Revolutionising the Indian Theatre Industry: How AxisY helped INOX with a unique problem

AxisY

Post by AxisY, Apr 12, 2020.

Movie Theatres are great, aren't they? They sure elevate the entire experience of movies. But ever thought about how they are projected on the big screen? Of course, through a projector. But where is the projector housed? Traditionally theatres have a dedicated projector room. The room holds the projector as well as has to have enough space to allow manual human operations.

While projectors nowadays can be controlled remotely, they still require human intervention for servicing, maintenance and repair tasks.

Recently, one of India’s premier Multiplex chains- INOX, faced quite an unprecedented problem. The expansion of one of their theatres in Mumbai stalled due to low storage space for the projector.

The problem for INOX was that they could not install another screen to their theatre, without compromising on booth space. Using so much space for a single task seemed redundant and primitive. Hence, they started searching for an alternate solution.

This was when they contacted us. Just after getting a preliminary understanding, we knew the direction we had to go to solve the problem- Boothless Projector Lifts.

What are Boothless Projector Lifts? To state it simply, these are drop-down lifts that house the delicate projectors in the theatres. The lift holds the projector steady and strong while allowing the projection on the screen. It eliminates the need for a projection room as the drop-down provides easy 360° access to the projector for easy serviceability. Perfect, right? But there was a big catch.

The complication with Boothless Projector Lift was that the concept was unprecedented in India. Although many intricacies were involved, the end product had to be flawless, owing to the nature of the use of end-product.

We sure had a mammoth task ahead of us. But we were up for the challenge. We began the process by sending our engineers and researchers down to the theatre for inspection. Extensive measurements were carefully recorded to explore all possible solutions. After a thorough study of the observed data as well as INOX’s goal for solving the problem, the actual research process began.

The project demanded a sizeable share of time, effort and resources to be spent on R&D and prototyping. Special Project Teams were formed to formulate the design, source the best quality materials, and to oversee the overall development and testing of the product.

Making India’s first Boothless Projector Lift sure was a lot of effort, but the accomplishment made every bit of it worthwhile. The finished Lifts integrated flawlessly with the projection mechanism and allowed INOX to add a second screen. Moreover, through our toil and work, we were able to build our lifts in such a manner, that they defy conventional size restrictions and can be accommodated in as little as 3 meters of space.

While all this is great for theatre chains and owners, the convenience and safety of viewers is something that has always been of paramount importance to us, in all our products. Therefore, we made sure that the lift was acoustically treated so any noise coming from the projector never reaches the audience. After all, you are at the theatre for a flawless experience. Also, our trailblazing automatic locking system guarantees that no matter what disaster may come, the lift will NOT let the projector drop. It ensures the safety of the viewers, as well as the expensive projector.

Since then, as of 2020, AxisY has supplied over 80 Boothless Lifts to INOX, as well as started production for other leading multiplex chains like NY Cinemas.

Through Design & Innovation Leadership, AxisY was able to develop what started as a solution to a unique problem in a single theatre, to the norm of the future.

P.S. : Want to see how they work? Check it out here and here.

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