Here's my basic home theatre layout plan:
http://www.angrysaki.com/upload/theatre1small.jpg

I haven't decided on the colours yet, choosing colours really hard. I'm waiting on GOM samples, but they don't seem to be coming. How long did most of you have to wait for your samples, and what about people in Canada (and who did it get shipped with)?

So it's your standard theatre design, with GOM & pillar thingies, except i'm going to make mine out of fake styrofoam rocks, and make an embossed desgin on them.

This is my current (very elvish inspired) design for the walls (they replace the ugly lines in the picture above), It's goign to be some serious stenciling... :(
http://www.angrysaki.com/upload/walldesign.gif



I've been playing with styrafoam & a product that was called "Rosco Foamcaot" (which is like drywall coumpound but fancier, recommened by "Gobler" here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=789856) ), trying various techniques to make it look like rock. So far my best bet has been to use foamcoat and cover it with sand, then paint it using spraypaint. To get a rock look it seems you need to get a lot of speckling going on. (that's what's going on on the left side)

http://www.angrysaki.com/upload/rocktest1.jpg
(I don't know why, but all the pictures i took make it look like the design is a "hole" in the rock to me, when it's actually embossed. To other people it looks embossed... :/ )

To get the design, i cut a stencil out of bristol board, put that foamcoat stuff in the holes, and scraped over the design with a flat putty knife. Then i let that dry and covered the whole thing with slightly watered down foamcoat covered in sand. Let that dry, then rubbed the sand off and painted.



I also bought some ClearNeon UV paint, and tried it out with the stencil i had already made for embossing. The picture below is with the rock being right beside a UV light, which is probably why it's so bright.
http://www.angrysaki.com/upload/glowingtest1Small.JPG




Other ideas i've got going on:
Rock ceiling:
I have no idea what i'm going to do for the ceiling or floor. I've already drywalled the front of the theatre ceiling, so i might just paint that a dark colour (for now). The rear, i originally planned on doing a suspended ceiling, but that won't fit that well with the rest of the design.
What i think i'm going to do is put up a suspended ceiling, then cover all the rails/metal with velcro, and make up a thin layer of jaggedy rocks to cover it. And make the entire rear wall of the theatre jaggedy rocks (should help with diffusion), to try to get the impression that the theatre was carved out of a mine or something (Moria :) ).

Colour:
My current thought for a colour is to use dark green GOM, and for the rock, make it a relatively dark grey, but put hints of black, orange/gold/amber in it. I'm just waiting on an air brush so that i can start playing with more colours (right now i've been using spraypaint, so i don't have a great selection of colours). This has been a pretty tough choice. How did you guys ever decide on a colour, there's too many to choose from and they all sound good :P

Lights.
I'm probably going to have an embossed design on the pillars at the front of my theatre, but i have no lights to cast a shadow from the side, so i might put some floor lights of some sort.
I'm probably going to put UV lights on the 4 sides of each center pillar/support pole.

Speakers:
The columns on the walls aren't going to stick out very far from the wall because i don't have that much room, so i can't hide my speakers in there. My current plan is to (eventually, after everything else is done), make a sort of an elaborate "stand" for the speaker out of rock (styrofoam), and hide the speaker in there, and have a display peice on the top of it, like a sword or something, since it'll be right under a sconce it should get lit cool.

Stage/Riser:
I'm probably also going to make the risers & stage out of rock, maybe half smooth half uncarved (jaggedy) to further the look of a mine.



I've never built anything before, but so far i'm liking the flexibility that styrofoam is giving, since it's so light. As i've (slowly) built my theatre, i've changed a lot of plans and styrofoam has been an answer to a lot of my problems/things i've wanted to change (like the ceiling plan). As far as construciton goes, it's at a halt until the design gets finished (pretty much all the drywall is up). I could post pictures but they're pretty standard.


Any ideas/recommendations/opinions on anything would be appreciated. :)

Keep us posted. This sounds like a really cool project and will turn out great as long as you take your time.

Looks very exciting. My wife would like to paint some elvish sayings along the top of our walls as an accent. Can you tell me if that writting in your drawing is really elvish, and if so where did you find the lettering?

Thanks,
Guy

I think your idea looks pretty awesome. Having just rewatched the Trilogy recently, I think the elvish look and feel looks very authentic.

No, it's not elvish, i just masehd the keyboard with a "wingdings" font :P. I'm going to figure out what the actual text will be later, I haven't decided what i want it to say, but i might do an elvish of translation of something.

For elvish, your best bet might be to download an elvish font, print it out and cut out a stencil and use some sort of spray paint (unless you're good with caligraphy).

I just tried out the Paramite2 one here, and it seems pretty good (that site has links to other fonts and other sites). If you've never done it before, just unzip the file, and copy the .TTF files into c:\windows\fonts, then load up wordpad or word or something, and the fonts should show up in the font list. (that one is Tengwar Paramite)

http://at.mansbjorkman.net/parmaite.htm

Goggle 'writing with elvish fonts'. It is an awesome site for elvish language and *How-to* scripts.

Your theater is going to look great. For the fake stone you might want to try a website for movie props. I think what your doing will yield great results though.

Oh...my wife used the 2" thick styrofoam blueboard at halloween for tombstones. She used a grey spray paint, and it actually ate into the foam. It looked like the real thing!

look forward to seeing your progress, happy building..

Seems like it should also make a fairly good sound diffuser/absorber to cut down on wall reflections.

That's freaking awesome! Thread subscribed....

I agree cool idea, next time around I want to do something like this.

