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Author Topic: How did airlines cope with showing super 8 ?
Melvin England
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 707
From: Hull, East Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Feb 2016

- posted September 20, 2017 08:08 AM      Profile for Melvin England     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
We all talk of super 8 optical prints being "airline" prints and, as I understand, were housed in cartridges for easier use and projection ( I am prepared to stand corrected on that one ), but as someone who has never experienced super 8 on an aeroplane, I just cannot visualise it being a practical method of presentation.
It would need quite a large screen. Surely too many heads would be in the way to see it effectively? Were there several projectors with screens strategically placed along the 'plane to overcome this? The mind boggles!

I reach out to those who have experienced it to explain how it all worked up there in the sky in the days before vi**o !

.

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

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From: Long Island, NY, USA
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- posted September 20, 2017 08:58 AM      Profile for Steve Klare   Email Steve Klare   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
If the airlines were anything like they are today, I'd imagine this was a First Class kind of thing, maybe upstairs in a 747 on the bulkhead in back of the cockpit of transcontinental and transoceanic flights. It took a long time to trickle down to Coach and short hop flights. (Just like we'll all have free WiFi someday!)

Even with screens at every seat, I can't imagine Coach being as bad as it is today! Based on the last time I flew, I'd rather walk! (-If I had a couple of months to get there!)

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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

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Peter Scott
Film Handler

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From: Norfolk, UK
Registered: Nov 2014

- posted September 20, 2017 09:26 AM      Profile for Peter Scott     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
In 1980 I travelled to California on a British Airways 747, the screen was on the wall (where the cabin crew prepared the food) in the middle of the standard cabin, the sound was listened through headphones which was supplied by the crew. you plugged them in on the seat where you could listen to the radio, they had a separate channel for the film soundtrack.
I watched the Electric Horseman going out, can remember what the film was on the return journey all I can remember was it had George Burns in it.

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Melvin England
Jedi Master Film Handler

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From: Hull, East Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Feb 2016

- posted September 20, 2017 09:35 AM      Profile for Melvin England     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Peter, what size screen did they use, and, was it easy to see for everybody?

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Maurice Leakey
Film God

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From: Bristol. United Kingdom
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- posted September 20, 2017 09:36 AM      Profile for Maurice Leakey   Email Maurice Leakey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Melvin
It is believed that the earliest inflight films were in 1921. The projector was situated in the centre of the flight deck and showing onto a single screen.
But much later, films were shown during commercial flights with 16mm Bell & Howell projectors fitted in the luggage racks and showing to small screens above the passengers, very much in the way small video screen now hinge down.
There was only one copy of the film which ran round, in turn, all the projectors.
You may find the following link interesting, although it does not answer all your questions.
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/27/movies/in-flight-movies-update-content-an d-equipment.html?mcubz=0

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Maurice

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Alan Rik
Film God

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From: New York City, NY, USA
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- posted September 20, 2017 10:03 AM      Profile for Alan Rik   Email Alan Rik   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
When I flew from Hawaii to California in 1977 on Pan Am 747 they projected "The Domino Principle" on our flight. There was one screen in the front of the seats in our section that pulled down. It was around 6 feet wide? I think every section had their own projector. We used earphones, not headphones, and they dimmed the lights in the cabin.
Thats when the Airlines fed us. We had to choose Chicken, Beef, or Vegetarian. Ah..the good ole days- The screen looked like this: -
Its funny in the article that Maurice gave the link to they said, "Never Cry Wolf" wouldn't make it onto planes..yet I have seen the print as an Optical Super 8 print. So maybe it DID make it onto the planes!

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Maurice Leakey
Film God

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From: Bristol. United Kingdom
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- posted September 20, 2017 10:22 AM      Profile for Maurice Leakey   Email Maurice Leakey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I would suggest that Alan's picture shows a three lens CRT video projector.

