This reveals a number of “snagging” issues, e.g. the fabric around where the flying ladies will land is loose; the underside of the sloping section above the proscenium has not been covered – assuming it should be covered.
The fabric just has to be “poked” into the profile track that holds it tensioned in place.
I’d imagine that the uncovered section to which you refer perhaps are air conditioning vents that are yet (?) to have grilles attached.
The proscenium end does look better with white concealed lighting installed and operational, although from your photos, it appears to be a distinctly cold white. The “leakage” onto the sides of the screen looks dreadful.
Alas, low power sidewall decorative feature lighting is all that is to be found in cinema fit-out supplier catalogues, and I suspect that it would require a specific effort and awareness to specify the high powered lighting needed to wash the walls.
I wonder what the priorities are for fellow Cinema Treasure contributors?
Are tabs and decorative lighting more important than picture/sound quality? Or comfort (seating, etc.)?
(I mean in a general sense, rather than specifically in relation to the Odeon Leicester Square.)
Obviously, this is a somewhat synthetic question as the answer would surely be “both” or “why should one need to choose?” and the experience of visiting a cinema is a total package from entering the door (or before; the “film perforation” tiles on the platform walls in LSQ Underground station “foreshadowing” watching a movie, for example.)
joeswin: Thank you for finding that out and relaying the information here. A terrible shame.
Incidentally, I dreamt last night that I visited the OLS and the building work had resumed, with a JCB just outside the LSQ frontage handling excavated rubble, with a large trench in front of the entrance. They were allowing public tours of the cinema; the auditorium sidewall/ceiling colour had reverted back to white. I asked various people whether curtains were due to be installed and most did not know, although one said “no… this is after all a business and this does not affect presentation.”
I think I need to go on a cinema “detox” programme! ;–)
Given the new screen is very similar in size to the old one, there would have been no reason to remove the proscenium arch […] so there would have to be a very good reason for meddling with the theatre’s skeleton in this area and I just don’t see one.
I don’t think it is being suggested here that the proscenium opening may have been widened? No such widening is shown in the up-to-date licensing plans. As mentioned, I could imagine, perhaps, that it might have been slightly narrowed if acoustic material had been attached around its edge.
Factually, the screen is not large in relation to the auditorium’s size; and it’s not even that large in absolute size, either, as “premium large format” auditoria in multiplexes grow in size—a recent example is the Cineworld Watford IMAX (with Laser) (opened December 2018) with its ~22m (~72ft.) wide screen (1.9:1.)
Of course, whether it is desirable for the OLS to be equipped with a larger screen is another matter, as is the practicability and cost-benefit of such; including, as you say, tampering with the “skeleton” were such to be placed within the existent proscenium opening.
From 1968 until January of last year, the plain ceiling section where the downward slope of the ceiling accelerated to meet the top of the arch, invariably glowed during brighter scenes rather like an elongated cloud.
I’m assuming that the ‘67 refurbishment involved the removal of the original ceiling? Did the replacement—other than, of course, being smooth— follow the exact profile of the original?
Now, the ceiling from just above the arch to a point roughly midway between stage and balcony is both flat and lower and flat fronted. Presumably this addition contains some of the speakers and, were it to be open at the rear or stage end, might potentially contain some stage lighting.
IIRC, some of the articles on the OLS refurbishment have said that it covers over some of the ceiling speakers, and this does seem plausible. Clearly, the finish is stretched fabric. There is no reason that the profiles used to hold/tension the stretch fabric couldn’t have been curved (as shown in photos uploaded by TheatreofVarieties, the old Empire 1’s curved steels were moved up and then the stretched fabric profiles were attached to them.) In the case of the OLS, it looks as if straight trusses have been suspended to enable “rigging” of the speakers, and stretched fabric then used to cover over. (Presumably, there is plenty of acoustic absorption fitted behind also.)
Thank you very much for the information on the Victoria Palace Theatre refurbishment works, and thank you to Ian for those fascinating photos uploaded on Flickr.
Brief portfolio page on Malishev Engineers' site, “Odeon Leicester Square Main Entrance.”
To quote (sic,) it “featur[es] several openings with glass fins, bespoke set of door frames and simply large glass units all designed to accommodate substantial blast loading for the whole system, including structural silicone.”
except the heating system had failed, so the auditorium was extremely chilly
Oh dear! It was extremely cold yesterday—at least by the standards of this island’s temperate climate! Hopefully it wasn’t totally unbearable?
I was told that engineers spent a week perfecting the sound system.
