I have taken a number of photos of the replacement building over the past few months and hopefully will get around to uploading them sooner rather than later!
Suffice to say for now, the building is externally taking form, with much glazing installed, and the metal framework for the corner “tower” below which will be the entrance to the replacement Odeon, being almost topped out.
terry: The Vue West End still has tabs and moveable masking, all operating on my last visit to Screen 5—and, these days, I don’t think any other Vue location includes tabs?
FanaticalAboutOdeon: Thank you for your detailed reply from the 24th, and also for the correction regarding the signage—apparently, I hadn’t been deceived by my “eyes” after all!
As you say, LED has largely displaced neon, which has been relegated to “specialist” applications.
The neon strips at the top of the Vue West End’s facade were reinstated in the 2017 refurbishment, being in a similarly poor state to the neon that was attached to the OLS' facade—alas, sections already look bent and presumably will come away sooner rather than later!
Alas, unlike neon tubes, LEDs are not an inherently smooth linear and omnidirectional light source; hopefully the OLS' new lighting will be suitably specified.
Regarding the Cineworld (Empire) IMAX auditorium lighting, IIRC, the sequencing is actually just red/green/blue, each held for about 30 seconds, with a 10 second fade—quite unimaginative as you say!
I imagine that the OLS will be following the Dolby Cinema “blue” lighting scheme rather than sequenced colour mixing?
(*i.e. the LEDs are measured and sorted into “bins” during manufacturing, ISTL claim to use the highest output—i.e. best—ones in the Prolix-series strips.)
Circle “pageant box” — I noticed from the renderings that this has been lost, which is unfortunate! The difficulty is that any cinema with a large balcony poses a challenge acoustically—one problem being reflections straight back to the screen off the balcony edge—so the option is, I imagine, between keeping the box, and sufficient acoustic treatment.
The licensing plans do show a “lighting bar” at ceiling level, although whether this will see any more use than the existing one that you mention is another matter!
Tantalisingly, the stage end is being kept under wraps! The oft changed curtains have always been part of the Odeon’s charm which the Company say they are keen to preserve and I can’t imagine why having at least one set/track would be a problem. There is sufficient wing space for centre-opening tabs to clear the arch completely and effectively disappear if a longer track were being used – thus no compromise on the widest image possible
That does at least sound promising from a feasibility standpoint!
For some years now, OLS has been the only Odeon to retain operative tabs – in all other Odeon to retain operative tabs – in all other Odeons tabs have either been removed, motors isolated or new builds not having tabs at all.
On visiting an iSense auditorium at the Odeon Orpington recently, it seemed to me that moveable masking was used. Do you know what Odeon’s current policy is regarding masking?
I gather there was some debate earlier in the year about whether much plainer/flatter splay walls would be more conducive to the sophisticated sound system achieving its optimum effect. The 1998 replica ladies were to a degree three dimensional. I don’t know what the outcome was.
Control of “lateral” reflections off sidewalls is imperative, in order to achieve a high standard of dialogue intelligibility and stereo imaging.
The “3D” flying ladies from the ‘98 refurbishment would tend to act in a more diffuse fashion than a flat wall, with more of the sound simply heading off to another wall (and, provided it’s treated, end up being absorbed there!) It seems to me, also, that they are would be too small in relative surface area to “cripple” system performance.
However, the whole front end of the auditorium needs to be controlled and I expect the ceilings/splay walls have been covered over with acoustic absorption hidden by stretched fabric, per today’s industry standard practice.
(Incidentally, have you any idea how much was removed in the strip-out? I’m assuming that all the plasterwork to the sidewalls/ceiling above the circle was kept?)
Given concerns about the acoustic effects of the flying ladies, and—whilst renderings are often very misleading—I have a suspicion that the reinstatement will be indeed be flatter and will be finished with (yet more!) stretched fabric.
So far so good—a wonderful “Christmas present,” I trust, awaits!
A planning application for “non-material amendments” to the original application is available to view, with the the following documents showing the cinema’s floor plan:
16/9/00013/MOD-PROP GROUND FLOOR PLAN
16/9/00013/MOD-PROP FIRST FLOOR PLAN
16/9/00013/MOD-PROP SECOND FLOOR PLAN
The largest auditorium shown is marked as “AUDITORIUM 11,” and measuring its size off these plans, its internal width is ~24m.
