Boxoffice (Jul-Sep 1962)

TO-GET-THE BEST RESULTS USE THE BEST FILM CEMENT ETHYLOID Available at All Theatre Supply Dealers ■ Fisher Manufacturing Co. MasutfjcuUu'UtUf Cltemiiii 1185 Mt. Read Blvd. Rochester, New York, U.S.A. NEW TWO-CAR POST SPEAKER Designed at the request of drive-in theatremen for a speaker that will eliminate malicious damage . . . for use at back ramps and on areas where damage is high . . . Delivers quality sound on both sides of speaker. The Big Difference in Quality "Permanent Mold" Universal® In-a-Car Speaker Speaker units hove two season warranty. Liberal trade allowance after warranty expires. Speakers are subjected to alternate 100 hour ultra violet heat and salt spray submersion test. Your Assurance of the Best Also 3 other models in-acar speakers to choose from. Write or Wire for Full Details, Prices on All Your Drive-In Theatre Equipment Needs. DRIVE-IN THEATRE MFG. CO. 505 W. 9th Street, HA 1-8006—1-8007, Kansas City. Mo. A Liquid' Gate Promises Overall Sharp Focus Even With Scratched^ Buckled Film National Engineers Continue Experiments By WESLEY TROUT BEEN MANY EXPERIMENTS made with various devices to keep the film flat while passing the aperture and projected on the screen in order to keep a sharp overall focus. The National Theatre Supply Co. engineers designed a curved gate that proved very successful but could be installed only in their projector. This curved gate did a most excellent job in keeping buckled film flat while stationary at the aperture and projected on the screen, and it proved quite a boon for theatres using high amperage and badly buckled film. One should, of course, realize this did not prove a cure-all for all focus troubles but a much sharper image was obtained. Wesley Trout T HERE HAVE SUCCESSFUL DEMONSTRATION A demonstration of a newly designed “liquid” gate was made at Lake Placid Club, using a Simplex XL mechanism, in the fall of 1961, and the demonstration was very successful in proving that such type gate could produce a sharper overall focus and had the ability to eliminate scratches on the film from the projected picture. The project was handled and demonstrated by Eastman Kodak engineers in Rochester, N.Y. At a recent convention of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers in Los Angeles, another successful demonstration of this liquid gate was made in the Academy Awards Theatre, using Simplex XL mechanisms. These demonstrations were quite impressive, particularly, in the device’s ability to completely eliminate scratches from film being projected on the screen. Two projectors were used, both simultaneously, one with liquid gate and one with a standard gate. Putting films through these projectors which were equally scratched, the elimination of the scratches from the projected picture with the liquid gate was very remarkable. Now, the other outstanding feature of this liquid gate was the overall sharpness of focus, even with buckled film, due to its being held in position and prevented from buckling by the pressure of the liquid gate. This, to the writer, would seem to have excellent application in drive-in theatres or indoor theatres where maximum illumination (and therefore film buckling problems are always present) is involved. This This photo shows the liquid gate installed in a Simplex XL mechanism, with the gate open. While there is not quite as much clearance as with a standard gate, there is sufficient room for easy threading. The gate can easily be removed for cleaning and the gate assemblies can be taken apart for complete cleaning of all the parts. The same lever action is used for opening and closing as in the standard gate. device would be a very wonderful development for any theatre using extremely high amperage, causing more buckling while the picture is being projected. First, let us tell you about the initial trials made with gate built up as a solid unit to fit a Model XL Simplex mechanism. For threading, it was necessary to insert the end of the film down into the passage, between the glass plates and air slots, and then out around the intermittent sprocket. The reason for the solid design at this stage of the experiment was to achieve a primary object: confining all of the liquid within a closed assembly. SHARP FOCUS OBTAINED We understand that the results with the first model wpre very satisfactory. Projection of definition-test-charts projected on a large screen showed a very distinct improvement in overall sharpness in sideby-side comparisons with similar film projected with a conventional curved gate. The uniformity of sharpness from center to edge was exceptionally good. The results with this first designed gate were very, very impressive, to say the least. Finally, based on the outstanding results 14 The MODERN THEATRE SECTION