Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Big screen format "RV"?

This is topic Big screen format "RV"? in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Gunnar Johansson (Member # 1661) on 11-29-2004, 08:48 AM:

Hi.
It´s been awhile, but I´ve been busy, now working part time as a projectionist (actually getting paid, more than a hobby). And now I have a question I hope you can help me answer.

Some of my work is in the biggest theater i Gothenburg, Palladium, which is a single screen seating 770, with a balcony, curtains, huge screen and two Philips DP-70 (beautiful machines, got to love them).
The building is from 1918, but it´s been rebuilt and refurbished several times. The masking machinery and controls are from, I think, the 50´s, and has, in order, settings for "NB", the swedish abrreviation for academy, "VF", which is 1:1,66, "FrVF", which is 1:1,85, "CS", obviously for scope, and then it has "RV".

Nobody knows what the RV is, and I think that if you press it it doesn´t do anything, having been disengaged. The theatre has 70 mm capability (and does show it, but extremly rarely and now years ago), and it also used to show Cinemiracle, with the film Windjammer. The problem is none of my colleagues knows, some have been working there since mid-70´s and have been trying to find the answer. What further complicates things is that the abbreviation is most likely in swedish, and as you can see we don´t call everything the same as the rest of the world, or at least the US, does.

So the question is: do you have a guess as to what the format RV can be, as it seems to be larger than scope, so that we may finally solve this riddle? Any help is welcome, and we´ll see what we can do. The next time I´m there I´ll try the button to see if it works and if it allows measuring of actual ratio.

//Gunnar

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 11-29-2004, 09:07 AM:

Possibly original 35mm CinemaScope (2.55:1) or 70mm Ultra Panavision (2.76:1)? [Confused]

Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 11-29-2004, 10:14 AM:

well, your flat format is FrVF.....what does it stand for? Seems like the RV is in the middle of the two Fs. I don't know the language, but what does FrVF wirtten out say? My money goes on 70mm, 2:1 or something like that.

On a smartass note, it could be a real video (.rv) setting [Big Grin]

Posted by Gunnar Johansson (Member # 1661) on 11-29-2004, 10:30 AM:

VF is for vidfilm. meaning Wide film. FrVF is for Fransk vidfilm, French Wide Film, for some ancient reason.

It could be Real Video but I highly doubt it... [Smile]

Thanks for the suggestions, keep ´em coming. Like I alwas say, how hard can it be...

//Gunbar

Posted by Mike Babb (Member # 1379) on 11-29-2004, 01:56 PM:

This is just a guess but many maskings have a "stop" button to hit points between presets.

Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 11-30-2004, 01:49 AM:

quote: Gunnar Johansson
VF is for vidfilm. meaning Wide film. FrVF is for Fransk vidfilm, French Wide Film, for some ancient reason.

quote:
"VF", which is 1:1,66, "FrVF", which is 1:1,85,

are you sure you don't have those ratios reversed? the 1:1.66 ratio is the one that is most common in france.

carl

Posted by Christian Appelt (Member # 1067) on 11-30-2004, 05:46 PM:

Sounds to me like a question for Thomas Hauerslev !

Posted by Gunnar Johansson (Member # 1661) on 12-01-2004, 09:00 AM:

Carl:
I can see how you would think that, and how it even would be logical, but I wrote it the way I learned it, and the wal all masking and lenses have been marked everywhere I´ve been... Weird.

Christian:
I´m hoping so too, but he personally knows my colleagues, and they have probably discussed it, but you never know. Sometimes you hvae to believe in miracles...

//Gunnar

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 12-01-2004, 12:15 PM:

Before the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood remodeled. The masking settings on the front panel had an extra button setting marked Cinerama. When it was in use the masking opened much larger than the regular full 70MM settings. Same thing with the D-150 theatre masking settings. Since you said that your theatre ran Cinemiracle, which was a 3 panel Cinerama type of presentation using 3 projectors in one booth. Using mirrors, than 3 different booths like in real Cinerama. That could be the extra wide Cinemiracle / Ultra-Panavision 70 format.

Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 02-19-2008, 03:31 PM:

It has been 1175 days since the last post.