The Digital Cinema Challenge The County and Ambler Theaters are facing a direct challenge to its existence: the movie industry is converting from film to Digital Cinema. If we want to stay open, we will have to convert as well.
Our plan. Our plan is to install our first Digital Cinema projector in 2012, our second in 2012/13, and our third (at Ambler) in 2013.
Our fund-raising
must start now.
Staying alive. Our theaters ha shown movies on 35mm film projectors for over 70 years. But very soon all of our main releases will be available only in the Digital Cinema format (and not on film). So, if we want to show future movies comparable to The King’s Speech and Midnight in Paris, or even smaller titles like The Double Hour and Win Win, we’ll have to show them on Digital Cinema projectors. We must adapt or close our doors.
The expense. The main challenge of Digital Cinema is the expense. Installation of Digital Cinema projectors will cost $100,000 per screen.
Please contribute. Please contribute to our Digital Cinema Campaign and help us keep great movies on our screens. Your continued support will keep the County and Ambler Theaters vibrant and exciting for years to come. For more information contact our office at 215-348-1878 x117 or jsanders@amblertheater.org.
Why is Digital Cinema being forced on theaters?The movie industry has been trying to facilitate this change for ten years. Their reason is economic. It is much cheaper to make digital prints of movies vs. film prints. Of course, the cost of upgrading the projectors to “dCinema” falls on the theaters. Currently about half of the screens in the US use dCinema projectors. And distributors have decided that now is the time to force all theaters to convert.
- What will happen, if we don’t add Digital Cinema?
In a couple of years, we won’t be able to show our big arthouse hits like The King’s Speech or Slumdog Millionaire, unless we have Digital Cinema projectors, because that will be the only available format. Those big “crossover” films are essential to our economic viability. They pay the bills that allow us to show the smaller independent and foreign films as well as special screenings like Hollywood Summer Nights and filmmaker appearances. Loss of the revenue would
trigger a downward economic spiral for the theater. We might not survive.
- What is the time frame? Can’t we wait for a few
more years and see what happens?
Putting off this challenge has been our de facto plan for the last 5 years. But now the time has come. We believe we have 1 year (2 years max) to make this happen, before our access to first run art films (like The King’s Speech) is cut off. We will do this in two steps: we plan to add the first dCinema projector in 2012 and the second in 2013. We can’t wait too long, however, because there is a lengthy lead time in ordering and installing the projectors. (And as for waiting so that the price comes down, no one in the industry thinks that is likely.)
- Haven’t we already purchased digital projectors?
We have purchased smaller, less expensive video projectors that can project digital content at lower resolution. These have been good for showing alternatives like plays and operas, BluRays, and the like. However, Digital Cinema projectors are bigger and brighter and are equipped with the necessary copy protection for first run films. We cannot use our current projectors for the industry approved standard necessary for Digital Cinema. If we want to continue to
show exciting new art films, we have to make the switch to the industry approved equipment.
- How does Digital Cinema look?
The good news is that dCinema offers an amazingly sharp and bright picture. We’ve been 35mm film cineastes for a long time. But we’ve been stunned by the beauty, depth and clarity of movies projected on the latest Digital Cinema projectors. We think that this is a step forward into the future of visual presentation. Plus, many older, classic films are gaining new life after being digitally restored. Yes, some film lovers will always prefer 35mm film. But, on balance, we think that the switch to Digital Cinema is good in terms of the visual aesthetic experience.
- What are other theaters doing?
Art House Theaters across the country are also faced with this same problem. We are members of a group called The Art House Convergence which is a consortium of 100+ independent theaters. We’ve been talking with our peers for over a year about how to address this challenge. Most small, independent theaters are approaching this problem the same way. We are fortunate to be financially healthy and pretty well positioned to make the change. Some smaller theaters are not so lucky. Some may not make it.
- Is there any kind of a plan B? Can't we lease?
The only “leasing” available is really just “financing” by another name. We have also explored the distributors' plan to "help theaters" with virtual print fees, but, as you might suspect, that option comes with too many strings attached.
- Won’t there be any 35mm film prints in the future,
and what will happen to our current 35mm projectors?
There may be a few film prints made. But those very few film prints will not be a reliable source for the movies we need to show to survive. However, we will hold onto our excellent 35mm film projectors. We'll keep them for special screenings and to show archival prints and classic movies on 35mm film.
