AV News 196 - May 2014
My first experience of a big screen was at school when, for a treat we all crowded
into the hall and the little ones (me) had to sit right up against this big sheet of
canvas. What distortion! That was how I first experienced the Maltese Falcon.
That said, I am all for going pretty close to the screen. In that way it fills your field
of vision and minimises the distraction of back-of-heads and, bane of many halls,
those green EXIT signs.On the school front, and I write as a retired beak, all sorts
of gadgets were on offer to improve viewing. The Epidiascope was something of
a laugh since it depended not just on complete blackout but also the power of
reflected light off the image. And you had to be a dab hand at putting the object
in right way up, or the kids would howl! Then we had, in some classrooms, rear
projection! Wow! This was supposed to allow daylight viewing (tell that again) but
again the snag was putting in the slides not only right way up but inside out. The
best relief, as I recall it, was if a visit