Awesome! How sturdy is the foam you are using? Do you think it will break down over time (elbows bumping into it, kids, etc)?

The foam itself isn't super sturdy, it's fairly sturdy rigid white foam, but the stuff that coats it dries to be relatively hard & strong (stronger than drywall mud), so the strength of the foam would depend a lot on how thick of a coating you put on it. I'm not sure how thick i'm going to layer it yet.


I spent a good chunk fo the day working on a design for the projector wall & door. Here's what i've got for the front wall (it's basically the other design tweaked & recycled).

http://www.angrysaki.com/upload/projectorwall.JPG




I'm having trouble deciding on what to do for the design around the door, i'm tempted to make it look like jaggedy rocks, and have the door itself smoother rock with a design on it, but i can't decide if i want that or i want a design a round the door as well.

Still waiting on fabric samples. :mad:
I'm going to check out soundsuede too since i like their hunter green.
http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/products/fabrics/pop_soundsuede_ccgreen.asp



So in the meantime I made quick app to help me decide on rock colours. Since the rock effect is done by spraying lots of little dots, i made an app that randomly sets dots in a bitmap to chosen colours to help me get an idea of what paint colours to use. I had a version that where you could specify a % of coverage over an existing bitmap, (so i could have "streaks" of orange" or whatever) in it, but it was buggy because my bitmap handling code sucks and i'm lazy.

It's here if anybody's interested.
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/spraypainterbitmapthingy.zip

Very cool idea you've got going!

Check out Wildfire Paints. They make the best, brightest UV paints around.

http://www.wildfirefx.com/

Good Luck,

Dave

Angry:

Looks like a great concept. I was looking at your use of the styrofoam and thinking to myself about whether it was something I would want to use.

I guess the structural integrity bothers me a bit.

Something to think about are the newer foam based tile backer board products that are very light weight and could be coated with your rock surface concoction.

One product is Easyboard. The stuff is only 1/2 inch thick and run in the neighborhood of $10 for a 3x5 sheet. You would need to either do several layers or mount it on something to build up the thickness.

http://www.custombuildingproducts.com/AboutUs/Press/PRArchive03/PR090303.aspx?user=arc&lang=en

A buddy just used it in his shower and he showed me sample of the stuff and I'm going to look into using it instead of the cement based backer board. It was very light weight.

That UV paint idea is really neat.

Whenever I see things being made with foam, I can't help but think of spinal tap. . .

...




I'm having trouble deciding on what to do for the design around the door, i'm tempted to make it look like jaggedy rocks, and have the door itself smoother rock with a design on it, but i can't decide if i want that or i want a design a round the door as well.

What about that door that said, "Speak Friend, and Enter." ?

Cool idea and cool effect with the UV paint.

Have you thought about putting the UV lights on a Clapper? :D

I guess the structural integrity bothers me a bit.

The strutcutral integrity of the foam is sort of bugging me too, but the flexibility/ease of cutting is pretty nice. (especially with a "hot wire" foam cutter, it's like butter)
I might do the "pillars" out of wood with a thin layer of foam, and just do the arche part above out of foam, since you can't really bang into them because of their height. I haven't completely decided yet, and i still haven't done enough tests with foam & various thicknesses of foamcoat.



What about that door that said, "Speak Friend, and Enter." ?

I'm probably going to put speak friend and enter (in elvish) on the outside of the door, but on the inside, i'm undecided about what to put, and what will surround the door.

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/door1.jpg

What i'm considering, is doing the brighter red part around the door out of "jaggedy" rocks, and having the door itself smooth with a design on it. Or i could continue the design that's all around the room, and have the in the brighter red part around the door.




Have you thought about putting the UV lights on a Clapper?

All the lights are going to be on X10/Insteon, so there's definately going to be some way to have them turn on remotely. I haven't looked yet, but i'm hoping there's dimmable UV lights, so i can ramp the UV lights up.

Look into Wildfire paints. You can paint two (or three) different patterns on a surface and then hit them with two different sources of light (tungsten or UV) and have two different effects.

FYI, as I mentioned above, my wife has now started doing the elvish lettering in our theater. Here are the pictures of her first section:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9988868&&#post9988868

Guy

This is going to be awesome, definitely subscribing...

Please provide lots of pics =)

After not doing any work whatsoever all spring, summer & fall... I've stopped being lazy started working again... :o

I still have a little bit of mudding & sanding to do (maybe 5-10 hours of ceiling work :mad:), and i have to build the stage. Other than that, it's time for the decoration/design part, which is what i'm most interested in.

Here's an overview of the shape, and then actual room:

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/theatreoverview.jpg
It's around 20x20, 7'8" ceiling at the frong, about a foot lower at the back of the room i think

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/IMG_0270%20[800x600].JPG
View of the screen area, duh :P

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/IMG_0271%20[800x600].JPG
Screen area again

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/IMG_0277%20[800x600].JPG
Back wall, there will be a desk/counter thingy spanning that entire wall (computers will go there, and it'll have a sink).

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/IMG_0278%20[800x600].JPG
Another view of the back wall (and projector)

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/IMG_0282%20[800x600].JPG
View of the door.

And here's the designs i'm planning on doing by making a stencil out of either foamcore (which _sucks_ to cut), or foam (with a hot wire cutter) and using drywall mud (the fast-curing that you add water too, it seems to be pretty strong/hard). So basically it'll be an embossed design.

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/frontwall.jpg
Front wall, there's a different design on each side, right now i'm leaning to the one on the right, it's a less busy version of the one on the left.

