Fig 1: Allan Foster
sorting through some 35mm clips to make up a 35mm
demo reel for screening to visitors.
Fig 2 Peter Berry
getting to grips with the now functioning Steenbeck
and viewing unknown clips and shorts. Among the
clips he found was an old ATV reel featuring
interviews with Sid James, Kenneth More, and several
other old film stars regarding an up and coming
premiere.
Fig 3: Richard Hawley
showing new member Michael Baim (son of Harold Baim)
around the film archive in which are several of his
father's short films.
Fig 4: Dion Hanson trying to coax
an old Pathéscope back to life so we can continue to
copy some old Pathé cassettes, the 9.5mm Specto in
the background having already been resurrected for
the same reason.
Fig 1
Fig 2
Fig 3
Fig4
It’s what we do
From PPT Halifax
Coordinator Dion Hanson. 13 June.
A while ago we were given a
box containing quite a few silent 9.5mm films for a Pathé
Baby. The films were in mini cassettes and had to be removed
before we could run them. Member Peter England carefully removed one
and ran it on his 9.5mm machine and copied it to video.
The
films were very short and to save film the titles were only a couple
of frames each and a notch in the film sent the Pathé
machine into still frame. This enabled the titles to be read
before the projector was manually switched to run mode until the next
title.
Peter’s
machine, being a modern (?) 9.5mm one, did not have a pause facility.
Consequently, when he sent it to me I put it onto my video editing
software and added more still title frames where required. The
results are here for you to see. The film is called
‘Telephotographer’ and shows what must be the earliest fax
machine called a Belinogram. No doubt after the inventor.
Peter
tells me that as the film had been in its canister for a long time it
was coiled up like a spring and took some two hours to copy. But I
think the results are really good and allow us to view the film
today. Only another twenty or so cassettes to go!
Dion Hanson describes activities on Saturday 24 May.
Image 1 shows Richard Hawley putting the 16mm Steenbeck through its paces ready for viewing some
of the miles of 16mm we have recently inherited.
Images
2-5 show more 16mm along with a mix of 9.5mm and 8mm all waiting to
be viewed and catalogued. Some for sale and some for our archive.
Image 6 shows Allan Allan Foster running test loops in the projection room for
Rob Younger (image 7) to align the Dolby CP650 ready for our Odeon Open Day on Sunday 1
June.
Image 8 shows Peter Berry creating a show reel of
old Odeon day titles/sales adverts/trailers etc. for screening on 1
June.
The open day was for a few ex-Odeon projectionists
and engineers who asked if they could have a look around our
collection in Halifax.
1 - Richard and the Steenbeck
2 - films
3 - more films
4 - yet more films
5 - even more films
6 - Allan running loops
7 - Rob aligning Dolby CP650
8 - Peter creating show reel
Click on an image to enlarge (depending on your device)
Attendees from Nottingham Odeon were, Trevor Sharpe, Stephen Swain, Mike Newell, and Bobby Robertson, shown in the photos.
Allan projecting.
Bobby with Vic 8 from the Odeon Leicester Square
Bobby lacing a GK 21
Steve lacing a GK 21
Odeon lads in PPT preview theatre
Coffee boy Dion
Nursing a sick Steenbeck back to health
With the trust having been given a large number of sep-mag 16mm films PPT Halifax Coordinator Dion Hanson and Richard Hawley spent Sunday 18 May replacing belts in the trusts Steenbeck viewer.
16mm sep-mag films
Steenbeck deck
Steenbeck base
Done ready for viewing the films
Click on an image to enlarge (depending on your device)
The newly repaired Steenbeck in use
Dion
reports: A
video of Richard
Hawley
running one of the Hartlepool 16mm sep mag BBC shorts on Staithes.
This was on the newly repaired 16mm
Steenbeck.
Going on from that we stripped one of the 35mm Steenbecks down and
fitted a new belt to that and now that is up and running also. I
wouldn't want to service Steenbecks for a living, basically you have
to pull the whole thing apart and remove the main drive to change a
belt. All
in all a good weekend though.
Help
us if you can...
We now have lots of 8mm,
9.5mm and 16mm films to view to see what they are, as many are just on
spools or in tins with no identification. So if there are any members
out there who can get to Dean Clough and just sit down and view films,
they will be more than welcome.
If you can help please give Dion a call on 07866 732779. And a big thank you to those who have already started to help.
