The 4.7m wide x 2m high screen required black masking panels to take it from full size down to widths of 3.56m and 2.66m. With limited space, the masking panels needed to appear hard and flat when in use, yet be sufficiently flexible to store in a compact space. The solution was to use curtain, stretched between Chaintrack systems top and bottom, each side of the screen. The two Chaintrack systems, which can turn on a radius of just 25mm, are driven simultaneously by one motor. When open, the curtains fold back on themselves to store in a depth of just 30cm, all the space that is available between the back of the screen and the wall.
Triple E also supplied the screen itself, which needed to be perforated to allow the central loudspeaker mounted behind it, and the control panel, which provides automatic control for the three screen sizes as well as fully closing the masking. Shuard commented: "Triple E was chosen for its ability to turn the concept design into reality, producing an integrated mechanical and electrical package comprising of the motorised track, masking curtains, perforated projection screen and programmable control system."
Crystal Serenity, which has capacity for 1080 passengers, is being built at Chantiers de l'Atlantique and as well as its role as a cinema, the Hollywood Theatre will also be used for meetings, conferences and lectures.
(Lee Baldock)
