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Topic: Need to create a mobile booth

Matt Close
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 226
From: Hervey Bay, QLD, Australia
Registered: Sep 2001

posted 05-13-2002 10:23 PM

Just when you think your list of 'jobs to do' is plenty long enough ..... along comes your manager ..... and says, "I'd like to do outdoor screenings ... find out what we need to do it right" ...... so, I ask the wealth of knowledge that is
'film-tech', what do I need? It is to cater for around 400 people.
I've heard there is some sort of whiz-bang inflatable screen available???

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Aaron Sisemore
Flaming Ribs beat Reeses Peanut Butter Cups any day!

Posts: 3061
From: Rockwall TX USA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 05-13-2002 10:31 PM

Check out the pics of 'Wine Country Film Festival 2001' for an idea of how a booth of this type is laid out. They have been using this basic booth (with different equipment in it) for about ten years now.

WCFF uses a real indoor-type screen strung up to scaffolding. The booth floor is raised 4 feet from ground level with scaffolding (I am sure a trailer could be made to do the same thing) and has a plywood floor. The booth walls are all pinned together so it can break down relatively easily. The booth's ceiling is made of hard foam sheets wrapped in plastic.

The entire rig once broken down (except seating) should fit into a 24' Ryder truck with some room left over...

-Aaron

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Thomas Hauerslev
Master Film Handler

Posts: 451
From: Copenhagen, Denmark
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 05-14-2002 07:28 AM

How about this example of showing 70mm in a swimbath in Copenhagen. Maybe it will give you a few ideas.

------------------
Cheers, Thomas

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Dave Macaulay
Film God

Posts: 2321
From: Toronto, Canada
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 05-14-2002 08:16 AM

Yes, there is an inflatable screen frame, Harkness-Hall had one over to show us a few weeks ago. Pretty impressive. They're trying to get a few rental companies to buy them, I don't know how that's going. Depending on your screen erection cost and the number of shows you run it may be worthwhile to own one. Keep in mind that it is 1) HEAVY! and 2) can't be taken apart and carried in many light loads, only as one HEAVY load. (I think the one we had was 50x30feet and came in around 750 pounds (without anchor weights))
Mobile booth: how mobile? We do a few outdoor screenings every year and just use a cube van as the booth, carrying the speakers to the site in it as well. We use a small MUTT reel handler unit and whatever reel fits the feature (10K-14K) but if we didn't carry the speakers we could fit a platter in. For a more permanent setup a wall and port could be added at the back door - if you have any outdoor film production around town you've seen all the sound, prop, grip, etc trucks have added a wall like that. If the springing is a bother just add 2 jacks and stabilize the back corners (or move carefully and keep other people away during the show and it won't rock much!).

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-14-2002 08:38 AM

Check out the Cinema Borealis photos in the picture section. That screen was 30 by 70 feet! The city of Chicago required all that scaffolding so the screen didn't end up in another county!
The Harkness inflatable screens are way expensive, starting at around 10K just for the frame, the surface is extra. Its neat but way out of line price wise. There are local inflatable companies that make playground stuff that could probably produce it for alot less. We did 70mm showings there and used a gennie that was blimped and xtal controled for power.
Mark @ GTS

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Gerard S. Cohen
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 975
From: Forest Hills, NY, USA
Registered: Sep 2001

posted 05-14-2002 12:55 PM

Check out the thread "Outdoor Screening In Livingston Scotland" in the Film-Yak Forum. Dave Bird gave a link there to the Harkness screen website that gives all the specs on the various sizes and shows how they work. Other posts there are also helpful.

Historically, mobile cinemas were used by the Soviets right after the 1917 revolution, when projectors were mounted in RR boxcars to bring propaganda films throughout the Soviet hinterlands. I've seen photos of such trains in books on the director Sergie Eisenstein.

I drove from NYC to Iowa to purchase two Powers hand-cranked projectors from a man who in the silent film era adapted two car-towed trailers to bring movies to Iowa farmlands; he and his brother covered the entire state, screening in pastures and in barns, with plank bleachers for seats. Early projector catalogs show a generator attachment to supply current for a lamphouse by jacking up a rear wheel of a car. Eventually he moved into a wooden hall that had been the town Emporiun, made into a cinema, and added electric motors and SOS sound heads to his Powers machines. In WWII he became an aircraft mechanic, and returned in the '60s to sell eight Powers machines from the booth in what had become the town's oversize drugstore.

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Randy Loy
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 156

Registered: Aug 1999

posted 05-14-2002 02:45 PM

Another option as far as a portable screen can be found at the following link:
http://www.blimpsign.com/index.htm

I've never seen one in person but they might be worth checking out. They also appear less expensive.

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Ben Wales
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 602
From: Southampton. England
Registered: Jul 99

posted 05-14-2002 04:29 PM

I used a 3.5t Luton Box Van for a outdoor screening that had a Electric Tail Lift.
The projector base was on wheels and was easy to build up and projected from the back of the van.
To keep the costs down, we just had a 240v single phase power feed and got away with a 2kw Xenon on a 30ft screen.

The biggest cost in Outdoor screening is the construction of the Screen and the Public insurance required from the local Government and the hire of a generator.

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Stephen Jones
Master Film Handler

Posts: 314
From: Geelong Victoria Australia
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-14-2002 08:35 PM

Matt, I would speak to ATLAB or Entertainment Services to see what they suggest to use.They both have offices in your state .They should be able to give a costing on hire charges and tell you what you require.
Steve

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Matt Close
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 226
From: Hervey Bay, QLD, Australia
Registered: Sep 2001

posted 05-15-2002 05:49 AM

We don't want to hire something ... the idea here is to set it up so we can offer the service ourselves .... The kind of other info I am looking for is .... for 400 people .... what size screen? What size lamp? Speaker/Amp config? Does anyone actually drag a platter around or does everyone who does this use reels? .. etc?

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Matt Close
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 226
From: Hervey Bay, QLD, Australia
Registered: Sep 2001

posted 05-15-2002 05:52 AM

Oh ... and one more thing ... single phase would be 'reel' handy

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John Moriarty
Film Handler

Posts: 50
From: Cambridge, UK
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 05-15-2002 07:36 AM

Not exactly what you are looking for, but as an interesting aside take a look at http://www.hi-arts.co.uk/Screen-Machine.html and the history page has a few more details.

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Barry Floyd
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1079
From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 05-15-2002 01:59 PM

Randy....
Was there not mention of doing something like this at the 2003 UDITOA conference in the field behind the meeting room building?

As far as the mobile booth goes.... wouldn't this be a perfect use for video projection?

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Randy Loy
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 156

Registered: Aug 1999

posted 05-15-2002 02:47 PM

Barry,

Your recollection is correct. It is my understanding that Harkness-Hall has proposed doing a demonstration of their inflatable outdoor screen at our 2003 United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association Conference in Kissimmee, Florida.

By the way, Barry...did you ever notice how that field behind the hotel looks like it's RAMPED or at least kind of laid out like a drive-in? Every year during the conference I've been itching to show a movie back there. It sounds like this year we'll get to do it!

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-15-2002 02:51 PM

Video projection? Ugh.

If the original poster wants something portable, how about a pair of tabletop 16mm xenon projectors?

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