An evening of Halifax nostalgia
An evening of Halifax nostalgia was
held on Tuesday 29
April in the Crossley
Gallery, Halifax. This
was a collaboration between the PPT and Halifax Heritage Tours.
Click on an image to enlarge (depending on your device)
The largest collection of cinema projectors in UK
Jack Hadaway-Weller visited Dean Clough Mills in Halifax to meet Dion Hanson and the meeting was broadcast on BBC Radio Leeds.
This video uses the audio produced and broadcast by BBC Radio Leeds with images added by Dion.
We appreciate the coverage BBC Radio Leeds has given to the PPT.
Reference library
The PPT Reference library contains 650 scanned documents consisting of sales brochures, service and operating manuals and information sheets.
Even if you are not looking for specific information, the library gives a stunning view of what was the vastness of the cinema industry and the many fields it encompassed.
The video shows a 70mm film running on a platter and a change over with 35mm film running on two projectors. The Parkway is one of the few cinemas still with film projectors as well as digital projectors. It has two screens one of which has dual 70/35 mm film projectors.
Fred Fullerton videos
PPT General Administration Secretary Fred Fullerton has been producing cinema related videos for many years.
These specials are versions of our Rewind magazine covering selected subjects produced for online viewing. Click on an image to view/download. It will open in a new window/tab. To return to this page close the window/tab.
An introductory guide to film projection
Film projection has a long and storied history. There is a romance
to film projection that is not shared with its contemporary
replacement Digital Cinema–the idea that there is someone in a
darkened booth cleaning and lacing the projector, changing reels
and keeping an experienced eye on the focus and sound levels is a
reassuring throwback to times gone by. Indeed, it took the cinema
industry longer than most other entertainment industries to embrace digital technologies, but when, in the mid 2000s it finally
did, the change from film to digital projection was rapid and in the
space of five years digital cinema dominated the industry.
The
Independent Cinema Office (one of the websites featured in our other websites section) has published a booklet giving an overview of film
projection. It was written by Dominic Simmons, and photographed by Alexa
Raisbeck and Dominic Simmons.
The Cinema Theatre Association was founded in 1967 by journalist Eric
George, who wanted to draw attention to the magnificent "cinema
theatre" movie palaces of the Twenties and Thirties that were beginning
to disappear from our towns and cities.
Since then, the association has widened its horizons to encompass all
cinema and theatre buildings, from the humblest converted hall to the
most modern multiplex.
Our many and varied activities include providing information, through
our Casework sub-committee, on the historical importance of cinemas,
especially when they are being considered for listing or when
alterations to listed cinemas are being proposed. Our regional groups in
Scotland and Wales perform similar functions in their countries. We
also organise visits to cinemas and theatres around the UK and overseas
and our extensive Archive is available for anyone researching the
history of these fascinating buildings
We publish a tri-monthly Bulletin and, once a year, a full colour,
high quality magazine, Picture House. We also publish books on cinema
history, including the acclaimed series of definitive UK circuit
histories by well-known author, and CTA Committee member, Allen Eyles.
At the National Science and Media Museum, in the heart of Bradford, we
explore the science and culture of image and sound technologies and their
impact on our lives.
We aim to inspire the scientists and engineers of the future to see more,
hear more, think more and do more.
Our galleries and exhibition spaces investigate and celebrate photography,
film, television, animation, videogames and sound technologies. Our team of
Explainers create learning activities that fuel the imagination and get under
the skin of our collections and exhibitions. And our three cinema screens—including
an IMAX theatre—allow us to showcase the magic of moving images from around the
world in Bradford, the first UNESCO City of Film.
We’re building the world’s largest guide to movie theaters. We’re passionate about movie theaters and going to the
movies. Since 2000, Cinema Treasures has united movie theatres and
patrons to build the world’s most comprehensive guide to movie theatres,
and help celebrate and preserve the moviegoing experience.
If you love cinema…
London’s Cinema Museum is devoted to keeping alive the spirit of
cinema from the days before the multiplex. Set in historic surroundings
in Kennington, close to the Elephant & Castle, The Cinema Museum
houses a unique collection of artefacts, memorabilia and equipment that
preserves the history and grandeur of cinema from the 1890s to the
present day. ‘The Cinema Museum is culturally very important to the
history of movies and gives insight into how things have changed. It was
the work house where Charlie Chaplin went as a child. It is a monument
of great importance to anyone interested in Cinema.’ – Sylvia Syms
We programme a network of over 20 cinemas, festivals and mixed arts
venues so that anyone can access a shared experience of life-changing
cinema in their community, offering a wider range of films to a wider
range of people. We offer training so that independent cinema professionals can
benefit from high-level knowledge that ensure our sector is successful,
innovative and progressive. We offer consultancy to help start, save and grow cinemas, making sure they stay economically viable and build their capacity. We distribute films that make a contribution to the diversity of
cinema culture in the UK and make a cultural intervention into the
marketplace. We offer free advice and information to make sure that everyone can show films and take part in our sector. We run events for cinema professionals that help build a robust sector and encourage collaboration.
