Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Help / consultation needed on refitting an old cinema

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Posted by Joseph C. Chen (Member # 2832) on 10-04-2006, 09:20 AM:

Hello, all,

I'm the curator of the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema, a unique annual film festival in Waterloo, Ontario dedicated to the celebration of the best of animated feature films from around the world. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance.

Our festival has to date been staged in multiplexes, with mixed results: ironically, the "arts house" multiplex in town is the absolute worst, and has wrecked a premiere film presentation no less than three times.

Combined with the consolidation of theatre chains in our area, and the insatiable demand by distributors for screen space, we are now rapidly seeking an alternate space to host our upcoming festival Nov. 16-19.

We've been very fortunate to find an artistically like-minded partner in The Gig, which for those of you who know the area, occupies the old Hyland Cinema in downtown Kitchener. Together with The Gig, we would like to reinstall film capability permanently into the space. This will allow us to establish a year-round cinematheque.

The booth is there, the screen is there, the ducts/etc. are all there - but none of the other equipment is. Which is where we need help / consultation.

a) We need an expert willing to advise us on the acquisition of equipment, and
b) We need to acquire and install a full 35mm suite, including lamphouse, projector, audio head.
c) We need to do this by Nov. 10th.

We love cinema, we love old theatres, and we love putting on a quality presentation. We need an expert's guidance on how to make this all happen.

I look forward to hearing from all of you knowledgeable gents and dames!

Best regards,

Joseph C. Chen
Curator, WFAC
http://www.wfac.ca

Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 10-04-2006, 11:55 AM:

One of the first things to observe is what kind of power conduits are still present in the booth. In some cases, those multi-phase lines may have been stripped out of the booth. Such was the case with the Varsity Theatre in Minneapolis.

Posted by Joseph C. Chen (Member # 2832) on 10-04-2006, 12:26 PM:

The power conduits are checked, and are all present. The panels are all in the projection room.

The venting duct is still in place, but the fan would need to be checked.

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 10-04-2006, 09:53 PM:

Sounds like a job for Gordon McLeod...

Posted by Joseph C. Chen (Member # 2832) on 10-04-2006, 11:29 PM:

Such fonts of wisdom and experience would definitely be most welcome. [Smile]

Posted by Jonathan Johnson (Member # 4009) on 10-09-2006, 04:14 PM:

Hi Joseph,
As a fellow Waterlooian and film lover I am interested in knowing the details behind your claim that: "the "arts house" multiplex [can you really call a Twin, a multiplex?] in town is the absolute worst, and has wrecked a premiere film presentation no less than three times."
Those are some pretty serious statements to be throwing around about a business that has done so much over the years to bring movies that I actually WANT to see to town as well as to support the uptown core. Please, enlighten me as to their terrible ways. I know things are bound to go wrong here and there with film presentations, but it seems weird that it has happened with your festival so many times. Are you sure that all of these issues were the theatre's fault?

Good luck with your work with the gig. seems like an interesting place. seems like you don't have much time left to get that all in place though... again, good luck!