In my last installment, after being laid off from my job showing the college film series, I visited the projectionist union and was invited by member Don Hansen to visit his booth at Alameda’s Southshore Cinemas…
Built in the late-1960s,Alameda’s Southshore Cinemas (closed in 1998, demolished in 2002) was one of the first multiscreen theaters in theUS. This twin-screen facility had two identical theaters and was built by Robert Lippert, who produced some 180 low-budget “B” movies (many of which were westerns) and at one time owned a chain of some 118 theaters, includingAlameda’s Island Drive In, and the Alameda Theater.
Arriving for my “backstage” tour of Southshore Cinemas, I walked up the narrow fl ight of stairs leading to the booth and was amazed by what I saw. I had been in numerous theater projection booths before, but nothing like this. Most had been dark, grimy, industrial affairs. This was a long, rectangular room that was clean, fairly well-lit, modern appearing and dominated by two huge projectors—one for each screen. Don explained that these were Italian-made Cinemeccanica V18s.
These state of the art devices also ran an automation system that with a touch of a single start button would handle all operations, including fading the house lights and intermission music, starting the projector, opening the curtains, and reverse the procedure at the end of the film, reverse the procedure. Pretty cool, but what impressed me even more was the ability to load an entire feature film on a huge 13,000-foot 35mm reel (nearly three feet in diameter) and play the entire film without the need for changeovers. This allowed a single projectionist to run two screens. And each projector lamp was a high output Xenon bulb with thousands of hours of life—no stinky old-tech carbon rod lighting here! What was equally cool was that fact that Don—an electronics wiz in his own right—also created a large desktop center in the booth with remote switching that allowed him to control and monitor the operations of both screens (via closed-circuit cameras) from that spot. It looked more like something out of NASA mission control than a suburban mall cinema.
The 13,000-foot film reels had a capacity of nearly two and a half hours—great for uninterrupted viewing and could be rewound directly on the projector. However, they also weighed about 70 pounds and lifting one of these and sliding it onto the top spindle (about six feet up) required a feat of agility and strength. This presented no challenge to Don, who devised a system using the motor and worm gear drive from an electric garage door opener to create an automatic lift for the heavy reels. Problem solved.
The Cinemeccanicas were amazing, but had one drawback. The huge film reels took about 20 minutes to rewind, which was an issue with theaters that wanted to run the movie with short (like 10-minute) times between showings. Also, before any show, the film that arrived on 20-minute shipping reels that had to be spliced into one long continuous roll, and once the film run ended, the projectionist would take the film off the big reels, splice the leaders back on and pack the film for its trip back to the distributor or next theater. The process provided plenty of margin for error, such as inserting reel four before reel two, or mismarking the reels before they left for their next engagement—leaving the disaster for the next guy.
These days, the once-common 13,000-foot film reels have all but disappeared, replaced by platter systems. Using platters, on arrival at the theater, the film’s 2,000-foot (20-minute) shipping reels are assembled onto the equivalent of giant, stacked rotating horizontal pizza trays, which eliminate the need to rewind after each showing.
2011年10月16日 星期日
2011年8月29日 星期一
Mediums reach beyond to help bereaved
For those exploring spirituality or coping with the loss of a loved one, a medium’s claim to communicate with the dead may be a way to find comfort.
Amy Diggins, 29, an attractive woman with long brown hair and a trusting face, looks like someone you’d find working in a schoolroom. A special-education teacher, to be exact, is how Diggins made her living before she decided to devote full time to helping people communicate with their deceased loved ones. She doesn’t fit the stereotype.
Diggins doesn’t have any elaborate props in her Auburn, Mass., office. She doesn’t ask for your hand or for an article of clothing. She doesn’t pray or chant. She doesn’t have a crystal ball. Diggins simply sits at a table, facing her subject and observes. She says she senses the vibration of the spirits when they come into the room. From there she waits for the spirit to speak, and will relay the information to the seeker of the treasured wisdom offered by the loved one who has passed away.
“I’m not a psychic. It’s not like what you see you on television. I ask them, ‘is there anyone you’d like to get in touch with?’ I’ll ask them who they want to communicate with … or we’ll see who is here [in the room] and who wants to talk to me,” she said.
Diggins asks questions and will often describe to her subject what she sees in her mind, whether it’s an object, clothing the dead may be wearing or a physical attribute. The images flash across her mind like a movie projector showing a silent movie. Sometimes she hears a voice. It really depends on who it is, she said.
