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A
little background on our involvement with WOW .....
Way
Out West Cinemas was formed by a group of three businessmen
who had all experienced the lack of entertainment on remote mine
sites. They sourced a 175kg airscreen from Germany and state of
the art digital projection equipment from the USA, together with
superb sound equipment from Australia and employed Guy and I as
the first road crew. Our task was to drive the company truck to
each venue, erect the screen, show the movie, dismantle the screen
and then move on.
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After
a month working in the office setting up bookings, there was
great excitement when the screen finally arrived from Germany.
The initial "erection" was held at Morris Buzacott
Reserve in Kardinya ... on the Melville
City Hockey Club grounds.
Our first attempt met with failure ... an "oops"
if ever I saw one (see left) but we soon got the hang of it
and the enormous screen towered over us, attracting much attention
from passersby. Made from vinyl, the screen uses "bouncy
castle" technology ... a continuous blower to keep the
screen inflated. |
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inflated, the entire structure is actually about 14m x 8m
and about 1m deep. The white screen is 12m x 6m in size. |
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Held
upright by 10 stout ropes and numerous star pickets, it takes
muscle and determination to raise it into the air but the
gasps of amazement when it finally unfolds certainly give
a sense of satisfaction.
Simpler to deflate, you just stop the blower and unzip the
pockets in the sides. |
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The
company also purchased a smaller screen which is pictured
here, together with Buttercup, the Izuzu truck.
"Why Buttercup?" you ask. The back of the
truck used to be a bread van and the old Buttercup sign can
be faintly seen under the new coat of white paint. |
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Buttercup
seems the ideal truck for the job, with a dual cab which Guy
has converted into a double bed in the back of the cab. I
have made black-out curtains and mozzie nets which pull over
the open windows to keep those dreaded mosquitoes at bay.
We plan to sleep in the truck often.
At the back, there is a strong hoist which we will use to
move the screen and other items in and out of the truck.
Guy spent several weeks kitting out the back with racking
before we were ready to set off on our first adventure. |
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