The importance of masking

[Paul Adsett]

For anyone out there who is still projecting films without screen masking, I thinks it's worth emphasizing once again how huge a difference proper screen masking can make. Particularly with super 8mm, you want to block out that soft edge of the projected picture, which is also the edge area where the screen illumination really drops. The perceived picture quality with and without masking is literally like night and day, the picture just seems to pop with masking. The soft blurry edge that you have with no masking really detracts from the visual experience. The great news is that masking is dirt cheap and is without question the single most important thing you can do to really boost your enjoyment of super 8mm cinema. Masking can be just a simple wooden frame covered with matt black felt cloth. Don't use a flat black painted board or shiny velvet both of which will reflect light, you must use matt black felt cloth. If you feel like getting a little more ambitious like I did, its easy to install remote controlled motorized side masking using a standard traverse rod curtain rail and curtain rail motor. Once you have seen your movies with proper masking you will never look back. If you consider buying motorized masking from a screen supplier, don't - you will be talking $4000.00 and up. My DIY project cost less than $500.00 and looks great.

[Maurice Leakey]

In one cinema I worked in we had many stage shows so the stage floor was polished wood.
Therefore, we put dozens of yards of matt black felt cloth on the floor when showing films, this was to hide any reflections from the screen which was above the cloth.

Maurice

[Paul Adsett]

Maurice, the biggest offender in the typical home is light reflected back off the white ceiling, For that reason I installed black and burgundy felt covered panels on my ceiling. This made a huge difference in screen picture contrast.

[Lee Mannering]

Pro film projection Paul.

Our film making club in the late 80s we hired the room from a church for weekly meetings. We wanted to make a small stage and screen with a black border in return for decorating the room, a permanent fixture. Very much a club effort the black border was made of plywood and blackboard painted. The screen at the back was chipboard with several coats of ultra white emulsion.

At the time at home I had a 6ft tripod screen making a plywood mask which clipped on and off the top 5" wide which worked great. Then expanded the idea to motorised curtains also clipping on off the screen top. The bonus was it all packed away under the stairs.
Fun times.

[Steve Klare]

Just remember: Times being what they are, masking your screen isn't enough!
.

-Sorry! (Carry On!)

[Osi Osgood]

Hee hee! Steve, you beat me to it!

[Paul Adsett]

Steve's photo shows the wrong way for a projector to wear a mask. The mask need's to cover the lens !

[Steve Klare]

-depends on the film!

[Dominique De Bast]

The blue side of the mask is supposed to be outside, I imagine Steve didn't want to curse his projector

[Janice Glesser]

The blue side of the mask is supposed to be outside...

Someone at Costco last week told me I was wearing MY mask backwards. I guess white-side out is a no-no. 😱

I totally agree with Paul about the improvement masking makes to the projected image. I'm just not sure how to mask a motorized wall screen.

[Steve Klare]

I've pondered putting black velcro in the masking of my rollup and having panels to stick in place: maybe felt ones I could roll up or more solid ones.

-not as nice and easy as Paul's motorized setup for sure, but it would do the job.

I had the picture from "CineSea in Pictures" (I just couldn't resist!)

I need to protect that machine: it's the "new" one I found and I'll never find another one of those.

[Dominique De Bast]

From what I understood, the blue part is the filter so it has to be outside ;-)

[Oliver Feld]

Paul
Your thread and Your descriptions are amazing. I only think, that „the soft edge of the projected picture“ depends on the machine. The Beaulieu 708 for example has no soft edge; my Elmo GS 800 does. But a masking would be a great idea anyway! Pure cinematic feeling!

Steve, I will try Your mask idea next time when I screen THE MASK OF ZORRO😅

[Steve Klare]

Who WAS that masked machine?

[Paul Adsett]

The Beaulieu 708 for example has no soft edge

Probably because the Bealieu's are one of the very few S8 projectors with a rear sprung gate. A great design feature that, for some unfathomable reason, was avoided by nearly all other projector manufacturer's.