Here is a selection of redundant cinemas photographed since
2003. Some have been demolished, a few facades retained, whole buildings
turned into churches and others remain in pretty well the same sorry state
since first photographed. This cinema page was updated in June
2021. Read about their fortunes (or not).
The museum is dedicated to the preservation, restoration and
exhibition of the art, skills and dedication that goes into delivering
some of the world’s most successful films and TV shows. These artefacts and relics are created and used for only a very
short time to make those films before being discarded, and most are
never seen again by the audience who cares so much about them. The
National Film and Sci-Fi Museum is dedicated to saving these amazing
creations and making them available for everyone to see and enjoy, and
at the same time telling the story of their creation and the people who
helped to revolutionise the way we see films today. Our team of
volunteers are very busy working on the exhibits and displays and
working with a team of experts from the film industry on the monumental
task of bringing them to life, and sharing the magic of the art of film
making.
London’s
Silent Cinemas explores the history of cinema exhibition in
London from the emergence of permanent film venues in 1906 to the end of the
silent film era around 1930. It documents the early lives of over 700 cinemas
across London and its suburbs, using information gathered from local histories,
city council records, film trade journals and directories, cinema programmes,
street directories and historic maps and plans. This information can be
accessed using the interactive London’s Silent Cinemas Map.
Other special features include a guide to the History of
London’s cinemas, and online Exhibitions, including an in-depth view of Cinema
and the West End, 1906-1930. London’s
Silent Cinemas is intended as a resource for cinema
researchers and teachers, historians and anyone interested in the early days of
film exhibition in London.
Welcome to the Scottish Cinemas project, a volunteer-led, non
profit site dedicated to recording and archiving our historic
cinema architectural heritage - an often overlooked part of
our social history. We try to provide a photographic and
historical record of all Scottish cinema buildings, including
those now unrecognisable or otherwise highly altered over the
years. Cinemas that have now been demolished are also featured
where photographs exist and copyright allows us to use them. There are now over 1,140 cinemas in the database, of
which we have images of over 800 buildings in over 250 different places around Scotland! We welcome contributions of information, photographs, memories
or anything else related to Scotland's cinemas.
British Pathé is considered to be the finest newsreel archive in the world
and is a treasure trove of 85,000 films unrivalled in their historical and
cultural significance.
Spanning the years from 1896 to 1978, the collection includes footage from
around the globe of major events, famous faces, fashion trends, travel, science
and culture.
Over the last 50 years, this material has been used extensively by
broadcasters, production companies, corporations, publishers, teachers and
museums, among many others.
The entire archive is available to view online for free.
The purpose of this website was always to be the first choices for
anyone looking for anything relating to projectors or cinema and that
purpose has always guided the direction that site has gone in. However,
the second important thing was that this site should not duplicate
information which is available on other sites, instead this site tends
to link to the relevant site, rather than recreating it here.
Do you have a favourite cinema? Share a photo of the best movie theatre in
your area and tell us why you love it. We'll create a gallery of your best
pictures on the Guardian site
What makes a great cinema? A varied programme? Comfortable
seating? Attractive decor? Polite and dedicated staff?
For the last couple of years readers have been telling us
about their favourite cinemas for our continuing Cine-files series – and we'd
like to hear about more film theatres, wherever they are in the world.
Matt Lambros is a photographer based in New York City. He remembers: Abandoned architecture has fascinated me since I was five years old. My
grandmother used to take my brother and I in to investigate any old barn she
happened to drive past. She was curious about what was left behind, and her
inquisitive nature made a lasting impression on me.
I’ve spent ten years composing photographic
obituaries for once-thriving buildings that are now crumbled and forgotten. My
hope for my work is that it will shine light on beautiful, dated architecture
and on the equal yet sinister beauty in decay.
