In the screening room
Why are there small holes in the screen? Where are the best seats in the cinema? And how do you make sweet popcorn? Readers found out all this on the summer tour at the Cineplex.
Cinema manager Steffen Amend shows readers what films used to look like during the summer tour in the screening room of the Bruchsal Cineplex. An old projector is in the background. Photo: Martin Heintzen
While temperatures outside are over 30 degrees on this Tuesday morning, it is pleasantly cool in the screening room of the Bruchsal cinema. The ventilation in the narrow, windowless room is humming at full speed. “It has to be cool here,” explains cinema manager Steffen Amend. “Because of the sensitive technology.” At the BNN summer tour, he gives around 20 readers a glimpse behind the scenes of the cinema.
For example, in the projection room, which is normally closed to cinema-goers. In the middle of the room is the device without which nothing works in the cinema: the projector. It projects the image onto the screen through a small window in the back wall of the hall.
It used to be hot and sweaty in the screening room
It wasn’t always as cool in the projection room as it is today, says Amend. On the contrary: in the past, the projectionist’s job was a pretty sweaty affair. Temperatures ranged from 35 to 40 degrees. “You sweat a lot.”
Until 15 years ago, the films were delivered to people’s homes in heavy boxes. “Carrying the copies from one room to another was a real pain,” Amend remembers.
A film was several kilometers long and consisted of many small images. The film reel rattled through the projector. There was a lamp and a mirror there that focused the light.
The film stopped briefly and was exposed 24 times per second. The images were projected onto the screen through a lens. Because the individual images appeared so quickly one after the other, the viewer saw a fluid image. “Like a flip book,” says Amend.
During Titanic, visitors queued in front of the Bruchsal cinema
There was only one copy of each film in the cinema. This meant that it could not be shown in several cinemas at the same time. This could sometimes lead to problems. Amend remembers his early days in the cinema. “Titanic had just come out at the time.” A long line formed in front of the Cineplex. But space in the cinema was limited.
At that time, tickets were only sold for the next performance, as role tickets. So Amend sold as many tickets until the hall was full. Those further back in line were out of luck. They had to wait until the later performance.
Later, it was possible to run one and the same film copy through several screening rooms. The film ran on reels and through drainpipes from projection room to projection room.
But that was also risky. Sometimes the film roll would break, sometimes it would get caught somewhere. “You were drenched in sweat every time.” Today everything is digital. The films arrive at the cinema via a server and run through a modern laser projector in the screening room.
Sound comes through small holes in the screen
So how the image gets onto the screen has been clarified. And how does the sound get into the cinema? Logically: via the speakers on the walls and ceiling. But that’s not all. There are also speakers behind the screen. That’s why there are lots of small holes in the screen that you can only see if you’re standing right in front of it. The sound waves get into the cinema through the holes.
The best seats are in the middle.
Steffen Amend
Bruchsal cinema boss
The visitors to the summer tour, many of whom are enthusiastic moviegoers themselves, have lots of questions. For example: Does the Cineplex have to buy the films it shows? And: Where are the best seats in the cinema? To answer the first question: No, the cinema does not buy the films, but rents them for a certain period of time. For each ticket sold, a certain percentage is given to the film distributor.
And to question two: “The best seats are in the middle,” says Amend. But it also depends on personal preference. “The best place to kiss without being observed is in the last row.” He himself is a visual type, so he prefers to sit further forward, close to the screen.
Cinema halls are set up differently today than they used to be. The distance between the screen and the first row is greater. In the past, guests sat on folding wooden chairs, but today they sit on comfortable, padded armchairs. “Comfort is becoming more and more important.”
Bruchsal cinema was one of the first with a popcorn machine
Have all your questions been answered? Almost. One is still open: where can you get popcorn? It’s a must when you go to the cinema. The large silver popcorn machine is at the counter on the ground floor.
“In the 1980s, we were one of the first cinemas in Germany to have a popcorn machine,” says Amend. At the time, many cinema operators were rather skeptical about the American trend. Today, popcorn is an indispensable part of the cinema.
Take a large bowl of corn, a cup of sugar and a little oil. Then preheat the kettle to 200 degrees, add the ingredients, close the lid and five minutes later the popcorn is ready. Delicious! At the end of the summer tour, each visitor receives a bag to snack on.
To the homepage