The Rev. Kathleen Hoffman, who is also a medium, is the pastor of the Onset Spiritualist Church near Cape Cod, which uses mediums in its services. She said she believes that everyone has intuition and some kind of psychic ability. It makes sense to want to explore that intuition with someone who is trained in medium-ship, she said.
The Spiritualist Church, first established in the 19th century, believes in communication with the spirit world, the souls of those departed from the living. Services are usually conducted by a medium, and open with a prayer, an address, hymns and, finally, a demonstration of mediumship: that the departed soul is indeed among them.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a medium is a person believed to be in contact with the spirits of the dead and able to communicate between the living and the dead. A medium is also said to facilitate communication with spirits who have messages to share with non-mediums.
“We believe in the difference, in the internal life,” Hoffman said. “We can communicate with our loved ones when they pass into the spiritual world. We can communicate out with our loved ones. We prove that through medium-ship.”
At the Onset Spiritual Church, services are held in which there are healing meditations and “spiritual unfoldment” to help people. Hoffman said even as a child she was interested in psychic ability and great intuition. When she was at a circus or a carnival, she’d find herself always looking for the person with a crystal ball. As an adult she learned about mediums in the early 1980s and when she went to the church, she was told she had healing abilities and decided to explore it. Now, roughly 30 year later, it still astounds her how she can help people.
“It’s very amazing,” she said. “We bring solace and comfort. [The passing of a loved one] can be devastating. Describing what you see that nobody else would know and then to see a person so grateful to help them move on.”
Diggins said most people who come to her are looking for closure.
“They want to know that that someone is OK,” she said.
Occasionally, Diggins says she will get questions such as when is “my daughter going to break with her boyfriend,” or something similar to that.
“I’m not a psychic,” she said. “That’s not really something that I can give them.”
Diggins didn’t always embrace her gift. When she about 10, her great-grandmother, with whom she was close, passed away, but appeared to Diggins few years later. She told her mom and each decided not to discuss it any further because it was too crazy and strange. Years later, when Diggins was in college, she went to a psychic fair with friends just for a few laughs. As the booth was closing up, a psychic came up to Diggins and asked her to wait until everyone left. She told Diggins “you know you are not crazy,” referring to the conversation Diggins had with her mother.
The psychic told Diggins she could see the energy all around her and tried to explain what was going on. Still, Diggins said she didn’t want to believe it, although by that time she had had many visits from her great-grandmother and other signs urging her to embrace her talent.
Amy Diggins, 29, an attractive woman with long brown hair and a trusting face, looks like someone you’d find working in a schoolroom. A special-education teacher, to be exact, is how Diggins made her living before she decided to devote full time to helping people communicate with their deceased loved ones. She doesn’t fit the stereotype.
Diggins doesn’t have any elaborate props in her Auburn, Mass., office. She doesn’t ask for your hand or for an article of clothing. She doesn’t pray or chant. She doesn’t have a crystal ball. Diggins simply sits at a table, facing her subject and observes. She says she senses the vibration of the spirits when they come into the room. From there she waits for the spirit to speak, and will relay the information to the seeker of the treasured wisdom offered by the loved one who has passed away.
“I’m not a psychic. It’s not like what you see you on television. I ask them, ‘is there anyone you’d like to get in touch with?’ I’ll ask them who they want to communicate with … or we’ll see who is here [in the room] and who wants to talk to me,” she said.
Diggins asks questions and will often describe to her subject what she sees in her mind, whether it’s an object, clothing the dead may be wearing or a physical attribute. The images flash across her mind like a movie projector showing a silent movie. Sometimes she hears a voice. It really depends on who it is, she said.
The Rev. Kathleen Hoffman, who is also a medium, is the pastor of the Onset Spiritualist Church near Cape Cod, which uses mediums in its services. She said she believes that everyone has intuition and some kind of psychic ability. It makes sense to want to explore that intuition with someone who is trained in medium-ship, she said.
The Spiritualist Church, first established in the 19th century, believes in communication with the spirit world, the souls of those departed from the living. Services are usually conducted by a medium, and open with a prayer, an address, hymns and, finally, a demonstration of mediumship: that the departed soul is indeed among them.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a medium is a person believed to be in contact with the spirits of the dead and able to communicate between the living and the dead. A medium is also said to facilitate communication with spirits who have messages to share with non-mediums.
