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How much may a technology develop from its own internal demands, how much may it be affected by the circumstance of its deployment? Until now, movie goers have given scant attention to the movie screen itself. Put simply, the screen has been invisible, although it is the most visible piece of film technology. The screen demands more attention because of its peculiar status: it is both the final link in the chain of film technology as well as an element of architecture, defining - and being defined by - the space it inhabits. We shall look at the differing ways the screen of the past was situated in architectural space, how these factors have affected our viewing of movies, and, finally, how they helped determine the development of film style.
Think back to when you were in school and your teacher brought in the 16mm projector for an instructional movie or perhaps when your family had friends over and Dad pulled out the old 8mm projector to show movies of your last vacation. Depending on the time frame in which this occurred, it is a pretty good bet that the screens used in those situations were made with a glass beaded surface on the front. one of the reasons that a glass beaded surface was the popular choice back then was because the projectors were not very bright and, as such, we wanted to get as much light directed back to the viewing audience as possible.
When we come to contemplate a projection device in conjunction with a projection screen, there is considerable irony in the fact that the term "gain" is routinely applied to the screen and hardly ever to the projector. Yet it is the projector, not the surface, which is powered by electricity and it is the projector, not the surface, which comes with a twistable dial marked "Brightness."
Nevertheless screen gain does exist. Although still a misleading misnomer, gain is not purely some shibboleth of the A/V industry. A screen with a gain of 3 is certainly and observably different from a screen with a gain of 1.5. How it is different merits analysis.
Over the years, we have carried out curtain system installations at very many cinemas and theatres across the country and abroad. Often the basic safety requirements are not supplied by the exhibitor. In a cut-throat business environment; one often has to make do with what is available on the site.
NEW DELHI: A whole new way of movie making and watching is knocking on the doors of India, thanks to technological advances.
Though slow in catching up with the rest of the world in most fields of entertainment, cash-flushed business houses operating mostly from Mumbai are ensuring that e-cinema comes to a theatre near you very quickly.
While the world is yet to warm up to the idea of digitally distributed films, Bollywood filmmakers have already put the technology to test and are finding it a great tool to fight piracy and cut costs.
Screen Masking Tips (Special thanks to Frank Angel)
Try to cover up your speakers or paint them black and use black speaker cloth. Having the speakers visible has a negative effect on the illusion that the sound is coming from the actors' mouths on the screen. In movie theaters they went through great pains to figure out how to do this and the solution was to us a perforated screen with speaker behind it. With this setup, the sound IS coming from the image. In 16mm this is not practical (although I have seen it done) because light is at such a premium and a perf screen loses about 20% of the light through the holes. You can cover your speaker by hanging curtains in front of them. The curtain material can block the sound from your speakers -- almost any material will to some extent. I use a material called Chinese silk which is transparent to sound. It makes a real difference in keeping the illusion that sound is coming from the screen.
A few basic scientific and technical terms used to describe surface qualities and performance.
Moire:
A word used to describe visible distortions in the uniformity of the screen surface; or the distortions in picture clarity. The term comes from the French word "moirer" (to water) and is used to express a rippled, water-like look.
Colorimetry:
A technique by which an unknown colour is evaluated in terms of standard colours. This is mostly carried out visually although there are other available technologies such as photoelectric or indirectly by spectrophotometry to evaluate the screen's performance in terms of contrast and colour testing. The customer has no choice but to take the manufacturers word in such instances as the testing equipment is very expensive and not available to everybody.
In the seating chart figure the auditorium follows the SMTP’s “2 & 6 Rule”. The first row of seats is placed at a distance equal to twice the screen’s width from the screen. The last row is placed at a distance equal to six times the screen width. Further, no row of seats is wider than its distance from the screen. As you can see, this is a rather idealistic approach which eliminates most of the wide viewing angles. Under these conditions, all three of the major screen surfaces would perform well with the possible exception of the aluminized silver.
Suggestions for removing dirt and stains from cinema projection screens.
We have found that the best results toward removing dust and dirt can be obtained very carefully dusting the entire surface of the screen with a screen brush or a very soft cloth. Extreme care sure be exercised in doing this so that the surface of the screen will not be scratched either by particles of dust adhering to it or by the cleaning process itself.
<U><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'">The Screen Does Make a Difference<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></U>
<U><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'">A commentary by Joe Kane <o:p></o:p></SPAN></U>
Until the beginning of this decade, video projectors occupied a “niche” in the corporate and industrial market. The primary goal was to present a large, bright video image. The quality of that image was far less important than obtaining the highest possible light output from the screen. Emphasis shifted towards image quality in the early 1990’s with the coming of home cinema. Audio quality could already rival that of most neighborhood movie houses. Similar expectations were being placed on the video, within the limits of available software.
