We're going digital!

[AndyP & Lenore]

As many of you know, Lenore and I and my brother Neil and his wife Lorna (also NMS members) run a cinema in Galashiels.

Week beginning Monday 12th December we are converting to be a fully digital cinema. It's a massive change for us and represents a huge investment, but will give our customers the absolute best picture and sound quality available.

I know many of you are not from the Borders and it may not interest you that much, but we're blogging our adventures as we turn digital over the next couple of weeks.

If you are interested in following the process, you can do so here: Pavilion Cinema Digital Blog (http://pavilioncinema.co.uk/digitalblog.htm)

A.:thumbs up:

[Mini Ecosse]

Phew, big investment, hope you will have a mega busy cinema.

[Neil - TXJ]

My local cinema and look forward to taking advantage of the improved picture and sound quality.

Hope the change over goes smoothly.

[GCA3N]

Good luck Andy :thumbs up:

[AndyP & Lenore]

Cheers guys.:thumbs up:

On Movie MINI Runs in the past we've always done Projection room tours. Still happy to do those on the next MMR. Not sure if it will be as interesting, but I guess it's a whole new thing to explain to the group.:idunno:

A.:D

[Stewart]

Good luck with it!

[Craig]

Huge investment at a time when the country is in the crapper. Kudos for taking the gamble guys ;). Best of luck with it :yes nod:

[AndyP & Lenore]

Huge investment at a time when the country is in the crapper. Kudos for taking the gamble guys ;). Best of luck with it :yes nod:

Cheers Craig.:thumbs up:

Believe me, I wish we'd done it either 3 years ago or in 5 years time. Now is NOT the right time - admissions 30% down on 3 years ago.:ragin:

But, we've been told 35mm will only be available for another 2 years and even next year the number of 35mm prints will be reduced. On top of that the Hollywood studio's are closing their VPF deals, so we have to get on this bandwagon NOW or never.:blink:

A.

[stoney]

Good stuff Andy we are just investing in new equipment as well :) just took delivery of 4 new high speed presses and also geting a new workshop machine coming end of feb next year


IF IN DOUBT FLAT OUT :)

[MINIme:)]

Wish you a straightforward changeover and lots of success Andy et al! Hope people are drawn back, intrigued to see the improvements :popcorn: get a big ad or feature in the local press about it :thumbs up:

[AndyP & Lenore]

Good stuff Andy we are just investing in new equipment as well :) just took delivery of 4 new high speed presses and also geting a new workshop machine coming end of feb next year


IF IN DOUBT FLAT OUT :)

:thumbs up::thumbs up::thumbs up:

It's a scary process, eh?

A.

[Gismo]

As others have said Andy, wishing you and the other family members all the best.
I choose my movies by the picture and sound when i go to the cinema so in my opinion it's the right move :thumbs up:

If i were a betting man, i'd say you'll get a significant increase at the start that will hopefully keep the momentum going into the new year.

[AndyP & Lenore]

As others have said Andy, wishing you and the other family members all the best.
I choose my movies by the picture and sound when i go to the cinema so in my opinion it's the right move :thumbs up:

If i were a betting man, i'd say you'll get a significant increase at the start that will hopefully keep the momentum going into the new year.

That's one of the bug-bears Alan, the general consensus of opinion in the industry is that (most) customers don't care or don't notice any difference. "Cinema" is such a product-driven industry, I'm not entirely sure it will increase admissions, just because we're digital. I hope it does, but I'm not convinced it will.

But I'd like to think that our customers DO notice an improvement in picture and sound and we'll be canvassing them to get their feedback on exit.

A.

[RobSco]

Good Luck and All the Best with the Digital Changeover Andy - I'm sure you'll soon have them rolling in once they hear of the change... :thumbs up:

[stoney]

:thumbs up::thumbs up::thumbs up:

It's a scary process, eh?

A.

Shure is but let's just cross are fingers and hope all go's well ;) mine has to get here from china yet :lol:


IF IN DOUBT FLAT OUT :)

[MINIme:)]

IS IT A PANDA??? :blink:

Please say yes :smilewinkgrin:


irrelevant edit: I have stroked a panda. They are such stunners to see in the fur :yes nod:

[AndyP & Lenore]

IS IT A PANDA??? :blink:

Please say yes :smilewinkgrin:


irrelevant edit: I have stroked a panda. They are such stunners to see in the fur :yes nod:

I presume we're not talking about a little Fiat car here?:moonie:

I'm very jealous, I love Panda's and can't wait to go and see them at the Zoo.:thumbs up:

A.:D

[AndyP & Lenore]

For those who are interested....

