Page 9 - CinemaRecord #77C

orest Hill is an outer eastern suburb of Automation rules the complex. The projectors
FMelbourne, about 20 km from the city, at are mostly Christie, some of which have a
the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges. moveable polarising filter in front of the lens
The Hoyts Cinemas here are one of the for 3D presentation. Cinemas 2 and 5 have the
smaller outlets in the company stable and option to use Kineton 35mm projectors and are
CATHS members took the opportunity to not equipped for 3D.
tour the complex on Sunday 2 December No longer does a projectionist patrol the bio-
nd
2012 in the company of Scott Morgan, the room keeping an eye on the machines, the reason
assistant manager. why the room looks to be a remnant of the past.
Opened as an eight-screen complex in 1990, two Only the projectors look alert.
screens were then added, but were found to be All it takes now to set up for the day is for the
unwarranted. The complex was recently scaled manager to pay an early morning visit to the
back to six screens and totally refurbished. room, tap a few commands on the keyboard
Small has its attractions: the venue is of a scale of the required projectors, and leave them to
which suits the proportions of the shopping do their job. In fact it isn’t strictly necessary to
centre of which it is a part. The form of the visit the room at all – the initialising and running
theatre is simple and coherent; the entrance commands can be sent to the machines from the
foyer is well-defined as the base of a T, and computer on the manager’s desk!
immediately beyond, set at a right-angle, is the In keeping with Forest Hill’s lesser status,
long corridor to the auditoria. All the entrance the digital projection is not the state-of -art
doors are in line and are clearly labelled. 4K version, but for the average cinemagoer it
The design is a pleasant contrast to the doesn’t need to be. In the demonstration viewing
‘dismembered’ spaces of some multiplexes of current trailers, the crisp images and clear,
in large shopping centres, of which Hoyts multi- directional sound, from Kris speakers,
Melbourne Central in the city must surely was a treat.
be the worst example. The original design included an upstairs foyer
The bio-room is set at first floor level immediately with a bar area overlooking the main foyer
above the auditoria. This room has an eerie, below. This space is now ‘moth-balled,’ possibly
forgotten look, in contrast to the gleaming awaiting new ideas on how to use it. The four
finishes of the public area, but more on this later. de-commissioned cinema spaces were returned
There is no hierarchy of cinemas at Forest Hill, to the shopping complex and re-developed. Digital projector at left of film unit.
in the sense that Cinema One is not bigger CATHS President Gerry Kennedy presented
and more elaborate than its neighbours. The our guide Scott with a framed Certificate of
seating capacities are 161 in cinemas 1, 2, 5 and Appreciation and a copy of the CATHS booklet
6 and 173 in cinemas 3 and 4. No screen has on the history of Hoyts. Shane Moore’s untiring
a covering curtain and the widescreen ratio is efforts to arrange this tour was also acknowledged
achieved by horizontal masking, as in the old in Gerry’s summing up.
CinemaScope days. There is no ‘cheating’ with Thanks to Scott’s obliging personality, our members
vertical cropping to achieve the screen ratio. left Hoyts Forest Hill with pleasant memories of
In keeping with the modest aspirations for this tastefully presented complex. H
this complex, no auditorium has a wall-to- Tour Report by Gerry Kennedy and Ian Smith.
wall screen, nor food service to your seat Photographs by Brian Hunt and Ian Smith. Digital projector with 3D polariser lens
(called La Premiere at other Hoyts outlets).
It must have been considered, because Scott
pointed out that Cinema 4 has the luxury
leather seats of a La Premiere, but patrons
pay no more for this comfort. The other
cinemas have fabric seat covers.
The side walls are curtained in a dark grey
or black material, which means that the
only ‘decoration’ is the wall lights, which
are simple circles.

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