Motion Picture Herald (May-Jun 1946)

ture. This is so because in the more remote rows a greater part of the width of the picture is blotted out by a head than is the case in the near rows. The reason for deciding to set the arrival point of sight somewhat above the bottom of the picture in the nearest rows is that a head in this area blots out only a very narrow part of the width of the picture. ROW SPACIN& AND CHAIRS Spacing of rows, mostly because of building codes, used to average about 32 inches back-to-back. The tendency in recent years has been towards increasing this distance. Spacing of 33 inches is now closer to the average, with 34 inches quite common in reseating and new chair installations. The type of seating plan that calls for more than 14 chairs from aisle to aisle would require more than 34-inch row mch unnecessarily encroaches upon the back-to-back row spacing. The seat cushion, however, requires sturdy and resilient spring construction because of the heavy pressure imposed on it. Chair widths have been, for the most part, 18, 19, 20 and 21 inches. The 18inch width is entirely undesirable; the 20inch is the average. The tendency now is towards using 20 inches as a minimum, with 22 inches wherever possible. Chairs, 23 and 24 inches wide, have to be used with the smaller widths in a properly designed staggered seating arrangement. STAGGERED SEATING Most staggered seating plans have chair widths ranging from 20 to 24 inches. These varying widths help to control the position of the heads immediately in front of any particular viewer in a properly arranged staggered plan. The heads of the its distance from the viewer. In the portion of the seating area near the picture, where staggered seating is of no aid, the floor slope is enough to ^ive clearance. The floor slope in the staggered area is designed to provide a clear sightline from the viewer over the head of a person seated two rows in front, while clearance with respect to the row immediately ahead is provided partly by the slope and partly by the stagger. STANDEE AREA Standing space behind the last row of seats on any tier of seating is undesirable because of the annoyance created for people in the last rows of seats. Moreover, the number of people that can be accommodated for viewing the picture from this area is very limited because only two persons in depth can view the picture in this manner at all successfully. It would be 2 o /iOH/ LEVELS FLOOR. A o to iq iQ H\ in J 23S 228 22 2.12 m 1.% I.W 1.71 159 1.46 I.S 1.188 104 m> .75 125 15 1.75 2. 225 25 FLDO^ E: WtTHCUT R£COKfM£N£>i£> U.IINC SlAGCERi'D i:£A7WG 2Z 21 20 19 18 f7 16 15 14 IS 12 II 10 9 & 7 '.ONE ROW flSION mE PER ROW c FLOOR A g ' E h4 84INCHES ABOVE DATUM DATUM 6 5 4 3 2 1 ROW NUMeER FLOOR PITCHES FOR AUDITORIUM WITH OR WITHOUT BALCONY The above is a diagrammatic scheme of fhe floor slope, with row pitches given In large figures at the top, applying to either of the plans on pages 20 and 2! (slope marked Floor B is floor without staggered seating, but staggered seating Is recommended). The levels and rise per row are noted in inches and decimal parts of an Inch (up to one-hundredths of an inch). For practical construction purposes five-hundredths of an Inch would be sufficiently accurate. In forming floors an accurate template taking In three rows at a time should be used. spacing. In order to conform with the National Board of Fire Underwriters Building Code, the row spacing for fixed seat cushions would be greater than the row spacing necessary if self-raising seats were used. Upholstery and fabric covering might be called desirable on the backs of theatre chairs principally for psychological and acoustical reasons. There is no particular heavy pressure of the body against the back of the chair; therefore, excessive spring or padded upholstery is unnecessary, and any thickness in the chair back greater than 1 two people immediately in front of the viewer must be on either side of the horizontal lines of sight formed from the viewer's eyes to the extreme edges of the picture width. The angle thereby formed is comparatively narrow for the rows most remote from the picture. It is wide, however, for the rows nearest the picture, so staggered seating usable is not called for in the forward rows. The point at which the angle narrows down sufficiently to advise the start of the staggered arrangement is determinated by the width of the picture and better to devote the depth usually given over to this area to foyer space in back of the auditorium. The so-called standing viewing space would then be converted to a crossover aisle of minimum dimensions. UPPER LEVEL SEATING Upper level seating may be either balcony type, stadium type, or a type that looks like a balcony but really functions more like a stadium. A balcony is really a tier of seats on a level above the main floor seating, and partially or wholly over 16 BETTER THEATRES. JUNE I. 1946