Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Endangered Theatres Around the World

This is topic Endangered Theatres Around the World in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=003013

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 12-30-2016, 09:42 AM:

Nice Photo-Blog:
Endangered Theatres

Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 7758) on 12-30-2016, 10:27 AM:

Nice photo essays, thank you, Martin. I especially found striking some of the deteriorating venues in Morocco, the Indian projectionists/managers, that unbelievable mess of an outdoor cinema in poverty-stricken Burkina, and the Cuban projectionist squatting to see out the port-hole next to what I presume is a 1950s-era Soviet machine.

Interestingly, the California venues are, for the most part, not so much endangered as just simply not first-run anymore. And some of you will see some familiar stomping grounds in that set.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-30-2016, 11:20 AM:

What a great idea - putting the power amps in a tiny room with its own split unit (but with glass partition walls so that you can still see error lights etc. on them), to keep a/c costs under control while still keeping a big source of heat generation out of the main part of the booth.

Posted by Rex Oliver (Member # 7593) on 12-31-2016, 01:57 AM:

Didn't theaters in the past have separate rooms for the amps-like in those days the amps were tubed and bulky-generated lots of heat.The room in the picture with the Crown amps and a split HVAC unit.We have several of those split HVAC units at the transmitter site.Microwave/mux room,data,phone equipment room,battery room,and one of the break rooms.Wouldn't think those Crown amps would generate THAT much heat as the tube amps of the past.But like the room nonetheless.The picure of the projectionist peering out the booth window-scantly dressed-must be REALLY HOT in there!Also see some "crack" in that picture!

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-31-2016, 12:12 PM:

Leo, I don't see where that is particularly needed with today's amp racks...but the "booth air conditioning" (fan pointing down above the projector) super is high tech. [Razz]

Given the spacing there, it's as if they were expecting to drop a digital projector in between those two film projectors.

Posted by Tyler Purcell (Member # 9213) on 12-31-2016, 03:43 PM:

Riddle me this... why do those pictures from India, have old ark lamp housings? Do you think they converted to xenon and they just retained the old housing? Sooo confused!

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 12-31-2016, 04:55 PM:

quote: Bill Brandenstein
that unbelievable mess of an outdoor cinema in poverty-stricken Burkina

Ok, I understand that they're poor. But why do they have to be so filthy? Surely a bucket of water and a couple of rags could be found somewhere, even in the poorest areas.

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 12-31-2016, 05:19 PM:

Regarding recycling the lamp houses: the local General Cinema theater was twinned and they installed one platter and converted the carbon lamps to Xenon with conversion kits. The light was very good and it eliminated the need for the projectionist in the process.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 01-04-2017, 07:57 PM:

I would say that both of those Ashcraft knockoffs have already been converted to xenon for the simple reason is that the knife switch on both bases are closed.

But there are alternatives to where it's still carbon arc, but using rectifiers and push button, on/off contacters, which would make why the knife switches needs to be closed.

The Oakland Paramount has just completed a special Holiday run of "the Wizard of Oz," using an IB print.

Booth is intact with Simplex XL and Strong 135's

Posted by Mark Hajducki (Member # 1732) on 01-05-2017, 08:22 PM:

It would be nice to get a bit more detail (both photos and history) on each cinema.

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 01-05-2017, 10:55 PM:

Actually Ashcraft.

I was there Friday night and was the technician of record. I recently overhauled the sound system with a specially modified CP65 with 4 projector inputs. 3 35mm and two Eastman model 25s.

Meyer speakers, no surrounds.

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 01-06-2017, 08:54 PM:

The GC units were also Ashcraft carbon conversions by Kneisley using the carbon rectifiers with added ballasts and igniters.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-25-2017, 11:51 AM:

I've seen Kneisley conversions in Strong Futuras put out more light with a 4kw lamp than the other Strong Futura in the same booth running a 140 amp arc.

