What a typical club should have for watching movies?

billyfromConsett · Post by **billyfromConsett** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:37 am

At Newcastle we aim to show all our movies just how the makers intend them to be shown - they look and sound great.

I'm just wondering if we here in Newcastle are looking at the way forward, or just simply following our friends up and down the country in the art of video presentation...
The question is - what kind of kit should us clubs aspire to have, in order to provide the highest possible standards in the presentation of our beloved movies?

Let's categorise the kit:
1) A video player - how about a a player like a Sony GV-HD700e which plays both SD and HD miniDV movies (for those who start to make use of HD) ?

2) A blu-ray DVD deck. May be a while down the road here.

3) A central machine that everything connects through to a projector - ie a DVD recorder/player, that VHS and SVHS tapes play through, that a minDV deck can play through, and that also plays DVD's itself. It may have an HDMI or component input and HDMI output, for the best picture quality.

4) A screen which lends itself to 16:9 as well as 4:3?

5) An amp and speakers that complement the video.

Please comment and share your thoughts/experiences.

Post by **Dave Watterson** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 7:53 am

Interesting possibilities for this thread ...

Sony GV-HD700e around £1,000
Perhaps another option is a cheap HD camcorder?

Blu-Ray capable decks seem to be down to about £160 now and dropping in price.

The "central machine" for home cinema use is usually a good amplifier like a Yamaha which has video inputs/outputs that are switchable. Maybe a club needs a video mixer so that public shows can change smoothly from a "slide" with a logo/announcement to the next movie? You would, of course, have to have a good amplifier and speakers anyway.

Screens ... the problem is masking. Motorised masking is very expensive and it does a film no favours to show it without a neat black border. This is an area where a great many clubs fall down.

I might add a public address system ... a couple of clubs find that can be a great help for members who are a little hard-of-hearing.

What about a computer? They can generate PowerPoint type slides for announcements, show movies from hard-disc, DVD, Blu-Ray, Video-CD. The catch is that only the most expensive laptops run fast enough to show movies well so you are really talking about a desktop machine.

And how about a live camera? In some larger venues it might be helpful to have a live feed from a camera watching the speaker or following a demonstration and showing the action on the screen.

Of course there are two other vital tools: torches and a kettle!

Dave

Chrisbitz · Post by **Chrisbitz** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:49 pm

Regarding the mixer, I spent a lot of time talking to people at the video forum show, and it seems that you can get great video mixers at reasonable prices (£600) but none of them do sound as well, so if you want to fade from one picture to another, you need to have one hand on the video fade, and another hand on the audio mixer. Why can't I buy one that does both?

I'm very interested in Dave's Yamaha amp with video switches too... Can you give any more info Dave? Like a link or something?
We're looking for a new amp at the moment, and if one had video too, that would be GREAT!

billyfromConsett · Post by **billyfromConsett** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 5:02 pm

Dave Watterson wrote:Sony GV-HD700e around £1,000
Perhaps another option is a cheap HD camcorder?

Atlantic Electronics do them for £850, and that is expensive for a video player. On the other hand the Sony players are proper workhorses, so they may last well.

Dave Watterson wrote:Maybe a club needs a video mixer so that public shows can change smoothly from a "slide" with a logo/announcement to the next movie?

As far as I have imagined, video mixers don't have HDMI or component connectors, so if I'm right, the connections to the projector would need to be analogue, so the HD side might be out.

Dave Watterson wrote:Screens ... the problem is masking. Motorised masking is very expensive and it does a film no favours to show it without a neat black border. This is an area where a great many clubs fall down.

A very interesting point. If clubs present shows with differing aspect ratio films in them, do you really think that when the 4:3 videos are being projected, the show will suffer from the borders around the 16:9 screen? I wonder about this, and would be interested to find out what our clubs do.

Dave Watterson wrote:What about a computer And a live camera? The catch is that only the most expensive laptops run fast enough to show movies well so you are really talking about a desktop machine.

Of course there are two other vital tools: torches and a kettle!

A computer could be a choice but they can't do miniDV, and a live camera is maybe more than a club really needs IMO - as opposed to a kettle and torch

FILM THURSO · Post by **FILM THURSO** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:59 pm

Hey, how about a screen that is 2.35:1 ratio for Cinemascope so that you can cover the full spectrum of formats in use by amateurs. Oh, and a 2xAnamorphic lens to support those filming Cinemascope to 4:3 video frame.
We are seeing more of the Cinemascope format appearing on amateur films and we make most all of our stuff in that format.
Our private screen is the full shilling and when we get the money we will be getting a second venue screen for full cinemascope (our venue screen is only 16:9

)
We also maintain a collection of full size anamorphic lenses for anytime we are showing in real cinemas- re; "The Big Gig" Film & Music Festival using cinemas in Tain, Elgin, Perth and Kirkwall.

A properly set up screen in the full width should also include adjustable side pelmits so that there are NO BORDERS onto blank screen.- Like they do in proper cinemas!

Graeme Webb · Post by **Graeme Webb** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:30 pm

And last but not least an audience

G

FILM THURSO · Post by **FILM THURSO** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:21 pm

And last but not least an audience

Hmm, now that could be difficult! There is a lingering perception from the pornographic 1970s about amateur film makers! Can you figure out what it is?

billyfromConsett · Post by **billyfromConsett** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:20 pm

No, I dont know what the hell you're on about. I was well under 18 in the 1970's

ha ha.

FILM THURSO · Post by **FILM THURSO** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 12:51 am

I too was under 12 in the 1970s but anytime I mention I'm an amateur film maker you can see it coming in the person's eyes, "Do you make porn?"

billyfromConsett · Post by **billyfromConsett** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:54 pm

I'm also wondering if any clubs are feeding HDMI or component video into club projectors, or if everybody is still going with S.video.

FILM THURSO · Post by **FILM THURSO** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:09 am

Any club with up to date projction equipment will have the ability to utilise the variuos input methods although I think it's mainly important for club to at least have projectors with the capability. Most venues will use one standard format anything else is extra but if the projector can accomodate it then that is as far as it needs to go. Anyone coming in with a different format should then be able to run their format through club equipment.
We should be mindful of our expectations of clubs. We can't and shouldn't expect them to purchase any or all the various technologies. It would be the same as expecting mainstream cinema to have projectors for standard 8 right up to Omnimax.
The modern video projectors are extremely capable when it comes to handling everything from input type to geographic system (NTSC/PAL etc). If you are going to run your film at a club you should ask them what system they have and from there decide what cables and equipment of your own to take along.

billyfromConsett · Post by **billyfromConsett** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 11:11 pm

We've tested various inputs into our projector, and HDMI from our Sony player is definitely the best - it has less noise on the picture, and is far better than the pic we get with an s.video lead going through a processor.

The trouble is that the processor has a fader - which is useful. And the HDMI link is a direct connection, without a fader, but with the best signal.

Post by **Dave Watterson** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 10:06 am

the processor has a fader - which is useful.

In a perfect world there would be a mixer board with HDMI inputs and outputs at a reasonable price, but in the real world I wonder if we should consider returning to the physical method of dimming a projector ... sliding something in front of the lens.

The lantern shows and early slide-tape shows used that sort of arrangement. You can try it by spreading your fingers then slowly moving your hands together in front of the lens.

The mechanical equivalent looked like a salad fork but there were also sophisticated iris mechanisms like scaled-up versions of camera irises.

We get hung-up on electronic solutions when sometimes a mechanical one will work just as well.

Dave