My bogus "Home Theatre" setup

[Gunier J. Kintgen]

First, a picture of the whole "cinema":

Seeing as I still live with my parents, building an actual cinema setup is out of the question; This is the best I can do. Should have seen it last week; Then the projector was on my bed propped up on a book, pointing at my TV with a pillowcase draped over it! Speaking of projectors:

Ah, my trusty 1592! Took a bit of work, but now I got her running as smooth as a new Cadilac! Here it's propped up on an old crummy stereo system, on top of some books to get the projector at the right angle, on top of an old seat. But what is it projecting on...

This might be the most disheveled part of my whole setup. That's an old placemat I found lying around the place, painted white on the flipside with white acrylic paint, & protected by a layer of clear coat I dug up from the garage. All that's taped on my dresser; On the top drawer with packing tape to be more permanent, & on the bottom with painter's tape so I can still use it.
I know it isn't the most lavish setup out there, but it gets the job done well enough. I have to unscrew the lampshade whenever I need to rewind the film because the takeup reel is too big, that's the only big kink I can think of. All of that fades away though when you get a good film going, & you sit on the edge of the bed next to the screen with a soda & a bag of popcorn! Who knows, maybe when I move out I'll be able to upgrade my setup with a chair!

-Gunier J. Kintgen, Your Pal.

[Ed Gordon]

I admire your enthusiasm for film collecting!

Your 'home cinema' does the job. Below is a picture of other movie enthusiasts making do with what they have:

[Paul Adsett]

May I suggest you paint a matt black frame around the picture area on that little placemat. You'll find it makes a big difference to the perceived quality of the projected picture.

[Gunier J. Kintgen]

May I suggest you paint a matt black frame around the picture area on that little placemat. You'll find it makes a big difference to the perceived quality of the projected picture.

That is a good idea, but I'm worried that would make allighment so much more difficult. Needless to say, the projector isn't on the most stable of surfaces; Lightly bump into it & you have to spend a good 5 minutes alligning it again. And that's with the big white screen, who knows how long i'd take to allign with a black border!

[Steve Klare]

We all have to start somewhere!

When I lived with my parents (-back before the last Ice Age...), there was a blanket chest at the foot of my bed. If I propped the lid open just enough (-and sturdily enough...), the lid formed a right angle with the angled ceiling where the roofline of the house cut into my room maybe 8 feet away.

If I hooked the front leg of my projector into the leading edge of the lid, I could project an image on that angled celling. Sure!, The ceiling was painted yellow, but it was a light yellow! I got color films with a slightly yellow tint and black and slightly yellow instead of black and white.

Sound system?....What's that??

I had a (literal) screening process for my girlfriends: I'd show 'em movies! One of 'em that passed the test often comes to CineSea these days!

Dad and I fairly often set up a tripod screen downstairs in the living room with projectors on the end of the dining room table: his screenings were 35mm slides, mine were Super-8 silent. Years later I dropped by with one of my new projectors and showed my parents a sound film.

I sold that house 8 years ago now (-it hurt to do it, too!). These days are great too, yet in different ways, and I also miss those. I can't go back, but I can remember!

[Chip Gelmini]

We all have to start somewhere at the bottom of the ladder keep thinking positive and you will get there.

[Paul Adsett]

Well I started out with a Pathescope ACE 9,5mm silent machine, projecting onto a screen not much bigger than Gunier's placemat ( with a 20 w bulb that's all it was capable of). It was 20 years later when I got my first sound projector, a Eumig S802 which provided a beautiful bright 4ft wide picture and good quality sound. That was the one that really got me going on film collecting.
So Gunier is already way ahead of where I was starting out. He doesn't have to hand crank his movies, they're 16mm wide, and he has sound!
All he needs now is a new house!

[Chip Gelmini]

Paul I wonder what Gunier would think of my place.....................

[Janice Glesser]

Kudos Gunier! I think your setup is perfect and I'm sure you will get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Thanks for posting.

[Paul Adsett]

Paul I wonder what Gunier would think of my place.....................

Well Chip I'm sure he would find it inspiring, as I did. Your cinema shows just how far you can replicate a professionally run cinema in a home environment.
I'm not sure how far he wants to go in this hobby, but the beauty of the hobby is you can go as little or as far as you wish, and still get a heck of a lot of interest and enjoyment out of it for yourself, family, and friends. If Gunier has the interest I'm sure, when he gets around to looking for his own place, he will be measuring up the rooms ahead of time, with a home theater in mind.
In the meantime he may wish to visit Chips home cinema in this section of the forum.

https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/vbb/f...lmini-s-cinema

[Gunier J. Kintgen]

I'm not sure how far he wants to go in this hobby, but the beauty of the hobby is you can go as little or as far as you wish, and still get a heck of a lot of interest and enjoyment out of it for yourself, family, and friends. If Gunier has the interest I'm sure, when he gets around to looking for his own place, he will be measuring up the rooms ahead of time, with a home theater in mind.

To Chip: Good grief that is one impressive cinema! The only thing I can think of that tops that is the guy who built an actual 35mm 3-projector Cinerama theatre in his living room:
https://youtu.be/qWf8yi7VcIk?t=3

Paul: To answer your question: I'd love to have a theatre setup like Chip's, but I'm not too sure if that's in the cards for me. Film gear is already expensive, & it ain't gettin' any cheaper! At the very least, I would like to have a more professional setup, less "Ghetto" if you will. A real projection screen whether it be painted on a wall or mounted on a tripod, decent seating that isn't just the edge of my matress, An expansive film library! I'd love to get a 35mm projector, but hoo-boy, I can hear my wallet crying in pain just looking at a listing for one! The whole reason I wanted a Filmosound or a comparable 16mm projector, is because you get the most bang for your buck. Feature length movies, TV shows, most every cartoon from the 1900's onwards, all at a (somewhat) affordable price! I don't know how possible this would be, but I'd love to get a CinemaScope lens too! I'm not too sure if you can get lenses like that which will fit on my 1592's lens, but the idea of seeing a movie or short on widescreen film just facinates me! Above all else, I'd love to have an occasional public screening. You could have the best home theatre setup in the whole wide world, but what good is if if you have nobody to share it with?