The Nautilus Screening Room

A New Projector Mount

2009-01-30T22:11:00.000-08:00

I've built my own projector mount as the "Universal" mount that I had been using was universally wobbly! The basic design of the mount was created by a member of the AVS Forums, I modified it to work with the theme of the theater. The cables feed in through the side pipes which are made out of ABS plastic plumbing pipe and fiberboard, then textured with sawdust to look like cast iron.

Next I'll need to make a themed enclosure for the projector...

Surround Speaker Enclosures and Piping

2009-01-30T22:05:00.000-08:00

I've been working away on the surround speaker enclosures and the pipes for them. Here is my working drawing and some work in progress photos of the pipes.

The pipes are made from ABS plumbing pipe with MDF flanges. The grey parts have already been textured to look like cast iron by first painting them with and enamel paint, coating in sawdust and then a couple more coats of paint.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

2009-01-30T22:02:00.000-08:00

A great new addition to the theater.

This is a casting of the mirror over Nemo's pipe organ in the salon taken from an original plaster master from the movie. Scott Brodeen was very kind in giving me access to his mold to make this casting. The story goes that Emile Kuri, the set decorator on 20K would keep master plaster casts from the various sets that he worked on in case the need for the same part came up again. After he died in 2000 the plasters were sold at his estate sale. A friend of Scott found the mirror frame and purchased it. A few years later he made it available to Scott to restore and mold.

Scott visited my theater a while back and said "You know what would go real well in here?"

Thanks again Scott!

Screen Panels

2009-01-30T21:59:00.000-08:00

Trying to get some of the more mundane details out of the way. I've finally finished the panels which fill in the large gap below the projection screen. Tidies up the stage area. The panel frames are open, covered with acoustically transparent fabric so as not to change the acoustic 'shape' of the room.

Display Shelves

2009-01-30T21:53:00.000-08:00

I've built a couple of display shelves for all those cool little knick-knacks. They're made from solid mahogany with turned brass gallery rail hardware. The mahogany will continue to darken and redden with time.

The shelf in the top photo holds a "Control Room Nemo" diorama that a friend gave me for my birthday as well as a Crown Top 50th Helmet and the beginnings of a shell collection. On the other shelf is my friend Stephen's gorgeously crafted Nautilus stereoscope, a piece of coral as well as the Nemo 50th Helmet contributed by Andy and Stephen. Thanks again, gentlemen!

Underwater Rifle

2009-01-30T10:16:00.001-08:00

I've finished construction of a replica of Captain Nemo's Underwater Rifle. I did not worry about creating a 100% accurate replica, but rather embelished it with some additional details.

Additional photos of the rifle are posted on my website http://www.goldbergarts.com/id73.html

Glassware

2009-01-30T10:11:00.000-08:00

Guests get to enjoy their beverages from glassware that I've had made bearing the Nautilus crest and it's motto, 'Mobilis in Mobile'.

Communications Box

2009-01-30T10:06:00.001-08:00

Here's a new prop I built for the theater. It's a Communications Box based loosely on the one designed for the Paris attraction. There a light behind the speaker grill that flashes when the phone is ringing (we can't hear it in the theater).

A Clock for the Theater

2009-01-30T10:01:00.000-08:00

Even Captain Nemo needs to know what time it is! Here is a clock that I put together for the theater. The clock was from Bed, Bath and Beyond, though it came in chrome. I repainted it and created new artwork for the dial.

The Logbook

2009-01-30T09:54:00.000-08:00

Guests can sign the Screening Room Logbook. It will become a cherished heirloom reminding us of all the fun we've had watching movies with friends and family. The N crest is based on the one in the Salon.

Opening Night!

2008-09-21T18:14:00.001-07:00

We debuted the theater last night to rave reviews from friends and family! There's still a long list of little details to do but it's operational. Now I can sit back, relax and watch some movies!

