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Author Topic: What is reason for HUGE projection ports Brad Allen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 688 From: Evansville, IN, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 12-16-2005 01:46 PM                     Ok, I'm from the days of normal size projection ports that were rigged to enclose the booth in such a way the projectionist would be sacrificed in case of a projector fire. So why did the trend begin to put in huge picture windows for the projection and viewing ports? What exactly is the point? A-to purposely allow more chances for booth sounds to leak out. B-to purposely allow stray booth light to illuminate the back half of the auditorium. or C??  |  IP: Logged James R. Hammonds, Jr Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 931 From: Houston, TX, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 12-16-2005 01:52 PM                     C - To allow for additional equipment to be added at a later time (video projector for a video screening or addition of a DLP) without having to make a new hole in the wall and install another window.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 12-16-2005 02:59 PM                     D - not much of a reason, but it does provide yet another emergency exit in case of fire. If you are purchasing quality windows and they are properly installed, A isn't a problem. Assuming your booth lighting is set up properly, B isn't a problem either. I use 2x4 flourescent fixtures to light the booth up very well and have no problems with the light from them bleeding into the auditoriums. It's all about the light directing baffles.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-16-2005 03:23 PM                        I don't really like big port windows, either, but I have seen a couple of booths where it made sense. In particular, I can think of a college's screening room which contains 2 ea. 35mm projectors, 2 ea. slide projectors, a 16mm projector, a video projector, and probably other stuff that I'm forgetting right now. If they had installed individual portholes for each projector, the result would be ugly and inflexable. For theatre use, where there would only be 1-3 projectors, I like the standard 12" square ports, and, ideally, a large followspot port off to the side with a shutter that can be left closed most of the time.  |  IP: Logged Greg Mueller Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1687 From: Port Gamble, WA Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-16-2005 03:35 PM                        Originally I had a smallish type port and had to open it up (pain in the butt). The reason was that the projector had motors out in front and when I set the projector back far enough for the motors to clear and allow removal of those motors, the smallish port caused vignetting when I ran scope. It's still a bit on the small side, but I had to work around studs in the wall. Looking back, I wish I had headered off a large size opening and made the port twice as big or bigger. Probably the explanation of having a bunch of (unknown) equipment (down the road?) all trying to see out at once, sounds best to me  |  IP: Logged Thomas Jonsson Expert Film Handler Posts: 216 From: Bromolla, Sweden Registered: Sep 2003 posted 12-16-2005 04:07 PM                       Didn´t the big port "era" start with Todd-AO, to allow clearence for the much larger picture? Thomas  |  IP: Logged Lindsay Morris Expert Film Handler Posts: 233 From: Darlington, WA, Australia Registered: Sep 2002 posted 12-16-2005 05:24 PM                     Probably comes more from poor building design and planning and not really knowing or bothering to ask what sort of gear is going in even though most machines have a lens C/L of around 1200mm or 4 foot in old terms. Saves building planners having to worry about projection angles and just whack in a damn big one and that fixes it Must post some photos of a VERY carefully designed booth in Perth that depsite the best arguments by many the architect "knew best" and put all the ports in same height side by side and NO ports for the operator to look thru. The rationale was 4 machines = 4 ports and thats it Now the Pro 35 unit sits up on a plinth about 350 mm high which makes reaching the top feed roller very hard for shortish people. On the odd times a 6000 footer is run almost need a ladder to get up to stick the spool on. It all looks good from the outside but inside its a nightmare to operate. Lindsay  |  IP: Logged Bill Enos Film God Posts: 2081 From: Richmond, Virginia, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 12-16-2005 05:56 PM                     Our ports were just barely adequate for scope. Last week we cut them out four inches top and bottom to accomodate 3D using the Paramount miror boxes. Ugh! what a mess, we covered everything but dust covered it all. The wall is 18 inches solid brick firewall. The Broadstreet Cinema (demolished 10-12 yrs ago) here had glass 4 ft high and full width of the booth. An acquaintance who worked there said the AC wasn't great in the heat of summer and management required booth personnel to remain fully attired. Shirts and trousers on at all times since they were in view of the audience.  |  IP: Logged Carl Martin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1424 From: Oakland, CA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 12-16-2005 06:15 PM                        the pacific film archive booth has a glass front wall, and it's soundproof. even during an unaccompanied silent, you can't hear the machines. on the other hand, our chintzy ports have gaps around them and transmit a fair amount of projector clatter into the auditoria. i wish they'd be changed. carl  |  IP: Logged John Walsh Film God Posts: 2490 From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way Registered: Oct 1999 posted 12-16-2005 06:51 PM                     Many people just buy pre-made ports, and they are only made in a few sizes. Also, when people would buy both the pedestal and the projector from the same company, you could get a sheet showing where abd how big the image would be, ie: where and how big to cut the hole in the wall ... but not anymore. When you install a 30mm lens, which is fairly common now, the image gets big right away! You can just put cardboard in to block the unneeded area.  |  IP: Logged Brad Allen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 688 From: Evansville, IN, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 12-16-2005 07:30 PM                     I just think that the use of the 12" port adds a little more "mystic" to the movie going experience. But that's just me. I can remember when I was a kid (yes electricity was around) looking back up at the port holes and seeing nothing but the light of the picture and wondering what was "really" up there. I have a young nephew that thinks the same thing. He is intrigued by the mystery of the 12" ports.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 12-17-2005 02:10 AM                       Lindsay's got it. No one designing theatres these days knows how to properly locate ports. Instead, they cut one big hole near the optical centerline and figure that'll catch anything they can throw at it.  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 12-17-2005 06:24 AM                        In the first theatre I worked in in Bryan College Station, we were using Superscope anamorphots.....big, nasty things that would never actually focus. In order to one of them on the projector which was sitting very close to the front wall, I actually had to open both the projector and the view ports, grab the lens firmly in one hand and pass it OUT THE VIEW PORT, maneuver it back through the projector port back into the booth and it had to be at an 45* angle to get it into the projector port, guide it with my other hand into the projector. I always worried 1) I would drop it and kill someone in the balcony or 2) some kid in the balcony would grab the lens out of my hand when it was on outside the booth. Yah, every one is asking why we didn't just move the projector back 6in, which is all it would take; well because the ceiling had a beam running across it and the 2000ft magazine had to fit between it and the front wall. You couldn't even fit 6000ft reels. Talk about badly designed booths!  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 12-17-2005 09:34 AM                        Actually I prefer the large port idea especially in a tight booth. Some adjustments in the equipment location can sometimes really help. When you are satisfied and the job is about over, then cut a mask out of masonite for the inside of the window to reduce the openings to the bare minimum. (Really helped when they added slide projectors...no work at all, just another small hole.) Brad; agreed the booth should be off limits to all except insiders. To all others, the mechanical source of "the magic" should be protected, including even the sight of it. Ideally, it should not even come from a port, but from over the front rail of a balcony, widely diffused. Louis  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-17-2005 10:01 AM                     With larger ports the operator can walk down the row and quickly check the picture, theater after theater, without having to stop and look out each viewport. When you're running 20+ machines by yourself, larger windows can be a life saver.  |  IP: Logged

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