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/sidewalls.jpg
The design to go on the side walls.
The "words" i'm probably going to do a carved design, by using a thin layer of foam with the words cut out ontop of the arch/column.
All the arches on the side walls will be made of foam. Or atleast that's the plan. I don't want to mud 5 more arches. :(


http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/lightswitches.jpg
Super rough general design idea of what the design around the entrance door will look like (on the inside of the room).


http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/door-inner.jpg
I'm considering doing something like this on the door itself, not sure yet though, maybe i'll just do some more vine like stuff. I don't even know how i'm going to build the door, so i'm not going to worry about it yet.

The outside of the door is going to have a tri-force (zelda) on it and possibly an unreal logo (unreal tournament). I haven't made a design yet though.



Colours:
All the arch-like stuff with fancy designs on it is going to look like rock/stone.
Last year i made this as a prototype of how i'm going to do the rock like stuff.
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/rocktest2.jpg

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/IMG_0288%20[800x600].JPG
I'm currently planning on using soundsuede, becuase they make a green, which is what i want. I'm not a die-hard acoustics guy, so i might look around at local places for other greens, because i'm not totally happy with the soundsuede green.
That rock is more or less the type of stone i'm going for, maybe a bit darker.


I currently have no idea what colour to do the ceiling, or what to make the floor out of. It's not a big room, so i think i'll make the ceiling a lighter colour, probably a grey, but i really have no idea (an interior designer told me that would make the room look bigger one time).

I'm basically stabbing in the dark trying to pick colours, and have wasted tons of time mulling over them getting nowhere :(


This is the glowing test i did last year with that same rock thing. I'm probably going to use a white UV glow paint, not a blue one like this. Possibly an orange, since i like green and orange together (although i've been told that it's ugly :p ).
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/glowingtest1Small.JPG

And finally... I've got a couple of questions, if anybody has any answers :).


1. Has anybody seen any green fabric besides soundsuede? Guilford of Maine didn't have any, besides this one called "blue spruce", which was a bit too blueish for me.

2. I want to get started on the back of the room (a giant desk/countertop 16 feet wide). It'll have a sink in it, but will also be my computer desk. I have no idea what it'll look like, right now i'm leaning towards making it look like a big map.

Would it be a bad idea if i started building it out of something like MDF now, and covered it with whatever i wanted later? I'm pretty sure i'm going to be doing a custom layer of "something" that will cover the whole thing. eg. I'd build it out of MDF now, and then later one when i'm ready, make a paper map, glue it on, and then cover that with something sort of clear coating, and make the edges the same way i've done the rest of the "rock".
The reason i want to start building it is now is that it'll probalby help me with the design i want to do on it, once i actually see the shape in real life. Right now i'm having trouble deciding what to do.

If it's not a terrible idea to start building without knowing exactly what i'm going to do, would MDF be good to build out of?

Or let's say i was going to do the "map" thing, would MDF be an ok base structurally?

fyi: i'm a gigantic noob at building stuff, in that i don't really know how to build anything and fumble my way through usually because i don't know how stuff is supposed to be done generally, stuff that's probably obvious to most people here.

Would it be a bad idea if i started building it out of something like MDF now, and covered it with whatever i wanted later?
If it's not a terrible idea to start building without knowing exactly what I'm going to do, would MDF be good to build out of?

Or let's say i was going to do the "map" thing, would MDF be an ok base structurally?

fyi: i'm a gigantic noob at building stuff, in that i don't really know how to build anything and fumble my way through usually because i don't know how stuff is supposed to be done generally, stuff that's probably obvious to most people here.

Just some thoughts. Most of the kitchen cabinets made today have MDF boxes covered with veneer or laminate. The doors may be made of real wood but solid wood boxes are pretty rare. So MDF (not particle board) is a logical choice. Now before heading off to pick up a bunch of sheets you may want to consider buying some pre-built RTA (ready to assemble) MDF cabinet bases and maybe even doors. Sometimes when you look at the price of the basic boxes they are reasonably good values. You might even check for returns that they sell dirt cheap.

Also check Ikea basic boxes.

Now as for a surface. Laminate counter tops are usually made of MDF. Tile counter tops will have a layer of cement backer board on top of MDF or Plywood before the tile.

You should make your cabinets such that the counter top fits on top and goes on after all the other work is done. That will give you more options when you get to that stage. It will also allow for experimentation (the map)


It will be nearly impossible to get a perfect 16 ft run of counter top. Even if you try to line something up it will have a seam in the base material. You may want to think along the lines of multi-levels with the wet bar higher (36 inches) then the desk part (28-30 inches). Full bar height is about 42 inches.

Lastly you may want to browse through the HD book library. They usually have a cabinet making book on hand. You should understand the difference between face frame and frame-less (European) cabinet construction before jumping in.

You can get green stretch velvet which when stretched is very AT I used all velvet in my theater, Including the columns covering my speakers. It is not fire rated however my own tests showed slow burn and melting.
Just be aware of that though.

I'm also a very big fan of LOTR's! Watching this with great interest!
Very nice so far. I love the idea of the elven script and carvings being coated with UV paint that will 'glow' in a dark room! Very very cool!
Can't wait to see more.
Not to go off topic, but did you hear that Peter Jackson has signed on with New Line to produce/direct the Hobbit and "a sequel" (yet to be named)?
Very exciting that they put their 'differences' aside and are back to work on this!

Another idea for you. The look of your theater is really coming along. Something you might want to consider is to do the counter and desk tops with a gray slate tile. It's something that you could DIY. You would need a Wet Saw for the project.

