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Topic: Sconce lighting - on or off during shows?

Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-26-2004 07:30 PM

We just added backlighting to the triangular decorative accents on our auditorium walls. What's the opinion of the group... should such lighting be left on (but dim, of course) during the movies, or turned off completely?

Currently I'm leaving the lights on during the trailers and turning them off for the feature. I've sat and watched a film with the lights on, and they didn't bother ME, but what do you all think?

I'll try to get a photo of the lights and add it here tonight.

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Adam Fraser
Master Film Handler

Posts: 499
From: Houghton Lake, MI, USA
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 10-26-2004 08:35 PM

We have 60 watt and 11 watt bulbs in our sconces. Both are on before and after the feature. Only the 11 watt ones stay on during the show. Never had a complaint about them being distracting.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 10-26-2004 09:16 PM

To me lighting on the side walls is fine so long as the fixture does not permit anyone to have a direct line of sight to the actual bulb element and they are dimmed during the feature.

Leaving the ceiling lights on at any level during the feature is evil though. No respect whatsoever for people with glasses!

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Mark J. Marshall
Film God

Posts: 3188
From: New Castle, DE, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 10-26-2004 10:45 PM

Sometimes (depending on the bulbs) turning the bulbs on and off repeatedly throughout the day is worse on the bulb and will cause them to burn out much quicker than leaving them on all the time. So I vote for dim, but on during the feature.

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Eric Hooper
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 532
From: Fort Worth, TX, USA
Registered: May 2003

posted 10-26-2004 11:39 PM

The Regal/UA in Berkeley has frosted wall fixtures with 100-watt bulbs in them in two of their upstairs auditoriums in which they leave on at full blast during the movie. It's horrendous! [Mad]

The Landmark Embarcadero in San Francisco has similar to what you mention geographic designs with lights behind them that dim during the movie. It's a very nice effect. [Cool]

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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-27-2004 12:03 AM

If the lights don't distract people, I vote with the "Leave 'em on" crowd.

This all depends on the design of your theater but leaving the lights just aglow can be a good thing. It helps people know where the walls are.

Of course they aren't bright enough to actually light up the walls but the light coming from them defines the edges of the room so the customer can subconsciously "connect the dots".

It's just one of those things that makes people feel more comfortable when they are in a strange place.

I do this in my theater. We have crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling along the walls. I leave them so that the filaments are just glowing and you can see them when you look up. They are high enough that they aren't in the line of sight unless you look up for them.

However, once you look up, the place is no longer a giant black box. The chandeliers and the exit signs form a constellation of lights that the customer can use to find their way out when they need to.

If you have good aisle pathway lighting, I'd say it's a toss-up.
Do whatever you think looks better.

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John Hegel
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 166
From: Lake Mills, Iowa
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 10-27-2004 02:31 AM

The auditorium I’m hoping to use as a movie theater has 30+ 300 watt lights in the ceiling. Since this theater is so big I need to have some lights on over the walk ways.

My question is how can you keep bulbs of that size from buzzing when they are dimmed?

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Carl Martin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1424
From: Oakland, CA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 10-27-2004 02:31 AM

also check to make sure the lights don't illuminate the screen and reduce contrast. some theaters around here have bright exit signs right near the screen that simply bathe half the screen in green during dark shots. it's maddening!

personally, i don't like any potentially distracting lights stealing my attention from the film.

quote: Eric Hooper
The Landmark Embarcadero in San Francisco has similar to what you mention geographic designs with lights behind them that dim during the movie.

next time you're there, check out what the "geographic" designs spell out. i didn't notice until someone drew my attention to it.

carl

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William Hooper
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1879
From: Mobile, AL USA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-27-2004 02:52 AM

Brad put what I think very succinctly.

I think dim sconces are good. If it's just enough to define the location of the side walls, it make folks comfortable & usually is enought light to identify the aisles.

Overhead lighting should go off. Even in big houses with a chandelier up near the moon, it's obtrusive for folks in the balcony. But if the balcony has no sconces, you'll need something. If you can light it very dim blue or amber, just to pre-heat really, it's not as bad.

quote: John Hegel
The auditorium I’m hoping to use as a movie theater has 30+ 300 watt lights in the ceiling. Since this theater is so big I need to have some lights on over the walk ways.

300 W lights?

I'd first look at end-of-row aisle lights, think of putting the ceiling lights on 2 circuits so that just some could be left on during the movie, changing the lights over the points in the aisles you want to illuminate from floods to spots so they just illuminate a spot on the floor in the aisle, etc.

I find aisle lights that are mounted on the seat standards at the ends of every few rows, shining directly on the floor, are less distracting during a movie than the LED aisle runners.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 10-27-2004 07:58 AM

quote: John Hegel
My question is how can you keep bulbs of that size from buzzing when they are dimmed?

