Glastonbury Festival - Mike Denner's History of The Cinema Field

Mike Denner's History of The Cinema Field

16 Jun 2003

How it all started

Though the festival had a cinema in 1981 I my self was not involved with it at that time. I was running children’s film shows in Shepton Mallet and Glastonbury for Children’s World. Several of the staff of Children’s World also worked at the Glastonbury festival so in 1982 I went along to lend a hand. The cinema then was a relatively low key affair. It was in a marquee, which measured about 100 feet by 40 feet and looked as if it was more suited to garden parties. The back half of the marquee had chairs, while the front half had coconut matting on the floor for people to sit on. The projectors used were 16mm bell & Howell TQ3’s which had been borrowed from the AV department at Clarks the local shoe factory. These gave a reasonable but relatively small picture. The main reason for this was that the tent had poles down the middle at 20 foot intervals limiting the distance of the throw and the picture size. The cinema proved to be extremely popular even in those early days.

By 1983 the size of the tent had grown to a proper marquee but the projection system remained more or less the same. The only difference being a bigger sound system than before, small by today’s standards, but adequate. And I also used my own 16mm projectors.

1984 was the year of the miners’ strike and believe it or not we actually had striking miners at the festival!, They made themselves a real nuisance by climbing onto the roof of the marquees and sliding down.

1985 saw the first major technical advance. The step from 16mm to 35mm. The projector I used was an old Westar 2001 on a Western Electric soundhead, which dates from the late thirties. With a Kalee Vaulcan lamphouse and an AIE three electrode Xenon lamp conversion chassis slid in the back. Not all the films that year were on 35mm some of the film companies were somewhat nervous about sending films out to be shown in the middle of a muddy field even though it was inside a marquee. So 16mm was still used for some films.

The difference in quality between 16mm and 35mm was like chalk and cheese and was really appreciated by the audience, so I made the decision to change to 35mm 100% for the next year. Nothing much changed between 1986 and 1989 which saw the introduction of the open air screen as the cinema tent’s popularity had now out- grown even the largest of marquees; the screen was a mere 32 feet wide, but enabled a lot more people to watch the films. Also the cinema moved to the area where a track called Muddy Lane crosses what was then the main stage access road, and is near a very congested part of the site. The Outdoor cinema here was to became a famous landmark and meeting point for people at the festival for many years to come.

This also was a perfect spot for cinema as the natural slope of the hill provided an ideal rake allowing the best possible viewing area for the audience, also the picture could be seen right to the top of the camping area called Big Ground. This patch didn’t come without its own special set of problems though, mainly from the camping which bordered the cinema area. It was highly desirable to be able to relax in your tent by your camp fire and watch the latest movies. Or simply drift off to sleep listing to the ambient music playing through the sound system after the films had finished for the night. We used to have to post a 24 hour guard of field stewards in the cinema area to stop campers pitching their tents right in front of the screen over- night. 1990 saw the introduction of Dolby Stereo to the open air cinema at Glastonbury for the first time. I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a CP55 from C.S.D. the company I was working for at the time. Dolby Stereo proved extremely popular, one of the reasons being, out in the open air the stereo effects coming from surround speakers are far more noticeable due to the total lack of reverberation normally found in cinemas.

In 1992 it was felt that there was a big enough demand for arts and special interest films at the festival that was not being met, and which normally only get seen in regional film theatres. This meant that we decided to reintroduce the film marquee. These films were chosen and the tent staffed by members of the Edinburgh Film Guild.

Things ran without any major changes until 1994, when just two weeks before the festival the pyramid stage caught fire, needless to say it was a major blow to the festival because as well as being the main stage it also served as a store. A large amount of festival equipment including the outside cinema screen was lost in the fire. This meant we had our work cut out making a new screen in time, but in a way it was also a blessing in disguise as it gave us the opportunity to make the new screen bigger, lighter and easier to handle than the previous one. The new replacement measured 56 feet wide by 24 feet high, at the time it was the biggest outdoor 35mm cinema screen in the country.

Also new for ‘94 was the first use of Dolby Digital at Glastonbury, which has now become the standard, digital cinema sound system used in cinemas through out the world. In order to play the digital tracks properly the PA system had to be up-rated to handle the higher peak levels and improved frequency response. So we got in a 35Kw JBL concert series sound system. And the Xenon lamp was upgraded to 4KW.

1995 was basically the same with the addition of a laser show between the films.

For the 1997 festival it was felt that due to the congestion caused by the cinema in the market area in the previous years, the cinema should be found a new home. The problems were caused mainly by the huge numbers of people entering and leaving the cinema area when the films changed. So it was decided that the cinema should be given its own field, which meant the film marquee and the open air screen could once again be together again for the first time in nearly five years since the marquee was reinstated. This also had the effect of opening up the festival site in general, and making better use of previously under -used fields towards the western end of the site. Unfortunately that year it rained heavily just prior to the festival and whole site turned into a mud bath. The outdoor cinema still proved hugely popular despite the rain, and due to the greater space available we probably had our biggest crowds ever, somewhere in the order of 6000-7000 people with the least amount of hassle.