Projector Installed

2008-09-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

The projectors up!!! (Sorry, I get so excited these days, it's been a long project!) It's a Panasonic PT-AX200U purchased from Costco.com. It's a 720p projector. Overall I'm pretty happy with the Panny's picture quality (especially for the price!). Standard def dvds look a little ragged projected on a 10 foot screen, but the HD satillite feed looks spectacular. I'll get into Blu-Ray at some point but for now it's great. Plus the color and contrast are very film like, which was an important thing for me. Too many projectors have what could best be descibed as a 'video look', great for watching Monday Night Football but not so good for movies.

I'll build a themed enclosure for the projector once I'm finished with a few other things.

The carpet is in!

2008-09-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday they installed the carpet. To quote The Dude (The Big Lebowski) "It really pulls the room together, man." With the carpet in the room sounds really sweet! The black panels on the lower part of the walls are acoustic insulation to aide in the surround balance. They'll get covered with fabric panels.

Finishing the Projection Screen

2008-09-11T08:35:00.000-07:00

It's time to get the screen up. The frame has been finished and sitting to the side for several weeks now. First I had to wrap the screen frame with black velvet. Velvet is used as it is the darkest, blackest material available. The projected image will be slightly larger than the white screen area and the black velvet will render this spill over virtually invisible.

Steel angle brackets where used to hold the corners together. The acoustically transparent screen material was stretched and fastened to be back of the frame with staples. The screen is actually a woven fabric roller shade material that an entrepreneurial fellow is buying from the manucfacturer by the 100 yard roll and selling off to DIYers like myself by the foot. Good on 'em I say. What am I gonna do with and extra 97 yards of the stuff!

Eventually there will be deep red curtains framing the screen.

Audio System Installed

2008-09-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

Now that all the construction and painting is finished I can begin to install the audio and video components. Here are the front speakers. Those are Thiel CS2.4s for the front left and right, a Thiel MCS for the center and a Cerwin Vega subwoofer. The Sub's going to be visible below the screen so I'll have to build some sort of themed enclosure for it. The 3 front channel speakers have been elevated so that their tweaters are lined up across the center of the projection screen. One concession I had to make with placing the speakers behind the acoustically transparent screen is not being able to see them, and the Thiels are beautifully crafted. I had these made in a cherry veneer and the fit and finish of the enclosures is specatacular. Oh well.

The Patina of Age

2008-09-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

My good buddies Gary and Mike came over yesterday and helped weather the theater. They're both professional scenic artists and did a great job adding a patina of age. It was mostly done with an umber colored glaze added here and there and then sprayed down with water to make it run. Occasional rust streaks were added as well.

Ceiling Beam Installation Finished

2008-09-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

All the ceiling beams are up! Yeah! That was the last major construction item to be done. Now it's all just (a very long list of) little things to get done. The beams really help to make the room feel more closed in, more claustrophobic. Which is the right thing for a submarine!

I also got the beam bolt downs all put in. Like everything else, they're made out of medium density fiberboard, even the bolt heads. Originally I was going to make one bolt head as a pattern, mold it and cast up the 24 needed. But it turned out to be faster just to cut them out and sand them to shape on the belt sander. Only took a couple of hours to make them.

Entry Door from Living Room

2008-08-31T11:40:00.001-07:00

Here's the entry door from the living room. It opens out so guests will see the poster as they enter, setting the theme in their minds. There will be a riveted frame around the poster that isn't done yet. The poster is a reproduction of the Disneyland attraction poster from the late 50's. I drew it up in Adobe Illustrator and had it printed at a local sign shop.

Ceiling Beam Installation Begins

2008-08-28T21:08:00.000-07:00

The first set of ceiling beams was installed today! Yea, the end is in sight! Okay, you've got to have binoculars to see it but it's there. Good thing too, I'm getting dangerously close to burning out! Must... finish... theater...! With the installation of the first beams I was also able to solve a little engineering concern I've been having. The ceiling, which looks like any other drywalled ceiling, is actually suspended from rubber and steel acoustic dampeners which reduce the transfer of sound through to the attic and thus to other rooms. These dampeners have a weight limit they will reliably hold and the two layers of drywall in the ceiling come close to maxing out that limit. I've been concerned that hanging the beams from the ceiling could cause it to sag in time, or worse. Then a flash of inspiration! By joining the two haves of the beam together with a plate in the middle, the resulting unit would be rigid enough to span the room making it possible to attach it only at the side walls and not at all to the ceiling. The plates on the side walls to which the beams are anchored are already screwed into the studs so weight bearing should be not problem.

