:04 AM:

Allright people I have been around the block once But I have never heard of sword anything. Could someone please help me out I try to bullshit about as much as I can but for once I am stumped. (well in as never hearing of seeing anything of the nature.)

and once again thankyou all.

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 10-10-2000, 10:32 AM:

Imagine a regular projector mounted on a regular pedastal. Now, imagine the pedastal has two big (4ft. diameter) reels on each side (supply on the left, take-up on the right) with rollers to direct the film to the top, and out the bottom. It was used in very small booths, and can rewind the film right on the pedastal. Imagine two big light bulbs sticking out the back, (resistors for the motors) like something you'd see in a Frankenstein movie.

Imagine the manufacturer stopped making them 25 years ago. Imagine that they weren't very good, even in their day, so you always need parts. Luckly, most of the parts are standard things you can get at a hardware store.

For a home booth, they are pretty cool, but for professional use, they were pretty bad.

Posted by Chris Erwin (Member # 176) on 10-10-2000, 01:31 PM:

Sean,

I have been mentioning this beast in some of my posts. Don't feel bad. I really haven't heard of one until I saw one. It's just like he described. The booth I saw it in was small and a platter wouldn't fit. (they ran two projectors until some years back) If you want to see what this contraption looks like, go in the manuals and there is a picture there.

John, are they really THAT bad? I know parts are a problem, but I was told if you didn't mess with the chain, you'd be ok. We were thinking about getting one for use in a DI that could go in close to here and just wandering if we re-think that. (we do have room for a platter)

--Chris

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 10-10-2000, 04:14 PM:

Wouldn't it be easier just to get two projectors rather than a Sword system?

My personal feeling is that a changeover setup is ideal for a single-screen theatre (for flexibility and redundancy) and a platter arrangement is ideal for a multiplex venue (for convenience and cost savings). Yet I just don't see where the single-projector/giant-reel systems fit in. They seem to have the worst of both worlds--no redundancy, less flexibility than reels (still have to take the time to splice shipping reels together, etc.), require time-consuming rewinding process after each show, etc. Maybe I'm missing something here, but I'm having a really hard time trying to find a justification for why anyone would ever install one of these giant-reel monstrosities. Maybe that is why this type of installation is as rare as hen's teeth in the US...

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-10-2000, 05:20 PM:

Scott:

But it was also known as the "Simple Sword"

I'm sure I have a picture of one around somewhere and we actually had a complete one up until last month with less than 100 hours on it.

For those that wan't to see the idea, check out the www.blsi.com web site and go to the Kinoton section...the Kinoton FP-25 has a similar concept but works.

Steve

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"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 10-10-2000, 06:36 PM:

The crazy thing is that the owner of our theater chain has one of these in his basement. I just couldn't get over it when they put it in. He got a bi-amp sound system, a CP500, Dolby digital. And this thing.

Chris, I would really suggest a platter rather then Sword (actually, I would suggest two projectors over a platter if you could afford it and have the room.)

Working with a Sword is the real pain. While you can make-up and take-down a show with it, it will drive you nuts. So I suggest getting a rewind table that can hold those big reels and doing it there. Mechanically, it's a real "Rube Goldberg" invention. So if you are mechanically inclined, and need to really save money, then it's for you. The nice thing is, it takes (mostly) regular standard parts you can get from an Allied/Nework catalog or an H.H. Smith/RAF catalog.

I mean, really, it would be fun to work on, if there's not a house full of people yelling for the movie to get back on...

Posted by Russ Kress (Member # 461) on 10-10-2000, 08:01 PM:

Okay, here's some first hand info on the Eprad Sword.

There are two projectors, in my case, Ballantyne Pro-35s.

You load half of the feature on the first machine and half on the second.

Then you press the start button. The first machine runs until a cue is read to start the change over sequence. The second machine starts and gets up to speed. The system changes dowser positions and sound sources and you are now watching the second half of the feature on the second machine.

Here's the cool part.

The first machine stops and reverses, returning the film to the pay out side while the second plays.

When you start the next performance on the first machine, the second one is already "playing backwards" in order to be ready for the next change over.

Like I posted before, it can be a beautiful thing to behold. Um, it can have its moments though!

I'll try to remember to get Greg to post some pics of it here. They don't use it anymore, but it is still there.

Hell, something has to hold those projectors off the ground!

I will be honest and admit that I tried to keep her going only because that particular projection booth was four stories up!

Climb the steps or press a button? You do the math! (LOL)

Russ

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 10-16-2000, 11:25 AM:

Having to run the print backwards through the projector gate to "rewind" it was tough on the print. Rochester had an 8-plex that opened with the Sword/Ballantyne package, and quickly converted to platters because of the operational problems cited.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com