That gray slate should blend in with your man made rock scheme.

You have got to me f'n kidding me! That effect UV effect is a spectacular idea! I can't wait to see this one get finished.

This is so very cool. Should come out awesome

Thanks for that info on the countertop, i'll probably go ahead with the MDF to get started (after reading up on what to do first).

I actually was thinking of doing the desk part lower, and possibly adjustable (getting some long metal bars to support the weight of the "desk part", and just having them rest on something "inside" the cabinets on either end. I saw a thread recently where someone was supporting a bar table with some long metal bars.

My current plan (the one i'm leaning towards the most, atleast) for the doors is to make each side where cabinets/doors would be into a jaggedy rock look, which would "bleed" into the regular carved rock, so it's like the people never finished carving that stone. I was also thinking i might eventually (when i'm done everythign else) cover the back of the room with "rough" rock, but i don't want to get too far ahead of myself.

Not to go off topic, but did you hear that Peter Jackson has signed on with New Line to produce/direct the Hobbit and "a sequel" (yet to be named)?

Yeah, i'm totally hyped about that. The only thing that worries me is that it might mean no HD lord of the rings until the first hobbit movie is released :(.

Nice work so far. It does take some practice with the "stone" look. We darken the carved areas of our sculpts to make them pop more. You may want to try very lightly adding some "shadow" in the carvings. I love the glow effect you tried... I was thinking about doing the same thing with the door to our HT. (when I get to building...:rolleyes: )

Cheers,
Jeff

I think the UV paint idea is original and, when done in moderation, will be a real eye catching effect!

You could also add a life sized Gollum (http://www.costumesandprops.com/Lord_of_the%20Rings_Gollum_Figure.htm) to your theater. That would be cool.

It does take some practice with the "stone" look.

Yeah, i've spent a hefty amount of time figuring out what doesn't work...
The key seems to be in painting small enough speckles, which i've only been able to do with an air brush.
I tried various speckling techniques and such, but i wasn't able to get anything i liked.

For the texture, i'm going to use drywall mud rolled on, then i'll throw some sand on while it's still wet, (it sticks better than i would have expected, so i'll try it out and hope it works). Then when it dries knock the loose sand off and i think i'll go over it again with a "wet" layer of drywall mud. Not sure though, i'm still doing some testing.

You could also add a life sized Gollum to your theater. That would be cool.

I have a "glowing" sting toy, which i plan to do something with.
http://www.angrysaki.com/Media/Toys/Sting2.jpg

http://www.angrysaki.com/Media/Toys/Sting1.jpg



Not lotr, but i also have a replica of the scythe from Buffy, and a Master Sword replica from Zelda.

Right now, i'm thinking of making a weapons rack on the outside of the theatre.

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/IMG_0298%20[800x600].JPG

That's a picture coming down the stairs. I'd like to cover the hot water heater/furnace with "jagged" rock reaching all the way to the doorway. And in there, i'm thinking of making it look like either a weapons rack is being carved into it, or the weapons (probably just one) is being excavated from the rock.

Started working on the stage, i still need to add the front pieces (not sure what they'd be called).

I'm embaressingly bad with a jigsaw, so i tried out a technique i saw someone else do on here by setting up a "compass" as a guide. I had bought a "Mastercraft Spinsaw" (like big dremel) a while ago, because it was a super-multi-tool with tons of attachments, and it had one for this which was a pleasent suprise.
Pretty much took me all day, including clearing room for the compass (I had to move some computer desks).

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/StageCompass.JPG

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/StageCompass2.JPG

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/StageCompass3.JPG

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/Stage.JPG

It worked pretty well, but my measurements were off, and the outer/lower step is a bit too wide and it doesn't end up flush to the pillar. :(
I could have tried fixing it, but the chances of me ruining everything were pretty high, so I'll just cut the ends off. I did some google sktechup mockups of my "failure" and it didn't look too bad.

I spent a good chunk of the past couple of days working on what i want the stone to look like. I think i'm going to go for something like this, maybe a bit darker though. I like the look of light coloured stone, but darker is probably better for a theatre room... I'm still not decided on wall colour, ceiling colour, or flooring though...

Last year, i spent a bunch of time making a stone look using spraypaints, and i was relatively happy with the results. During the christmas break, tried replicating what i had done, but i was going for a lighter coloured stone, and had some trouble, so i tried a new technique that doesn't actually require any "spraying". Instead i used a bunch of drywall-putty-dust (i think it's called "hot mud"), which worked pretty well (i think, atleast...).

Here's the results (it's a pretty zoomed in pic, btw, i want the "stone" to look good upclose):
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/stone1.jpg



These are the steps i used, although i'm going from memory so i might be off on a couple...Also these steps aren't optimal, i'm going to try making some variations.
1. Cover wall with drywall putty using a roller (i used the same "hot mud" stuff, because if it gets wet after it dries, it will stay hard).
2. While the mud is still wet (right after it's rolled on), huck some sand all over it until it covers it.
3. Let dry
4. Painted with a watered down paint (about the colour of the grey in the top left of the picture).
5. Let dry
6. Wet everything with some water, and "threw" some drywall putty dust (same stuff) on it to get various random patterns. It "clumps" on, i think i left some of the clumps, and other ones i got rid of using a sponge (which makes a large white spot), but i'm not exactly sure what i did that step.
7. Let Dry
8. Wetted everything to wipe off all the non-hardened drywall mud/dust
9. Let Dry
10. Made a very watered down drywall putty and covered everything
11. Let dry

Right now, i'm thinking of making a weapons rack on the outside of the theatre.