Updated our Digital Blog (http://pavilioncinema.co.uk/digitalblog.htm) with the delivery we had today of our new equipment including a few pics.

Created a web page called the "35mm bone yard (http://pavilioncinema.co.uk/35mmboneyard.htm)" showcasing some of the equipment which is going into retirement over the next week

A.:thumbs up:

[Stewart]

Always wondered when the film is on is there a person at the reel or do they just started it and go to the next screen and start it then go for a cuppa?.Mind you I can’t see places having someone at every screen just to baby sit.

Second question do you have a qualified person to do such a job? or it is it just a case of anyone does it if they have seen it done and know how to do it. I imagine mounting reels before digital took a wee bit of know how.

[AndyP & Lenore]

Stewart, we only ever had one "projectionist" on at any one time. But, because Neil, our Assistant Manager and our Supervisor are all trained projectionists - even I could jump in and muddle through if required - there was seldom any time there was only on in the building at any one time.

Because we have 4 separate projection rooms, there's no way we could afford to have one for each projection room. And with automation systems that wasn't required anyway. If there was a problem with a projector it would just shut itself down - when it worked.

Training to be a competent projectionist took anything from 6 weeks to 6 months depending on how quickly you picked up the skills and how prepared we were to let you near a live show. It would be at least 3 weeks of daytime training, lacing the projector and running a "3 minute show" to an empty hall, then lacing it up again and so on and so on. Once you got familiar with the equipment in each hall and were competent at lacing up, then we'd let you start loading for live shows, but your work would always be checked by a trained projectionist before any wheels turned. Once you've been lacing up with absolutely NO errors for about a month, we'd let you stretch your legs and only do spot checks.

Although we had automation, you couldn't rely on it, so you had to be able to time a presentation; dropping house lights, dropping curtain lights, switching sound, opening image, focusing etc., etc. and that all took lots of practice to get it right.

It's all very different now. All done by a very powerful computer. Very little human input at all. But the quality of the image and sound is simply stunning!:thumbs up:

A.

[Drthomp]

I have run both systems, one in cyprus with 2x 35 mm systems and a single 35mm in the falklands ( huge reel) then went over to digital in the falklands. So much easier to do but missed the noise and workings of the machines and the change over. Trying not to blink while watching for the burn marks!!!

[AndyP & Lenore]

I have run both systems, one in cyprus with 2x 35 mm systems and a single 35mm in the falklands ( huge reel) then went over to digital in the falklands. So much easier to do but missed the noise and workings of the machines and the change over. Trying not to blink while watching for the burn marks!!!

lol. Changeover dots are now definitely resigned to being a thing-of-the-past.:frown:

However, onward and upward.:thumbs up:

A.

[Stewart]

So its all timed with a nifty wee program with sliders that cost 3k,:badcomp: ach where is the fun in that…..Does this now mean films stream down the net to a storage disk in the cinema for release or do they still get delivered on some high tech digital disc?

Sorry for the silly questions but when do you ever bump into anyone that owns a cinema :thumbs up:

[AndyP & Lenore]

So its all timed with a nifty wee program with sliders that cost 3k,:badcomp: ach where is the fun in that…..Does this now mean films stream down the net to a storage disk in the cinema for release or do they still get delivered on some high tech digital disc?

Sorry for the silly questions but when do you ever bump into anyone that owns a cinema :thumbs up:

No sliders, but the software and hardware for controlling the 4 projectors runs to about £25k. :thud:

At the moment digital films are delivered on a hard drive. Most digital films run to between 150gb for a short film about 90mins long to 450gb for the likes of Avatar - 3hrs in 3D.

The long term plan is to move to satellite download and there have been a few films delivered that way but there are security issues which they need to iron out before that goes any further. We're having a dish and HD receiver system installed but it will be used mostly for adverts delivery rather than film delivery.

All the films will be "ingested" from their delivery hard drive to a 20 terrabyte theatre management and library system (TMLS). From there they are sent out to each projector at the start of each week. They then sit on the local server in each projector, playing from that local hard drive when required. The TMLS is connected to the projectors on a cat6 network using gigabit switches.

And don't worry about the questions..... you will get bored of me talking about cinema long before I get bored or you asking questions.:thumbs up:

A.