Auditorium depth between the demising wall behind the screen to the back wall is ~30m; if I’m not mistaken, the last row of seating is ~26m from the screen, and if so, the design esssentially confirms to the IMAX requirement of the last row not to be greater than the screen width away from the screen.
Behind this last row of seating is a “disabled viewing area.”
joeswin: I may well be mistaken and “over-excited” in stating that the Odeon signage is “new!”—d'oh!
I’m not sure it makes sense sequencing-wise, presumably the signage subcontractor will be on site later.
Light leakage from the “Christmas in Leicester Square” fair in Leicester Square Gardens may have been reflecting off the signs last night, making them look misleadingly bright and new.
Albeit, the relevant proposed signage elements don’t look particularly different in the planning application, and I notice from other photos taken during the works that those signs were not removed, so perhaps the existing is simply being kept?
cultman1: Appears to be on track with the glass box closing off access from the square and soon ready for the finishing (aka loosely “Cat B”) stage of the foyer fit-out. My guess is that the auditorium is further advanced not being open to the elements and the sequencing seems to be from the stage house/auditorium end out to the Leicester Square facade.
IOW, it might not look like it, but one might say that the project is actually pretty much done, it “just” needs “decorating.” The site should soon be buzzing away with the final race on for the stated opening! Exciting times… :–)
Update—Leicester Square visit today—“Glass box” frame up, glazing partially installed, the new high level “Odeon” logo installed has been on the tower, as well as the new “side” facing logo above the former Mezzanine/Studios entrance.
Interiors of foyer areas are now less visible externally (early evening,) lacking the earlier floodlighting at circle foyer level and obscured by the partially-completed “glass box.”
Foyer areas still look entirely unfinished viewed externally, being of course still open to the elements. Mechanical/electrical services installation appeared to be underway in the ground level foyer.
The building is certainly looking a great deal less forlorn than it was a few months ago!
FanaticalAboutOdeon: Many thanks for your reply. I forgot to ask—do you know whether tabs and moveable masking are included in the refurbished auditorium?
Regarding flying ladies, are the 1998 recreations simply not being reinstated, albeit perhaps coated in a different colour? The new colour appears grey in the renderings.
A Dolby Cinema page has been posted on Odeon’s website.
Specific to the OLS, to quote:
“It combines state-of-the-art audio and visual technology with the grandeur of deco architecture to create an unforgettable cinematic experience[…]
“This debut Dolby Cinema introduces the UK to the combination of Dolby Vision, the dual-laser projection system which offers spectacular, high-contrast, dramatic imaging[…]
“Four hundred meticulously aligned speakers project sounds that can explosively fill the entire space or flit quietly overhead as the story unfolds[…] (Comment: 400?! Presumably, by counting every last driver?)
“Carefully preserving the historical significance of the auditorium, including the classic Royal Box balcony, the largest Dolby Cinema to date is thoughtfully designed to eliminate visual distractions, with clear sightlines for all premium seats and acoustic isolation construction.”
I can’t say I ever noticed any problems with acoustic isolation in the auditorium as it was, albeit the HVAC may have been somewhat too audible. It would, of course, be churlish to complain about a high degree of auditorium isolation being reinstated or improved upon!
(As previously noted, viewed from Leicester Square, it looked as though British Gypsum SoundBloc plasterboard has been attached under the circle, the colour of the paper facing matching that product line.)
Thank you FanaticalAboutOdeon, that resolves some previous discussions on this site on the screen width.
Regarding sightlines to the top of the screen from rear stalls, I took dimensions from the new licensing plans and scaled them onto the wonderful 1930s cut-away diagram. It’s possible that this wasn’t drawn to scale—but assuming it’s close enough, and also assuming an increased rake for the new stalls, it is an improvement over previous which was within a hair’s breath. Nevertheless, it still very much constrains the maximum screen height possible, precluding a “giant” screen ahead of the proscenium.
Odeon’s renderings suggest predominantly dark—if not black—coloured side walls/ceiling for the auditorium; do you know if this is the case?
