Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: 'KISS ME KATE' in 2 PROJECTOR 3-D!!

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Topic: 'KISS ME KATE' in 2 PROJECTOR 3-D!!

John Eickhof
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 588
From: Wendell, ID USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 01-17-2001 12:55 AM

This last Saturday, Phil Housh and myself were busy at the Egyptian Theatre in Boise, Idaho. We were installing a temporary second projector to accompany the existing 35/70 Simplex in order to run "Kiss Me Kate' in original Polaroid style 3-D for one performance for the 1st. annual Boise Shakespeare Festival. We had to remove the existing 1800 rpm synchronous motor from the 35/70, as well as the 1800 rpm gearing, we installed temporary 1725 rpm gearing and 1725 rpm motors with selsyn interlock motors!
We then aligned the machines for the 3-D process, matched up light output from both a Strong Super80 (3kw) and a Xetron 3kw. lamp.
After that, The manager flew a temporary silver screen that Mark G @ GTS 'pulled out of his hat' with very short notice! For optimum 3-D effect without 'tearing your eyes out!' both shutters must be in perfect synch! To attain this, we used a genuine Polaroid 'synch-strobe' Richard May at Warner Brothers Classics sent us a beautiful recently struck print with Dolby SR optical!
(Kate was originally issued for one week only in 1953 with a seperate synchronized 3 track magnetic soundtrack!) The film came in on four of the good old WB 6000 ft 'fall-apart' reels! Phil had fun with these! We had a minor snafu, as the house electrician wired into the 35/70 automation for our temporary motor set-up! He failed to unhook the synch motor from the circuit! When we fired up for alignment...we had fire coming out of the automation and the synch motor!!!(It was removed from the 35/70 and laying upside down on the floor with the flywheel stooped by the floor so the start winding went!) It took out a solder trace on the auto board! (Phil discovered an 'unlimited amperage' fuse in the automation! ie: A piece of 12 AWG wire punched into the '10 amp' fuseholder! He fixed the auto, but the motor had to go in for repair! So they are still using the 40 yaer old Simplex SN-405 motor today!!!
My thanks to Richard May for a great print!
and Mark at GTS for making a screen appear!!!
go to this link for pictures:
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=684390&a=11014026

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John Eickhof President, Chief Slave
Northwest Theatre Equipment Co., Inc.
P.O.Box 258
Wendell, ID. 83355-0258
208-536-5489
email: jeickhof@nteequip.com

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Pete Lawrence
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 192
From: Middleburg, PA
Registered: Aug 1999

posted 01-17-2001 08:14 AM

Wow, what a house! Sure seems like a hell of a lot of work for just one showing. Are they using a curved screen in their regular setup? It looks that way from your pictures.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 01-17-2001 08:58 AM

Hi John and Phil,
I'm glad things went well. The screen is available any time you need it. Its the only rental/fast fold silver screen that I was able to find.
So much for the Bodine motor. It should go where all Bodine motors eventually go anyway....into the garbage can. Replace it with the new style Leeson sync motor from Strong.
I can just imagine who put that fuse in there.....Marvin probably has a very good idea too. Fortunately he's no longer around. Have seen the same thing happen in another theater in Ketchum. We are planning a 3D fest down here in SLC later this year and we will probably use the same screen. At any rate congradulations on the sucessful showing!!
Mark @ GTS

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Jeff Stricker
Master Film Handler

Posts: 481
From: Calumet, Mi USA
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-17-2001 11:21 AM

John, I've never seen a set up like this, excellent!

Please excuse this question from a novice, but I'm wondering how one insures that there aren't any frames missing in either the left eye or right eye reel? Or if there are frames missing, how do you inspect to insure that the coresponding frames have been removed from the other reel?

I guess the same question is applicable to three strip Cinerama.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 01-17-2001 12:08 PM

One way to check that the two "eyes" match frame for frame would be to inspect the left and right reels on a "gang" syncronizer, where the two films are run side-by-side on sprockets sharing a common shaft.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com

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John Eickhof
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 588
From: Wendell, ID USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 01-17-2001 03:26 PM

John is correct, we had on standby a three gang 35mm synchronzer, and a roll of black frameline leader! If there were any frames missing you would instert black leader into the reel (eye) that was short! If you had a film break or other problem during the show, you would use the synchronizer from the lastr scene change to where the damage is thus saving down time! However, in this age of Estar film! We had a beautiful spliceless print!!!

Mark...aren't you thinking of 'Cleese' ???
As Marvin is till manager, and I doubt is the one who would insert such a fuse! (And of course I don't think he's ever seen the Ketchum theatres!!!)

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John Eickhof President, Chief Slave
Northwest Theatre Equipment Co., Inc.
P.O.Box 258
Wendell, ID. 83355-0258
208-536-5489
email: jeickhof@nteequip.com

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John Eickhof
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 588
From: Wendell, ID USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 01-17-2001 03:30 PM

Pete, I forgot to answer your question in my last post...Yes, the matte white sheet is curved, shallow as it is but it does afford a great looking picture!

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John Eickhof President, Chief Slave
Northwest Theatre Equipment Co., Inc.
P.O.Box 258
Wendell, ID. 83355-0258
208-536-5489
email: jeickhof@nteequip.com

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