“We believe in the difference, in the internal life,” Hoffman said. “We can communicate with our loved ones when they pass into the spiritual world. We can communicate out with our loved ones. We prove that through medium-ship.”
At the Onset Spiritual Church, services are held in which there are healing meditations and “spiritual unfoldment” to help people. Hoffman said even as a child she was interested in psychic ability and great intuition. When she was at a circus or a carnival, she’d find herself always looking for the person with a crystal ball. As an adult she learned about mediums in the early 1980s and when she went to the church, she was told she had healing abilities and decided to explore it. Now, roughly 30 year later, it still astounds her how she can help people.
“It’s very amazing,” she said. “We bring solace and comfort. [The passing of a loved one] can be devastating. Describing what you see that nobody else would know and then to see a person so grateful to help them move on.”
Diggins said most people who come to her are looking for closure.
“They want to know that that someone is OK,” she said.
Occasionally, Diggins says she will get questions such as when is “my daughter going to break with her boyfriend,” or something similar to that.
“I’m not a psychic,” she said. “That’s not really something that I can give them.”
Diggins didn’t always embrace her gift. When she about 10, her great-grandmother, with whom she was close, passed away, but appeared to Diggins few years later. She told her mom and each decided not to discuss it any further because it was too crazy and strange. Years later, when Diggins was in college, she went to a psychic fair with friends just for a few laughs. As the booth was closing up, a psychic came up to Diggins and asked her to wait until everyone left. She told Diggins “you know you are not crazy,” referring to the conversation Diggins had with her mother.
The psychic told Diggins she could see the energy all around her and tried to explain what was going on. Still, Diggins said she didn’t want to believe it, although by that time she had had many visits from her great-grandmother and other signs urging her to embrace her talent.
2011年8月22日 星期一
Epson Expands Its Projector Line
Projector manufacturer Epson has introduced two new high-brightness, low-cost projectors to its projector line. The VS410 and VS350W are designed to provide SMBs with performance hardware within a limited budget.
The VS410 offers 4,000 lumens of color and white light output with XGA resolution. It carries a MSRP of $899.
The VS350W delivers 3,500 lumens color and white light output with WXGA (1280 x 800) resolution for SMBs looking to leverage widescreen notebooks and high-definition content. Its MSRP is $949.
“The easy-to-use Epson VS410 and VS350W offer the perfect option for businesses looking for cost-effective projectors with basic functionality and the versatility for use in all lighting conditions,” explains Epson product manager Jason Meyer.
Meyer explains that the VS410 and VS350W offer “easy-to-use connectivity and control features,” including USB Plug 'n Play for instantly projecting video and audio from a PC or Mac computer via a USB connection as well as Direct Power On and Off for wall switch power control and Instant On/Off.
The Epson VS410 and VS350W offer SMBs with such value-added features as built-in 5W speakers and Epson's E-TORL lamp technology, which enables the lamp life to last up to 4,000 hours in economy mode.
The VS410 and VS350W also come equipped with the latest 3LCD, 3-chip technology to deliver vibrant images and detail for powerful presentations. “The 3LCD technology provides an energy-efficient light engine that uses available lamp light to create stunning images, and in contrast to 1-chip DLP technology, 3LCD requires, on average, 25 percent less electricity per lumen of brightness,” states Epson in a press release submitted to Channel Pro-SMB.
The Epson VS410 and VS350W will be available in Sept. 2011 through national resellers, mail order, and distribution. Both models come with a standard one-year limited warranty that includes two technical support services -- Epson PrivateLine phone support and a Road Service projector replacement program.
The VS410 offers 4,000 lumens of color and white light output with XGA resolution. It carries a MSRP of $899.
The VS350W delivers 3,500 lumens color and white light output with WXGA (1280 x 800) resolution for SMBs looking to leverage widescreen notebooks and high-definition content. Its MSRP is $949.
“The easy-to-use Epson VS410 and VS350W offer the perfect option for businesses looking for cost-effective projectors with basic functionality and the versatility for use in all lighting conditions,” explains Epson product manager Jason Meyer.
Meyer explains that the VS410 and VS350W offer “easy-to-use connectivity and control features,” including USB Plug 'n Play for instantly projecting video and audio from a PC or Mac computer via a USB connection as well as Direct Power On and Off for wall switch power control and Instant On/Off.