Giles: The screen is shown as still being 48ft. wide in the planning documents, albeit it might have been moved further forward to the proscenium opening.
I’ve previously posted “pie in the sky” ideas for what might have been possible, but—for whatever reason—it’s clear now that they aren’t going down that path, and various structural constaints have been mentioned here by FanaticalAboutOdeon (girder above the proscenium opening, for instance.)
The poor sightlines from the rear stalls are well known, with the top of the screen only just being visible from the last row. It is clear from the plans that the stalls have been “restepped” for the recliners and as no steps nor level change is shown between the ground floor foyer and the rear of the stalls, i.e. the new rear of the stalls is presumably at the same or about the same level as the previous.
Thus, it is likely that the last row of the stalls will still have very tight sightlines—this alone would constrain the screen height (and thus width.)
48ft. wide for an auditorium of that size is definitely too small with the last row of the circle being ~2.75x screen width away from the screen. (Max. 1x for IMAX—or at least a “classic” IMAX!) However, the front stalls should be OK (~0.4s screen width away), or the front circle (~1.3x screen width away) for those not inclined to recline (!) and prefering a more traditional distance, as well as a better optimised vertical position and viewing angle in relation to the screen.
I’m not up to speed on all the requirements for a “Dolby Cinema,” but, I don’t think having an “immersive” screen size (in the IMAX or “giant screen” sense) is mandatory. Rather it is focused on picture/sound (including a black auditorium to optimise contrast.) Additionally, the “classic” IMAX requirements have been set aside in certain cases (TCL Chinese Theatre being an obvious example, where the last row is much further than 1x screen width away from the screen.)
I have just revisited the licensing application previously linked to, and it is not yet shown as approved. However, an additional “POLICE CONDITIONS” document, dated 14th November 2018, has been added; of the new conditions, of note (to quote):
“There shall be a minimum of two SIA door supervisors on duty from 20:00 until 02:00 Thursday Friday and Saturday. They shall display their licences in yellow hi viz arm bands. At all other times the premises shall risk assess the requirement for SIA security and document their assessment, which shall be made available to the Responsible Authorities upon request.
“On Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 22:00 and 02:00 hours, all bags shall be searched. At all other times the requirement to conduct searches will be on a documented risk assessment basis.”
I shall avoid any political comment on this other than to say it all sounds like a lot of intrusive “security theatre” and seems highly inappropriate to the cinema experience! :–(
Update: Quick visit to Leicester Square last night—conditions were not ideal due to the wet weather!
There was no sign (visually or aurally) of building work being underway, but the foyer areas were well lit.
There was very little externally visible progress, with some additional services (ducting, pipes, cable trays, etc.) added to the circle foyer ceiling.
Lest anyone think that the works are far from complete, it is instructive to review Zappomatic’s photos of the Cineworld (Empire) Leicester Square foyer works undertaken earlier this year.
Whilst that project had a different scope and set of constraints, it can be seen that from the end of February 2018 to ~6 weeks later, the public areas had been transformed from plasterboard to a finished state.
Paul Stephenson: That canopy signage is in fact an LED display, as shown in the first document titled “EXTERNAL SIGNAGE” of the relevant planning application.
“OSCAR DEUTSCH ENTERTAINS OUR NATION” was example text, one might imagine to present the external proposals/signage in a favourable light; see p10 of the “DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT” in the main application relating to the external alterations.
To quote:
“It is also proposed to have a white lit band to the edge of the canopy featuring a written historical reference – ‘Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation’. The Text will be provided by LED panels, and will be capable of change – e.g. for Premiere performances.”
Obviously, no such condition for “historical references” is among those in the advertising consent!
Looks like an error in that part of the rendering?
I would imagine the old safety curtain was permanently removed in the strip-out along with the rest of the asbestos-containing materials. It’s not apparent if what’s rendered is supposed to be a curtain or simply a projected image?
Alas, the proscenium end is just too dark in this picture to make out much. It looks like the ceiling has been altered, with a “kink” just behind an overhead line array speaker.