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Maurice

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Jean-Marc Toussaint
Film God

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From: France
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- posted September 20, 2017 10:46 AM      Profile for Jean-Marc Toussaint   Author's Homepage   Email Jean-Marc Toussaint   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Issue #01/2006 of Small Format magazine had a long article ("In-Flight Flicks") about film projection aboard airplanes. Said article is also reproduced in Jurgen Lossau's book about film projectors.
The magazine can probably be obtained on the second-hand market.
The book, a must-have IMHO, can be purchased from the publisher (click here)

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The Grindcave Cinema Website

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Osi Osgood
Film God

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From: Mountian Home, ID.
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- posted September 20, 2017 11:29 AM      Profile for Osi Osgood   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
What a wonderful article ...

and yes, "Never Cry Wolf" was an optical feature, and it's another one that I have LONG searched for! One of the best nature films I've ever seen.

beats the hell out of "Life and Times of Grizzly Adams", and yes, that comes from me! [Smile]

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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Alan Rik
Film God

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From: New York City, NY, USA
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- posted September 20, 2017 11:42 AM      Profile for Alan Rik   Email Alan Rik   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The pic was just so you could get an idea of the screen. We were watching film
on the flight as I remember the sound of the clicking film. I don't know if it was 16mm or Super 8 though.

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Graham Ritchie
Film God

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From: New Zealand
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- posted September 20, 2017 01:23 PM      Profile for Graham Ritchie   Email Graham Ritchie   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I remember watching"a bit of "Thats Entertainment" on a Pan Am 747 London to Seattle flight Jan 1975. What I do remember was the image was good, but the screen was small, a lot smaller than Alan above picture, almost square, roughly about 4ft in the centre cabin. [Smile] ..I have no idea what film format it was as I was not really interested in it at the time.

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Tom Photiou
Film God

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From: Plymouth U.K
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- posted September 20, 2017 01:48 PM      Profile for Tom Photiou     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Hey you lot, i think your all wrong, this is how its done, its only a few minutes

Watch in full and learn and enjoy. [Big Grin] [Big Grin] [Wink]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IW758UciaA

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Joseph Randall
Master Film Handler

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From: Wyckoff, NJ, USA
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- posted September 20, 2017 07:41 PM      Profile for Joseph Randall     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
LOL One of Jerry Lewis' funniest movies!

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Kenneth Horan
Film Handler

Posts: 51
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted September 20, 2017 08:57 PM      Profile for Kenneth Horan   Email Kenneth Horan   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Here is a photo of a super 8 airline projector.

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Ken Horan

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Clinton Hunt
Jedi Master Film Handler

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From: Waharoa,North Island,New Zealand
Registered: May 2010

- posted September 21, 2017 12:45 AM      Profile for Clinton Hunt   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
One huge reel is a good idea for airlines,imagine changing the 400ft reels every 20-ish minutes!

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Cheers from me in New Zealand :-)

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Terry Sills
Phenomenal Film Handler

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From: Weymouth,Dorset,England
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- posted September 21, 2017 01:24 AM      Profile for Terry Sills     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
But what happened when passengers got up to go to the toilet or whatever. There would be constant interruptions of the picture. How annoying that would be.

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Melvin England
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 707
From: Hull, East Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Feb 2016

- posted September 21, 2017 03:08 AM      Profile for Melvin England     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Kenneth - Excellent photograph! I assume that the projector sort of just hung there vertically to project the image seeing as though film is loaded vertically and not horizontally? ( Apologies to Todd-AO fans )

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Peter Scott
Film Handler

Posts: 58
From: Norfolk, UK
Registered: Nov 2014

- posted September 21, 2017 03:47 AM      Profile for Peter Scott     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Hello Melvin
Alan's picture was exactly the size, the projector was the white box hanging down from the cabin ceiling, it didn't affect the picture if any body stood up as it was high enough, it had to be for safety reasons.

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Maurice Leakey
Film God

Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007

- posted September 21, 2017 05:17 AM      Profile for Maurice Leakey   Email Maurice Leakey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Re. Alan's picture.
As I said, it looks like a three lens CRT video projector.

Re. Kenneth's picture.
The whole assembly, once loaded, goes up horizontally into the space shown above it.

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Maurice

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Graham Ritchie
Film God

Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006

- posted September 21, 2017 09:00 PM      Profile for Graham Ritchie   Email Graham Ritchie   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Brilliant Tom [Big Grin]

PS "Extreme turbulence here and a...bunch... of other places" [Big Grin]

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