Projection booth
Encyclopedia
A projection booth is a room or enclosure for the machinery required for the display of movies on a reflective screen, located high on the back wall of the presentation space. It is common in a movie theater
. Its purpose is to isolate the noise produced by opto-mechanical projectors
from the audience and to provide proper ventilation, temperature conditioning, and air cleaning for the exposed film and the projection mechanism.
To maintain sound and air isolation the projection will be through sound-resistant windows into the theater space.
Historically, movie projectors prior to modern automation would include a bell, activated by centrifugal force when the supply reel reached an appropriate speed. Two projectors would be used, requiring that the projectionist
switch between the "operating" and "ready" projectors when a cue mark
was visible on the screen in the upper right corner. The bell alerted the projectionist (who had likely viewed the movie too many times to ensure alertness) that attention was required. While the projector mechanism noise might be suppressed by the audience, the bell could not. Since the noise of the alert bell was clearly distracting to the audience the projection booth became required in movie theater design.
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
. Its purpose is to isolate the noise produced by opto-mechanical projectors
Movie projector
A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying moving pictures by projecting them on a projection screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras.-Physiology:...
from the audience and to provide proper ventilation, temperature conditioning, and air cleaning for the exposed film and the projection mechanism.
To maintain sound and air isolation the projection will be through sound-resistant windows into the theater space.
Historically, movie projectors prior to modern automation would include a bell, activated by centrifugal force when the supply reel reached an appropriate speed. Two projectors would be used, requiring that the projectionist
Projectionist
A Projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector. In the strict sense of the term this means any movie projector and therefore could include someone who operates the projector in a home video show or school. In common usage the term is generally understood to describe a paid employee of...
switch between the "operating" and "ready" projectors when a cue mark
Cue mark
A cue mark, also known as a cue dot, a changeover cue or simply a cue is a visual indicator used with motion picture film prints, usually placed on the right-hand upper corner of a frame of the film...
was visible on the screen in the upper right corner. The bell alerted the projectionist (who had likely viewed the movie too many times to ensure alertness) that attention was required. While the projector mechanism noise might be suppressed by the audience, the bell could not. Since the noise of the alert bell was clearly distracting to the audience the projection booth became required in movie theater design.