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Author Topic: Stadium Sight Lines
Lyle Romer
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1400
From: Davie, FL, USA
Registered: May 2002


 - posted 07-17-2005 12:23 AM      Profile for Lyle Romer   Email Lyle Romer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I was just thinking. Looking at some pictures of sloped floor auditoriums, I remembered (haven't been in one in a while) that the seats were normally angled towards the center of the screen with slightly curved rows. I have never been in a stadium auditorium where the rows were anything but perfectly straight. So, do stadium theatres actually have worse sight lines than sloped (especially as you get near the sides of the auditorium)?

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John Walsh
Film God

Posts: 2490
From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Registered: Oct 1999


 - posted 07-17-2005 12:30 AM      Profile for John Walsh   Email John Walsh   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I agree with you, but the reason is - it's more expensive to make rows curved.

I have always felt that, properly done, sloped floor auditoriums are generally better than stadium seating.

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Mike Croaro
Master Film Handler

Posts: 394
From: Millbrae, CA
Registered: Apr 2005


 - posted 07-17-2005 01:38 AM      Profile for Mike Croaro   Email Mike Croaro   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Hi Folks:

Most stadium theatres are only worth it if you can sit in the center or at least near the center. Getting stuck on the sides is just as bad, if not worse, that sitting directly behind someone on the conventional sloped floor design.

Mike

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005


 - posted 07-17-2005 07:23 AM      Profile for Louis Bornwasser   Author's Homepage   Email Louis Bornwasser   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Our "first" (Goshen Indiana) features curved stadium seating all the way to the rear; (front 50% conventional)

"Modified" stadium (Front 50% normal/back 50% stadium) it is possible to curve the front and to leave the back straight. It is most certainly a compromise; done in the interest of economy.

Louis

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Mark Hajducki
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 500
From: Edinburgh, UK
Registered: May 2003


 - posted 07-17-2005 08:07 AM      Profile for Mark Hajducki   Email Mark Hajducki   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Curved seating is more important if your auditorium is fan shaped (with seats not directly in front of the screen). Many modern multiplexes are built with wall to wall screens and rectangular auditoria.

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Sam Graham
AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues.

Posts: 1431
From: Waukee, IA
Registered: Dec 2004


 - posted 07-17-2005 09:22 AM      Profile for Sam Graham   Author's Homepage   Email Sam Graham   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Act III's "Stadium Riser" setup used curved rows throughout and only had a 7-inch height difference between rows. Their marketing compared it to an amphitheater layout and emphasized sight lines. Megaplex 17 (Salt Lake City) is also curved, the only two-tier stadium setup I know of to be built this way. Here's a pic, but it might be hard to tell...

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But for the most part, straight is the design standard. Given the quality of the equipment in most builds today, and the level of "concern" patrons seem to have, I probably wouldn't bother with curving either.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004


 - posted 07-17-2005 11:58 AM      Profile for Monte L Fullmer   Email Monte L Fullmer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: John Walsh
"....but the reason is - it's more expensive to make rows curved. .."
Now, a simple question: Why would the seating arrangement in the radius (curved) setup be more expensive to install than a straight setup? I didn't know that there was a cost difference with either setup.

I know of a 6 screener back in the mid-west that had all of their seats set straight across, square to the screen, in their auditoriums.

The front row so close to he screen where you can actually touch the bottom of the screen by reaching out with arm's length.

Some of the auditoriums were of the "continental with wings" setup. Others were the "shotgun" - center aisle setup (which I can't stand).

The floors were of the conventional, sloped variety.

I always felt sorry for the poor customers who had to sit in those straight "wing" chairs and have to sit at an angle to be somewhat centered -facing with the screen. How unconfortable this was.

The owner of this 6-screener definitely doesn't know how to please his customers with comfortability with this kind of seating setup.

-Monte

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005


 - posted 07-17-2005 06:40 PM      Profile for Louis Bornwasser   Author's Homepage   Email Louis Bornwasser   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Remember the owners of these theatres are sometimes first-timers and sometimes financial people who do not understand why a slight additional expense can help so much.

It is usually the architect's job to marginalize EVERY OTHER person on the job so as to retain power. Power equals money this way.

Recently I "lost" the THX-style sound walls in a rural 5-plex since the architect said it would add $22,000 to the cost of each room. (The builder said $4,000.)

Louis

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