Old Carbon Arc Projectors Replaced for Mission Point Movie Nights
By Sean Ely

Craig Starkweather (left), Kevin Parson, and David Sanderson with projecting equipment that was replaced at the Mission Point Theater. Loeks Theatres, Inc. provided more than $20,000 of new equipment for just $6,000.

The movie theater at Mission Point Resort, where first-run movies are shown on Monday nights throughout the summer season, is now operating with new film projectors and digital surround sound speakers, thanks to the efforts Loeks Theatres, Inc. and Celebration! Cinema of Grand Rapids, which discounted the $20,000 equipment cost and installed it.

The theater at Mission Point was among the few places still to use carbon arc projectors, which got their light source from burning carbon rods, an old technology that still works, but is inconvenient and can burn film stuck in a jammed projector.

No longer will patrons have to strain to hear the one speaker positioned behind the movie screen, because now there is a speaker in every corner of the theater.

On hand for the installation in late July were Craig Engstorm, director of technical services at Loeks Theatres, Inc., and presentation technician Larry Zuverink, who completed the job in three days, working 14 hours a day.

At right: Kevin Parson, a Mission Point projectionist, shows where he needed to place his finger to get the soundtrack to play along with the scenes of the movie. Silver-based films, which theaters used to use, were updated because of their harmfulness to the environment, but Mission Point's old projecting equipment did not work well with the new films, so his finger fooled the light into projecting the sound the best it possibly could.

"The biggest improvement is going to be the sound," Mr. Zuverink said. "Mission Point was using a white light, and now they will be using a red light that will give out digital, DTS sound. This is a dramatic improvement. This technology is as good as all the mainland theaters' equipment."

The challengers of blending new equipment with old reached to the electrical circuits in the theater, too.

"It's tough to figure out what wires you can keep and use and what needs to be completely taken out and replaced," Mr. Engstorm said. "We're trying to be as resourceful as we can."

Craig Engstorm (left) and Larry Zuverink next to a newlymade sound stack for Mission Point Theater, which shows firstrun movies Monday nights. The two technicians from Loeks Theatres took three days to assemble the sound stack and projectors. The stack will provide digital stereo surround sound.

Cub McLean and Andy Bliss of Mackinac Island Electric also worked in the projector room during the installation, helping with the power and wiring needed so that the old projectors could be safely removed and the new equipment installed.

"Without all of them, we never could have done this," said Craig Starkweather, who with his wife, Paula, has been responsible for the Monday Movie Nights at Mission Point Resort for the past seven years.

Mission Point Resort has been showing films since the 1970s, when the downtown Orpheum Theater closed and was converted into the Haunted Theatre. To fill the void, Leslie Court resident and Grand Rapids theater owner Jack Loeks began bringing first-run films here and showing them on Monday nights from the resort's projection room. He continued that practice for more than 20 years, until failing health interrupted the service.

The Starkweathers took on the responsibility to benefit the summer employees and residents. Monday Movie Nights has always been a service to the community, Mr. Starkweather said, and was never aimed at making money, even when Mr. Loeks operated it. He credits Barb Fisher, Brenda Bunker, and Rick Linn, who donated their time to Mr. Loeks for 13 years, with keeping the tradition alive.

"Mr. Loeks did this for the people, not the money," Mr. Starkweather said. "It was a labor of love for him."

When Mission Point became interested in updating its technology, J. D. Loeks, the grandson of Jack Loeks, volunteered to install digital stereo surround sound and new projectors at a huge discount. He provided more than $20,000 in equipment for $4,000 and installed it all for $2,000.

"This update is a way to expand our Dinner and a Movie event as well, which has become fairly popular over the summer," Mission Point General Manager David Sanderson said.

With the old equipment, reels held just 20 minutes worth of the movie, so a two-hour movie needed six reels. These reels were run by physically loading each one of them into the horizontal deck, or platter, one at a time, using two projectors, so that one 20-minute interval ran into the next 20- minute interval smoothly. It was a tough, three-man process in the projecting booth, now manned by Zach Colston, Trevor Atkinson, and Kevin Parson. Their jobs will be less time consuming now that the new equipment is up and running.

The new machines eliminate rewinding and the new tungsten tip xenon lamp is of a much nicer quality than the old carbon arcs.

Movie theaters that run daily, showing six movies with one projector, can get close to 1.5 years of use out of one $500 lamp. Showing one film weekly in the summer, the new lamp should last 30 years.

Mission Point Resort was accustomed to buying two $154 boxes of negative and positive rods for the carbon arc projector every other year and now stands to save more than $4,000 over that 30-year period.

This update makes Mr. Parson's job much easier, because with the old equipment, he had to guide the film through the soundtrack scanning light with his fingers to maintain the sound. He needed to do this because the movies sent to Mission Point were updated after silver-based films were no longer widely used, and newer soundtracks would not adapt properly to the old projector.

"During the longer movies, it was really tough to just sit there in the same place while sweat was just pouring down my face," he said. "The three of us just roast in that room while we work."

Using the old equipment was an art form, Mr. Parson said. As a senior film video major at Grand Valley State University, he realized his job was unique.

Monday, July 23, was the first time Mission Point offered a movie for the public with the new equipment, and Mr. Starkweather said that he couldn't be any more thrilled with the turnout and success of it. He showed "Evan Almighty," which 300 people came to see.

"A minimum of 100 people came up to us after the movie and said, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much,'" he said. "There are just so many people who support our Monday night at the movies. Everything ran great, with no problems at all. It was absolutely phenomenal."

Besides the happiness of the theater's guests, Mr. Starkweather can only wonder what Mr. Loeks would think of all this.

"He would probably be just tickled if he saw this," he said. "He was a showman, and he loved this Island."

Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for children. Movies are always "PG" or "PG-13," never "R" rated.