If I may ask, from where did you obtain this information?
The screen has been moved up from the previous position and does not appear to be angled in the way the old screen was. One now has to look up at the screen, although not a problem in Row H if you use the recliner. The screen also looked – to my eyes anyway – slightly smaller than before. Perhaps a consequence of moving the screen upwards? I would welcome others peoples' opinion on the screen size.
Comparing Ian’s flickr-uploaded photo of the refurbished auditorium with a photo of the OLS auditorium from rear circle, it does seem that the screen has been raised up slightly, albeit looking at other photos of the refurbished auditorium with the organ raised up, it would appear that, were it positioned any lower, then it would have partially obstructed the view of the screen from the front stalls?
It does very much look like the angle has changed.
Unless the proscenium opening has been reduced in size (e.g. addition of acoustic absorption on edges)—and that would presumably be a matter of a few inches—then the screen looks about the same size?
the digital safety curtain, which is also animated and has a tune!
Good grief, it is shown after all!
Odeon employs a doorman/woman to open and close the main doors on to the street
D'oh! That’s the word I had been looking for. I suspect it won’t, but I hope that is continued.
Regarding auditorium fill rates—it is now off-season. Good to hear that it did well over Christmas/New Year.
FanaticalAboutOdeon: Many thanks for posting your detailed account.
I stopped by the OLS a couple of days ago—albeit only having a quick look around the foyers—mostly the circle lounge/“Oscar’s Bar.”
The ambience achieved from start to finish—the doors from Leicester Square being manually opened for patrons on entry (I wonder if this will occur on a permanent basis?)—is one of overwhelming supreme luxury and quality.
The glass box is a wonderful addition, appearing to be well-insulated, and the seating looked very comfortable indeed.
A couple of additional points:
-The high specification of finishes continues into the toilets-at circle level, white marble tiled walls in the access to the male toilets extends into the toilets.
-A number of snags could be seen, including paint edge lines that ought to be tidied up, and two holes in the plasterboard ceiling of the circle lounge were visible, one with wiring left hanging. In the male toilets at circle level, on attempting to dispense some soap from a bottle, it fell off what appeared to be an incompete fixture!
-The “knocking through” of the ground level foyer into the former “Studios” foyer is very effective, and the seating was well used with patrons looking very relaxed in their surroundings.
-The clock in the ground level foyer still appeared to be stuck.
Hopefully the famous ladies will be “flying in” to their splay wall positions soon—making it possible to attend a performance in a completed auditorium!
CF100
commented about
Curtainson
Jan 4, 2019 at 3:16 pm
Kers: Thanks for the heads-up, looks like I’ll be able to sit in the Royal Circle for “free "thanks to Odeon’s complementary Gift Voucher following the cancellation of the first day of open to the public scheduled programming. (I also have another £25 Odeon Gift Voucher that was a Christmas present!)
LARGE_screen_format: The ticket prices vary depending on demand, FanaticalAboutOdeon has discussed the idea behind “flex” pricing and where it comes from. I don’t think this is an indication of Odeon “listening” to the “backlash,” which in any case is altogether too late now?
(i.e. The most serious problem as I saw it was launching with £40+ tickets which inevitably lead to dissemination of this as being the ticket price, rather than it being the highest priced seats under a high demand situation. It does not seem like a fantastic idea when the cinema has been closed for the best part of a year and needs to reestablish/expand business?)
DavidZornig: Thanks for the link, interesting to see the foyer back then!
Looks like the OLS will close on the 3rd January 2019, reopening on the 11th with “Stan and Ollie” programmed for the main auditorium. (Marked as “Dolby Cinema Screen” on Odeon’s booking pages, but it’s certainly not listed as a Dolby Cinema “enhanced” release on Dolby’s site.)
Addendum: The booth for the IMAX is above the main foyer, with the sloped ceiling to the left of this photo being under the stadia for its seating. Peak low frequencies from the IMAX certainly “leak” into this area!
It’s basically a video wall along a curved corridor that “snakes” around under the booth/rear of the seating, connecting to the vomitory into the auditorium.
Some ISENSE auditoria feature a similar entrance, albeit with “environmental” mood setting content rather than fast moving trailers.
Obviously, this is straightforward enough with a typical multiplex layout, but the OLS has 4 entrances to the auditorium (1 stalls, 3 circle level.) Incorporating it at stalls level would be at the expense of the added facilities in the the space that was formerly part of the rear stalls. It also clearly is not the design direction that Odeon have chosen for the refurbishment. (Else the black marble wall finishes in the circle, for instance, could have been LED display module screens instead!)