“After The Final Curtain” is a photographic
documentation of the effects of years of neglect and decay in some of America’s
greatest theatres as well as a journey into some that have been reborn.
Kent MOMI is a not-for-profit museum
that explores the deep history of the moving image — from the days of
candle-lit magic lantern performances and hand-painted slides, through
Victorian visual experimentation, to the advent and heyday of the cinema.
The museum is
situated in the heart of the picturesque Kent seaside town of Deal, two
minutes' walk from Deal Railway Station and Deal Pier and Seafront.
We believe in
community and access. All of our exhibitions are changing "special"
exhibitions — so there will always be something new to see. Follow us on social
media and be a part of the project!
When you walk into a movie theatre, you probably don’t think much about what’s going on in the projection booth.
You picked the theatre because it was conveniently
located, or because it was showing the movie you wanted to see at the
time you wanted to see it, or perhaps because it had oversize
comfortable seating. You went because you wanted to see a movie — a
story told in sound and pictures — not a demonstration of projector
technology.
But a movie shown in a theatre isn’t just a movie. It’s a presentation.
Just as the arrangement of food on a plate is an
important part of a restaurant experience, and the framing and placement
of paintings is integral to a museum visit, the way a movie is
projected can have a meaningful impact on your theatrical experience.
Great projection can make a movie sharper, more colourful, more vivid and
engaging — while poor projection can be a movie-ruining distraction.
Understanding the nuances of movie projection, and the
different projection options available to moviegoers, can help you make
the most of the cinematic experience you pay good money for. But
understanding those nuances means understanding how projection has
changed over the years, and how technological advances have affected not
only what we see on the screen but how it gets on that screen.
ACMI is your museum of screen culture. Navigate the universe of film, TV, videogames and art with us. Located
in the heart of Melbourne's Fed Square, ACMI (formerly Australian
Centre for the Moving Image) celebrates the wonder and power of the
world’s most democratic artform – fostering the next generation of
makers, players and watchers. ACMI’s vibrant calendar of exhibitions,
screenings, commissions, festivals, and industry and education programs
explore the stories, technologies and artists that create our shared
screen culture
The
DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum is a leading,
forward-thinking international film heritage organization. We are a
pioneer in preserving and sharing film culture with a worldwide public,
uniquely combining museum, cinema, archives and collections, festivals,
digital platforms, research and digitization projects and numerous
educational programs. Based in the diverse and dynamic city of
Frankfurt, Germany, we actively work toward intercultural understanding,
cultivating connections to institutions and initiatives in the film
arts and sciences around the world. We link the history, materiality and
meaning of film to the digital future. Promoting film culture,
in close collaboration with our audiences, is our mission. As a team of
more than 200, we bring our professional knowledge and infinite passion
for film to all that we do. For us, everything is film, and film is
everything.
The Hollywood Museum, the official museum of Hollywood, has the most
extensive collection of Hollywood memorabilia in the world. The museum,
featuring four floors of breathtaking exhibits, is home to more than
10,000 authentic show biz treasures– one of a kind costumes, props,
photographs, scripts, stars’ car collections and personal artifacts,
posters, and vintage memorabilia from favourite films and TV shows. The
museum also showcases the history of Hollywood and the Hollywood Walk of
Fame. Don’t miss the lower level to experience Hannibal Lecter’s jail cell
from Silence of the Lambs, Boris Karloff’s mummy, Vampira, Frankenstein
and his bride, Elvira– Mistress of the Dark, and other cult horror film
favorites.
In 1936, Henri Langlois, cinephile and visionary, created La
Cinémathèque française in order to
save from destruction the films,
costumes, sets, posters and other treasures of the
movie theatre. He was the first to
consider cinema as an art to be preserved,
restored and exhibited.
Eight decades later, in a resolutely modern
building entirely dedicated to the 7th
art, La Cinémathèque française unveils
cinema in a unique way thanks to
to its many activities and one of the
most important cinema collections in
world.
A true crossroads of cinephilies, it
constantly revisits cinema through
all eras, all backgrounds and all
genres. It thus allows
spectators to make wonderful
cinematographic discoveries and for the young generation to rub
shoulders with the history of cinema on a daily basis.
Among the most important in the world for its rich heritage and the
diversity of its scientific and educational activities, the National
Museum of Cinema owes its uniqueness to its exhibition set-up. Hosted by
the Mole Antonelliana, a landmark monument and symbol of Turin, this
"temple of cinema" spirals upwards through several exhibition levels,
creating a spectacular display of its extraordinary collections and
retracing the history of cinema from its origins to the present time, in
an evocative interactive itinerary. The National Museum of Cinema is always attentive to different
audiences’ needs. It adopts measures to facilitate the participation of
all visitors and allow them to move around with ease and enjoy the
Museum.
