276 views 18 Nov 2021

I thought I’d share a quick video of my masking system. Being a former cinema projectionist for 35+ years—from the days of film—I simply can’t run a movie without masking. The last cinema I worked at in Sydney was an arthouse theatre where we had lenses for 1.33, 1.66, 1.77, 1.85, and scope. Ninety-nine percent of theatres worldwide only had two ratios: 1.85 and scope. A 70mm house, of course, meant another full set of lenses and masking stops.

My home theatre uses a 145" curved ST130 G4 Ultraperf scope screen. The screen is laced to a timber curved frame, similar to how we did it in cinemas, though they typically used metal frames. The top and bottom masking are curved, stick-on velvet-covered 5mm MDF frames fitted close to the screen. The motorised side masking is acoustic black velvet with a slim steel-edged velvet leading border—essentially a smaller version of how many high-end cinemas built their masking systems. I’m using a curved Goelst motorised track that follows the curve of the screen, with four preset stops that hit the exact position every time since the track is belt-driven. When the masking opens to scope, the Isco IIIL lens slides in front of the NZ800 using a Cineslide, timed to move simultaneously with the masking. JRVR handles the “A” stretch.

I program my screenings as playlists in JRiver using JRVR and a NAS. I often include a couple of trailers before the feature, so switching between files is instant. If I’m moving from 16:9 (or any other format) out to scope, the full transition takes less than two seconds. The masking system works perfectly with the Goelst track and motors.