Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: If Money Was No Object...

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Posted by Tom Holland (Member # 1254) on 02-22-2004, 10:50 PM:

Hypothetical Question: If you were putting together a non-platter theater approved for Nitrate and archival print projection... where cost was not a concern... what equipment (specifically 16mm, 35mm, 70mm, DLP and the finest audio processing) what would you install?

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 02-22-2004, 11:37 PM:

Super Simplexes! All you need for 70mm is a 7, an 0 and two m's for the marquee. They'll never know.

Okay...how about a pair of Norelco AA-II's, Eastman 25's and CP200+DA20?

Posted by Tom Holland (Member # 1254) on 02-22-2004, 11:46 PM:

Thanks Steve. The following has also been suggested: dual 35mm Kinoton's and 16mm Kinoton and a Texas Instruments DLP. For audio: the latest Smart processor combined with a DTS-6 and the newest Dolby unit. Aren't Kinoton's generally considered the finest?

Posted by Stephen Jones (Member # 16) on 02-22-2004, 11:56 PM:

They are the finest in my book.Been using various Kinoton models for years with no probs.

Steve [thumbsup]

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 02-23-2004, 02:26 AM:

Can you get nitrate-approved magazines for modern Kinotons?

My vote is for AAII/DP70s for 35/70 and Eastman 25 for 16mm.

Strong, Christie SLH, or Kneisley lamphouse for xenon, Peerless Magnarcs (small venue) or Strong Futura IIs (large venue) for carbon.

-Aaron

Posted by Stephen Jones (Member # 16) on 02-23-2004, 04:51 AM:

Hi Aaron,
The Kinotons dont have Magazines as such.All models can run spls if needed eg FP50Ds and the FP30Ds includeing the E series can run 2000' and 7000' spls.In the manual it strongly states not to use nitrate film on them.

Steve [beer]

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 02-23-2004, 06:30 AM:

quote:
Strong Futura IIs (large venue) for carbon.

What size carbons do the Futura II's burn?
Why do you like them, Aaron?

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 02-23-2004, 10:39 AM:

I don't remember off the top of my head but it was a fat uncoated positive (current entry via water-cooled silver jaws) and copper-coated negative.

The nitrate requirement is why I didn't suggest Kinotone, normally cited by many as the best of the best. Let me amend my Norelco AA-II recommendation to say these would be modified with Kinotone basement readers (anything else being kind of a kluge and probably disruptive of nitrate safety) and inverter-drive variable speed motors to handle silents at proper speed.

You can probably find a sine wave inverter to drive the Eastman 25's with their twin sync motors at variable speeds without the motors balking at a funky waveform. Chicago's James Bond used to do this with an oscillator and a hefty audio amplifier.

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 02-23-2004, 12:29 PM:

I believe it was a 14mm uncoated joinable positive and 12mm coated negative in the Futura II (it has been a looong time since running them)

I like them because they put out awesome light! they were far brighter than the (4500-5kW?) xenon that replaced them at the drive-in I worked at years ago. They were pretty easy to maintain as well.

-Aaron

Posted by Floyd Justin Newton (Member # 1316) on 02-23-2004, 12:44 PM:

Aaron--

How about 13.6 mm Pos & 9/16" Copper Coated neg.

fjn

Posted by Christian Appelt (Member # 1067) on 02-23-2004, 01:16 PM:

I would add a non-intermittent machine for old and shrunken prints which will run through a Steenbeck, but may be damaged by a standard intermittent. IIRC, Sondor/Perfectone of Switzerland made a good machine, at least the sharpness looked fine while the steadiness was not as good as with a conventional machine.

A 16mm xenon machine like a Bauer Selecton II with 1600W lamp, an ELMO or Eiki xenon machine (with some modifications) could not hurt, there still are some beautiful 16mm prints out there worth showing!

How about a Elmo ST1200 Xenon stereo machine, or one of the huge Fumeo Super 8 machines? (But what about Regular 8 and 9.5mm [Big Grin]

)

Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 02-23-2004, 06:25 PM:

Tom,

Make sure the motors can interlock so you can host Jeff's next 3D Expo! [Wink]

Oh, and don't forget the silver screen. And try not to lay it on the chairs [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 02-23-2004, 06:34 PM:

I would not be messing around with any of this crap and would be restoring a Big Boy Locomotive [thumbsup]

.

