International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1938)

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST March 1938 Table 1. — Classification of Cities by Requirements as to Projection-Room Size IUBC = Uniform Building Code; NBFU=National Board of Fire Underwriters; TIC = Travelers Insurance Company] Minimum requirement Number of cities Minimum requirement Number of cities Total number of cities covered 186 Floor area (basis, 1 machine) — Continued. 2 Floor area (basis, 1 machine) : 1 1 2 30 46 2 1 6 2 1 1 1 20 5 4 7 2 100 square feet. 4 feet rear, 3 feet sides . 1 80 square feet,. iVi feet rear and sides . 14 60 square feet- 2 60 square feet (UBC) _.. 2 feet sides and rear. 8 48 square feet (NBFU and TIC) 8x10 feet Sufficient to permit operator free 14 9x 9 feet. 13 8x9feet Height of room: 9 feet 8x8feet — 1 7M x 10 feet 3 7x 9 feet, 10 inches . 8 feet . 47 7x 9 feet .' 1 6x8 feet.. 7 feet (NBFU, TIC, and UBC) 6 feet 103 6x 7 feet 16 6x 6 feet -._ _. 1 6x 5 feet No provision 14 sions of openings for projection of films Code cities in this study is low (17 and lookout or observation ports. In cities), as many of the member mustallation of sanitary facilities directly nicipalities are located in Calif, and are connected with the room for the use of projectionists is required in only onethird of the 186 reporting cities. Room area. — Table 1 shows the classification of the cities by requirements as to floor area and height minima of projection rooms. The floor dimensions are for the first machine in a room. In this and the other tabulations a notation has been made in every case below the population limit to which this investigation was restricted. Standards in excess of 50 square feet apply in 18 cities. A lower requirement than 48 square feet exists in 20 cities; in 14 cities it is required simply that the operator shall have free movement; and in 25, where it is required that there shall be a given cities, as far as could be ascertained, had no minimum requirements regarding floor area. The requirement as to floor area of projection rooms is written into a number of municipal ordinances and local building codes. The greater part of the higher requirements, however, originates in State law, as in Conn., Ind., Mass., N. J., N. Y., Tenn., and Texas. Ohio requires a floor area of 5 by 6 feet; in Penn. the distance between machines and walls is specified; and in Mich, the provision is of a general nature, namely, that operators shall have sufficient room to move about freely. The standards proposed by the N. B. of E. U. and the T. I. C. — a floor area of 48 square feet for the first machine and 24 square feet additional for each additional installation — is generally in force in the large group of cities conforming to the 48-square-feet minimum for the first machine. In other areas, the additional space requirement varies considerably but tends to be lower, with the exception of the cities subscribing to the U. B. C, where theatres must provide 50 square feet for each machine, a considerably higher standard than that in force in other cities. Height requirements of from 7 to 9 feet in 155 cities make adequate provi Table 2. — Classification of Cities by Requirements as to Projection-Room Doors and Other Openings [UBC=Uniform Building Code; TIC = Travelers Insurance Co.: NBFU=National Board of Fire Underwriters] 6 National Board of Fire Underwriters Regulations for Nitrocellulose Motion-Picture Film as recommended by the National Fire Prevention Association, effective Aug. 15, 1931. New York, 1931. 6 Safety in moving-picture theatres. Hartford, 1914. 7 Pacific Coast Building Officials Conference. Uniform Building Code, 1937 ed. Los Angeles, 1937. number of feet at the rear and sides of where a particular standard has been tjie machine, it is not possible to state sion for the comfort of operators. In set up by agencies concerned with mak whether the net result is a smaller or the 17 cities where the lower limit is 6' ing or proposing safety standards, such larger work space than in the cities sub and less, some inconvenience must necesas the National Board of Fire Under ject t0 specific requirements. Thirteen sarily be experienced by men of greater writers, National Electric Code, the Pacific Coast Uniform Building Code, and the Travelers Insurance Co. In order to conserve space, initials, instead of the full name of the body referred to, have been used. The regulations of 114 cities require that the minimum floor area for the first machine in a room shall be 48 square feet or over. This group includes cities in which the minimum area is specified in square feet and also those in which the dimensions are given in linear feet, as 6 by 8 feet (48 square feet) . These regulations conform with the standard (48 square feet) adopted by the Underwriters5 and the T. I. C.6 The U. B. C.7, adopted by 159 cities in 19 States and Hawaii, provides for a slightly larger floor area — 50 square feet. Of the 30 cities of 50,000 and over prescribing 50 square feet, 16 are subscribers to the U. B. C, the remaining subscriber (Austin, Tex.) having adopted a higher standard locally. The representation of the Uniform Building Requirement Number of cities Requirement Number of cities Total number of cities covered „ 186 Lookout ports— dimensions or area— Con. 6 3 Door-opening specifications: 66 2 3 5 2 2 2 1 1 3 1 45 13 2 22 16 1 18 2 1 5 1 1 1 1 8 1 6 28 1 1 8x 12 inches Automatic closing, opening outward, 6x 12 inches . 21 fireproof, etc. (UBC).. 4 x 12 inches.. . 16 Size of door: 2 to 8 inches 1 3 to 5 feet x 5 feet, 10 inches 22 3x7feet — 2 feet, 8 inches x 7 feet - No provision 27 2x7feet Openings for projection — Specifications: Area: 144 square inches 2 feet, 6 inches x 6 feet, 8 inches—. „ 2 feet, 6 inches x 6 feet, 6 inches . 2 2 feet, 6inches x 6 feet, 6 inches, 2 exits. 120 square inches (UBC) 18 2 feet, 4 inches x 6 feet 5 2 feet x 6 feet, 6 inches — 1 2x 6 feet, 2 exits 1 2x6feet (TIC) .. 25 square inches 1 2 feet x 5 feet, 10 inches 2 square feet 1 2 feet x 5 feet, 6 inches— Dimensions: 12x36 inches 12 x 16 inches 2x5 feet (NBFU) No provision 1 Lookout ports— dimensions or area: 12 x 14 inches 3 2 square feet . 12 x 12 inches 22 150 square inches (UBC) 8 x 24 inches 3 144 square inches... 1 120 square inches 1 80 square inches 1 48 square inches 7 25 square inches 8 inches greatest dimension (NBFU) 12x36 inches 0 12x24 inches 36 10 x 20 inches (NBFU) 6x8 inches 9 12x16 inches 3 12 x 14 inches 1 12 x 12 inches— 14 10 x 12 inches . 26 8 x 14 inches.. 28