Screen aspect ratio: 4:3 or 16:9 (wide-screen)

[Steve Klare]

I love roll-up screens because it doesn't take a lot of ingenuity to make them so when they are stowed they remain hidden. The benefit here is they are always standing at the ready. The drawback is if I did masking it would be awkward at best: Velcro, black panels, alignment, so I shy away from going that way.

-plus: let's think about my setup as it stands right now. Two Elmo ST's: one rigged for 'scope, one Kodak Pageant and one Epson VP(16:9). (Things often get a little out of hand around the Holidays!) Masking for this mess is either automated or just plain wrong most of the night: we're starting with one rectangle here and filling it with at least three different ones!

I think if I could do anything without limits, I would choose an entire screen-painted wall with powered masking and curtains (-definitely with theme music as they open and close!), and I admire collectors that have gone this way, but at least until I retire I need to live where I live!

[Chip Gelmini]

Janice

I must agree with Paul on this one. Screen matting Is an absolute must and the difference between night and day and how much better the image looks while projecting

I don't know if it'll work but I will post a link to one of my other comments in this forum regarding what I showed earlier today December 18 on super eight sound look for my post with pictures from the short film the snowman and you will see how brilliant it looks surrounded by deep black matting

https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/vbb/f...ge42#post23421

[Chip Gelmini]

For my application I wanted the masking to be really close to the actual screen to avoid shadowing which can be seen sitting at an angle. So instead of using typical brackets and curtain rods I came up with this.

Conduit pipe at 5 foot lengths with simple brackets installed to mounting blocks.

It sets the distance I wanted, and prevents the curtains from "bunching up" too much when open for CinemaScope.

Grey magic marker on top of the wooden screen masking serve as my stop points when closing to the preferred ratio.

Home Depot and Lowes will have everything you need to build the masking frame and hardware assemblies. They will also cut the plywood for you providing you have measurements for them to work with.

I bought the curtains at Walmart.

On the bottom of the curtains I added modified clipboard clamps to give them some weight to move with the gravity required. You could probably insert some kind of other paper weight inside the rod loop to do the same thing. I bought several clip boards that hold paper work reports on office walls. I cut off most of the brown piece of wood to use mostly the clamps as weights.