page_title: University Cinema Scala
section_title: Facilities and equipment
hierarchical_section_title: University Cinema Scala / Facilities and equipment
caption_attribution_description: Čeština: Brněnské kino Scala - promítárna
context_page_description: University Cinema Scala is a cinema in Brno in the Czech Republic. It is located at Moravské náměstí in the basement of building 127/3, city quarter Brno-střed and neighbourhood Brno-město. It has been in operation since 1929 and was at times also called Bio Dopz and Kino Moskva. Since the autumn of 2013, it has been run by Masaryk University and the Aeropolis company as the first university cinema in the Czech Republic. Besides regular film screenings, it also serves as a representative space and a lecture and conference hall used for academic purposes.
context_section_description: The cinema was originally established as a part of the multi-purpose DOPZ Palace building. In the late 1920s, the building consisted of offices, a large conference, dance, and theatre hall on the ground floor, the Biber cafe on the first and second floors and the cinema itself in the basement.
  The basement location was originally a problem, as the lowest point in the auditorium was more than 7 metres (23 ft) below the pavement level by the main entrance at Moravské náměstí (then called Lažanského náměstí), while the then-applicable ministerial decree only allowed a depth of 6 metres (20 ft). For this reason, the local authorities refused to approve the licence application on 31 October 1928. The re-submitted application therefore cited the entrance from Jakubské náměstí, which lies below Moravské náměstí, as the main entrance, and the relative depth of the auditorium was thus reduced to 5.77 metres (18.9 ft). The number of seats was also determined during the occupancy permit procedure: 562 seats in the stalls and 238 on the balconies, altogether 800 seats, which was the maximum capacity allowed by the ministerial decree for underground cinemas. During the remodelling of the cinema in 1931, the operator received a permission to change the seating arrangements in the auditorium: by removing the boxes on the sides, the cinema was able to offer 304 seats on the balconies and 702 stalls seats (altogether 1,006 seats). There were further changes in May of the same year that brought the seating capacity of the cinema up to 700 + 312 or 1,012 seats. Measured by seating capacity, Bio Dopz was the largest cinema in Brno. In 1932, the waiting room was turned into a smoking lounge; afterwards, the foyer served as the waiting space.
  In 1957, the cinema was rebuilt for widescreen projection using the CinemaScope system. At the same time, the balcony on the sides of the auditorium was demolished and new seats were installed and rearranged to provide 550 seats in the stalls and 200 on the balcony. The original spiral staircase was also removed as well as the projection box, which was moved to another part of the basement with an entrance right next to the auditorium entrance. The cash desk in the upper foyer was divided into two.
  The cinema obtained equipment allowing panoramic 70mm film projection during the next round of remodelling and repairs, which took place in 1971–1973 based on a project prepared by architect Jaroslav Šmídek. The projection box received two UM 70/35 projectors and one ME 9 projector and a 6-channel amplifier system was installed to ensure stereo sound. The smoking lounge was turned into a bar; the cash desks were moved opposite the entrance staircase and an office took their place. Again, new seats were installed in the auditorium: the new arrangement saw the seating capacity decrease to 328 stalls seats and 145 balcony seats (altogether 473 seats). Thanks to these changes, the Moskva cinema, as it was called at the time, became the best-equipped cinema in Brno.
  The latest refurbishing took place in 2013, when the cinema obtained digital equipment for projection in 4K and in the Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 sound format.
caption: The cinema projection box with two Meo 5-XB projectors in 2011
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