HowardBHaas: As I’ve noted elsewhere on CT—Odeon Birmingham Broadway Plaza and Odeon Orpington—it seems that at least some of Odeon’s own brand premium large format “iSense” auditoria do include moveable masking.
Not sure what the impact of AMC’s ownership will be in this respect; mostly they seem to be implementing their “recliner” strategy, as well as their press releases mentioning concessions offerings. One would also imagine that the agreement with Dolby for UK Dolby Cinema sites also may be connected to AMC ownership. (Furthermore, AMC majority shareholder Wanda also has many Dolby Cinema locations built or in the pipeline in their own cinemas.)
As the new screen location appears to be behind the proscenium still, and the organ being kept in particular indicates the project’s objectives in relation to the continuity of heritage aspects, hopefully tabs and moveable masking will be reinstated—if not, at least the laser projection will yield low black levels for non-“scope” format content. Certainly letterboxed “scope” format images are, if not ideal, acceptable over in the IMAX with Laser auditorium across the square.
LARGE_screen_format: Good news! I suspect it will be the “downsized” version for “multiplex”-sized IMAX venues rather than the original system intended to replace 15/70 projectors in classic “Grand Theatre” venues (and similarly scaled new builds or conversions.)
As a new build, it might just be one of the best IMAX/PLF screens in the country—technically speaking, of course.
The refurbishment cost £6.5m and was delivered in a 20 week construction programme. The design was “in brand” with bespoke elements, including an “acoustic timber” ceiling in the foyer.
The page includes a number of high resolution photos of the foyer and lobby areas, the iSense auditorium, and another auditorium.
From these photos, the iSense auditorium boasts JBL rear speakers, and the screen appears to include moveable masking.
The other auditorium seems to have retained old KCS rear speakers, presumably kept from the original installation, which seems like penny pinching given the sums involved in this project.
This aside, it looks like a very good place to see a film.
Ticket prices advertised as “£7.99 every film, every day.”
I have taken a number of photos of the replacement building over the past few months and hopefully will get around to uploading them sooner rather than later!
Suffice to say for now, the building is externally taking form, with much glazing installed, and the metal framework for the corner “tower” below which will be the entrance to the replacement Odeon, being almost topped out.
terry: The Vue West End still has tabs and moveable masking, all operating on my last visit to Screen 5—and, these days, I don’t think any other Vue location includes tabs?
FanaticalAboutOdeon: Thank you for your detailed reply from the 24th, and also for the correction regarding the signage—apparently, I hadn’t been deceived by my “eyes” after all!
As you say, LED has largely displaced neon, which has been relegated to “specialist” applications.
The neon strips at the top of the Vue West End’s facade were reinstated in the 2017 refurbishment, being in a similarly poor state to the neon that was attached to the OLS' facade—alas, sections already look bent and presumably will come away sooner rather than later!
Alas, unlike neon tubes, LEDs are not an inherently smooth linear and omnidirectional light source; hopefully the OLS' new lighting will be suitably specified.
Regarding the Cineworld (Empire) IMAX auditorium lighting, IIRC, the sequencing is actually just red/green/blue, each held for about 30 seconds, with a 10 second fade—quite unimaginative as you say!
The system is highly specified, though, with 151 ISTL Prolix LED “bars” containing selected* red, green and blue OSRAM LEDs—considerably more expensive than the LED strips used as features in most auditoria.
I imagine that the OLS will be following the Dolby Cinema “blue” lighting scheme rather than sequenced colour mixing?
(*i.e. the LEDs are measured and sorted into “bins” during manufacturing, ISTL claim to use the highest output—i.e. best—ones in the Prolix-series strips.)
Circle “pageant box” — I noticed from the renderings that this has been lost, which is unfortunate! The difficulty is that any cinema with a large balcony poses a challenge acoustically—one problem being reflections straight back to the screen off the balcony edge—so the option is, I imagine, between keeping the box, and sufficient acoustic treatment.
The licensing plans do show a “lighting bar” at ceiling level, although whether this will see any more use than the existing one that you mention is another matter!
That does at least sound promising from a feasibility standpoint!
On visiting an iSense auditorium at the Odeon Orpington recently, it seemed to me that moveable masking was used. Do you know what Odeon’s current policy is regarding masking?