Is that in case someone gets too loud during a movie? :D

BTW, Awesome theater...esp. the UV glow paint!

Is that in case someone gets too loud during a movie?

That, and so that nobody questions my taste in movies ;)



/me goes off and watches Black Knight

I've finally started actually applying the pattern i made to the wall. I went through a lot of troubles trying to cut thin slices of foam to use as stencils, which ended up being a dead end (would have required too much work to make it worth it). One of the biggest problems i had is the foam would curl a lot when it was thin, which was a big pain. Getting an even cut was also hard with my crude setup.

So i ended up using foam core, which wasn't as bad as i remembered cutting with an exacto knife, but it is hard to get a proper vertical cut everywhere (i didn't :( ).

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/stencil1.JPG
Already "used" stencil.

Here's the results of what i have so far, there's still stuff at the top of each side arch to do and on the pillars, as well as the text along the top (which i'm not really looking forward to cutting out...)

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/patternwall1.JPG

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/patternwall2.JPG


I do 2 passes, the first with thicker "hot mud", and when it's dry i scrape off all the craggly stuff poking up, then i put the stencil back on and go over again with regular drywall mud (a bit watered down).

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/patternwallupclose1.JPG
mud is still wet (first pass).

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/patternwallupclose2.JPG
The same part as the top pic, but showing the bottom part which i've done the second pass on. It's still not super smooth or anything, but i don't think that'll matter too much since i'm going for the a more rock like look. I'll probalby make everything look somewhat aged, which will cover up all my imperfections even more :).

Wow this is really cool! I love this theme. Sure wish there was a HD version of LOTR out for purchase. Maybe there will be a version out when your are finished and can show that for the premier opening !

I like the sword

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! This is going to be sooo cool when it's done. I've subscribed and anxiously await all the photos you'll be posting (hint, hint ;)).

Thanks for letting us in on the experience!
Mike

AngrySaki,

I noticed you're using one of the pull down screens. Don't know if you plan on using that in your final setup (say cutting it off and mounting on a frame or something). I found that when I did that the case bowed a bit in the middle and caused the screen material to stretch and get warbly (is that a word?). Even trying to get it all smooth once I mounted it on the frame turned out to be near impossible. If I were you I'd either mount a 3rd bracket behind the case in the middle to support it so it won't bow or go ahead and cut it and put it on a frame now. (This of course all assumes that's what you're doing.)

Mike

I haven't decided what i'm going to do for a screen yet, but that's good information because i was considering cutting and using that screen material as an option.



I like the sword

It comes in handy in the kitchen :)

http://www.angrysaki.com/Media/Compote/cuttingapple1.jpg

you should have used 'Flame of The West' instead. ;) :D

here is a quickie of the door to Moria, i made this recreation of the door a while back for my desktop. so i threw a glow effect on it and slapped it on a stone background in your pic.
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd263/ceric_photo/doorway.jpg

Oh sweet, awsome :)
(i missed that when you first posted it)




I've been pretty lazy for the past couple of weeks, and by lazy, i mean i've been playing Wind Waker :P.

But i finally got off my ass and but the stencils for the "text". 5 days later and my finger still hurts.

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/theatretext.JPG

It also sucks to stencil too because there's really thin parts, so i've had to go over it way more times with watery putty, and i'm still not done...
I still have to "close" some of the letters to. :(


I spent an excessive amount of time trying to think of something i wanted it to say, and didn't come up with anything great. Since nobody's going to be able to read it, I decided on "True knowledge is knowing you know nothing" (socrates).

My first thought was to put over the screen. "Please turn off your cell phone", since they won't know what it says, you really could've out "Save Ferris Bueller".

Looks nice! So many things that you could have spelled out - what you put works nicely. ("One theater to rule them all" comes to mind, but that wouldn't be in elvish)

THIS..i cant wait to see done.

When i tried to make the rock look on the front wall, i sort of blew it, or my method just didn't work, but i think i put some thin layers of putty on too thick, and it just didn't look right, looked like a layer of something floating over a layer of something else sort of. Sort of hard to explain.

So i bought a paint sprayer, which works alright, but it puts out way too much paint. (one of these (http://www.wagnerspraytech.com/portal/power_landing_spray,46013,747.html))

I think i'm going to need a better paint sprayer (or one that does what i want/puts out less paint). I have an air compressor i got off some guy, but the belt is busted and i've been too lazy to find a replacmenet.




So the result of all that babbling is this:


http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/frontwallsortofdone5.JPG
it's a bit easier too make out the pattern in person, i'm not very good with cameras... no, wait, It's my camera that sucks, yeah, that's it.

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/frontwallsortofdone7.JPG

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/frontwallsortofdone4.JPG


I did make a mistake, and sprayed too dark of a paint on one pass, so it's a bit too harsh looking in person up close (too much contrast in the speckles up close). I'm not going to fix it now, because it's become clear to me that i suck, and there's _no_ way i'm going to be able to match the walls, so i'm going make the walls then do everything at the same time. (i might re-do the entire front wall). I also dripped all over the stage, so that needs fixing too...

Just in it for the LULZ....? Haha.

Great idea for a theater! Good luck!

When i tried to make the rock look on the front wall, i sort of blew it, or my method just didn't work, but i think i put some thin layers of putty on too thick, and it just didn't look right, looked like a layer of something floating over a layer of something else sort of. Sort of hard to explain.

