Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Making a screen out of wood and paint

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Posted by Paul Gordon (Member # 3320) on 03-07-2006, 08:40 AM:

Hey all,

I'm planning a couple outdoor screenings in the summer on 16mm and I need to build sometype of screen. What would be the best method of doing this? Would plywood painted white do it? or is there a special paint that I should use? The projector is Xenon Prevost 500watt 16mm.

Thanks,

paul

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 03-07-2006, 08:46 AM:

I would not use plywood, you will be able to see the grain no matter how you paint it. Use sheetrock if a real screen is not possible.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 03-07-2006, 08:56 AM:

Remember that a movie screen and a sailboat have a lot in common: They are both excellent collectors of wind!

Don't expect to be able to plant a couple of 4" X 4"s into the ground and call it a day. One gust of wind and... Bye Bye screen!

Not to say that a good screen can't be made from wooden framing but, you've got to think ahead when planning your structure.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-07-2006, 10:34 AM:

I'll second that. An outdoor movie screen mounted on posts needs to have adequate support piers dug and reenforced with concrete. Deeper and larger piers with rebar may be necessary if the screen starts to get large.

It would also be a good idea to call your city government to see if there are any permit requirements. At the very least, call your utility companies for a locate of any buried electrical, phone or gas lines in the area of the dig. Many will do a locate for nothing.

Posted by Mark Hajducki (Member # 1732) on 03-07-2006, 10:36 AM:

How are you supporting the screen?

The only outdoor screening I have been involved has been building hung cloth. Pictures

Make sure that you get in touch with local residents (if any) and avoid going on too late. Keep the noise down.

Posted by Paul Gordon (Member # 3320) on 03-07-2006, 11:09 AM:

These screenings will be happening in the woods of Northern Quebec, so city regulations are not a problem. The location is pretty sheltered so wind should not be a major factor. What about canvas as a screen?

-paul

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 03-07-2006, 01:02 PM:

Pre-primed canvas would work fine, assuming you can mount it on a frame. Pre-primed canvas is painted white at the factory, and can be custom ordered in fairly wide rolls.

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 03-07-2006, 02:36 PM:

Drive-ins have used plywood and corrugated steel facings for years, with good results. You're not going to have any trouble unless you plan to be as close to the screen as the average indoor viewer might be.

Properly primed and topcoated, plywood will serve just fine. For that matter, you're not going to be running an excessively large picture anyway with 500 watts through 16mm, so just keep it simple and have a good time with this.

There aren't any "drive-in" paints out there anymore. Use a flat white latex paint. The white that most stores use for tinting bases works well.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 03-07-2006, 02:49 PM:

...I've seen a Drive-In screen that used masonite sheets for the front surface.

Too bad that a smooth side of a building couldn't be used as the screen.

-Monte

Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 03-07-2006, 04:53 PM:

Our latest addition to our theatre was a new 60 feet wide outdoor screen. The screen surface (picture area) is actually 25 x 59 - made out of corrugated steel, primed with Galvite primer and finished with two coats of Sherwin Williams A-100 FLAT white paint.

Our supports are 9 - 24" diameter utility poles drilled 9 feet into the ground. Randy is absolutely correct when he corellates sailboat and screen surfaces. We've had some 60+ mph winds come thru already, and the screen's still standing.

For what you're doing, I don't see why painted plywood wouldn't work.

Posted by Tony L. Hernandez (Member # 3524) on 03-07-2006, 06:08 PM:

The Beaver Meadows Visitor Center of Rocky Mountain National Park used a large, painted plywood screen in thier auditorium on which they regularly presented a 20 minute 16mm film. I saw this film and set up countless times and never saw anything wrong with it. They did get an actual theater screen this last year when the installed a new DLP projector with a new High Def movie.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 03-08-2006, 02:04 AM:

If you know the direction of the prevailing wind in your area, try to make your screen perpendicular do that direction.

Generally speaking, prevailing winds in the northern hemisphere are from the west. Having your screen face either north or south would face it out of the wind.

If you're in an area like the side of a hill, you might have funky wind directions. Go to your site and put some ribbons on tree limbs near where the screen will be. Watch them for a few days to see which way they point. That'll, at least, give you an idea.