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The Weilandfilm Theatrical Poster Lightbox
© Copyright 2001-2007 Weilandfilm
Productions
Section 7: The Trim and Finishing Touches
Things Are Getting a Little Mouldy...
Now that the rails
are properly outfitted with screen moulding and accent
blocks, the only trim left to apply is the embossed,
quarter-round moulding around the perimeter of the
lightbox near the back where it will rest against
the wall.
You will find that there are many types of trim that
you can use, so choose whatever style you wish. But
select a moulding that is at least 1-inch in height
to adequately cover the area where the back braces
are notched through the side panels (in four locations)
as well as the thickness of the masonite back panel.
I've found embossed moulding (poplar) at both Home
Depot and Lowe's warehouses, but you can find more
lavish designs at specialty stores if you wish. See
the example in Figure 7.1. Measure, cut and
miter together the four lengths of quarter-round so
that they fit snugly along the outer perimeter of
the box.
Before attaching them with nails, apply the desired
antiquing to these pieces of trim as well as to the
rails that were constructed earlier. When dry, attach
the moulding with trim nails, being careful not to
split the wood upon nailing. It might help if you
spit on the end of each nail before driving it into
the trim. I'm not sure how it works, but it seems
to ease the nail in without causing the wood to split.
Actually, when I've done this, I can't remember ever
having a piece of trim split on me. You might find
that it helps you as well.
After attaching the trim, you may need to create a
small notch in the trim at the bottom of the unit
for the power cord to be channeled so that it won't
be crimped or smashed when the lightbox is hanging.
If that is the case, simply notch out the desired
amount of wood and arrange the cord appropriately,
stapling it into place.
Lastly, attach a mirror kit or large picture mounting
kit to the back of the lightbox. Most large picture-hanging
kits are able to handle quite a bit of weight, and
after the trouble I went through making a lightbox,
I wasn't about to employ a chinchy, lightweight hanging
system. I bought a mirror kit that was rated at 35
lbs. It consisted of braided picture wire, 2 D-rings,
two picture hanger/hooks and the necessary screws
and wall anchors. (See www.cornerhardware.com
for examples.) The kit comes complete with mounting
instructions. See Figure 7.4.
The Final Act: Displaying the Poster
With the trim installed
and the hanging kit attached, the lightbox is relatively
complete. All that remains is to insert the poster
of your choice. Like most one-sheets in theaters today,
ours will be held in place with transparent tape.
You're probably surprised. Well, to be honest, there
was just no easy way to clamp the poster along the
top of the print ala a pseudo, monster-sized, chip
bag clip. So we had to fall back on our old friend,
transparent tape. But don't despair. You'll only be
applying a few pieces (three to four that are 2-inches
in length) of Scotch tape horizontally along the top
of the poster. Gravity should do the rest, and the
poster will simply hang in the air pocket between
the two pieces of Plexiglas.
By the way, don't worry about seeing tape on your
poster when it is displayed in the lightbox. You will
only be overlapping (at most) a ¼" of
tape onto the poster, and the front rail assembly
will sufficiently matte the outer rim of the poster
so that the tape won't be seen.
As a side note, it should be known that the original
design called for the poster to be sandwiched firmly
between and suspended solely by the two Plexiglas
panels. In fact, the prototype was constructed this
way, and I was forced to administer the biggest change
to my design as a result. At first, the poster hung
great. But after a few days, the print started to
sag and ripple since it wasn't able to freely expand
and contract. Given their size and flimsy nature,
the plexi panels flexed and could not maintain a firm
hold across the entire surface of the poster. So as
the humidity and temperature (from the lamps) changed,
the poster would exhibit ripples in those areas that
weren't tightly sandwiched. So I was forced to create
an air pocket between the plexi panels of my prototype
only a month after I thought I had finished my project.
Since employing the air pocket solution over a year
ago, I've not had one wrinkle or ripple in my Gladiator
theatrical poster. It has floated freely, allowing
for expansion and contraction caused by both humidity
and temperature changes. In addition, I've not had
to re-tape the poster either.
So, it's now official. The last thing to do, unless
you're still waiting for paint to dry, is probably
the hardest part: deciding which poster you'll display
in your lightbox. But before you decide to extensively
ponder that, check out my closing thoughts.
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