The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum is home to one of the largest
collections of material on the moving image in Britain. Both an
accredited public museum and academic research facility, we have a
collection of over 85,000 items. 1,000 items are on display in our
Galleries. The Lower Gallery explores the development of pre-cinema
visual culture up to 1910 and the Upper Gallery celebrates cinema from
1910 to the present. Everyone is welcome to visit our galleries seven
days a week (except bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year)
and our research facilities are open to all each weekday.
The museum chronicles the development of optical entertainment from shadow-puppets and 17th
century manuscripts to the most recent Hollywood blockbusters,
including artefacts such as Magic Lanterns, rare books, prints, and an
extensive variety of publicity materials. The diversity of this
collection provides an insight into the changing dynamics of the moving
image and the history of our relationship with it.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the largest museum in
the United States devoted to the arts, sciences, and artists of
moviemaking. Global in outlook and grounded in the unparalleled
collections and expertise of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences, the Academy Museum offers exceptional exhibitions and programs
that illuminate the world of cinema. They are immersive and dynamic and
tell the many stories of the movies—their art, technology, artists,
history, and social impact—through a variety of diverse and engaging
voices. The Academy Museum will tell complete stories of
moviemaking—celebratory, educational, and sometimes critical or
uncomfortable.Designed by Pritzker Prize—winning architect Renzo
Piano, the Academy Museum’s seven floors feature exhibition spaces,
education and special event spaces, a conservation studio, a café, and a
museum store. In addition, the museum’s 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater
and 288-seat Ted Mann Theater will present a year-round calendar of
screenings, film series, member programs, panel discussions, family
programs, and symposia. Programs will include retrospectives and
thematic series that illuminate the artistic and cultural contributions
of an international selection of movie artists.
Eye, as the only museum for film
heritage and film culture, manages the cinematographic heritage of the
Netherlands: an internationally leading collection - with more than
55,000 films, 60% of which are international - spanning the entire
history of film. The ever-growing Eye collection also includes hundreds
of thousands of photos, posters, sheet music, (pre)cinema equipment,
archives of filmmakers and an extensive library collection. Eye is
responsible for the long-term preservation, making accessible,
contextualizing and keeping the film collection in the Netherlands
alive. Film is unabatedly popular and
everywhere. We live in a mediated society surrounded by moving images.
In this abundance of images and films, we strive to point the way and
connect: to and with that which is (historically) important, which is
special, wonderful or urgent. We want to highlight the diversity of our
collection and our programming. We
show that there are multiple perspectives on (film) history. Not only
do we want to be guides ourselves, but we also want to open up our
collection and our museum to new and as yet unheard of makers and
storytellers. We make educational programs in-house and for education
throughout the Netherlands. Internationally, we promote Dutch film
culture across the board.
For movie buffs, this is where it all started. Le
Cinématographe was born on rue du Premier-Film, in the centre of the Monplaisir
district of Lyon, where today only remain, the hangar factory and the Villa
Lumière which stands out with its imposing silhouette. The Lumière Museum pays
homage to Louis and Augustus and presents their finest finds in the elegant
decor of the family home, between ornate ceilings, monumental staircase, and
glass roof of the winter garden. It was in 2002 that Dominique Païni ,
then Director of the Cultural Development Department of the Centre Georges
Pompidou, designed the scenography of the current route, according to the three
floors and twenty-one rooms open to the public. The museum, of course, gives pride of place to the Cinematograph , the most
famous invention of the Lumière brothers. He replaces it in the long history of
moving images, from magic lanterns to the prototype developed by Louis for his
first film tests on paper in 1894. Thanks to the collection of old cameras
assembled by Dr. Paul Génard and acquired in 2003, the exhibition presents
essential technical masterpieces such as Edison's kinetoscope, the Demenÿ
chronophotograph or the Cinematograph Lumière "n ° 1" which screened the
first ten films on December 28, 1895, at the Grand Café in Paris, in front of
the 33 spectators of the first paying public screening. A few weeks later,
"Light operators" left all around the world to film other countries,
other lives. The films shown on the museum's screens tell of their curiosity,
their sense of framing and aesthetics.