Sporre Film Shelf

[Zack Sporre]

After living in a 900 Sq ft home since I got married 14 years ago we recently moved into a little bit larger home which is going to do wonders for my film hobby.
We now have a basement which will be lovely for summer screenings. Also I can now set aside my minimalist approach when it comes to my 8mm obsession. I am only in the early stages of imagining and creating a screening room here.

[Douglas Meltzer]

Zack,

Congratulations on your move. I look forward to following your progress in designing your new screening room. Now hurry up and fill those shelves!

[Melvin England]

Likewise !

You mention that you have a bigger area now to view films and to expand your collection. Assuming this is so, the one extra pleasure you will extract is the fact that now you have the ability to project a larger image onto a larger screen! It will be like watching your entire film collection for the first time, especially if it is a major increase. Enjoy !

[Steve Klare]

I'm a little envious!

My screening area is shared space because 30 years ago we picked out a house (split level) that only has half a basement. One of the things this means is that watching films is just one function of that area and often needs to wait for its turn! It often has its time, but let's just say I probably don't need to buy as many projection lamps as a result!

I had a dream years ago where I discovered a door behind the china closet that for some bizarre reason I'd never noticed before. (I've painted that wall at least twice!) I pried the door open and found a long, high, empty room with a blank wall at the far end. It was just begging to be a little movie theater!

I had arrived!

(-at least until I woke up...)

Godspeed, Zack!

[Zack Sporre]

Yes, I am really looking forward to decorating with some of my film memorabilia and getting some permanent screen solution. Up to this point of my life I have just used a portable 50x50" silver Da-lite screen. The throw distance isn't any further than my old house but I have enough distance I would like to get more in the 65-72" range.

[Zack Sporre]

Thanks for sharing your dream Steve 😂 Would be an amazing discovery.

[Steve Klare]

Not only amazing, but it would involve entry into an alternate dimension!

-you see, in our Universe, that is an external wall. There is maybe 20 feet of lawn in-between and then comes the next door neighbor! If this room really existed, I'd bonk into it with my lawnmower every time I cut the side lawn and the east end would be imbedded in my neighbor's garage! (I'm guessing they would be a little upset!)

I use a 52" by 92" Da-Lite matte screen. This screen is 16x9 aspect ratio and I find it's a good compromise for Academy, 16x9 formatted and 'scope formatted films. My throw is about 20 Feet and this is comfortably within the range of typical Super-8 Zoom lenses.

One of the things I like about is I put two strong screw hooks in our bay window ceiling and most of the time it hides behind the curtains. "Setup" is "grab the handle and pull it down".

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._C_Manual.html

What's sad is this was a standard stock item when I bought mine 18 years ago for about 150 Bucks. It's a special order now and runs $694.40. (ouch!) Yet, there are quite a few used screens on E-bay for cheap, you just need to fish for a while and be picky!

-but my main point here is if you show wide-formatted material, a rectangular screen will allow you to use much more of the available screen area than a square formatted one. My first time showing 'scope was on a 5 foot square tripod screen and the picture was less "wide" than "shallow" looking.

[Steve Lee]

Hi Zack.

If you are in the position to be able to have a fixed screen, a cheaper alternative could be to construct a simple wooden frame, in much the same way as an artist canvas is made, with a bracing bar to stop it from bowing in the middle.
This then can be built to your exact requirements, and then staple one of these cheap screens to the frame.



For the black border it is possible to purchase rolls of stick on black velvet, this is available in different widths, I have found this to work very well, as it is non reflective.



The screen I have at home was built in exactly the same way. It takes two of us to move it but it can be lifted out of the recess in the wall if needs be.




Steve.