The Epson VS410 and VS350W offer SMBs with such value-added features as built-in 5W speakers and Epson's E-TORL lamp technology, which enables the lamp life to last up to 4,000 hours in economy mode.
The VS410 and VS350W also come equipped with the latest 3LCD, 3-chip technology to deliver vibrant images and detail for powerful presentations. “The 3LCD technology provides an energy-efficient light engine that uses available lamp light to create stunning images, and in contrast to 1-chip DLP technology, 3LCD requires, on average, 25 percent less electricity per lumen of brightness,” states Epson in a press release submitted to Channel Pro-SMB.
The Epson VS410 and VS350W will be available in Sept. 2011 through national resellers, mail order, and distribution. Both models come with a standard one-year limited warranty that includes two technical support services -- Epson PrivateLine phone support and a Road Service projector replacement program.
2011年5月11日 星期三
Projector Lamps Expand to 3D Technology
3D used to be a special treat at the movie theater as we all entered in, fully accessorized in our paper glasses, ready to be amazed. Today, 3D is dominating the movie screen, entering homes on televisions and even capturing young minds in hand-held game systems. To enjoy such viewing, special projectors and projector lamps are necessary, and because they offer somewhat different innovations, they can also be more expensive.
This technology and associated projector lamps were explored in this Hidden Wires blog as the author examined opportunities, concerns, technology and more that is involved with 3D viewing. The main concern expressed was a lack of understanding among manufacturers who may be trying to develop 3D components, without fully understanding the technology and all that is involved.
In terms of projector lamps, there are two broad groups of projector technology that provide 3D imaging: passive and active. Passive technology uses various methods to filter the different images to the left and right eye. Common filter methods can include circular and linear polarization, as well as light interference filters.
Active technology for use with projector lamps relies on electronic glasses that will “actively” interact with the display. The display makes use of alternative frame sequencing to present alternative images to the left and right eye. To block or pass light through to each eye, liquid crystal shutter glasses are used. This process occurs in synchronization with the alternate images from the display.
When dealing with projection technology and projector lamps, the suitability for different applications is more pronounced between the passive and active systems. Commercial cinemas tend to use passive projection systems as the focus on cheap glasses take priority and polarized glasses cost mere pennies.
The projection systems that use these glasses are expensive, however, and do require special silver projection screens to preserve the polarization. All of the passive systems that are presented to consumers today use a dual-projection system which effectively doubles the cost to the consumer when compared with an equivalent 2D system.
The consumer environment is more likely to see active systems as they use one projector to present alternative images to each eye. And, because the projector and the projector lamp must do twice the work, premium processing technology is required. The good news is that the higher-quality projector systems that are available today require few add-ons, other than programming and synchronization with the transmitter to enable 3D use.
This technology and associated projector lamps were explored in this Hidden Wires blog as the author examined opportunities, concerns, technology and more that is involved with 3D viewing. The main concern expressed was a lack of understanding among manufacturers who may be trying to develop 3D components, without fully understanding the technology and all that is involved.
In terms of projector lamps, there are two broad groups of projector technology that provide 3D imaging: passive and active. Passive technology uses various methods to filter the different images to the left and right eye. Common filter methods can include circular and linear polarization, as well as light interference filters.
Active technology for use with projector lamps relies on electronic glasses that will “actively” interact with the display. The display makes use of alternative frame sequencing to present alternative images to the left and right eye. To block or pass light through to each eye, liquid crystal shutter glasses are used. This process occurs in synchronization with the alternate images from the display.
When dealing with projection technology and projector lamps, the suitability for different applications is more pronounced between the passive and active systems. Commercial cinemas tend to use passive projection systems as the focus on cheap glasses take priority and polarized glasses cost mere pennies.
The projection systems that use these glasses are expensive, however, and do require special silver projection screens to preserve the polarization. All of the passive systems that are presented to consumers today use a dual-projection system which effectively doubles the cost to the consumer when compared with an equivalent 2D system.
The consumer environment is more likely to see active systems as they use one projector to present alternative images to each eye. And, because the projector and the projector lamp must do twice the work, premium processing technology is required. The good news is that the higher-quality projector systems that are available today require few add-ons, other than programming and synchronization with the transmitter to enable 3D use.