Control of “lateral” reflections off sidewalls is imperative, in order to achieve a high standard of dialogue intelligibility and stereo imaging.
The “3D” flying ladies from the ‘98 refurbishment would tend to act in a more diffuse fashion than a flat wall, with more of the sound simply heading off to another wall (and, provided it’s treated, end up being absorbed there!) It seems to me, also, that they are would be too small in relative surface area to “cripple” system performance.
However, the whole front end of the auditorium needs to be controlled and I expect the ceilings/splay walls have been covered over with acoustic absorption hidden by stretched fabric, per today’s industry standard practice.
(Incidentally, have you any idea how much was removed in the strip-out? I’m assuming that all the plasterwork to the sidewalls/ceiling above the circle was kept?)
Given concerns about the acoustic effects of the flying ladies, and—whilst renderings are often very misleading—I have a suspicion that the reinstatement will be indeed be flatter and will be finished with (yet more!) stretched fabric.
So far so good—a wonderful “Christmas present,” I trust, awaits!
A planning application for “non-material amendments” to the original application is available to view, with the the following documents showing the cinema’s floor plan:
The largest auditorium shown is marked as “AUDITORIUM 11,” and measuring its size off these plans, its internal width is ~24m.
Auditorium depth between the demising wall behind the screen to the back wall is ~30m; if I’m not mistaken, the last row of seating is ~26m from the screen, and if so, the design esssentially confirms to the IMAX requirement of the last row not to be greater than the screen width away from the screen.
Behind this last row of seating is a “disabled viewing area.”
Errata: The Odeon brand signage may not be new.
joeswin: I may well be mistaken and “over-excited” in stating that the Odeon signage is “new!”—d'oh!
I’m not sure it makes sense sequencing-wise, presumably the signage subcontractor will be on site later.
Light leakage from the “Christmas in Leicester Square” fair in Leicester Square Gardens may have been reflecting off the signs last night, making them look misleadingly bright and new.
Albeit, the relevant proposed signage elements don’t look particularly different in the planning application, and I notice from other photos taken during the works that those signs were not removed, so perhaps the existing is simply being kept?
cultman1: Appears to be on track with the glass box closing off access from the square and soon ready for the finishing (aka loosely “Cat B”) stage of the foyer fit-out. My guess is that the auditorium is further advanced not being open to the elements and the sequencing seems to be from the stage house/auditorium end out to the Leicester Square facade.
IOW, it might not look like it, but one might say that the project is actually pretty much done, it “just” needs “decorating.” The site should soon be buzzing away with the final race on for the stated opening! Exciting times… :–)
Update—Leicester Square visit today—“Glass box” frame up, glazing partially installed, the new high level “Odeon” logo installed has been on the tower, as well as the new “side” facing logo above the former Mezzanine/Studios entrance.
Interiors of foyer areas are now less visible externally (early evening,) lacking the earlier floodlighting at circle foyer level and obscured by the partially-completed “glass box.”
Foyer areas still look entirely unfinished viewed externally, being of course still open to the elements. Mechanical/electrical services installation appeared to be underway in the ground level foyer.
The building is certainly looking a great deal less forlorn than it was a few months ago!
A photo has been uploaded.
FanaticalAboutOdeon: Many thanks for your reply. I forgot to ask—do you know whether tabs and moveable masking are included in the refurbished auditorium?
Regarding flying ladies, are the 1998 recreations simply not being reinstated, albeit perhaps coated in a different colour? The new colour appears grey in the renderings.
A Dolby Cinema page has been posted on Odeon’s website.
Specific to the OLS, to quote:
“It combines state-of-the-art audio and visual technology with the grandeur of deco architecture to create an unforgettable cinematic experience[…]
“This debut Dolby Cinema introduces the UK to the combination of Dolby Vision, the dual-laser projection system which offers spectacular, high-contrast, dramatic imaging[…]
“Four hundred meticulously aligned speakers project sounds that can explosively fill the entire space or flit quietly overhead as the story unfolds[…] (Comment: 400?! Presumably, by counting every last driver?)