In 1998 the World cup video screen was part of the cinema field. The films also attract similar sized crowds.

The timber screen was last used in 2000 and it was decided that it had got to old and week to be used again. So at the end of the festival it was scrapped. For the 2002 festival we used for the first time an inflatable screen. Though being slightly smaller had an number of aadvantages, required a lot less man hours to erect, was safer and has a much more reflective surface.

Preparation

Generally work starts on the cinema area in early January with a meeting with Michael Eavis to iron out the budget, and any other logistical and technical problems that were raised the previous year. Nothing much happens after that until March. Though I keep a continuous eye on what films are doing well in the cinemas and would make good festival films. From April I start getting the projection equipment out of moth-balls and assemble everything in my workshop and get everything running. I probably run the equivalent of several feature films during the testing stages to ensure there are no problems with the equipment.

The Crew

The Glastonbury cinema team is now comprised of myself Michael Denner, Donald Eunson & Jerry Cleeves. And various other staff. I (Michael) am responsible for the Technical and film related operations of the cinema field & Donald is responsible for the administrative duties. As the cinema at Glastonbury has been going on for many years it has become a well oiled and relatively smooth operation, with only minor changes being made from one year to the next.

Over the years everyone working in the cinema field at Glastonbury has evolved into their own particular departments. Donald and his team’s job is to make sure the projection booth (Pyramid) is built in time and fully operational, field layout and procuerment. Jerry is responcible for putting together the sound system and my task is to assemble and the projection align the sound system once its set up and working.

The Projector

The projector I use now is the one I have used since 1986, which is still Ross GC3, which sits on an RCA 9031 sound-head. The projector head probably dates from around 1945. The only reason I use this particular model of projector is that it is relatively small, light and modular and readily lends its self to portable operation. The projector is mounted on a custom built stand. Which also contains a long play tower, with servo controlled constant tension take-up system similar to ones used on platter systems in commercial cinemas. The light is currently provided by a 4000 watt Xenon lamp.. Since we are now using an inflatable screen which is slightly smaller and far more reflective than the old timber screen we used until 2002 I find it no longer necessary to use the more powerful and expensive 7000W Xenon lamps.

Though the real work starts in earnest on the Monday morning of the week before the festival. Most of previous weekend is taken up with loading the truck with the sound system, which is no easy task, as there are six main speaker cabinets, 9 JBL 2360/2445 horn units and on top of that six JBL TCB 4788 sub Woffer Cabinets, surround speakers and amp racks. It takes two trips to get everything including the projection equipment to site, but usually by Sunday evening it’s all done and everyone one has arrived on site and is ready to start work on the Monday morning.

The year 2000 saw the construction of a purpose built projection Pyramid. The idea being that it would be pleasing to the eye placed in the middle of the field compared to the ramshackle pile of storage containers with a portable office perched on top to serve as the projection room, that has been used in previous years. And also provide practical weather proof accommodation in which to house the Projection and sound equipment.. This put an enormous pressure on Donald and his team who were responsible for the Pyramid. The Pyramid is constructed out of 16 triangular panels that bolt together to make four large triangles, each one being 32 feet across its base. When these are laid against each other they form the required pyramid. Inside is a free standing scaffold Platform positioned eleven feet from the ground on which the projector, long play tower and sound rack stand. This is high enough so that there is only about 10 degrees of positive (upward) rake on the projector, this is due to the immense length of the throw. Form projection lens to screen is 220 feet.

Once the pyramid was up I am then able to start unpacking the crates with the rest of the equipment and start assembling the projector. The projector stand has the lamphouse and long play tower permanently built onto it so as to make it easier to assemble the projector quickly in temporary installations such as this. Because of this I don’t have to worry about lining up the film path as it is pre determined, same applies to positioning the lamphouse in relation to the projector head, though I still have to fully align the reflector and lamp as these are removed for transportation. The sound processor rack pre assembled and pre-wired the only thing needing to be done being the connection it to the projector photo cells and the video cable to the digital reader, and of course then there’s the multi-core that goes up the field to the amplifiers. The alignment of the sound system is pretty straight forward. Though setting of surround delays can be a bit troublesome. we have to comply with some new and very stringent sound level regulations laid down by Mendip council regarding sound pressure levels the cinema produces after midnight which require constant monitoring with an Leq meter, but that’s another story.

Once everything is finished and running by Wednesday night the construction crew can more or less relax and then enjoy the festival as their work is done until the end when it all has to be taken down again and be packed away. But for my self and and my projection crew its only just beginning as Thursday night is the first serious night with a program of three films. Then as dusk falls its time to do the lamp alignment, and running of the picture and sound test films. This always draws a big crowd as regulars know from past experience that it won’t be long till the first film of the evening will be coming on. Even though the festival doesn’t officially start till the Friday the public gates will have been open since midday on Wednesday. So the thursday night Cinema always attracts a big crowd.

Michael Denner
Cinema Applications Engineer
Dolby Laboratories Inc
Cinema field co-ordinator, Glastonbury Festival

Mike Denner's History of The Cinema Field

How it all started

Preparation

The Crew

The Projector

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