In the second picture you can see the MDF plate bolted in place bridging the joint between the two halves of the beam. There are actually two plates, one on each side, sandwiching the joint. The bolts will get covered with rivet heads and the plate painted to match the beams. There is also still to come a curved flange where the beams meets the duct. These have to be custom fit once each beam is in place.

Ceiling Beam Fabrication - Part 2

2008-08-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

For the curved flange along the bottom of the beam I was faced with a bit of a challenge. One way of making the beam would hae been to laminate up a wide, flat curved piece from strips of 1/8 inch thick wood on a clamping pattern similar to how the curved projection screen frame was made. But this would have be too time consuming. There are eight beams and each curved flange would have had to be clamped up and left to set over night. Instead I decided to work in the other direction. I cut out curved strips using routing templates and the router table. Here are the parts for two beams. I made each flange side in two parts to make them easier the handle and get more efficient use of materials.

The flange strips were then sandwiched on either side of the beam center. The overall width of the flange was to be 3 inches, so minus the 3/4 inch center, each side strip needed to be 1 1/8 inches wide. To get the width I laminated together either 3/4", 1/4" & 1/8" or 1/2", 1/2" ans 1/8" scrap MDF. I've pretty much run out of the 1 inch thick material.

In the close up picture you can see the fillet of white spackle that's being added to all the inside corners to give the finished beam the appearance of a solid casting.

Ceiling Beam Fabrication - Part 1

2008-08-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

I'm finally underway with the fabrication of the ceiling beams which are the last big construction item to be done before the carpet can go in. The process for making the parts for the beams was very simaler to that of the Iris Viewport. I had a full sized pattern printed out at my local blueprint service bureau. This was then spray glued down to a sheet of 1/4 inch MDF (medium density fiberboard) which was then cut out with a jig saw to make a routing template.

The template was temporarily tacked down to a sheet of 3/4" Ultralite MDF which was then trimmed to shape with a flush cutting router bit in the router table.
Once all t he parts were cut out the were slotted for the plate biscuits that will be used to reinforce the joints. Then the straight flanges were attached to the beams.

The next step is to cut out and attach the curved flange along the bottom edge of each beam.

Vent Fabrication

2008-08-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

The ducts running along the ceiling are not only cosmetic, but functional as well. They house the real heating and air conditioning ducts for the theater, so the vents, or registers, for these ducts also had to be functional. They are based on vents in Arronaux and Ned's cabins modified to work with an off-the-shelf HVAC register.

The baseplates for the vents were cut from the same 24" diamter heavy cardboard tubes that I used for the ducts and the rectangular body built up from 3/4" MDF. Once assembled the center of the cardboard base was cut out to allow for air flow and cast resin rivet heads were glued in place.

The installed vents were fit with functional registers. Rivets were glued in place over the mounting screws in the corners. If you look closely you'll see that the screws used to mount the register are slotted, which is appropriate to the period. these turned out to be rather difficult to find as most hardware stores only carry the Phillips head type!

Projection Screen Fabrication - Part 2

2008-08-15T23:36:00.000-07:00

Once the laminated parts cured I ripped them to a width of 3 1/2 inches on the table saw. The inside edges were beveled with a 45 degree router bit. The corners were mitered and slotted for plate biscuits that would help keep the joints aligned.

The ten-foot long curved frame members wound up having a little more flex than desired (maybe due to the Luann plywood) so I added curved ribs cut from 1x6 pine to the backsides. The piece on the left also has added blocks for the metal French cleat hangers.

The screen will be mounted on struts sticking straight out from the screen wall. this keeps the areas above and below the screen free from obstructions.