“Carefully preserving the historical significance of the auditorium, including the classic Royal Box balcony, the largest Dolby Cinema to date is thoughtfully designed to eliminate visual distractions, with clear sightlines for all premium seats and acoustic isolation construction.”
I can’t say I ever noticed any problems with acoustic isolation in the auditorium as it was, albeit the HVAC may have been somewhat too audible. It would, of course, be churlish to complain about a high degree of auditorium isolation being reinstated or improved upon!
(As previously noted, viewed from Leicester Square, it looked as though British Gypsum SoundBloc plasterboard has been attached under the circle, the colour of the paper facing matching that product line.)
Thank you FanaticalAboutOdeon, that resolves some previous discussions on this site on the screen width.
Regarding sightlines to the top of the screen from rear stalls, I took dimensions from the new licensing plans and scaled them onto the wonderful 1930s cut-away diagram. It’s possible that this wasn’t drawn to scale—but assuming it’s close enough, and also assuming an increased rake for the new stalls, it is an improvement over previous which was within a hair’s breath. Nevertheless, it still very much constrains the maximum screen height possible, precluding a “giant” screen ahead of the proscenium.
Odeon’s renderings suggest predominantly dark—if not black—coloured side walls/ceiling for the auditorium; do you know if this is the case?
Marvellous!
Giles: The screen is shown as still being 48ft. wide in the planning documents, albeit it might have been moved further forward to the proscenium opening.
I’ve previously posted “pie in the sky” ideas for what might have been possible, but—for whatever reason—it’s clear now that they aren’t going down that path, and various structural constaints have been mentioned here by FanaticalAboutOdeon (girder above the proscenium opening, for instance.)
The poor sightlines from the rear stalls are well known, with the top of the screen only just being visible from the last row. It is clear from the plans that the stalls have been “restepped” for the recliners and as no steps nor level change is shown between the ground floor foyer and the rear of the stalls, i.e. the new rear of the stalls is presumably at the same or about the same level as the previous.
Thus, it is likely that the last row of the stalls will still have very tight sightlines—this alone would constrain the screen height (and thus width.)
48ft. wide for an auditorium of that size is definitely too small with the last row of the circle being ~2.75x screen width away from the screen. (Max. 1x for IMAX—or at least a “classic” IMAX!) However, the front stalls should be OK (~0.4s screen width away), or the front circle (~1.3x screen width away) for those not inclined to recline (!) and prefering a more traditional distance, as well as a better optimised vertical position and viewing angle in relation to the screen.
I’m not up to speed on all the requirements for a “Dolby Cinema,” but, I don’t think having an “immersive” screen size (in the IMAX or “giant screen” sense) is mandatory. Rather it is focused on picture/sound (including a black auditorium to optimise contrast.) Additionally, the “classic” IMAX requirements have been set aside in certain cases (TCL Chinese Theatre being an obvious example, where the last row is much further than 1x screen width away from the screen.)
I have just revisited the licensing application previously linked to, and it is not yet shown as approved. However, an additional “POLICE CONDITIONS” document, dated 14th November 2018, has been added; of the new conditions, of note (to quote):
“There shall be a minimum of two SIA door supervisors on duty from 20:00 until 02:00 Thursday Friday and Saturday. They shall display their licences in yellow hi viz arm bands. At all other times the premises shall risk assess the requirement for SIA security and document their assessment, which shall be made available to the Responsible Authorities upon request.
“On Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 22:00 and 02:00 hours, all bags shall be searched. At all other times the requirement to conduct searches will be on a documented risk assessment basis.”
I shall avoid any political comment on this other than to say it all sounds like a lot of intrusive “security theatre” and seems highly inappropriate to the cinema experience! :–(
Addendum: Apologies for the poor quality photo, owing to the wet weather.
Update: Quick visit to Leicester Square last night—conditions were not ideal due to the wet weather!
There was no sign (visually or aurally) of building work being underway, but the foyer areas were well lit.
There was very little externally visible progress, with some additional services (ducting, pipes, cable trays, etc.) added to the circle foyer ceiling.
Lest anyone think that the works are far from complete, it is instructive to review Zappomatic’s photos of the Cineworld (Empire) Leicester Square foyer works undertaken earlier this year.
