Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Organ Monitor

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Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 07-09-2008, 03:43 PM:

I've been handed a unique challenge I'd like some input on.

Our theatre is equipped with an organ, and we would like to do live organ concerts with silent films. The trouble is that the organ itself is not in sight with the screen.

I'm thinking of just placing a simple video camcorder in the back of the theatre that would feed a monitor near the organ. Would sync and flicker due to the difference in frame rates be an issue?

We're also trying to keep this as low cost as possible.

[ 07-09-2008, 07:17 PM: Message edited by: Mike Olpin ]

Posted by Eric Womack (Member # 4458) on 07-09-2008, 04:20 PM:

We do the exact same thing here at the Ohio with a video monitor feed for the lobbies and for the backstage area. this works well and there is no flicker issue at all. The very light delay may cause you an issue but I bet not.

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 07-09-2008, 05:39 PM:

Hello Mike,

Welcome to Michigan!

At the Temple, we have a simple color camera for web use. The picture is poor but it does the job for back stage to see what is going on out front. That camera feeds a UHF Modulator for the CCTV system. It is also used for dance recitals so the acts in waiting can see the show from on the stage.

The flicker is noticeable but not enough to make it useless. Your idea should work fine with a camcorder and a small monitor TV set. The real test will be to have the organist able to read the film captions on the TV screen.

KEN

Posted by Andy Frodsham (Member # 4061) on 07-10-2008, 05:47 AM:

We have a low-light video camera at the back of our auditorium which we use for monitoring purposes (the screen not the audience)! The zoom lens has been set so that our scope screen just fills the frame. The picture is remarkably good (although it reverts to monochrome and becomes quite grainy during darker scenes in the movie)!

Being able to monitor the screen, while we're at the rewind bench (we are a reel to reel/changeover theatre) is re-assuring. The picture quality on the monitor is good enough to ensure there are no 'fine-framing' issues with, say, subtitled prints!

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 07-10-2008, 08:23 AM:

The American Theatre Organ Society has a local chapter in Traverse City. If you haven't already, you should contact them for help on maintenance and programming for the organ.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 07-13-2008, 03:14 PM:

Our booth is 5 stories up and we wanted backstage as well as lobby monitors to "see" the stage. We tried the webcam route but the picture was much too "web-like" with flicker and a disgusting image in a small window. Besides which, it would require a computer every place you needed to see the image.

I decided that real video was the way to go. I got a used VHS color camcorder very cheap (who want's VHS nowadays?!) and had the guys simply run coax from the booth to back stage as well as to the lobby. The picture from the video camera is full screen and very good quality, even in low light. We use small (and cheap) 15in LCD panel TVs back stage and in front of the musicians when we do silent movies. Sure, 24/30 strobe is there when we are doing film, but it's liveable.

For live shows, stage managers love it because they can see the stage from an audience view instead of the wing view. The signal for live shows is also displayed on two 32in tv sets in the lobby for late seating people. NOTE: best not to keep that camera on or even in sight when running sneaks where a "security guard" accompanies a print. As innocent as it may be, all he have to see is video camera with a red record light glowing and you will have a lot of 'splainin to do, none of which he will even begin to understand.

We also are using one of the Gefin magic boxes which takes Svideo or composit video plus two audio channels, and somehow, inexplicibly, is able to convert so it can travel 500ft via regular Cat5 over our network infrastructer, to the office complex where another magic box takes the Cat5 in and out the other side comes SVideo and the two audio channels (one being house audio, the other being the main intercom channel so we can hear the tech chatter). Quite a great piece of equipment.

Interesting bit #2: Because our booth is 5 1/2 stories up (no elevator) and there are many times we are doing a live show without anyone in the projection booth, we will need the video camera turned on. I've hooked up an X10 TR551 Telephone Responder to help out here. Instead of having to send someone up to the booth to turn on the camera, the stage manager or the house manager can just call up the phone number that the X10 unit is connected to, dial in a security code, and using the telephone keypad, turn the video camera and associated equipment ON or OFF remotely. Should they forget to turn it off after the show, I've got another X10 Timer Module that is set to turn off the camera system at 1am every day. Nice little system.