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[hiredpower]

Hi All,

  I did a movie night for my church on Saturday. They wanted to see the original Star Wars. I printed "tickets" and numbered them so I could give away a two prizes, one for a child and one for an adult. The children's prize was a light saber and the adult's prize was the dvd trilogy. I borrowed a popcorn machine from a friend. I also found some glow in the dark star wars candy. We had hot dogs, chips and pop. There were about 40 kids and 25 adults.

I took some shots of the setup before everyone arrived. As dusk approached I played music from the original soundtrack 2 cd set through winamp using a visualization plug in called milk drop. If you have never seen this, you gotta down load it and check it out. It is by far the best visualization software I've ever used.

Everyone was blown away with the size of the screen and superb sound. I used 2 JBL EON 15 G2's and one EON Sub.  I am still working on building the case for my mixer/laptop/pj.

I never got a chance to get any pictures during the show, maybe next time.

[hiredpower]

The setup from the seating area.

[hiredpower]

View from the side/behind.

[hiredpower]

Another view

[hiredpower]

Last one from above

[rfisk]

BRAVO!!

Nice setup there with your gear.  And that looks like a great place to show movies!

Randy

[Pass_The_Off]

Looks like the force was with you.
Nice job!

[Cherry Hills]

I've been dragging my outdoor rig to church occasionally to show films for various programs. We haven't gone "full contemporary", so the church doesn't own this kind of A/V equipment (yet). The religious education minister has been to a couple of these events and asked me if I would show a film for the "all-church sleep-out", which she is planning for July. This is going to be an intergenerational event where dozens (hundreds?) of people bring their sleeping bags and cook out, play games, watch movies, etc.

It should be a blast. I have proposed "The Iron Giant", a fun film for all ages with a good message about tolerance and learning to love those you fear. (I showed it last year at the Cherry Hills Driveway Theater with very good audience response.) But I should also consider something purely fun  - "Robots", perhaps?

[cheftom]

when you get a crowd of that size be careful of the copyrights and licenses.

I have done several church sponsored movie nights and had alot of fun setting up inside and not having to worry about wind and such.

[trubes]

Hello hiredpower,

Thanks again for your advice on my setup...one question:   is your frame/screen the same one from the creativeshelters.com website (digitaldummies.com)?  This is the same design I was intending on using, but was unsure as to whether or not it was a good price to pay for the kit or not.


trubes

[hiredpower]

Partially trubes,

  I cut my emt to a 10' x 18' size for 16/9 ratio. I tried the tarp once and it is now used on the ground while I attach dazian heavyweight trapeze screen to the frame with clips.

[glen65]

I never knew the fabric clamps/snap clips existed. It would sure make setup quicker and keep the screen tight. Did you get them from the Creative Shelters' web site?

[hiredpower]

It's funny, I had this idea to use what my mom uses to keep her quilt on the frame and viola, I found the clips at creative shelters. They are meant to be used for putting sides on a shelter, but they work great for holding on the dazian fabric too.

The best part................they're called "screen clips".

Read about it here:

http://backyardtheater.com/forums/index.php?topic=105.0

[Sparge]

Thanks again for your advice on my setup...one question:   is your frame/screen the same one from the creativeshelters.com website (digitaldummies.com)?  This is the same design I was intending on using, but was unsure as to whether or not it was a good price to pay for the kit or not.

I built the Creative Shelters/Digital Dummies (CS/DD) screen, too.  I've used it for the last two years (this year will make three).  I think it's well worth the money for a solid 10'x20' screen.  Keep in mind, the EMT tubing you buy separately is going to cost about as much as the screen kit itself (if you buy the EMT from Home Depot or Lowes).  All told, it still comes in at under $500.  If you get a good deal on EMT you can likely keep it under $400.

Many have upgraded from the included vinyl tarp to either trapeze fabric or black out cloth.  I'm sure those are improvements.  I've been considering BOC as an upgrade this year myself.  Right now I still run with the original tarp.  I've not had the hot spot issues so often attributed to vinyl.  I think the reason for this is two fold.  First, the bottom of the screen surface sits about 5 feet off the ground.  I fire my projector from a relatively low angle.  I suspect the heaviest reflections (hot spots) are reflected upwards away from the viewing audience due to the angle of incidence.  Second, the frame and bungees draw the vinyl evenly taught and flat.  There's no wavy effect (like with a loose hanging tarp) creating multiple angles of incidence (where hot spots form) across the surface.  If you buy the kit I'd say give the tarp a try.  You can always upgrade later!    

It sounds like hiredpower modified the dimensions on his build a bit to better fit a 16x9 ratio.  Doing some quick math, and keeping the 10 foot height (EMT is sold in 10-foot lengths), you might consider reducing the width to 17.8 feet.  However, if you're like me you won't mind the extra foot on each side.  Plus, if you modify the frame size you'll need to source a different tarp or screen material as the one that comes in the kit will be too large.

One more thing I can say about the CS/DD design is that I don't agree with all of the EMT cut lengths supplied with the kit and on the DD site.  Of course I didn't realize that until I cut the EMT to those lengths!  It seems like I have to do too much adjusting back and forth in the fittings to get the frame lines straight.  If the EMT was cut to the right length one could simply bottom out each insertion and be done with it.  I took some meaurements of what I thought the cut lengths need to be.  Then I did some trigonometry based on the angles of the fittings.  My cut length estimates were almost dead on with the math.  Thankfully, you actually cut only a small fraction of the EMT required.  I think I'm going to pick up a few new 10-foot sticks of EMT and re-cut some of the lengths this year.  If I do I'll post my cut length recommendations.  Oh, and do invest in an inexpensive pipe cutter from Home Depot or similar.  It's a lot easier than a hacksaw and the cuts look much more professional.

-Sparge-

[hiredpower]

Yep, mine is actually 17.8. I just say 18' for ease of description.

I shoot low too ~ 20" from the ground, no hotspots. I tried up to 6' on a tripod and it still the whole screen reflected bad. I guess since I owned a professional indoor screen first (AV Stumpfl), it has ruined me forever. An o.k. image is just not acceptable to me.

I kept it at the original frame design of 10' x 20' with the white tarp and there was ample room between the frame to the tarp. I even bought different bungies, but still couldn't get it tight enough for my taste.

Sorry, but it looked like @!%*.

You will never be sorry for buying the trapeze. I still shoot at ~ 20" and the image is perfect and flat without a distraction whatsoever.