Soarin over California - how do they do it?

[Dopey1219]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone knew how Soarin works..is it 35mm film? or 70mm film?? my brother and I work for a movie theatre and everytime we ride it, we wonder how they do it. Any movie theatre people know? Do they have to thread the projector up every ride? or is it digital? cause i swear i saw scratches on the film last time i rode it. thanks!!!

[protostars]

Imax!!!!

[Dopey1219]

REALLY? so it is 70mm film? that must be soo expensive. . do you know if they have some one to thread it up everytime people are on the ride? we have an imax projector where i work and it takes the booth people about 20 minutes to thread it up & start it. THanks so much!! ;0

[111702]

Originally Posted by Dopey1219

REALLY? so it is 70mm film? that must be soo expensive. . do you know if they have some one to thread it up everytime people are on the ride? we have an imax projector where i work and it takes the booth people about 20 minutes to thread it up & start it. THanks so much!! ;0

If it takes 20 minutes to start it, and obviously about 10 minutes to stop and rewind it, I think that's why:
1. The unloading takes a long time before it loads
2. The loading time takes a long time before the movie starts
3. The instruction video is long
4. The entire wait is long
THANK GOODNESS they have 2 screens!

[protostars]

I would assume 2 or more projectors as they load
you on as soon as the prior group leaves.
either that or they have it on an endless loop system
something like an old 8-track.

[(:~Fantasmic!'sNo.1Fan~:)]

I doubt that it takes that long. I believe, if I am not hallucinating, that I see people leaving or the last epople just exiting when I get on.

:~)

[k_peek_2000]

soarin is digital tho because if u look to the right there are peeps on computers on the floor. you see when you walk in. i donno why it wouldnt be digital

[dctrdez]

Yeah, its gotta be digital, the turnover after every operation would be to stressful on film, day in day out. With digital, the ride computer system only needs to hit play.

[Chris]

No, its not digital, it's 70MM IMAX film. I know the projectors were custom built for Soarin' so there may be some workaround to the long rewind time. It is, of course only a few minutes long and not a 45 minute IMAX film.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Given the load/unload time, there certainly is enough time to rewind the film since it is only about 6 minutes long.

-- PMM

[ryguy222]

The guy on the computer is working the actual ride. You know the closing and opening of doors. locking unlcoking seatbelts, hitting the go button. For the video part. For golden dreams im pretty sure that it is not digital. The projector is huge! it can't be digitel. The guy who talks to you in the begining pushes a button and it starts the film, so they might do the same for soarin, but i don't know. By the way where is the projector for that huge screen?

[dctrdez]

Originally Posted by Chris

No, its not digital, it's 70MM IMAX film. I know the projectors were custom built for Soarin' so there may be some workaround to the long rewind time. It is, of course only a few minutes long and not a 45 minute IMAX film.

Taking into account the short film time, I stand corrected.

^^^ Plus DLP projectors CAN project on a large screen such as the one in Soarin'.

[BigMikeSD]

Presently the best Digital Cinema projectors have only 2000 lines of resolution (althogh Sony is developing a 4000 line projector). This is FAR too low of a resolution to play on a screen that big. If it were indeed digital, the pixels would be enormous on that screen. The ride utilizes custom built 15 perf 70mm projectors with something called a "loop cabinet." Basicly the last frame of the film is connected to a section of black film that is the connected to the first frame, allowing the show to run continuosly. In fact, If they wanted to, they could turn around the show in 30 seconds without even taking the gliders down! The pre show is automaticaly timed such that it ends just as previous group is "landing".

[dctrdez]

Originally Posted by BigMikeSD

Presently the best Digital Cinema projectors have only 2000 lines of resolution (althogh Sony is developing a 4000 line projector). This is FAR too low of a resolution to play on a screen that big. If it were indeed digital, the pixels would be enormous on that screen. The ride utilizes custom built 15 perf 70mm projectors with something called a "loop cabinet." Basicly the last frame of the film is connected to a section of black film that is the connected to the first frame, allowing the show to run continuosly. In fact, If they wanted to, they could turn around the show in 30 seconds without even taking the gliders down! The pre show is automaticaly timed such that it ends just as previous group is "landing".

I stand corrected, again. I don't claim to know everything, I concede to those who are more informed than I am, and now I am more informed as a result.

[BigMikeSD]

It's cool, we all have our respective profesions and hobbies. Thats what makes message boards such a great resource. BTW, one area where DLP is on fire right now is in the world of 3D. If you haven't yet seen Chicken Little in Digital 3D, I highly recomend it.