Lights, Camera, Nye!

Nye was recently contacted by Boston Light & Sound, a national leader in entertainment technology, to provide a lubricant for a movie theater projector they were refurbishing. However, this projector was unlike any video projector used in today’s modern cinema.

Director extraordinaire Quentin Tarantino shot his latest movie, The Hateful Eight, with a lens system called “Ultra Panavision 70.” The system is meant to provide viewers with an ultra-wide viewing experience. The technology had not been used in Hollywood for over 2 decades, but Tarantino claimed the image quality of film is better and did not want to show any more films unless the initial showings were on 70mm film.

Over the last decade, virtually all film projectors that were capable of showing 70mm film were ripped out of America’s cinemas and replaced with video projectors. This put the Boston Light & Sound team into a bit of a frenzy as they were responsible for finding and refurbishing the old projectors for Tarantino’s movie premieres.

The company scrounged up every used 70mm projector they could find, designed and manufactured all the parts, and then remanufactured the projectors. During this process, Boston Light & Sound used Rheolube® 716B grease to lubricate the internal components of the projector. Rheolube® 716B is often used in applications that require a wide temperature range and where smooth, quiet operations are essential. The grease’s light viscosity and antiwear properties proved to be a great performance booster for the projector application.