So i bought a paint sprayer, which works alright, but it puts out way too much paint. (one of these (http://www.wagnerspraytech.com/portal/power_landing_spray,46013,747.html))

I think i'm going to need a better paint sprayer (or one that does what i want/puts out less paint). I have an air compressor i got off some guy, but the belt is busted and i've been too lazy to find a replacmenet.

[snip]

I did make a mistake, and sprayed too dark of a paint on one pass, so it's a bit too harsh looking in person up close (too much contrast in the speckles up close). I'm not going to fix it now, because it's become clear to me that i suck, and there's _no_ way i'm going to be able to match the walls, so i'm going make the walls then do everything at the same time. (i might re-do the entire front wall). I also dripped all over the stage, so that needs fixing too...

Ahhh...I must say, when I read this it absolutely resonated with my soul. All I can say is welcome to the forum -- you have truly arrived. And my apologies too. Things like this are so frustrating. They seem so simple in your head and you'd think they'd just work (the first time) and they never do. At least for me they don't. But I will say that perseverance is probably 90% of being successful for a DIY room. Hang in there -- the end result will be awesome (you'll still see some of the flaws but no one else ever will -- and don't tell them either!).

Mike

Keep going--I love the sound of this, and like so many others have said, the UV paint idea is awesome. Good luck!

When do we get new updates ??

Man, Saki, it feels like The Hobbit will be out on DVD (BRD) before your next update:).

Read the whole thread. Wow!

Really great ideas and though you said differently, also good craftsmanship. Looking forward to updates.

I wouldn't bust his ballz too bad, this is a helluva a theater in the works. You could probably send pics of it off to Wingnut Films and get on their website.

Angrysaki,

Is your theater entrance over 10ft high? Found these in my hometown. apparently, they are the actual props used in the movie for those pov shots

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/victor-eyd/backyard%20theater/100_5376.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/victor-eyd/backyard%20theater/100_5379.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/victor-eyd/backyard%20theater/100_5376.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/victor-eyd/backyard%20theater/100_5380.jpg

Victor

Are those for sale? If I had the space (and the $$$), those would be mine.

Come on, where's the DIY spirit fellas? Build your own!

:p

Mike

I'd love to see an update as well, as it is really looking good! Not sure if you have decided on the UV paint for the doors or not, but here is how I did mine, and they turned out fabulously without the drawbacks of blacklighting:

Doors of Moria (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1021006)

that's sweet dbroome :)
Unfortunately, i don't think i can do it that way because i'm hoping to get the design on the inner walls ontop of the "stone".




I finally got off my lazy ass and did some work. Although that's because i got put on my lazy ass when i wiped out on my bike and hurt my knee. :(


I've cut & glued the foam for the side walls.
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/sidewallfoamIMG_0599.jpg

I wasted a lot of time dicking around trying ot make a foamcutting dealy, and failed over and over again, so i gave up and tried a knife. that almost worked but the knife got stuck on long cuts. Eventually i tried a jigsaw and that worked well enough. I'm not very good with a jigsaw though, so the cuts aren't amazing. Luckily i'm going for an older worn look so i don't think it'll matter :P


Then i covered the foam with a product called "foamcoat":
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/xIMG_0630.jpg

Because it's expensive and i'm cheap, i only used a couple of layers then put drywall putty ontop of that. It also reminded me of how much i hate doing anything with drywall putty (because i'm so bad at it).


Then last night i started putting on the design with some new stencils i made:
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/sidewallsIMG_0659.jpg

That's where i ran into a snag. The "design" part lifted off with the top layer of drywall putty, but not everywehre (~60% of it did), the rest stuck fairly well. Right now i'm trying to "glue" the peices back on with gorilla glue, and foamcoat. If neither of those work i'll try some other stuff.


I've also finally bit the bullet and ordered my cloth, went for the cypress green (http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/products/fabrics/pop_soundsuede_ccgreen.asp) soundsuede. I'm going to use black GOM on the front wall & oc3 behind everything.

I also recently bought an airbrush, which i plan on using to try and "liven up" the rock/stone. I might try to throw in a colour in there. Anybody have any opinions on what "hint" of colour would look good in grey rock beside green walls?


I've also been toying with the idea, of when i'm generally "done" the majority of the theatre, adding a "evil layer" ontop of everything. I was thinking of making some really unnatural black vines and having them creep all over the place, or maybe even just painting veins that look like they're "creeping" up the walls might look cool. I would think you could get a cool effect if you payed attention to how things bleed, and used that visual style in there somehow.
But i'm getting way ahead of myself...


edit: fixed last picture

nice work so far. 99% of what you are doing is way above my head, both artistically and technically. I am excited to watch things progress here.

ps what kind of bike do you have? I miss my old MTB racing days.

99% of what you are doing is way above my head, both artistically and technically.
It was way above my head when i started, too ;)


This is the bike i wiped out on:
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/GiroLOW2.JPG

I also have a touring/road bike. I've been tempted to try mountain biking, but after injuring myself, i think i'll stick with paved roads for a while. (when i wiped out i hit a deep patch of loose sand on a big downhill or a really crappy dirt road)

This is super cool!!!! Great idea and it looks like you are doing a great job with the stencils and the attention to detail.

Can't wait to see the end product!!!

I've been thinking about what kind of frame/border to do around my screen. My current plan is to build one, probably using masonite with a stiff backing of some sort, and borders around made of MDF, covered in some black cloth or painted, but that might change for various reasons

What i'm not sure how to decide on is:
-If i should make the screen flush (or even recessed) with the black GOM on the screen wall, and not bother with borders.
-How wide to make the black borders, if any.
-How deep to make the black borders, if any.
-What to cover the borders with. Paint them, use black GOM, or something else?