Once the I did a test assembly on the frame it became obvious that the mounting struts would have to be modified to be adjustable in order to allow the hanging cleats to be lined up straight and level.

Seating has Arrived

2008-08-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Too bad the theater's not ready yet! Oh well, no matter. In the mean time I've put three of the chairs into storage and set up the other three in the Family Room so we can use them while watching the Olympics.

The seats are from La-Z-Boy. I was really impressed with their build quality and comfort (we were able to try them out in the showroom rather than buy sight unseen (sit unsat?) from a website. The fabric is a polyester micro-fabric that has the look and feel of crushed velvet. Perfect in keeping with the Victorian Steam-Punk style of the Nautilus. And they're made here in the good ol' USA.

Projection Screen Fabrication - Part 1

2008-08-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

The theater will feature a curved, acoustically transparent projection screen. This will allow for all of the front speakers to be placed behind the screen, just like in a commercial cinema. The subtle curve of the screen will help correct the pin-cushion distortion inherent in anamorphic projection and also create a sharper focus from the center of the screen to the outer edges.

I've decided to build my curved screen out of wood for several reasons. The first was cost. Often 2-inch square aluminum tube is used for such a frame. The material cost for aluminum was rather high, plus there would be the additional cost of sending the tubing out to have it bent into the proper curve. Second, a wooden frame would allow both the black velvet and screen material to be secured with staples, rather than a more elaborate mechanical fastening system of some sort. Third, I liked the aesthetics of a wider, shallower frame member over the boxy 2 x 2 aluminum profile.

SeymourAV, from where I purchased the AT screen material, has a very good download of instructions on building a flat AT screen. I liked their basic methodology of the structural frame getting wrapped in black velvet and forming the masking border as well. I followed their instructions, just substituting curved members for the frame top and bottom.

The finished screen will measure 48 x 113 inches (122 inches diagonal), 2.37:1 aspect ratio, curved to a radius of 40 feet. The screen members would wind up being 1 inch thick by 3 1/2 inches wide and would be laminated together out of five layers of 1/4 inch thick Luann plywood. Like most plywood, Luann is slightly undersize in thickness; the five layers stacked up measured almost exactly one inch. Luann is an inexpensive imported mahogany plywood. In hindsight, it might have been better to use a better quality material (less flex) but at the time, the Luann was all I could find in a ten-foot long sheet.

The luann was cut into 4-inch wide strips on a table saw. Once laminated together, the pieces would then be cut down to the finished width of 3 1/2 inches.

I built up a clamping form to the proper radius from MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard). The form was 10 feet, 2 inches long and just over 4 inches wide.

Each set of strips was coated in glue and clamped to the curved form. I used Titebond Extend glue which has a longer working time than regular woodworking glue, giving me enough time to get all the pieces clamped together before the glue starts to skin over. The form was covered with waxed paper to prevent the striped from getting glued to it. The clamped assembly was then left to set overnight.

The last photo shows the untrimmed laminated frame members. The straight sides were just glued up clamped to a flat piece of wood.

Door Casings Complete

2008-08-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

The door casings are now complete with rivets and half-round moulding. I was able to find 1 1/2" half-round wood moulding for the sides and top of the frame but for the corners I had to make a custom curved part, mold and multiple castings.

The door on the left is still to get rivets and textured paint.

Stage Finished

2008-08-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

The stage is complete and painted. The area of the stage that is painted black will be hidden behind the screen and curtains.

Graphics

2008-08-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

Drawing up graphics for the theater is part of the fun of creating t he overall experience. The top graphic is for the signage to go over the entrance to the theater. It's based on the signage for the Nautilus attraction at Disneyland Paris.

The bottom is a themed ticket for a movie night.

Please click on either graphic to view a larger image.

Doors in Progress

2008-07-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

The top photo is of the new door for the AV equipment closet. It is a plain solid-core door to which has been added a layer of 1/2" MDF, cut out with the appropriate pattern. Cast resin rivet heads will be glued to the door. The door knob will be replaced with a custom made lever handle, but that's way down on the To-Do list!

The original design renderings show this as a trapazoid shaped door with a step over threshold, accurate to the doors in the film. I decided to make it rectangular to match the other doors, both for simplicity of construction and unity of design.

The bottom photo is the entry door from the living room. Here you get an idea what the surrounding door frames are going to look like. The oak door will get covered with a cut out layer of MDF to look like the closet door.

More Rivets!

2008-07-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

Moving along with the installation of the trim boards and rivets. The lower, unpainted, portion of the walls will be covered with acoustic absorbing insulation which will then be covered with a blue-gray fabric.

Above, the ducts have all been painted and permanently installed.

Designs for Prop Dressing

2008-07-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

In addition to the physical themed structure of the room, it will be decorated with recreations of many of the props and set dressing pieces from the movie. Here are a couple of renderings showing some of this.

The first shows an ocean chart, above it are the latitude and longitude gauges from Captain Nemo's cabin. Against the wall is a partial version of the specimen display case from the Salon in which there will be shells and other artifacts of the deep. On the stage below the screen will be a large scale model of the Nautilus.

The second rendering shows the iris control arm. Since the iris doesn't actually open (and no doubt visitors to the theater will throw the switch) I plan to have it trigger a sound effect of deep grinding gears and clanking. Then I can say that the iris mechanism is currently broken and cannot be opened!

THX Plaque

2008-07-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

As a diversion from the bigger construction aspects of the screening room, I sat down at my workbench and built this themed THX plaque. It will hang on the wall right outside the entrance door to the theater.

It was built up of of MDF (medium density fiberboard) with glued on cast resin rivet heads. I primed the finished piece with latex drywall primer, then stippled on two heavy base coats of a non-metallic copper colored latex paint which gave it the cast texture. Once dry, it was stippled with a top coat of a bronze metallic latex paint.

Iris Fabrication - Part Two

2008-07-20T08:00:00.001-07:00

(Originally published July 11, 2008)

The finished iris blades were attached to the back wall with screws and spray contact adhesive. Here is where the thicker laminate material would have been nice. It would have lay flatter and might not have required the adhesive to keep it from bowing out in the center. The screws around the outside will be hidden under a rivet ring and the ones under each overlap also act as little spacers creating a small gap and a shadow line between the blades.

I added a metallic highlight to the exposed edge of each blade with a silver paint pen. It makes the overlap pop a bit more. Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it came out. The thicker laminate would stay flatter but then again, it's done, and 'done' is my favorite color!

Iris Fabrication - Part One

2008-07-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

(Originally published July 11, 2008)

I decided to make the iris blades for the viewport out of plastic laminate, the kind that is usually used for countertops. It would be flat, smooth, relatively easy to cut and require not painting as it would be pre-colored. I found a Wilsonart laminate called Alumite that was a sort of mottled aluminum color with a very subtle metallic sparkle. There are some laminates made from real aluminum but they were all too flashy. The laminate was available in two types, a thicker version for countertops and a thinner one for vertical (wall) applications. I chose the thinner one thinking it would close to form a smaller opening in the center. in hindsight, I wished I'd used the thicker one. The thin was just too flimsy and brittle.

First, I printed out a full size paper pattern and spray glued it down to a sheet of 1/2" MDF (medium density fiberboard). This was cut out to the finished shape for use as a routing template. The laminate was rough cut into 8 pieces with a utility knife. I was able to get all 8 blades out of two 4x8 sheets of material.

All 8 sheets were stuck together with double faced paper tape and the template then stuck down to the top of the stack. A flush cutting router bit (also called a laminate trimming bit) was sued in the router table to trim the stack of material to shape. While the blades where still stuck together a row of screw holes was drilled along the outer and overlap edges.

Acoustic Insulation

2008-07-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

(Originally published July 8, 2008)

I've added 1 inch Linacoustic RC acoustic insulation to the screen wall as well as to the portin of the walls and ceiling that will be behind the screen and hidden from view by the curtains. This will improve the overall surround sound effect by reducing conflicting sound waves bouncing back from the same direction as the three front channel speakers.

The material is fairly easy to work with. It's semi-rigid and when unrolled stays pretty flat. It can be cut easily with a utility knife or a large pair of shears. I started out nailing it in place with long nails run through fender washers (painted black so they won't reflect light back through the screen) but about half way through I switched to glueing it in place with 3M #90 spray adhesive which was much more effective and easier. Linacoustic is usually used to line metal air ducts and adhesive is what is usually used to install it. Like any fiberglass insulation, it releases lots of little itchy fiberglass particles when you handle it.

Buckets O' Rivets!

2008-07-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

(Originally published July 3, 2008)

One of the great things about living in the Los Angeles area is the proximity of the movie studios and their resources. I picked up cast resin rivet heads from the Warner Bros Staff Shop in 3/4", 1" and 1 1/2" diameters. They cost 30 cents a piece, which is not cheap, but saves me the cost and time of having to make molds and cast them up.

They also had some large size bolt heads which were glued in place on the viewport ring along with the rivet heads.

The larger sized rivet heads were glued to the back wall with construction adhesive.

Viewport Construction - Part Two

2008-07-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

(Originally published June 27, 2008)

The router was used again to trim up the bottom layer flush with the top. I then used a 45 degree router bit to add the bevel to the triangular holes in the top layer.

The parts were then test fit in place on the back wall of the t heater. The bottom of the viewport where it hits the floor will be hidden behind the second row of seats, so I'm not worried that it's cut off.

Viewport Construction - Part One

2008-07-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

(Originally published June 27, 2008)

I've decided to start in on building the Iris Viewport for the back wall of the theater. It's completely independent of other components so there is nothing else that has to be don before completed. Plus it will be nice to have something so iconic finished that people will recognize as they visit the theater construction in progress.

The first step was to print out full size patterns for the components. Then the paper pattern was spray glued down to some 1/4" MDF (medium density fiberboard). This was cut out with a jigsaw to create a routing template.

The template was temporarily fastened to a sheet of 3/4" thick Ultralite MDF (lots lighter than regular MDF!) which had been roughly cut out a little oversize with the jigsaw. Then a flush cutting router bit in a router table was used to trim the 3/4" material to the exact shape of the template. This could also have been done with the jigsaw, but the router is so much faster and cleaner, particularly when making multiples of the same piece.

The top layer was then glued and clamped to a second layer of MDF, this time 1" thick. (Happiness is having lots of clamps!)

Carpet and Upholstery

2008-07-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

We've selected the carpet and fabric for the recliners. The carpet has just the right sort of Victorian Jules Verne opulence and will contrast wonderfully with the hard edged steam-punk rivet construction. The burgundy fabric for the recliners is a polyester 'micro fabric' which has the look and feel of plush velvet.

The grey fabric is acoustically transparent fabric from Guilford of Maine. it will cover acoustic absorbing panels on the lower portion of the walls.

Overhead Ducts

2008-07-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

(Originally published June 18, 2008)

Today I test fit the tubes that will form the overhead ducts. These will also house the practical HVAC duscts for the heating and air conditioning. The ducts were cut from 24 inch diameter tubing that is typically used as casting forms for concrete columns.

Stage Construction

2008-07-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

(Originally published June 7, 2008)

Just finished construction of the stage. It's really more for cosmetics than purposeful. As the screen will stand out from the wall by 18 inches, there won't be enough room to stand on the stage in front of the screen. It also forms a sort of psychological barriers to keep little ones from walking up and touching the screen with sticky fingers!

The stage was framed up just like the seating riser, 2 x 8s over 30lbs roofing paper. The whole thing was then filled with dry sand. This creates a dead mass under the sub-woofer(s) to prevent unwanted reverberations. Once filled, the stage was topped with 3/4 inch ply, glued and screwed down.

Seating Riser Construction

2008-07-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

(Originally published June 3, 2008)

Construction has recommenced! This past week I finished the seating riser for the second row of seats. It's framed up from 2x8s on 12 inch spacing. Between the riser framing and the floor is a layer of 30lbs roofing paper to eliminate creeks and help mitigate sound transfer through the floor.