A resistive or variac type dimmer (that maintains a sinusoidal power waveform) usually has no problem, but SCR or Triac dimmers may cause some filaments to buzz.

I wrote an article about "Contrast Killers", including poorly controlled auditorium lighting:

Conquering Contrast Killers

quote:
Contrast Killer 1: Auditorium Lighting
The first step in conquering contrast killers is to simply look at the "dark"
screen. Exit signs, aisle lighting, ceiling lights, wall lighting, and booth lights
should be set to normal show levels. The projector lamp should be on, but the
dowser closed. After taking about five minutes to let your eyes get used to the
low light level in the auditorium, look at the screen. Is it truly "black"? If not,
get on a stepladder or use a long pole to cast a shadow on the screen to
identify the source of stray light.
Exit signs are a necessary source of light that must sometimes be located near
the screen. Their brightness and color are strictly regulated by fire code. Their
purpose is to guide patrons to the exits in case of emergency. But nothing says they need to shine ON the screen. Usually, only a simple shield is needed
to keep their light from hitting the screen, without compromising their function
of clearly identifying the exits. The newer light emitting diode (LED) exit signs
offer the possibility of more directionality to the light, with less stray light on
the screen.
Aisle and step lights need to be bright enough to safely guide theatre patrons
to and from their seats in a darkened theatre. They DO NOT need to be bright
enough to guide a jet plane to a landing on a foggy runway. Adjust these
guide lights to the minimum brightness that ensures safety, without shining on
the screen or being a distraction in the darkened theatre.
Many theatres use a low level of ceiling illumination during the show for the
safety and security of their patrons. Care should be taken to shield the screen
from direct illumination from these overhead lights. Decorative lighting that
doesn't contribute to safety should not be used during the show.
Don't forget other sources of stray light that may shine on the screen,
including those that aren't constant. Does light from the lobby shine on the
screen every time someone walks into the theatre during a show? If this
design flaw was missed when the theatre was built, correct it now. Can work
lights in the booth ever shine on the screen? Make sure they don't. Are kids
with laser pointers a problem? Enforce a strict policy banning laser pointers,
and reward patrons that report perpetrators.

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Gary Crawford
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 200
From: Neptune NJ USA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 10-27-2004 01:45 PM

In our single-screen 520-seater, we use red 25w bulbs in the side wall sconces, blue 150w spots at the rear of the auditorium that are pointed (away from the screen) at the rest room and lobby doors, and 8 overhead 150w floods, that we dim slightly when nothing is on the screen, and run very dim, but still on, during the show. We don't have aisle lights. We get a lot of seniors and except for those entering from bright sunshine, we have few complaints of "blindness" by those entering after the show starts.

We don't have a curtain but we run red 150w spots on the screen, through the rating on the trailer, and then during credits, along with ceiling lights brought up when credits start at the end of the feature.

The effect is nice overall, and gives our old theater a nice ambience.

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David Buckley
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 525
From: Oxford, N. Canterbury, New Zealand
Registered: Aug 2004

posted 10-27-2004 02:02 PM

quote: John Pytlak
A resistive or variac type dimmer (that maintains a sinusoidal power waveform) usually has no problem, but SCR or Triac dimmers may cause some filaments to buzz

Very true.

However there are new technologies available that although more expensive than traditional SCR dimmers, offer some substantive advantages.

First off - IGBT dimmers. IGBT dimmers reduce lamp noise. They say reduce, in my experience it eliminates it altogether. And almost all the heat the dimmer produces, and the noise a conventional dimmer makes, the buzzing of the chokes.

Rosco IPS IGBT Dimmers

Another solution is an electronic dimmer that has a sinewave output, and thus can completely replace variacs and resistive solutions.

Silent Dimming

If you are running old dimmers that generate significant heat for long hours a day, an IGBT dimmer will drop in replace it, and generate less heat. You're paying for that heat, and thus your nice new dimmer will pay for itself over a couple of years. This is especially true if you're using resistive dimming, as although the bulbs are dimmer, there isnt a reduction in power consumed, it just all comes out as heat.

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Cory Isemann
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 500
From: White Plains, MD, USA
Registered: Jun 2004

posted 10-28-2004 07:57 AM

At Regal, we get hit on checker reports if the lights aren't at the proper levels for the duration of the checker's visit.

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Jeffry L. Johnson
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 809
From: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 10-28-2004 10:18 AM

I prefer all houselights OFF except for aisle lights and exit lights. It's best if the aisle and exit lights are dimmable too.

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Brad Allen
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 688
From: Evansville, IN, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 10-28-2004 12:11 PM

Dimming Exit lights would get you in trouble in most locales.
They are to be at a minimum illumination value by law.

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