Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Winter porthole advice needed.

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Topic: Winter porthole advice needed.

Alan Gouger
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 501
From: Bradenton, FL, USA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 08-28-2005 09:38 PM

Because I do not have the room for a large screen inside my house Ive decided to close in my patio and turn it into a projection booth. Ill have a 18 to 20 foot scope screen with a 40 foot throw. I cant wait.

The screen will be nothing more then plywood on a sturdy frame painted flat white. This will be permanent outdoor screen.

Where I need help is the projection porthole. I live in upstate NY. We get some pretty cold and stormy winters.

The booth will have heated and AC.

Should I have the porthole in a tunnel to block some of the weather. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 08-29-2005 03:43 AM

..make a solid wood porthole cover that is on hinges that can be swung downward to close inside the outer porthole frame and would also seal out any form of winter.

Here is a pict below of the drive-in that I used to work at (this pict is in the "Pictures/Drive-in" subheading), and you can see the porthole cover that I have mentioned above.

I used to work in a drive-in that had harsh winters as well, and this technique worked pretty well in sealing out the winter during the closed months.

good luck-Monte

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Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 08-29-2005 07:30 AM

Some of the guys here might know the exact manufacturer, but I know there is a paint made specifically for drive-in screens. It has a high content of some pigment (titanium comes to mind but that doesn't sound right). Household paints do have this compound to various amounts but the drive-in guys know which brand and which formula has the most. You might want to give a call to your local cinema supply dealer and see if they have any in stock.

Then there is white Formica, which Brad has discovered makes an excellent screen surface, although your screen might be too large for a single sheet, but check that out as well. Formica, if you can get that big a sheet, might cost a bit more than paint but it would be very easy to clean and not as susceptible to the elements, as you intend to keep it outside year round.

(nice pic, Monte....bet you had a lot of fun in that booth!)

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Ron Yost
Master Film Handler

Posts: 344
From: Paso Robles, CA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 08-29-2005 02:24 PM

Frank, titanium is right. Titanium dioxide, in fact. [Smile]

The whiteness and brightness of paint is directly related to the amount of titanium dioxide it contains. Its refractive index is second only to diamond, according to the Wikipedia reference below. It's titanium dioxide that replaced lead in paints.

Higher-priced paints will contain more of it, as a general rule.

Titanium dioxide is heavy, too. Much heavier than the various fillers that are added to paint, so you can tell the relative amount of titanium dioxide in a paint by comparing the weight of various brands and levels within a brand.

A house painter once told me that the way for an 'amateur' to get a good paint was to go down the shelves of white 'base' paint, lifting a gallon of each brand, then buying the heaviest they could afford .. this was in the days of lead-based paint, but I'd guess his 'rule' still applies.

Wikipedia Titanium Oxide page

Ron Yost

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