Whilst that project had a different scope and set of constraints, it can be seen that from the end of February 2018 to ~6 weeks later, the public areas had been transformed from plasterboard to a finished state.
Cropped photo of the view in from LSQ uploaded.
An early view of the original “Flying Ladies”:
Craftsmen put final touches to the ‘Flying Ladies’ plaster figure reliefs.
Paul Stephenson: That canopy signage is in fact an LED display, as shown in the first document titled “EXTERNAL SIGNAGE” of the relevant planning application.
“OSCAR DEUTSCH ENTERTAINS OUR NATION” was example text, one might imagine to present the external proposals/signage in a favourable light; see p10 of the “DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT” in the main application relating to the external alterations.
To quote:
“It is also proposed to have a white lit band to the edge of the canopy featuring a written historical reference – ‘Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation’. The Text will be provided by LED panels, and will be capable of change – e.g. for Premiere performances.”
Obviously, no such condition for “historical references” is among those in the advertising consent!
joeswin: Thanks for the link.
Looks like an error in that part of the rendering?
I would imagine the old safety curtain was permanently removed in the strip-out along with the rest of the asbestos-containing materials. It’s not apparent if what’s rendered is supposed to be a curtain or simply a projected image?
Alas, the proscenium end is just too dark in this picture to make out much. It looks like the ceiling has been altered, with a “kink” just behind an overhead line array speaker.
HowardBHaas: As I’ve noted elsewhere on CT—Odeon Birmingham Broadway Plaza and Odeon Orpington—it seems that at least some of Odeon’s own brand premium large format “iSense” auditoria do include moveable masking.
Not sure what the impact of AMC’s ownership will be in this respect; mostly they seem to be implementing their “recliner” strategy, as well as their press releases mentioning concessions offerings. One would also imagine that the agreement with Dolby for UK Dolby Cinema sites also may be connected to AMC ownership. (Furthermore, AMC majority shareholder Wanda also has many Dolby Cinema locations built or in the pipeline in their own cinemas.)
As the new screen location appears to be behind the proscenium still, and the organ being kept in particular indicates the project’s objectives in relation to the continuity of heritage aspects, hopefully tabs and moveable masking will be reinstated—if not, at least the laser projection will yield low black levels for non-“scope” format content. Certainly letterboxed “scope” format images are, if not ideal, acceptable over in the IMAX with Laser auditorium across the square.
Thanks to all for the heads up.
The joint Odeon Cinemas Group/Dolby press release went out via Businss Wire:
London’s Glittering Home of the Premiere Returns: ODEON Luxe Leicester Square to Reopen Following Multi Million Pound Luxe Upgrade and Introducing the UK’s First Dolby Cinema.
This is the same release but includes two high resolution renderings; alas, the auditorium is not included.
Still no view of the proscenium so it remains to be seen if tabs and masking are reinstated.
The release also reaffirms that the Compton organ will remain intact.
All is looking good though I’m still not sure what colour the sidewalls/ribbed plasterwork will be from these renderings?
Let’s hope the cinema does reopen for Christmas 2018 as stated…
LARGE_screen_format: Good news! I suspect it will be the “downsized” version for “multiplex”-sized IMAX venues rather than the original system intended to replace 15/70 projectors in classic “Grand Theatre” venues (and similarly scaled new builds or conversions.)
As a new build, it might just be one of the best IMAX/PLF screens in the country—technically speaking, of course.
NBDA Architects' Case Study on Odeon Luxe Birmingham Broadway Plaza.
The refurbishment cost £6.5m and was delivered in a 20 week construction programme. The design was “in brand” with bespoke elements, including an “acoustic timber” ceiling in the foyer.
The page includes a number of high resolution photos of the foyer and lobby areas, the iSense auditorium, and another auditorium.
From these photos, the iSense auditorium boasts JBL rear speakers, and the screen appears to include moveable masking.
The other auditorium seems to have retained old KCS rear speakers, presumably kept from the original installation, which seems like penny pinching given the sums involved in this project.
This aside, it looks like a very good place to see a film.
kistra: No probs, you’re welcome! :–)
Or, more precisely, cantilevers over the pavement, within the property boundary.