I'm slightly worried that a screen with black GOM borders might look funny ontop of GOM a black wall, but i have no idea.

Part of the problem is that it's hard to see what various screens look like from pictures, because everything is black and you can't see the detail you would if you were there in person. Anybody have any ideas/opinions? Or maybe some links to highly lit pictures of screen walls (the screen walls thread pics aren't bright enough).


I'm also planning on cutting up the back wall into panels like this (because gom isn't wide enough):
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/screensections2.jpg



"Me Personally, I want to slay the dragon"
If this is referring to what i think it's referring, have you read the "season 6" angel comics?

No wonder you wiped out!!
I would never recommend going backwards down the stairs on a bike. :) :)


Scott


It was way above my head when i started, too ;)


This is the bike i wiped out on:
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/GiroLOW2.JPG

I also have a touring/road bike. I've been tempted to try mountain biking, but after injuring myself, i think i'll stick with paved roads for a while. (when i wiped out i hit a deep patch of loose sand on a big downhill or a really crappy dirt road)

Use black velvet borders around your screen. It will absorb and excess light that overshoots the screen significantly better than black GOM. As for recessing the screen inrelation to the rest of the screen wall this is more personal preferance. I went with a small recess of about an inch, but others have done a much deeper shadow box.

Now that winter's fully hit, I've done a bit more work, not much though, and i failed pretty hard.

I'm almost done the stone look on the side walls, and i put parts of them up for colour matching for the existing wall, only to realize i somehow completely missed a part of the design :(

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/fail1.jpg

So i'm going to have to re-do that part, which isn't _that_ much work, but there's the drying time that it'll make it take a while. It's mostly just super annoying.


I also did some work on my back desk/counter a while ago but didn't post anything. The lowered part is just sitting on vertical 2x4's with a super thick iron beam (50x overkill), because i was worried about the weight of crt's. I didn't want to need any support in the middle.

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/backwall1.jpg

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/backwall2.jpg

I've done a bit more work, nowhere near as much as i was hoping though...
I did finish building the door (one side of it atleast). I decided against doing the door to Moria because I was basically sick of making stone texture, and wanted to try doing some stuff with wood (never have before). The arch inserts are MDF with "sculpey" (oven bakeable clay like product) glued on. There's more designs in the background, but they're hard to see because I suck at taking pictures, and the arch inserts are fairly dark. I might put some down facing spotlights which enhance the visibility of the edges.

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/IMG_1397_2.jpg


http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/IMG_1400.JPG

I'm considering repainting the insert designs to allow a bit more of the metallic look to come through, I went a bit overboard on the "aging".
I might also do some more carving in the "flat" area at the top of the doors themselves, but probably not any time soon.

I got the idea from pictures like these:
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/68946994SrOGaB_ph.jpg

Those doors are amazing! Nice work.

any updates?

+1 ??

Jim

IM really surprised at how many of these threads are like 2-5 years old and never get updated, finished.

AND it also surprises me at how they get bumped after so many years. I cant count the times I have started to OR have posted in a thread from like 05 or something..Why keep bumping?

I also have a touring/road bike. I've been tempted to try mountain biking, but after injuring myself, i think i'll stick with paved roads for a while.

Famous last words?

IM really surprised at how many of these threads are like 2-5 years old and never get updated, finished.

AND it also surprises me at how they get bumped after so many years. I cant count the times I have started to OR have posted in a thread from like 05 or something..Why keep bumping?

Because we want updated pics....



I want to see the stencils lit up with UV paint. That has to be cool!!

I started doing a bit more work when the weather got cold. I was planning on posting some picture soon (and after I cleaned up the giant mess...), but I might as well post some now.
I'll hopefully be able to get some better pictures around christmas time when I can borrow a better camera (and someone who knows how to use it).


I put up the screen wall cloth.
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/HT_screenwall.jpg



I also covered the support poles with a sort of spiral golden look thingy of some sort.
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/HT_pole1.jpg



I made some speaker stands in the equivalent style for my side speakers.
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/HT_speakerstand1.jpg



I also made some sconces in a similar style.
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/HT_sconces1.jpg
I'm sort of annoyed, because I put the electrical boxes too high, but there's nothing I can do about that now (I made the sconces myself partly so that I could make them as "low" as possible). I can't leave them on right now either, because I'm using incandescent bulbs and the wood in them gets really hot. I'm waiting for some LED bulbs in the mail.



I also painted my desks/counter at the back with a marble look, which took forever (I had never done anything like it before).
http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/HT_marble1.jpg

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/HT_marble2.jpg


Unfortunately, I don't really like the look of the desks like that. I think it's because they have too much of a big "box" look. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about them yet. Any ideas would be appreciated.



I want to see the stencils lit up with UV paint
I'm still not sure where/what I'm going to do to mount the UV lights themselves, so I've been putting this off. I think I'll go ahead and paint the walls soon though, so I can at least test with a UV light in my hand or whatever.

Thanks for posting those, Saki. I enjoy seeing the pictures!

Saki,

This is great, over the top. I'm loving it and now subscribed!!

I painted a bunch of the UV designs today (thanks to you guys hassling me :P), and I'm really pleased with how it looks. It put a big smile on my face when I shut the lights off :).

I can't post any pics because my camera doesn't have a long enough exposure time. I should be able to get some good pictures over christmas.

Great to see your build, thanks for beginning posting again.

WOW, F'n (excuse the term) cool theme idea !! I know it's a older theater setup(started in 07) but, I'm subbing to this one as well, another one that I want to see when it's done.