[MINIme:)]

very interesting Andy, hope it goes well.

[Drthomp]

You will miss leaving the room then coming back 10 mins later to find the room full of film every where!!

[Gismo]

For what it's worth, i worked at the local cinema in Montrose, when it had one, in the late 70's :eek:
I learned how to do everything manually as Andy describes, loading reels, light dimming, curtain opening etc etc etc, i even had to go and wind open the screen for the wide movies. Can't remember the name of the film size, Panarama or summat.

Anyways, was good fun, i also had to rewind the reels for the next showing and often accidents would happen whereby i, erm, well, didn't mean it, honest, the film snapped and i was awarded a film cell from various movies.

Had one from the original Rollerball which i was able to get a decent quality picture made at school.

I was nowhere near any type of pro at it, it was my part time job where other folks had paper rounds and milk rounds.
But i was cool cause i had the access to the projection room and got complimentary tickets etc

[AndyP & Lenore]

Alan, you had the pleasure of working with carbon rods then. Nasty little things. Not long after you finished they would probably have moved onto xenon bulbs - still in use today even in the digital projectors. With a xenon bulb powered projector there was no need to do the 20 minute changeovers, but only if you had a tower or platter long play system.

And don't feel bad about breaking the film, in those days you were using acetate film which was safe enough in that it didn't burst into flames if you looked at it the wrong way like nitrate did, but it was very brittle and did snap on you if you looked at it the wrong way. These days - well, until the end of this week - we use polyester; very strong and doesn't go brittle for many years.

A.

[Neil - TXJ]

I know I shouldn't take photos in the cinema but when I was there this afternoon thought it was a piece of history considering the change over.

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Trigger0404/2fec3d9d.jpg

[AndyP & Lenore]

Trigger, I'll kick your ass!!! Not because you took a photo in the cinema, but because you were in the cinema and you didn't say "Hi!". We could even have shown you some of the new equipment.

That's cinema 4 and the viewing area always went down well with our customers. Not so much to look at from Wednesday.

A.

[Neil - TXJ]

Will be there a few times over the next few weeks. Sherlock is a must see and my youngest wants to see happy feet and the chipmunks. Will happily see HF2 but couldn't face another chipmunk film!

Really enjoyed Hugo this afternoon a great family film but was surprised the showing was empty apart from us - guess everybody was watching Puss in boots or HF2.

Will try and say hi when next in but to honest only having met the once I am not sure I would approach the right person. Guess I just need to look for the tall, dark and handsome one.

[AndyP & Lenore]

I couldn't stand 5 mins of Alvin. To be honest I can't make out what they are saying. Kids seem to love it though. Go figure. :idunno:

Sherlock, however looks amazing. Really looking forward to that. Banter between Downey Jr and Jude Law is fantastic.

As for who to ask for... Just ask any member of staff if you can speak to Andrew or Neil. Either one of us will show you around.

A. :thumbs up:

[Gismo]

And don't feel bad about breaking the film,Erm, well, i didn't break the film as much as i actually wanted the still from it, if you know what i mean :lol:

[AndyP & Lenore]

Erm, well, i didn't break the film as much as i actually wanted the still from it, if you know what i mean :lol:

Ahhh. Ok. I get it now. :lol:

A.

[Glorious]

All very interesting - I (along with a friend) run a documentary film festival in Edinburgh - Edindocs (http://www.edindocs.com) - which we started last year.
We run it in September, hire out the Churchill Theatre in Morningside and then hire a 16' X 9' screen and a £25K HD projector. We run the films either from a laptop or a Blu Ray player. It's great fun and we've shown some cool stuff, like the "You've Been Trumped" film this year.

Hope it continues to go well.

[AndyP & Lenore]

Cheers Glorious. :thumbs up:

And top marks for the Edindocs FF. Had a shifty at the web site and you guys look well organised. :yes nod:

A.:thumbs up:

[AndyP & Lenore]

Blog on our website updated with our progress so far.

[euan]

Really interesting stuff guys. Love the boneyard pics, some really old, cool stuff in there.

I also cannot get over the size of the digital projector, it's huge!

[AndyP & Lenore]

All four screens now converted to digital. Been a long week but well worth it. The picture and sound quality is simply stunning.

More details on our blog (http://pavilioncinema.co.uk/digitalblog.htm).

A.:thumbs up:

[Craig]

Cool ;). See it on Sunday :clap:

[Stewart]

:thumbs up: