Mediathemes magazine: “Making a good projection in a library”

What motivates someone to come and see a film being screened in a media library, at a time when all or almost all films are easily available on the internet, including on the platforms of certain media libraries? On the one hand, the desire for an encounter, for embodied sharing, for an event that makes sense beyond the film, debates before or after, connection to themes worked on in the framework of cultural proposals. And on the other hand, the technical quality of the screening. But not all media libraries have a well-equipped auditorium, and even then there may be technical adjustments to be made without the presence of a projection professional. The quality of the projection has a direct impact on the viewer’s enjoyment, and therefore on the meaning of the experience.

A “good” projection does not only depend on “objective” technical conditions, but rather on a methodology linked to a certain number of key details, which we will see precisely. You can’t say “it’s not my fault, I don’t have the necessary equipment”, you can always improve things. I even do travelling projections, of excellent technical quality, with portable video projectors in the streets of the cities!

Darkness

Darkness in a room is a major consideration. Maybe your small multipurpose room has windows without blinds, and it seems like a waste to get darkness in there. But adding at least a little more darkness, or as much as possible darkness, is a game-changer. Indeed, if you test the projection of an image in full light, and you remove the lights one by one, you will literally see the image appear. The darker the room, the more the image simply exists. Insofar as what we transmit are images (associated with sounds, we will come to that later), making the image exist, optically speaking, is of course the basis of everything. I repeat: even if total darkness is not possible, darkening, even a little more, already changes a lot. Don’t forget that what will make the technical quality of your projection is not one main element, it is the addition of small elements, which, taken alone, seem modest, but which, associated with each other, change the perception.

One could say: but if we took a big flat screen, a television set, it would make a visible image in full light. Certainly, but I strongly advise against using a flat screen for a public projection: the image will always be smaller than that of a projection, the flat screen is an everyday object so the device is not extraordinary, reducing this collective experience to an everyday one, but above all, technically and physiologically speaking, a video projector makes a projection of an image on a surface which, by reflexion arrives to our eyes, while the flat screen sends photons directly into our eyes, there is neither projection nor reflexion. The words are not harmless... Projection: what we project, what we imagine, what we elaborate. Reflexion: the exercise of thought.

It is to these adventures there, it seems to me, that the cultural proposals invite the spectators.

Sound volume

We have said so much about cinema that it is an art of the image that we often forget, technically speaking, the sound. The image raises questions, the sound seems obvious. In reality, what makes a major part of the cinema experience for the spectator is the fact of being immersed in the sound, which requires two main conditions: a powerful sound reproduction system, and a higher sound volume than in everyday life. Don’t think that small computer speakers are suffisantes. Experience it, compare, in the same place, the sound of the same film listened to via small speakers and via a powerful sound system, it’s day and night, really, in terms of physical sensation. Cinema is about the pleasure of the spectator. Sound plays a huge part in that. However, a powerful sound system is not an extraordinary object. A simple stereo system, or some large Bluetooth speakers are quite suffisantes. Put some attention to the sound, it will change everything!

Projector setup

Either you have a projector already hooked up or you have a mobile projector. Even in the case of the projector already attached, adjustments can significantly improve the quality of the projection. In the case of a mobile projector, take the time to find the best positioning. You can project on a screen, but sometimes on a simple wall. The image should be “hung” on an architectural feature, it should not “flotte” in the middle of a large wall. At least two of its edges (left-right or top-bottom) should be positioned on the edges of an architectural element. Try to make the largest image possible (which means moving the projector back), which gives it more value. On the other hand, if your location cannot be totally obscured, sometimes a smaller image may be preferred (because the smaller the image the brighter it is, as the power of the projector is more concentrated). Once you have found the right positioning, take the time to work on the perfect horizontality of the image (sometimes it takes time to wedge the projector feet with stacked media library programs). Then take the time to adjust the “trapezoid” (when the projector is higher or lower than the screen, the image is logically distorted in height, which can be compensated for, in all or almost all video projectors, by the “trapezoid” function, which distorts the image in the other direction, so that the vertical lines (easy to see on the edges of the image) become vertical again.

Image proportions

Be really careful, and here the setting may be different for each film, to respect the proportions of the original image. Too often we see distorted films: crushed in width, or stretched in height. The work is then absolutely not respected. Problems with poor image proportions can come from many places: the settings of the player (computer or DVD, Blu-ray or multimedia player), the settings of the video projector, and the settings that connect the player and the computer. There are also settings in the playback software that can come into play.

The viewer’s vision

Sit in all the seats, with viewers in front of you, to verificate that the subtitles, for example, are visible.

The magic of the screening

A screening is a magical moment, a ritual. Make sure your screenings are, technically speaking. Top tip: set up the playback of your film so that when people enter the room, the screen is black, and all you have to do is press the space bar on your computer for the film to start. Ditto at the fin of the film, that after the film, the screen stays black. If viewers see all your manipulations on the screen, it breaks the mystery, it trivializes it. Some people do this with playlists in the playback software, some people just put a cardboard box in front of the video projector to cut off the flux of light.

Try it out

Get serious about projection technique, the attention you put into it will have an immediate impact on your viewers’ enjoyment. Take the time to test, both before and just before the screening, planifiez this time into your organization.

Have a good screening!

Article published in the book “Cinema in the library” (Collection Médiathèmes 2017), edited by Dominique Rousselet, Julie Guillaumot, Marianne Palesse. Editions Association des Bibliothécaires de France/Images en bibliothèques.

Fourth cover

Since the 1970s, libraries have played an essential role in the dissemination of film and audiovisual works, whether in terms of access to works or cultural action. Their actions have never stopped evolving and they have been able to adapt to the changes in the landscape.

Today, they are important actors in image education and mediation with the public. They guarantee free and legal access for all audiences to films from all horizons (contemporary and repertory films, fiction, documentaries, animations, television series, experimental films, web creations, etc.).

However, new fundamental questions require librarians to collectively reflect on their practices. What is the place of libraries in the new digital access landscape? How can we help the public to sharpen their critical eye on images, in particular from the Web and the media? What new actions should be imagined to link the online offer to physical collections and collective animations?