The cavities in the riser were filled with R-30 fiberglass insulation to prevent it from resonating the deep bass frequencies from the sub-woofer. The riser will also form a sort of bass trap to absorb extra low frequencies in the room.

The decking is two layers of 3/4 inch plywood, glued and screwed down to the riser joists. In between the two layers of ply is a product called Green Glue which reduces sound transfer through the floor.

1/4 inch wide by 26 inch long slots were routed all t he wall through the decking, one slot for each insulation filled cavity. This turns the riser into a bass trap to absorb some of the unwanted low frequency sound waves.

A New Design

2008-07-19T09:24:00.001-07:00

(Originally published May 23, 2008)

Having been away from working on the theater for more than a year I've reassessed the design. I had been planning on a fairly traditional Craftsman style interior. But as I looked at it with fresh eyes, I found it a bit boring. I also considered Art Deco (think old movie house) and Frank Lloyd Wright styles but neither of those excited me very much. I have always liked the WOW factor of themed hometheaters. There are some terrific home theaters that have been done in Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and Batman themes, to name a few.

So the new design for the theater is going to be themed after the Nautilus from Disney's classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea! I've always loved this film and the look of the submarine and interior sets as designed by Harper Goff is just spectacular.

Rather than recreate any one room from the Nautilus, details have been taken from several of the sets and incorporated into the theater. The overall layout is unchanged, just the aesthetics of the interior.

Another change has been to the projection screen. It has been increased in size from 100 inches to 120 inches wide. (Size matters!) Now with the wider screen, all three of the front speakers will be located behind the acoustically transparent screen, just like in a commercial cinema. Moving the front left and reight speakers behind the screen also freed up a lot of the visual clutter around the screen. The screen will also now be curved, which will reduce the pin-cushion distortion inherent in wide-screen projection and help create a more even focus from the center to the corners of the screen.

On t he back wall will be the iconic viewport from the Salon on the Nautilus. In the film, the iris would open to reveal the wonders of the deep. Unfortunatly, in my theater, the only thing behind the iris will be drywall, so it will have to remain shut!

On the door is a recreation of the Disneyland attraction poster from the late 50's. Walt Disney had the sets from the movie installed as a walk-through attraction at the park from 1955 through 1964. It was one of the most popular attractions at Disneyland.

13 months of inactivity

2008-07-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

(Originally published May, 2008)

Funny how life comes along and gets in the way of projects! Once the room was drywalled, I had to move on to working on some of the other rooms in my remodel. In addition to the theater, the remodel includes a new master bedroom suite, a new second bath and a new home office. Plus I went away on location to shoot a mini-series in Australia for 6 months.

But now it's time to get back to work on the theater...

Drywall

2008-07-19T09:14:00.001-07:00

(Originally published March 2007)

The drywall is up. My contractor's crew did that job, too much for me! There are two layers of drywall, 1/2 inch over 5/8 inch. Each thickness absorbs different frequencies of sound, again reducing the transfer of sound from the theater to the surrounding rooms. In between the two layers is an adhesive product called Green Glue. It form's another layer of acoustic isolation.

I don't have any pictures to post of the drywall installation but it was pretty much as in any other room, except for the two layers.

Ceiling Isolation

2008-07-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

(Originally published February 22, 2007)

In order to acoustically isolate the new theater ceiling from the existing structure, they dry wall is going to be hung on hat channel suspended from RSIC isolation clips. The clips have little rubber discs that eliminate most ofthe transfer of sound energy through the solid parts of the structure.

I installed the RSIC clips and hat channel today. It was pretty straight forward. It took more time to lay out the clip locations as the actual installation, having to make sure that they stayed parallel and 16" on center. Furthur complicated since about 2/3 of the clips are going over and existing ceiling and the remainder directly on the new ceiling joists. One thin I'll say about the RSIC-1s, they may be expensive but man are they well thought out and engineered. It was a pleasure to work with something that is so easy to use! Just screw them up and snap in t he the hat channel. Really easy for one person to do, even on top of a ladder.