2011年4月24日 星期日
Solar: California's new gold rushIt's been called California's second gold rush: the clamor by large solar companies to stake a claim in southern California's open deserts and capture one of its most abundant resources — sunlight. While many cheer the cleaner energy and economic possibilities utility-scale solar development may bring to a job-starved region, some environmentalists, Native Americans and others are critical of the process, saying it's running roughshod over threatened plant and animal species and culturally sensitive areas. The California Energy Commission and federal Department of the Interior have approved eight major solar projects in Southern California since last year, including seven projects in the deserts north and east of the Coachella Valley. All but two of the approved plans utilize largely undeveloped public land managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management. The projects are expected to generate: • Nearly 3,600 megawatts of non-carbon-emitting electricity, enough to power almost 1.8 million homes. • Some 5,500 jobs during construction of the projects, and nearly 1,000 long-term operational jobs. • More than $15.2 million in annual property taxes, and hundreds of millions more in sales taxes as the projects are built. Another eight utility-scale solar projects are also in the permitting pipeline for Riverside and Imperial counties, promising an additional 2,173 megawatts of renewable energy generation. And long-range plans are in the works that could open up millions more public acres to solar development in six western states, with the largest proposed solar energy zone in Riverside County. “California is the national leader in clean energy, and our great state is poised to become the world leader in renewable energy generation,” Gov.Jerry Brown said Monday. Brown earlier this month signed a bipartisan bill to further increase California's renewable energy portfolio standard, now requiring that utilities get one-third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, up from 20percent.
It's been called California's second gold rush: the clamor by large solar companies to stake a claim in southern California's open deserts and capture one of its most abundant resources — sunlight.
While many cheer the cleaner energy and economic possibilities utility-scale solar development may bring to a job-starved region, some environmentalists, Native Americans and others are critical of the process, saying it's running roughshod over threatened plant and animal species and culturally sensitive areas.
The California Energy Commission and federal Department of the Interior have approved eight major solar projects in Southern California since last year, including seven projects in the deserts north and east of the Coachella Valley. All but two of the approved plans utilize largely undeveloped public land managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management. The projects are expected to generate:
• Nearly 3,600 megawatts of non-carbon-emitting electricity, enough to power almost 1.8 million homes.
• Some 5,500 jobs during construction of the projects, and nearly 1,000 long-term operational jobs.
• More than $15.2 million in annual property taxes, and hundreds of millions more in sales taxes as the projects are built.
Another eight utility-scale solar projects are also in the permitting pipeline for Riverside and Imperial counties, promising an additional 2,173 megawatts of renewable energy generation. And long-range plans are in the works that could open up millions more public acres to solar development in six western states, with the largest proposed solar energy zone in Riverside County.
“California is the national leader in clean energy, and our great state is poised to become the world leader in renewable energy generation,” Gov.Jerry Brown said Monday.
Brown earlier this month signed a bipartisan bill to further increase California's renewable energy portfolio standard, now requiring that utilities get one-third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, up from 20percent.
While many cheer the cleaner energy and economic possibilities utility-scale solar development may bring to a job-starved region, some environmentalists, Native Americans and others are critical of the process, saying it's running roughshod over threatened plant and animal species and culturally sensitive areas.
The California Energy Commission and federal Department of the Interior have approved eight major solar projects in Southern California since last year, including seven projects in the deserts north and east of the Coachella Valley. All but two of the approved plans utilize largely undeveloped public land managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management. The projects are expected to generate:
• Nearly 3,600 megawatts of non-carbon-emitting electricity, enough to power almost 1.8 million homes.
• Some 5,500 jobs during construction of the projects, and nearly 1,000 long-term operational jobs.
• More than $15.2 million in annual property taxes, and hundreds of millions more in sales taxes as the projects are built.
Another eight utility-scale solar projects are also in the permitting pipeline for Riverside and Imperial counties, promising an additional 2,173 megawatts of renewable energy generation. And long-range plans are in the works that could open up millions more public acres to solar development in six western states, with the largest proposed solar energy zone in Riverside County.
“California is the national leader in clean energy, and our great state is poised to become the world leader in renewable energy generation,” Gov.Jerry Brown said Monday.
Brown earlier this month signed a bipartisan bill to further increase California's renewable energy portfolio standard, now requiring that utilities get one-third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, up from 20percent.
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