Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: historic emergency exit signs

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Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 10-08-2019, 06:55 AM:

Hi there,

they are shooting a movie in our ancient theatre, which is located in germany, but the movie plays in a small town in northern USA. They need to replace the writing on our emergency exit signs. What would these signs look like in a US theatre that may have been build in the 50's or 60's, would it simply read 'Exit', or...?

Our german signs are different for 'regular' exists and 'emergency' exits.

- Carsten

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 10-08-2019, 08:06 AM:

US exit signs would normally say "EXIT" and would be backlit, typically in red. They could be backlit painted glass, cut metal with backlit frosted glass behind it, etched glass lit by a fluorescent tube above or below the sign, or any number of other materials. In that period, the lettering may have been stylized, as opposed to the simple block letters that are normally used now. A Google image search for "exit sign theatre antique" finds a variety of different styles, most of which look pretty similar to what one would find here.

What is the difference in your signs? I thought that all German exit signs said "Ausgang." Is that not correct?

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 10-08-2019, 08:26 AM:

Exit and emergency exit signs in Europe usually use standardized symbols rather than text. For all new installations, those symbol-based signs are usually mandatory.

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 10-08-2019, 08:58 AM:

If the theater is an AMC, the sign should splash red light on the screen. If the theater is a Regal, it should splash green light on the screen.

If you want your depiction to be accurate...

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 10-08-2019, 09:00 AM:

We are a landmark cinema/protected building. That, plus a speciality in german fire-protection laws allows us to keep the original backlit exit signs from 1957. Current official signs use universal symbols (e.g. a running person, arrows, etc.), not text.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_sign

Our historical regular exit signs read 'Ausgang', our emergency exit signs (over dedicated emergency exit doors) read 'Notausgang'.

They are white typo on (slightly faded) green background. I was suspecting that US signs could be red.

So, is the writing in red (on black), or in white over a red background? They are not after exact historical representation, but, as we need to change the insert because of the german text anyway, we could as well do it right.

In europe, everyone recognizes the green color of emergency exit signs immediately (backlit or not). If it is or was the same with red in the US, it's certainly a good idea to use that color.

If ALL exit signs in the US just read 'exit' - how does the occasional patron know where to leave regularly vs. in an emergency situation? I do know that some cinemas allow regular exits through their emergency exits in order to not block the entries for the incoming crowd and when the emergency exit pathways are appropriate for a regular exit, but then they are usually opened by staff after or during credits.

This exit light looks similar to ours, so I guess it's okay to use that color combination?

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/34/03/b2/3403b24ccb7000bd9f302f868df5b9d6.jpg

- Carsten

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 10-08-2019, 09:48 AM:

The text is normally red, although I have seen the reverse (white letters on a red background) used occasionally. The example sign in your link looks almost perfect, although it might be a bit small. Exit signs are normally 6-12" tall, with the letters almost filling the height. If you used that example, most Americans would not think twice about it.

It is interesting that Germany makes the distinction between normal and emergency exits. It seems like a good idea, but we don't do that here. Most people just leave by the same way that they came into a building. Most marked "Exit" doors are usuable in non-emergency situations, although some may have an additional sign that says "emergency exit only" and possibly an alarmed push bar, although one might not see those things easily from a distance.

A few US exit signs use green lettering, but that seems to have been a more recent development and is only permitted in certain localities. Red is still the most common.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 10-08-2019, 10:29 AM:

Thanx.

BTW - there is no differentiation anymore now between regular exit signs and emergency exit signs. Only our historical signs have that. Current mandatory signs are only allowed as simple pictograms and the maximum differentiation allowed is indicating a direction, like straight through or left/right by arrow symbols.

- Carsten

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 10-08-2019, 12:07 PM:

There is a variety of outlets online selling vintage signs, including old Exit signs. I would recommend researching 50's era photos of movie theaters. The images might provide more clues as to what was authentic during that period.

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 10-08-2019, 12:57 PM:

Most U.S. EXIT signs I remember use a rather condensed font, making the letters taller and the EXIT sign itself more rectangular. But if you can get hold of those Art-Deco style exit lights, it will probably blend right in.

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 10-08-2019, 02:43 PM:

The theatre that I went to when I was a kid had exit signs that looked like this:

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-08-2019, 08:30 PM:

Our theatre (built in 1930) had non-lit exit signs over the lobby doors. The typography on them looked just like the font in the second link above.

When I was a kid I don't remember an exit sign near the screen -- there was just a clock there, surprisingly. Maybe there were non-lit signs were over that door too.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 10-11-2019, 11:21 AM:

Then there is the 40s style of edge lit half inch glass., The EXIT is etched on the glass using acid.

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 10-29-2019, 01:41 PM:

The following exit signs are from 2 different 1920's vintage movie theatres. Apologies for the top picture which was taken with too low light level for the camera. The bottom sign would have originally been back lighted.