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Author Topic: Restoring 70mm in my home town...I want to know everything you know! Brian Rose Film Handler Posts: 14 From: Shawnee, KS, USA Registered: Oct 2010 posted 10-23-2010 08:32 PM                     Hello! This is my first post here, the first of what I expect to be many. Here is my story, and my situation upon which I would appreciate any and all advice and wisdom you can give! I am a filmmaker by trade, but also a lover of classic cinema, and cinema formats. And 70mm for me is the ultimate! I've only had the privilege of experiencing the format twice, both times at Ebertfest. I never thought it would be possible to show 70mm in my hometown, Kansas City, KS...long taken over by megaplexes. Until now! I have located a theatre equipped with a pair of Century JJs, which up to now have been used exclusively for 35mm. The managers have expressed some interest in revitalizing the 70mm capability, and I'm determined to see it through. Now, I've not yet had a chance to inspect the venue for myself, but from my conversations with the tech, there is quite a bit of work to be done, primarily with sound. I am told the mag head readers are no longer in place, though I'm hoping this is mistaken. Why would they remove the penthouse anyways? However, I'm assuming worst case scenario, so... The theatre is equipped for DTS, but lacks 70mm readers. There would also need to be significant upgrades on the film handling side of thing: reels, splicers, etc. The main thing is, is my knowledge. My experience with projection is limited, and while I've been reading everything I can, I still am having trouble grasping some of the details, mainly on the sound set up. Getting (finally) to the question at hand. What advice would you give to me, in terms of revitalizing a 70mm setup? What are your recommendations, suggestions warnings? I'm hoping to raise some funds to do the work, but by no means is there a massive budget, so what would you suggest in a setup that is both as cost efficient as possible without cutting too many corners in terms of picture and sound quality? Anything else you would suggest? Big or small, anything you can share would be of value to me. I want to know EVERYTHING you guys know, because my goal, ultimately, is to establish a kind of oasis. You'd have to travel many, many miles to find another 70mm theatre in my part of the country (Except for Imax), and I believe it is important to keep it alive, even if only for a once yearly screening. I want to pull this off, and with your help, I strongly believe I can do it! Thanks so much, and I am grateful for anything you have to say! Best, Brian Rose  |  IP: Logged Tony Bandiera Jr Film God Posts: 3067 From: Moreland Idaho Registered: Apr 2004 posted 10-23-2010 08:39 PM                     Hi Brian, welcome to F-T. A few bits of advice: You WILL need a qualified tech to set this up for you. You will need to replace the mag penthouses if missing, or have the heads checked and aligned if present. You need to get a 70mm DTS timecode reader as later 70mm films don't have mag tracks, just DTS timecode. You will need to make sure ALL sprockets, pad rollers, and ALL metal parts of the projector are demagnetized or you WILL ruin the mag tracks on every print you play. And you will need to have things demagnetized before (and ideally during) EVERY 70mm mag engagement. There is more and others will chime in with more advice too.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 10-23-2010 08:44 PM                     DO MAKE SURE that WHOEVER is going to handle prints is properly trained, or there's a good chance you'll end up ruining rare prints. Given that you're trying to revive the format, wouldn't that be a tragic result if you ended up killing it?  |  IP: Logged Mark Lensenmayer Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1605 From: Upper Arlington, OH Registered: Sep 1999 posted 10-23-2010 08:46 PM                     Brian, I wish you well on this. It is nice to see someone with such determination and enthusiasm. 70mm demands very careful handling and very precise setup. You certainly don't want to ruin a print that cost many thousands of dollars. I doubt anyone would allow a screening of a 70mm print unless they were assured an qualified operator was running it. There are many 70mm experts here, and I would expect them to chime in. I would think your first task would be to find a qualified service technician with 70mm experience to evaluate the theatre and see if 70mm is plausible. The technician that services the theatre you are working with might be able to give you some advice. Good luck.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 10-23-2010 09:57 PM                     70mm requires more careful handling, and remember there are only a very few 70mm prints left. One mistake you make and that title may forever be out of circulation because more 70mm prints will NEVER be made again. The studios won't even strike more 35mm prints of repertory titles, so PLEASE be careful! Also know that while there are many people who have run 70mm, few actually know how to properly handle it. This is why most 70mm prints are damaged to some degree or another. Loops are mis-sized, the upper 35mm pad roller on a JJ is not removed, the gate/trap alignment is not re-adjusted for 70mm (people assume it is simply interchangeable, when for 99% of the machines it will function, but is causing film damage), clutch tension is not correct on changeover operation, platters are not properly calibrated for 70mm operation, etc, etc, etc.