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Thread: Odeon West End, London, a JBL installation

  1. #1
    JBL 4645
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    Thumbs up Odeon West End, London, a JBL installation


    Simon is senior projectionist for Odeon West End is two screen classic cinema with nice looking auditoriums, sadly my camera wouldn’t pick up the detail because of the distance and light level vs the cameras flash wasn’t powerful enough, to see, the screens nicely curved and from what I could see a good stereo presence even thou I haven’t seen a film in the Odeon West End as of yet, call it a gut instinct.



    Simon kindly showed me around the two projection booths that had Victoria 8 35mm 70mm or duel projection for all occasions. The last time 70mm was shown at Odeon West End was 10 years ago, and I asked if any plans for future 70mm presentation was planed.





    He replied with confident yes we’re going to be doing film season soon with a 70mm mag strip of “West Side Story”. I was quite pleased to hear and about that thou, I asked do you have the five stage speakers for left centre and right centre and all the screens are only outfitted with three JBL behind the screen and two JBL sub bass speakers.



    JBL 8330 mounted flush into one of two Odeon West End screens, I think this Odeon screen 1 downstairs.


  2. #2
    JBL 4645
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    We discussed about the issues of re-mastered prints and re-mixing is think I dread aabout most because after listening what re-recoding mixers did to that was holy mess! I mentioned the slight differences in the laserdisc version that contained the original soundtrack elements over the DVD version that was totally different.



    Anyway I just hope it’s a true original 70mm magnetic print, I’ll be keeping an eye on Odeon West End as I’d like to catch this classic Romeo & Juliet romantic love story, on the big screen.



    The new digital projectors that they are using at a cost of 60 grand over standard 35mm projector that is around 30grand and a pain to maintain and keep those cogs still winding and turning over, takes skill.




    I asked Simon if he thinks digital will be widespread over the UK within a few years and he replayed with confident “yes” again, “they’re easier to maintain and the digital release is far cheaper over the 35mm print costs”.



  3. #3
    JBL 4645
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    Well I’m not so optimistic myself because I don’t see this happening on wide scale for at least another 10 years, because the cost of 60 grand is lot of money and giving the amount of screens in the UK its at least another 10 years and not will want to install Dolby digital cinema, only a few cinemas will install in few of there screens while 35mm will still be running the majority of shows to the general public.






    The booth was quite remarkable and with barely enough room to swing a cat around due to the depth of the booth. The rectify took up at least 3 feet or room then the lamp-house adding a further 3 more feet and the projector at around 2 ½ feet. Also the digital projector was like the size of Mini Cooper! It was nice looking beast and linked with Dolby digital cinema with over a terabyte of data output would clearly leave Bluray in the dust! So I might as well stay with DVD because cinema is still the original medium.






  4. #4
    JBL 4645
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    The racks systems housed QSC amplifiers and thou I should have had my notepad out at this time, all I could do is ask him questions about his position in projection today. I told him I worked for UCI and Warner Village cinemas and small drive-in-cinema in-between the other cinemas over the years and haven’t laced up in nearly 11 years now.



    The cinema uses all sound formats with its assorted range of Dolby CP200 Dolby CP650 SDDS6 and dts as well as Dolby A and SR types for 35mm and 70mm magnetic.



    Simon was quite willing show-off the booths of with a sense of pride, and with 12 years experience under his belt he knew his trade hands down.



    I noticed a slide projector in the booth, but when he pointed out its for (subtitling) it suddenly clicked because I have seen this advertised on some cinemas, just never seen film in the cinema yet with subtitling. It was fitted with filter to prevent artefacts distracting the audience, the text is projected onto the screen in the lower portion of the screen in green text.

    The lens if I can remember off the top of head where for 2.35:1 1851 and 1.33: or was it 1.77:1 the 70mm lens was somewhere in the building as it hasn’t been used in 10 years, whew 10 years, [sighing].

    Sadly there wasn’t enough time to tour around behind the screens in Odeon West End screens 1 and 2, maybe next time around.

  5. #5
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    WOW thats a fully loaded soundrack!! the little sub-title projector and XD-10 are the same ones we use.QSC amps are slightly older than our ones, i recognise them,cant remember the model numbers,but i think their basically the same.( we got QSC USA 1310 amd 900). SDDS , you think it will ever be available for home use? like 70mm but digital,i think? 5 screen,split surround,and sub?