A bit of “cropping” should not be a problem, or is even desirable.
I’ve seen some “scope” films having with slight black “bars” to the left/right edges on some shots and not others, which is extremely irritating.
In the old CRT days, TVs invariably “overscanned” the image, with the edges cropped. TVs today still have an (anachronistically named!) “overscan” option setting, and sometimes it’s factory set to “ON.”
Anything that needs to be seen does not belong in the very edges of the frame. (This, of course, gets complicated by the existence of the IMAX-exclusive versions of films having scenes in 1.43 or 1.9:1 ratios, whilst the standard theatrical release is cropped to scope, but that’s another story…)
In any case, how did you find the picture/sound quality?
Comparing photos of the auditorium as it is to the renderings, it seems that not only are the flying ladies not in, but the white light strip forming a sort of “dado rail” in the stalls is not visible, nor the the concealed lighting behind the flying ladies, nor the curved strip of lighting above the/ahead of the flying ladies.
Odeon have posted some high resolution photos on Twitter.
There are clear signs of unfinished work and/or “snags” that need to be remedied, with quite a bit of wiring looking like it needs tidying up. (No, I’m not placing any bets on whether tabs are to be added!)
The wood panelling looks fantastic, as does the rear stalls ceiling, under the circle. The latter appears to be the “Acoustic Wood by Eomac” Grill product.
This installation looks quite unsightly, and more so since, curiously, the grilles have not been attached. (They appear to screw on, so, no, the reason presumably is not because they would at risk of falling off!)
The proscenium end does look disappointing, more so given FanaticalAboutOdeon’s extensive descriptions of the various curtains and lighting schemes over the years.
Perhaps the screen has been moved forward such that there is no space for tabs?
I am puzzled by the concealed lighting in the coves on the circle sidewall/ceiling. They were shown as “white” in the renderings, but all photos of them look like white with blue patches?!
Zappomatic: Seems like a rather random alteration. Was the carpet worn?
curmudgeon: LOL, goodness!
I am baffled as to why this is a problem that would occur with recliner seating?
Kers: Thank you for the photos and update.
The fabric just has to be “poked” into the profile track that holds it tensioned in place.
I’d imagine that the uncovered section to which you refer perhaps are air conditioning vents that are yet (?) to have grilles attached.
The proscenium end does look better with white concealed lighting installed and operational, although from your photos, it appears to be a distinctly cold white. The “leakage” onto the sides of the screen looks dreadful.
Alas, low power sidewall decorative feature lighting is all that is to be found in cinema fit-out supplier catalogues, and I suspect that it would require a specific effort and awareness to specify the high powered lighting needed to wash the walls.
I wonder what the priorities are for fellow Cinema Treasure contributors?
Are tabs and decorative lighting more important than picture/sound quality? Or comfort (seating, etc.)?
(I mean in a general sense, rather than specifically in relation to the Odeon Leicester Square.)
Obviously, this is a somewhat synthetic question as the answer would surely be “both” or “why should one need to choose?” and the experience of visiting a cinema is a total package from entering the door (or before; the “film perforation” tiles on the platform walls in LSQ Underground station “foreshadowing” watching a movie, for example.)
joeswin: Thank you for finding that out and relaying the information here. A terrible shame.
Incidentally, I dreamt last night that I visited the OLS and the building work had resumed, with a JCB just outside the LSQ frontage handling excavated rubble, with a large trench in front of the entrance. They were allowing public tours of the cinema; the auditorium sidewall/ceiling colour had reverted back to white. I asked various people whether curtains were due to be installed and most did not know, although one said “no… this is after all a business and this does not affect presentation.”
I think I need to go on a cinema “detox” programme! ;–)
FanaticalAboutOdeon:
I don’t think it is being suggested here that the proscenium opening may have been widened? No such widening is shown in the up-to-date licensing plans. As mentioned, I could imagine, perhaps, that it might have been slightly narrowed if acoustic material had been attached around its edge.
Factually, the screen is not large in relation to the auditorium’s size; and it’s not even that large in absolute size, either, as “premium large format” auditoria in multiplexes grow in size—a recent example is the Cineworld Watford IMAX (with Laser) (opened December 2018) with its ~22m (~72ft.) wide screen (1.9:1.)
Of course, whether it is desirable for the OLS to be equipped with a larger screen is another matter, as is the practicability and cost-benefit of such; including, as you say, tampering with the “skeleton” were such to be placed within the existent proscenium opening.