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 10-23-2010 10:16 PM                        I have quite a bit of JJs including splicers, new heads and mpu preamps. Good luck finding prints, however. Louis  |  IP: Logged Brian Rose Film Handler Posts: 14 From: Shawnee, KS, USA Registered: Oct 2010 posted 10-23-2010 10:30 PM                     Wow! This is all such great info. I definitely plan on enlisting some greater expertise, to ensure this work is done right. I studied history before moving into cinema (I do documentary work) so I'm very keen on the importance of careful handling and preservation. I hope through this endeavor to become experienced with 70mm myself because, if nothing else, it is vital to keep this knowledge alive in younger generations. Keep the advice coming, and hopefully soon I'll have more concrete details. Louis (or anyone else who knows): what is the going rate of a 70mm mag reader & penthouse for the JJ? Best, BR  |  IP: Logged Phillip Grace Expert Film Handler Posts: 164 From: ACMI. Melbourne. Australia. Registered: Mar 2004 posted 10-24-2010 04:32 AM                     Hello Brian. Two websites you should see, 1/ Martin Hart's American Widescreen Museum www.widescreenmuseum.com and 2/ Thomas Hauerslev's www.in70mm.com You will find an enormous ammount of information to background your project. 70mm film is the finest motion imaging system known to civilization. Cheers.  |  IP: Logged Brian Guckian Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 594 From: Dublin, Ireland Registered: Apr 2003 posted 10-24-2010 08:13 AM                     What Brad and Manny said - training is absolutely vital. Do not assume that just because someone is highly proficient on 35mm, that that makes them qualified to show 70mm as well. A good Projectionist not experienced in 70mm will want to be trained themselves - be wary of guys with a casual or "gung-ho" approach to the format. Seek out and identify an expert 70mm Projectionist / Trainer if necessary and budget for their involvement. It's strongly advisable to secure a "junk print" for practising with - this is extremely important. Also - talk to people and build up relationships with the Studios. Demonstrate that you are trustworthy and have put in the necessary work, at the required standards, so that prints can be shown successfully. You've already done the right thing by showing you care, and by seeking expert advice - good luck.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-24-2010 09:24 AM                     what make of processor and what is the stage speaker arrangement and is the mag preamps installed  |  IP: Logged Sam D. Chavez Film God Posts: 2153 From: Martinez, CA USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 10-24-2010 11:01 AM                       I have a complete and very red print of Gandhi you are welcome to practice on. It will only cost about $70.00/a reel to ship to Kansas.  |  IP: Logged Brian Rose Film Handler Posts: 14 From: Shawnee, KS, USA Registered: Oct 2010 posted 10-24-2010 11:24 AM                     Thanks Sam! It'll probably be a while yet before I reach the testing stage, but if the offer stands, I very well may take you up on it! Best, BR  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 10-24-2010 12:26 PM                     It's a shame 70mm has its unique handling requirements and that few projectionists really know the check list of those requirements. There's little doubt that is one of the "go to" excuses movie studios use in refusing to make 5-perf 70mm prints of new movies. The United States has at least dozens, if not a couple hundred or more, movie theater screens across the country that should be using 70mm whenever possible. It's been one of the most contradictory trends that came about when the stadium seated building boom started in 1995. A lot of theater builds would feature at least one or more auditoriums with screens just too damned big for 35mm or digital to properly illuminate. 70mm is the only thing that can really do it right, but it has almost never been utilized. I think the situation is disgraceful. And I come down hard on that because many of these over-sized screens are not much different in terms of square footage than a screen in an IMAX-branded auditorium running film. In the end the IMAX branded auditorium is showing a print 3 times the size and expense of a 5-perf 70mm print and usually not delivering anything more than a 5/70mm print would provide in a traditional auditorium. There's a difference between doing the job right and merely doing it "good enough." Just about all the giant-sized theater screens running 35mm or digital are merely doing "good enough" on the image. They're not doing it right.  |  IP: Logged Greg Anderson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 766 From: Ogden Valley, Utah Registered: Nov 1999 posted 10-24-2010 06:12 PM                        I'll take just a moment to whine. In another discussion I said that 70mm wasn't as easy to run as 35mm and two other forum members shot me down on that point. Nobody else seemed willing to back me up (except Brad in an indirect way) and then, presto! In this discussion everyone is warning that 35mm skills don't automatically translate to 70mm skills.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 10-24-2010 07:13 PM                     Maybe I missed something in that other thread, but Steve Guttag was the only one I saw saying "70mm is just like 35mm only fatter." To be fair he has shown a lot of 70mm film prints and his opinion of 35mm versus 70mm is interesting at least. I'm certainly interested to hear different opinions from others who have run both 35mm and 70mm. I don't think anyone is suggesting anyone trained only on 35mm should be turned loose on running a rare 70mm print. However, I think it is pretty lousy the movie industry can't at least make a few things happen to where new 5/70mm prints can be shown in theaters where only 5/70mm can get the job done right. They don't want to make the effort of training anyone. It makes me think of larger issues facing this country (like so many companies having to import foreign engineering workers into this nation because not enough Americans want to bother with the math and all that other crap that goes into getting an engineering degree).  |  IP: Logged

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