  6. #6
    JBL 4645
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Dude View Post
    WOW thats a fully loaded soundrack!! the little sub-title projector and XD-10 are the same ones we use.QSC amps are slightly older than our ones, i recognise them,cant remember the model numbers,but i think their basically the same.( we got QSC USA 1310 amd 900). SDDS , you think it will ever be available for home use? like 70mm but digital,i think? 5 screen,split surround,and sub?
    The dts decoder XD10 that’s the top of the range model is it not.

    Odeon West End doesn’t support five-screen which seems a bit of pity, but not an issue all it takes is two more JBL stage speakers and few amplifiers re-calibrate it and away you go with SDDS8 or The Sound of Music in full Todd-AO five-screen.

  7. #7
    JBL 4645
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    Unhappy Odeon West End To Be Axed!




    Odeon axed as cinema goes underground

    Katharine Barney, Evening Standard
    17.10.08


    A MAJOR London cinema is to be demolished to make way for a new basement cinema and hotel on the corner of Leicester Square.
    Under the plans, approved by Westminster council last night, the Odeon West End would be knocked down and replaced with a nine-storey block containing a hotel, flats and four restaurants.

    The number of seats in the new auditoriums will be slashed from 832 to 440 in one and 500 to 200 in the other but will be larger and more luxurious. Currently the cinema is used for small film premieres and hosts the BFI London Film Festival.

    The proposals are part of an £18.5million regeneration of the south-west corner of Leicester Square. They include three street-level restaurants, a rooftop restaurant and flats. The 245-bedroom hotel would occupy the first to fifth floors.

    The building has been designed to reduce carbon emissions and will have solar panels on the roof. Designers Make have drawn up plans for a curved layout with a frontage of mirror finished stainless steel. The centrepiece will be a 657-foot granite "ribbon" seat where some of the square's 250,000 daily visitors could rest.

    Matt White, of Make, said: "We have combined a distinctive presence on the square with an appreciation of the qualities of the surrounding area."
    The Odeon was built in 1930 as The Leicester Square Theatre, a name it retained until 1988. It was modernised in 1968 with a blander shell, and in 1988 was renamed the Odeon West End.

    Work is due to begin next summer.

  8. #8
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    Nice post for prosperity.

    It will all be digital in a few years. I recall someone in the industry telling me it costs about £1k to produce and distribute a single 35mmm print so you can see the logic. Sad but true....

  9. #9
    JBL 4645
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andyoz View Post
    Nice post for prosperity.

    It will all be digital in a few years. I recall someone in the industry telling me it costs about £1k to produce and distribute a single 35mmm print so you can see the logic. Sad but true....
    This also robs projectionist of their jobs because it will all become automation with no real magic left in the final art of illusion. That’s why I don’t care to do this kind of work again Digital for all the good it will do I dislike it.

    Didn’t someone stop to think and brainstorm ahead in time that this will cost jobs in projection or don’t they care because good projectionists are hard to come by.

    I only posted this strange around the same month last year, and its only week or later that this news was announced. I wonder if I’m jinxing people because I do believe in bad luck and thus is bad luck. Its Wrong all wrong. Sod the f&)king hotel for a bunch of snobby okay yar yuppies this pisses me off because it buggers up the scenery and like it the way it is.

    I guess the pictures are nice little testimony to the cinema pity I couldn’t have taken clearer pictures and more behind the screen because I like going behind the screen, even when I worked for UCI and Warner have peek behind the screen at the EV at UCI and the KCS at Warner Bristol site.

    I might make an effort to try and pop up depending on money for travelling for the day.

  10. #10
    JBL 4645
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    Digital cinema is the lost art form because there is no true magic behind it when it’s all automation.

  11. #11
    JBL 4645
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    Friday October 2nd 2009

    Looks like the Odeon West End is still around! Guess they protested against having it knocked down!?

    Something called Inglorious Bastards is playing? Sounds dodgy if you ask me. Dorian Grey not sure what this is but he looks like vampire needs a bit sun looks a bit pale?
    Attached Images Attached Images  

  12. #12
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    It's Simon from Odeon West End!

    Hi Guys!

    I totally forgot I had the interview while I was working at OWE and I stumbled across this blog a few weeks ago and only just managed to register.

    I, funnily enough, no longer work at OWE or even anywhere near Leicester Square.
    Is there anyway that JBL4645 could get in contact with me at all? Do you allow private messages on here?

    Cheers!

    Simon (ex Senior of OWE)

  13. #13
    Senior Member 1audiohack's Avatar
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    Hello Simon;

    Welcome. Private messages are allowed between members however JBL4645 is nolonger a member here so you couldn't post a PM for him. A moderator maybe able to help you?

    All the best,
    Barry.
    If we knew what the hell we were doing, we wouldn't call it research would we.

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