I’m assuming that the ‘67 refurbishment involved the removal of the original ceiling? Did the replacement—other than, of course, being smooth— follow the exact profile of the original?
IIRC, some of the articles on the OLS refurbishment have said that it covers over some of the ceiling speakers, and this does seem plausible. Clearly, the finish is stretched fabric. There is no reason that the profiles used to hold/tension the stretch fabric couldn’t have been curved (as shown in photos uploaded by TheatreofVarieties, the old Empire 1’s curved steels were moved up and then the stretched fabric profiles were attached to them.) In the case of the OLS, it looks as if straight trusses have been suspended to enable “rigging” of the speakers, and stretched fabric then used to cover over. (Presumably, there is plenty of acoustic absorption fitted behind also.)
Thank you very much for the information on the Victoria Palace Theatre refurbishment works, and thank you to Ian for those fascinating photos uploaded on Flickr.
Brief portfolio page on Malishev Engineers' site, “Odeon Leicester Square Main Entrance.”
To quote (sic,) it “featur[es] several openings with glass fins, bespoke set of door frames and simply large glass units all designed to accommodate substantial blast loading for the whole system, including structural silicone.”
Thank you Ian and Kers for your accounts.
Kers:
Oh dear! It was extremely cold yesterday—at least by the standards of this island’s temperate climate! Hopefully it wasn’t totally unbearable?
If I may ask, from where did you obtain this information?
Comparing Ian’s flickr-uploaded photo of the refurbished auditorium with a photo of the OLS auditorium from rear circle, it does seem that the screen has been raised up slightly, albeit looking at other photos of the refurbished auditorium with the organ raised up, it would appear that, were it positioned any lower, then it would have partially obstructed the view of the screen from the front stalls?
It does very much look like the angle has changed.
Unless the proscenium opening has been reduced in size (e.g. addition of acoustic absorption on edges)—and that would presumably be a matter of a few inches—then the screen looks about the same size?
Good grief, it is shown after all!
D'oh! That’s the word I had been looking for. I suspect it won’t, but I hope that is continued.
Regarding auditorium fill rates—it is now off-season. Good to hear that it did well over Christmas/New Year.
…?
FanaticalAboutOdeon: Many thanks for posting your detailed account.
I stopped by the OLS a couple of days ago—albeit only having a quick look around the foyers—mostly the circle lounge/“Oscar’s Bar.”
The ambience achieved from start to finish—the doors from Leicester Square being manually opened for patrons on entry (I wonder if this will occur on a permanent basis?)—is one of overwhelming supreme luxury and quality.
The glass box is a wonderful addition, appearing to be well-insulated, and the seating looked very comfortable indeed.
A couple of additional points:
-The high specification of finishes continues into the toilets-at circle level, white marble tiled walls in the access to the male toilets extends into the toilets.
-A number of snags could be seen, including paint edge lines that ought to be tidied up, and two holes in the plasterboard ceiling of the circle lounge were visible, one with wiring left hanging. In the male toilets at circle level, on attempting to dispense some soap from a bottle, it fell off what appeared to be an incompete fixture!
-The “knocking through” of the ground level foyer into the former “Studios” foyer is very effective, and the seating was well used with patrons looking very relaxed in their surroundings.
-The clock in the ground level foyer still appeared to be stuck.
Hopefully the famous ladies will be “flying in” to their splay wall positions soon—making it possible to attend a performance in a completed auditorium!
Fantastic to see this!
Kers: Thanks for the heads-up, looks like I’ll be able to sit in the Royal Circle for “free "thanks to Odeon’s complementary Gift Voucher following the cancellation of the first day of open to the public scheduled programming. (I also have another £25 Odeon Gift Voucher that was a Christmas present!)
LARGE_screen_format: The ticket prices vary depending on demand, FanaticalAboutOdeon has discussed the idea behind “flex” pricing and where it comes from. I don’t think this is an indication of Odeon “listening” to the “backlash,” which in any case is altogether too late now?
(i.e. The most serious problem as I saw it was launching with £40+ tickets which inevitably lead to dissemination of this as being the ticket price, rather than it being the highest priced seats under a high demand situation. It does not seem like a fantastic idea when the cinema has been closed for the best part of a year and needs to reestablish/expand business?)
A Happy New Year to all!
DavidZornig: Thanks for the link, interesting to see the foyer back then!