Insulation

2008-07-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

(Originally published February 20, 2007)

Got the insulation all in this past weekend. I actually wasn't as miserable a task as I had been led to believe. A little itchy, but there was more discomfort from having to work in long sleeves (here in Southern California we're having an unseasonably warm spell) than from the fibers. I think it helped that I was using the type with the kraft paper facing.

My wall studs are actually 8'-4" so the batts came up a little short. Had to go back and fill in a little more at the bottom.

Framing and Rough Electrical

2008-07-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

(Originally published February 14, 2007)

Just got the framing and rough electrical complete. The staggered studs were a bit of a challenge since I have several different wall conditions. Existing 2x3s (actual dimensions) new non-load bearing 2x4 wall, exterior 2x6 wall and interior 2x6 wall. If some places i was able to do pretty straight forward staggered 2x4 framing but where the existing 2x3 walls had fireblocks I turned the studs sideways and spaced them 1/4" away from the existing framing. Where ever the staggered studs crossed the fireblocks or diagonal bracing I placed a piece of 1/4" foam rubber just to make sure they didn't touch if the studs warped.

The electrical was fun and pretty straight forward. Convenience outlets where the columns will be, 4 wall sconces and two ceiling mounted "reading" lights over the front row. Plus a provision for either line voltage of low voltage step lights, all to be controlled by a Grafik Eye.

The top pic is of the east wall. This is where the seating riser will go. The gap in the old oak flooring and ceiling is where the old living room wall was. The Theater is being built in an enlarged old bedroom.

The middle pic is the west wall. This will be the screen wall. To the right is the entry from the new office space.

The bottom pic is the ceiling. This is still to get RSIC clips and hat channel, then two layers of drywall with GG in between. The foreground is the existing bedroom cottage cheese over lathe and plaster ceiling. In the background is the new construction. The room was lengthened by about 7 feet. The Romex running accross the existing ceiling will be contained in the inch and a half gap between the old ceiling and the new drywall.

Screening Room Construction Begins

2008-07-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

(Originally published January 29, 2007 )

After many years of planning and reading of posts on the AV forums, construction had finally begun on the Bungalow Films Screening Room. Dennis Erskine, a professional theater and acoustic designer, designed the theater for me a year and a half ago and it has taken a while to get the project going. The screening room is part of a larger addition to my house so there are (unfortunately) a lot of other concerns that often take precidence over the theater. The theater is being built in what once was a smaller bedroom measuring only 10 feet-8 inches by 13 feet-4 inches. Based on Dennis's acoustic calculations and recommendations the room was expanded to 13 feet by 21 feet, the extra width being taken out of the adjacient living room and the extra length being part of the all new add-on to the house. The existing bedroom had a closet which will be used for the AV equipment and DVD storage.

My intention is to use the theater, not only to watch movies, but as a screening room for my work as a visual effects supervisor. With this in mind, the screening room is adjacient to a new production office space and digital work being done on the computers there will be able to fed into the screening room for projection and evaluation.

My current equipment roster is as follows:

B&K AVR507 AV Receiver
B&K Reference 200.5 Amplifier
Arcam DV78 DVD Player
Cinea SV300 DVD Player
Front L&R Speakers = Thiel CS2.4
Center Speaker = Thiel MCS
Surrounds = Thiel PCS
Misubishi HS-U748 VCR
Tivo Series 2
Hughes DirecTV HD Satillite Receiver
Xbox
Monster HTS 5100 Mk2 Power Center
Transparent Audio Speaker Cable

I am intending to add another B&K 2 Amplifier unit when I go to 7.1.

The Thiel PCS surround will be replaced with in-wall speakers, probably Triad Silvers and the Thiel PCSs moved into my office for listening to music.

The screen will be 100 inch horizontal, 1:2.35 CIH (Constant Image Height), probably home built.

I have not settled on a projector yet though I am seriously considering both the Runco 610 and the Dwin Transvision 4, plus probably the Panamorph anamorphic lens.