Mark

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 02-10-2017, 08:55 PM:

These pictures are no doubt decades old, taken before the era of platter booths or the cinema multiplex -- all the setups look like they still are change-over operations in single screen theatres as no platters can be seen, so there would be no reason to convert the lamphouses to xenon. The only advantage xenon gave the exhibitor was to allow the use of platters and single projector operation and out of the growth of the multiplex. If they were still running change-over, then xenon got the exhibitor no advantage; he still needed those well-paid (relatively), trained projectionists to run each show. If you've got to pay a crew of projectionist, then running change-overs was just part of the job; no exhibitor would put in xenon just so the projectionists' didn't have to watch carbon trims. Most exhibitors wouldn't make the switch to xenon until the platter made it worth the layout cost.

Once the platter was introduced, then it made economic sense -- invest in the platter and switch to xenon and Mr. Exhibitor could once and for all, rid himself of that pesky, expensive team of salaried projectionists, who many times were the highest paid employees on the payroll. Instead, he could find an eager high school age splice jockey who would be happy to work for minimum wage, saving said exhibitor enough cash to torture his single into barely functional double, triple or even quadruple screens in the same building, but more importantly, with just about the same the number of personnel it cost him to run his single screen. What a concept. And so the number of screens multiplied like rabbits and so did the number under-experience, under-paid and most importantly, under-trained projection "attendants."

And that, boys and girls, is when we started to watch the slow but inexorable decline and side into the mire and goop of exhibition mediocrity.

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 02-10-2017, 09:51 PM:

Frank: Sometime in the late 1970's, I worked at an old theater that had been cut
up into a triplex. One big auditorium downstairs, and the former balcony split in
half to make two smaller auditoriums. It was somewhere out on the north-east
end of Long Island.

They ran 6,000ft reels, and carbon arcs! They had a semi-automated
changeover system that would strike the arc and start the film for the
2nd reel. It only worked about 70% of the time. (biggest problem was
the arc auto-strike) Most of time I ran around to the different booths,
disabled the automation & did the change-overs manually, but there
was usually one show a day where the timing was too tight for me to
be in two booths at once.

So, I'd do the change-over in whatever auditorium had the biggest crowd,
and hope for the best in the other one.

They eventually switched to xenons & kicked the union out- for better or worse.

And yes- - for most of those years, I was the highest paid person on the staff.
I still am at a couple of venues I work at.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 02-11-2017, 01:14 AM:

Yup, worked carbons back in 64-69 in a beautiful little 800 seat single screen in Bryan-College Station TX -- the Campus Theatre owned by Bill Schulman. I LOVED working that theatre -- change-over of course and still 2000ft reels. Bill and his family owned had a few other large theatres in Bryan that I subed at and a DI that was the most fun -- we ran Dusk-Till-Dawn shows every other week when A&M as in session -- big ole Ashcrafts...I loved it.

I returned to visit a few years later and he had already triplexed his DI, with a central booth and still carbons & 6000ft longplays. I asked him how did that work with only one projectionist and he said, "He's good at math -- he's able to staggers the start times just so, and it works out really well... then he added, "MOST of the time." He admitted he misses on average about 3 change-over a week. He said, he is like lightening and can recover really quickly. No one complains, he said...most of the Aggies are not watching the movies anyway. [thumbsup]

In the booth I am retiring from, we STILL have carbon arc...never found any good reason to convert because it's a single screen. And carbon arc gives that beautiful light with that big FAT plazma arc that makes it so easy to get edge-to-edge uniformity across the screen. I guess we'll continue to keep everything the way it is until we just can't get film to run any more.

Posted by Rick Raskin (Member # 1561) on 02-11-2017, 08:10 AM:

I've always believed that the introduction of the xenon lamp was the death knell for projectionists. That with the Union's refusal to consider manager/operator sealed the deal.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 02-13-2017, 06:39 PM:

Our Union embraced manager/operator. If you run 12+ hours per day; then carbon is enough higher in cost to pay for new equipment (xenon). Then it pays for itself again each"next" year.