Looks like the OLS will close on the 3rd January 2019, reopening on the 11th with “Stan and Ollie” programmed for the main auditorium. (Marked as “Dolby Cinema Screen” on Odeon’s booking pages, but it’s certainly not listed as a Dolby Cinema “enhanced” release on Dolby’s site.)
15/70 IMAX Projector Installation.
Addendum: The booth for the IMAX is above the main foyer, with the sloped ceiling to the left of this photo being under the stadia for its seating. Peak low frequencies from the IMAX certainly “leak” into this area!
moviebuff82: Many happy returns. :–)
A Merry Christmas to all…
Thank you FanaticalAboutOdeon.
I think LARGE_screen_format had in mind by “video wall entrance” was something like this:
YouTube video of AMC Dolby Cinema auditorium entrance.
It’s basically a video wall along a curved corridor that “snakes” around under the booth/rear of the seating, connecting to the vomitory into the auditorium.
Some ISENSE auditoria feature a similar entrance, albeit with “environmental” mood setting content rather than fast moving trailers.
Obviously, this is straightforward enough with a typical multiplex layout, but the OLS has 4 entrances to the auditorium (1 stalls, 3 circle level.) Incorporating it at stalls level would be at the expense of the added facilities in the the space that was formerly part of the rear stalls. It also clearly is not the design direction that Odeon have chosen for the refurbishment. (Else the black marble wall finishes in the circle, for instance, could have been LED display module screens instead!)
Kers: See OLS projector alignment example.
A bit of “cropping” should not be a problem, or is even desirable.
I’ve seen some “scope” films having with slight black “bars” to the left/right edges on some shots and not others, which is extremely irritating.
In the old CRT days, TVs invariably “overscanned” the image, with the edges cropped. TVs today still have an (anachronistically named!) “overscan” option setting, and sometimes it’s factory set to “ON.”
Anything that needs to be seen does not belong in the very edges of the frame. (This, of course, gets complicated by the existence of the IMAX-exclusive versions of films having scenes in 1.43 or 1.9:1 ratios, whilst the standard theatrical release is cropped to scope, but that’s another story…)
In any case, how did you find the picture/sound quality?
Comparing photos of the auditorium as it is to the renderings, it seems that not only are the flying ladies not in, but the white light strip forming a sort of “dado rail” in the stalls is not visible, nor the the concealed lighting behind the flying ladies, nor the curved strip of lighting above the/ahead of the flying ladies.
Odeon have posted some high resolution photos on Twitter.
There are clear signs of unfinished work and/or “snags” that need to be remedied, with quite a bit of wiring looking like it needs tidying up. (No, I’m not placing any bets on whether tabs are to be added!)
The wood panelling looks fantastic, as does the rear stalls ceiling, under the circle. The latter appears to be the “Acoustic Wood by Eomac” Grill product.
8 subwoofer cabinets are hung under the circle ceiling, which look to be either Dolby SLS CS218XL Cinema Subwoofer Modules or Dolby SLS CS218I Cinema Subwoofer Modules. Each comprises 2x18" drivers, so it can be seen that 16 18" drivers are visible for the (bass managed) rear low end.
This installation looks quite unsightly, and more so since, curiously, the grilles have not been attached. (They appear to screw on, so, no, the reason presumably is not because they would at risk of falling off!)
Cinema Technology Magazine – March 2013 – “Return of The Regal” – by architect Bill Chew.
Article including photos taken during the refurbishment — photos of new stadia under construction and seating installation initiated.
Planning application including existing and proposed plans.
The plans are to be found on the last page; most of the documents are public representations.
Plans are by architect Bill Chew.
The proscenium end does look disappointing, more so given FanaticalAboutOdeon’s extensive descriptions of the various curtains and lighting schemes over the years.
Perhaps the screen has been moved forward such that there is no space for tabs?
I am puzzled by the concealed lighting in the coves on the circle sidewall/ceiling. They were shown as “white” in the renderings, but all photos of them look like white with blue patches?!
YouTube – ODEON Luxe Leicester Square Is Coming.
Uploaded 2nd December, views inside the unfinished auditorium, and full motion pans around the 3D models of the auditorium and circle foyer.
Evening Standard – “First Look at Leicester Square Odeon Revamp”.
Photos of the new escalators and an evening view out of the “glass box” across the square.
Kers: All’s well that ends well! :–)
I’m wondering whether to go in the new year after the finishing touches are added. Hmm…
Photo of doors to “Royal Circle”.
This nomenclature has definitively been kept!
Black marble wall finish and parquet floor—very nice.