... has the all-time best ending in the history of cinema. Recent screening of this charmingly mediocre thriller confirms this.
29 January 2009
THE MASK OF DIIJON...
... has the all-time best ending in the history of cinema. Recent screening of this charmingly mediocre thriller confirms this.
16mm widescreen projection
As 16mm is/was the theatrical bastard stepchild of 35mm, as far as accuracy of presentation is concerned, little attention is generally paid to aspect ratio when projecting it. Purists grimace at those 16mm prints which are anamorphic, because the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio of 35mm is actually lost: as the 16mm frame is slightly wider than the 35mm frame, 16mm anamorphic prints merely lopped some of the top and/or bottom. Thus, when projected anamorphic, the image appears too wide, with not insignificant loss of the original picture on top and/or bottom.
However, when it comes to films produced in 1953 or beyond, which are photographed in "open-matte" widescreen formats, with the intention of projecting between 1.66:1 and 1.85:1, many 16mm prints are nearly frame-accurate replications of the 35mm print. Therefore, these prints are "opened up" and can be projected in a widescreen format very close to how they should look, simply by matting the image in the 16mm projector.
Interestingly, even on an archival presentation level, I have seen very few 16mm setups in theaters which are equipped for matted widescreen. So when such a film is screened in 16mm because a 35mm print is not available, more often than not it is improperly shown "opened up" top and bottom, resulting in a viewing experience which is aesthetically quite different than the original intention.
Hortson, a now defunct French manufacturer of professional 16mm projectors, manufactured several different aperture plates for their machines, including one cut to 1.66, but I have yet to find widescreen plates made specifically for Norelco, Eiki, Elmo or other common machines, and have resorted to making my own. Eiki and Elmo portable machines can easily be adapted, as the aperture plates are cut into the removable pressure plates for the projectors; heat-resistant metal tape can make a decent temporary mask, for instance.
If you crop the image accordingly, and enlarge it on screen via an appropriately shorter focal length lens, you can get a widescreen image which is pleasing, and generally pretty close to the real thing. Non-anamorphic Columbia films of the 1950s and 1960s, in particular, were often photographed with a very open aperture; I've yet to come across one which didn't perfectly crop down to 1.66 or 1.85 in 16mm. Some directors favored shooting with "hard matte", in which the image is cropped to widescreen on the camera negative, so unless 16mm prints of these titles were made "letterboxed", the image will be blown up and cropped on the sides (i.e. not much different from a pan-and-scan 'scope transfer). In these cases, the picture information is already lost in the printing stage and nothing can bring it back, or present it properly (e.g. every 16mm print I have come across of SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER, which was shot hard matte). But these are the exceptions, not the rule.
The projectionist really does have final cut.
However, when it comes to films produced in 1953 or beyond, which are photographed in "open-matte" widescreen formats, with the intention of projecting between 1.66:1 and 1.85:1, many 16mm prints are nearly frame-accurate replications of the 35mm print. Therefore, these prints are "opened up" and can be projected in a widescreen format very close to how they should look, simply by matting the image in the 16mm projector.
Interestingly, even on an archival presentation level, I have seen very few 16mm setups in theaters which are equipped for matted widescreen. So when such a film is screened in 16mm because a 35mm print is not available, more often than not it is improperly shown "opened up" top and bottom, resulting in a viewing experience which is aesthetically quite different than the original intention.
Hortson, a now defunct French manufacturer of professional 16mm projectors, manufactured several different aperture plates for their machines, including one cut to 1.66, but I have yet to find widescreen plates made specifically for Norelco, Eiki, Elmo or other common machines, and have resorted to making my own. Eiki and Elmo portable machines can easily be adapted, as the aperture plates are cut into the removable pressure plates for the projectors; heat-resistant metal tape can make a decent temporary mask, for instance.
If you crop the image accordingly, and enlarge it on screen via an appropriately shorter focal length lens, you can get a widescreen image which is pleasing, and generally pretty close to the real thing. Non-anamorphic Columbia films of the 1950s and 1960s, in particular, were often photographed with a very open aperture; I've yet to come across one which didn't perfectly crop down to 1.66 or 1.85 in 16mm. Some directors favored shooting with "hard matte", in which the image is cropped to widescreen on the camera negative, so unless 16mm prints of these titles were made "letterboxed", the image will be blown up and cropped on the sides (i.e. not much different from a pan-and-scan 'scope transfer). In these cases, the picture information is already lost in the printing stage and nothing can bring it back, or present it properly (e.g. every 16mm print I have come across of SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER, which was shot hard matte). But these are the exceptions, not the rule.
The projectionist really does have final cut.
25 January 2009
what powers the Small Back Room
We're big fans of the Philips-made Norelco projectors around here. The FP-16 16mm pedestal machine has a Geneva Movement instead of a claw, making for an astoundingly steady picture. Just like its 35mm big brother, the FP-20, it is very gentle on film and has few points of contact.
As of January, we've even got Dolby installed by way of a 1980's-era CP-55 processor: a classic workhorse, updated with an additional SR encoder for modern tracks. Is there another 8-seat cinema in the area with 35mm, 16mm and Dolby? We are guessing... no.
Here's the complete inventory of the SBM nerve center:
Setting up a professional-grade celluloid screening room is now almost preposterously inexpensive.
Considering how much this equipment cost when new, and taking into account the onset of HD in cinemas, it will only become cheaper.
As of January, we've even got Dolby installed by way of a 1980's-era CP-55 processor: a classic workhorse, updated with an additional SR encoder for modern tracks. Is there another 8-seat cinema in the area with 35mm, 16mm and Dolby? We are guessing... no.
Here's the complete inventory of the SBM nerve center:
Norelco/Philips FP-16 16mm projector: ORCON 1000w integrated lamphouse, Schneider and ISCO lenses for 1.37, 1.66 and 'scope- Norelco/Philips FP-20 35mm projector: ORCON 1000w integrated lamphouse, ISCO lenses for 1.37, 1.66, 1.85 and 'scope. Suspended 6000' reel arm for extended play.
- Dolby CP-55 Surround Processor with external Dolby SR decoder
- Ultra Stereo CM-35 booth monitor
- Mackie CFX6 mixer (crap - but handy)
- Sanyo PLV-Z5 LCD video projector... which rarely gets turned on
- a variety of consumer-level power amps from 30-100W per channel
- adequate home stereo speakers for left, center, right, surround L/R
- ridiculous "double port" stairway - the projected image crosses the stairs into the cinema
Setting up a professional-grade celluloid screening room is now almost preposterously inexpensive.
Considering how much this equipment cost when new, and taking into account the onset of HD in cinemas, it will only become cheaper.
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