I also love that Zelda door details....that is awsome (I want one !!!)

Awsome details so far, love it !!!!

Why did you go from LOTR to Zelda in the theme?

IM really surprised at how many of these threads are like 2-5 years old and never get updated, finished.

AND it also surprises me at how they get bumped after so many years. I cant count the times I have started to OR have posted in a thread from like 05 or something..Why keep bumping?


Maybe because it worked :rolleyes:

Thanks Saki for posting, this was an great build and just wanted to see some updates. Nice work.

Amazing work! +1 on eagerly anticipating seeing the finished pictures! Stay motivated!

Saki... Hats off to you for your artistic and creative abilities.

Brad

Got my dad to bring his camera over and take some low light pics. The pictures don't totally capture the "feel" of being in a room with glowing UV walls, but they give a decent idea.

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/theatrewalls4.jpg

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/theatrewalls3.jpg

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/theatrewalls2.jpg

http://www.angrysaki.com/Upload/theatrewalls1.jpg


Why did you go from LOTR to Zelda in the theme?
I'd say they're close enough to be compatible :p.
I wouldn't say my original design was specifically lord of the rings, just inspired by it (I didn't take any designs or anything from the movies or books, just ideas) which i'd say would fit with many "fantasy worlds" including zelda. In other words, I'm a huge zelda fan. ;)

WOW - this is REALLY going to be spectacular !!

AngrySaki,

Even someone like myself who doesn't care for "theme theaters" has to admit you've done a spectacular job. It's hard to believe your claim that you've "never built anything before." Great stuff.

One question: regarding the third photo down on your last post, those letters/designs look great, but will they be glowing while watching a movie?
I'm curious what you intend, since I would tend to find them distracting during a movie (my eye wants to concentrate on the image on screen, so I'm a "no visual distractions" guy).

I'd say they're close enough to be compatible :p.
I wouldn't say my original design was specifically lord of the rings, just inspired by it (I didn't take any designs or anything from the movies or books, just ideas) which i'd say would fit with many "fantasy worlds" including zelda. In other words, I'm a huge zelda fan. ;)

Its cool. I didnt intend to come off disrespectful at all. Just kind of threw me. Im not only a Zelda fan but a video game fanatic. I have 17 consoles many from their launch and about 1400 games. Im the guy that gets in line for 9hrs to get the consoles and games when they come out..:) And im 9/10 the 1st in line..lol..

Room is looking good bro and cant wait to see it all complete so get ON IT..!!.

After the glowing pictures all I can say is WOW...I can't wait to see when this is done.

Wow - the script language lighting up is VERY cool. I love the detail on the doors too. Nice job!

everything looked great until the zelda thing.

Finally done (mostly). Just in time to move... (off to university)
My brother's living at my house for now so I can still use my theatre when I visit :)
I didn't do the carpet myself, I was sort of running out of time before moving.


http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtscreenwall1.jpg

http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtdark2.jpg

http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtdark4.jpg

http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtdoor1.jpg

http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtdoor6.jpg

http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtdoor7.jpg




Here's a few more pics:

sidewall1 (http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtsidewall1.jpg)
glow3 (http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtglow3.JPG)
door2 (http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtdoor2.jpg)
door3 (http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtdoor3.jpg)
door4 (http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtdoor4.jpg)
door5 (http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtdoor5.jpg)
door7 (http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtdoor7.jpg)

dark4 (http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtdark4.jpg)
text1 (http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmttext1.jpg)
sconce2 (http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtsconce2.jpg)
insidedoor1 (http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtinsidedoor1.jpg)
pillar1 (http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtpillar1.jpg)
desk1 (http://www.angrysaki.com/theatre/bsmtdesk1.jpg)

WOW, nice door

Great looking room. Don't know how I missed it. Love seeing someone run with a bold idea!

Those doors are insane!!!! How did you do that?

Good lord! What a creative build! The glow effect has got to be one of the coolest things ive seen in a while! Im not wild about all the white....but if you have glowing blue walls in your LOTR theater....WHO CARES! lol. Very cool, on of my favorites.

Those doors are insane!!!! How did you do that?

Hes a witch! I just know it.

Nice to see a long running project close out. There are a lot of amazing parts of this build. Kudos.

Hes a witch! I just know it.

Warlock ;)


Those doors are insane!!!! How did you do that?

The main part of the doors are made of wood (I think it was pine), 2 foot by 8 foot lengths stuck together. The carving in the wood part of the door around the outside was done with a dremel sanding tool. I had planned on doing more, but it was pretty time consuming.
The Zelda "inserts" are on MDF with an MDF border, and the design on it are made of sculpey (a hobby clay you can bake in a regular oven). I rolled thinnish pieces of it and used an exacto knife to cut out the shapes, baked them and then glued them on. There's also a bristol board like substance for the less prominent raised parts.
I spray painted the whole thing with either a brass or gold, then used a sort of a rag technique to do the ageing (for the ageing I found the most critical part was choosing the right colour).

Those doors are phenomenal! You have much more patience and talent than I!

I just came across your build thread today, not sure how I could have missed it all this time, and I wanted to compliment you on a terrific job. Yours is one of the most beautiful and inspired theme creations I have seen. My favorite set of books and movies too, so I am pretty critical of anyone trying to do a real LOTR design. Congratulations on some great work. I only wish I had some of your talent. I will have to pay someone else to do all of my work. Great stuff!:eek:

Very nice, I love this theme and look....I look forward to more updates, AWSOME

More, more more!!

I second that motion - would love to see more photos from this well executed theme!!