Section members and guests, 36 in all, were treated to a behind the scenes look at the inner workings of a modern Cineplex facility, courtesy of the Star Southfield Theatre in Southfield, Michigan. The heart of this 20 theater operation is a pair of projection "corridors" (booth is inadequate to describe the size), each a city block long room about 15 feet wide that spans the entire width of the building. Fully automated 35mm projectors, complete with their own racks of audio playback equipment, dot the expanse every 30 to 50 feet. Each system has the capability to play back SDDS, THX and conventional SR stereo sound and is also equipped with a 35mm slide projection system and non-film audio sources to playback pre-show advertising. In a separate build-up/break-down area, incoming film is assembled onto pancakes and foil cue tabs are strategically applied to trigger the lighting and audio level controls where appropriate. The two halves of the house, each with ten screens, are mirror-images of each other and have identical layouts and configurations.
Cleanliness and maintenance are the watchwords at this facility. Projector movements and the complex film path are kept scrupulously clean to avoid scratches and sprocket damage. This is aided by a series of air filters and regular swabbing of the decks! Each lamphouse is forced-air cooled and the projection head is liquid cooled to protect the film and prolong its useful life, as well as to ensure stable projection conditions.
One interesting feature of the design of this facility is the ability to project the same film in tandem at two or three viewing theaters. A series of rollers are installed along the length of the wall opposite the projectors, enabling film exiting one projector to be routed down the corridor to the next, where it winds it way through the second projector and onto its take-up platter or perhaps back down the hall to yet a third projector! We were also told that the rather heavy platter of film comprising "Titanic" was transported in this way upon its final showing to save steps in getting all that footage back down to the break-down area. It took three operators to carry the built-up platter down the corridor to the projector when that film debuted.
Theater size ranges from 150 to 750 seats at the Star and each projector is appropriately lamped for the size of screen and throw distance. A tremendous amount of thought and a high degree of engineering went into each area to ensure the best possible playback and strict adherence to the requirements of the various sound types that need to be accommodated. When asked if electronic playback was on the horizon, we were told that might yet be 5 to 10 years in the future. If what we saw is any indication, when that move is made, it will no doubt be done to very high standards.