Mark

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 02-24-2004, 12:21 AM:

I'm looking at a booth that has a gutted Futura behind one projector (no jaws, no reflector), & something stupid like an Orcon behind the other. How often do Futuras show up as unused & obsoleted equipment?

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 02-24-2004, 10:03 AM:

I always felt the corelight was a better lamphouse than the futura
My choice for this type of booth would be a pair of the FP75E style machines as they could do anything

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 02-24-2004, 11:04 AM:

Mark, for what it costs to outfit a booth you'd probably barely get firebox repairs done on a 4000.

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 2038) on 02-24-2004, 01:39 PM:

Mark, park that 4-8-8-4 in the lot next to my place and you can provide the steam heat.

In my booth all I'd have to do is install the upper 6000' Simplex magazines (bottoms are there already), and park a fire roller on top of my Supers and I'm ready. Maybe dust off those old Ashcraft lamps and reinstall them while I'm at it.

Have to reinstall the porthole fire shutters. Steel door is still in place, booth is concrete, send over the nitrate! Still have the old 2000' fireproof bins, and the cover for the rewinder.

Sheesh, I'm working in a museum!

An old place in Asbury Park still has the original silver screen on the back wall of the stage.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 02-24-2004, 01:50 PM:

With the exception of upper fire rollers, we're all set for nitrate at the Avon Cinema (see pic gallery). Century C heads with upper magazines, Western Electric bases with lower magazines, full nitrate-era booth with fire shutters (still in place with fusable links), Enarc lamps, 2000' reel cabinets, and steel door. No Goldberg rewinder, however.

I wouldn't want to be the one running it, however. Having said that, I know at least one person who ran a fair amount of nitrate material in the recent past who claims it is no big deal.

Posted by Robert Throop (Member # 61) on 02-24-2004, 03:57 PM:

We just installed a pair of Core Lites in the Capitol theatre, Rome, NY.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 02-24-2004, 10:38 PM:

Pictures please Bob???????? Very few people ever get to see a washing machine sized lamphouse.

Guys..... in this case money is no object... I didn't see anything about that it had to be spent just on projectors. I read once that it would take 2.5 million to restore one to running condition. Thats not that much and there would surely be a cinema car on my tain.
Mark @ CLACO

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 02-24-2004, 10:59 PM:

Regarding the Futura: There were jaws for 10 and 11mm carbons s well as well as air cooled jaws. Made burning butts a real nail biter.

There was a variant of the Futura that had self enclosed blowers like the core lite and the flame was superb. I think they were called Ultra 170's. I ran some in a deluxe Drive In with Ampex 120 Watt amps, Simplex XL's with 5 to 1 movements and about a 900 Ft. throw

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 02-25-2004, 10:14 AM:

Okay get reel lamphouses get a pair of Strong JetArcs [Big Grin]

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 2038) on 02-25-2004, 02:28 PM:

Yes Mark, maybe we were shooting a little low here.

If money was no object, I'd rebuild the old Mayfair Theater in Asbury Park (built in 1926, torn down in 1974) as it was, a sweet old Moorish-Spanish "castle", 2400 seats with balcony and loge, atmospheric ceiling with Brenograph cloud machines, three projectors, four FX machines, 2 slide machines, and all the garrish decorations that place had.

A good percentage of those unlimited funds would be for heating that barn over the winter, just a block from the ocean.

Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 02-26-2004, 06:53 PM:

Hey Gary-

Do you think those Super Simplexes and the Brenkert arc lamps are still at the old Savoy?

I agree with you about the old Mayfair. Three XL's and Peerless Magnarcs, along with those effects machines. A true movie palace, the likes of which we will not see again.

Posted by Erick Akers (Member # 875) on 02-26-2004, 11:56 PM:

If time were no object I would ask the question....

How come this teaser title was able to make it past all alert
mods and didn't get closed or moved to Film Yak?

Just Curious,

Erick

P.S. Big Boys are my all time favorite Super Steam Locomotive!!!