NEC NC2000C Protocol Document
CLASSIC
MOVIE
HOUSES
G O D I G I T A L
BY ANDREAS FUCHS
DCI or D I E
he time has come. The Capri Theatre needs to get
digital.” Continuously operating since 1941—when the
‘T
was still known as The Clover—the Capri Community Film
Society, its nonprot operator since 1983, was faced with the
daunting task to go “DCI or DIE.” (We gratefully—and with
permission—lifted those catchy words for our headline.) Noting
“the studios made us do it,” cinema director Martin McCaffery
launched a Kickstarter campaign in April, ultimately raising more
than the $80,000 requested, in addition to “a generous grant”
from The Daniel Foundation of Birmingham that provided the
rst $25,000. DCI it is.
rst neighborhood theatre in Montgomery, Alabama,
the Capri,
nee Clover, 1958
reel life,
before digital
While certainly lucky to have such good friends, the
Capri (www.capritheatre.org) is not alone in overcoming the
challenges of digital conversion and in hoping for good things
to come with it. Putting it into perspective, that amount
of money is “more than we spent on 35mm in 30 years,”
McCaffery says in his video pitch. “And it is also more than
we had in ticket sales last year.” Other successful Kickstarters
such as the Catlow (http://bit.ly/fji1012catlow), Patio, Harbor
and Rose theatres as well as Lyric Cinema Café (http://bit.ly/
fji1112kickstarter) have already been proled in these pages.
And McCaffery credits the Crescent Theatre in Mobile, Ala.
as his inspiration, along with the discussions at the Sundance
DCI or Die! Kickstarter
Arthouse Convergence last January. “After that, I just
decided we had nothing to lose, so why not give it a try?”
How are independents dealing with this seismic
change? In the rst of a two-part series, we examine
the work of passionate individuals and groups of people
not only at the Capri but in Tampa, Florida (www.
tampatheatre.org), and Berkeley Springs, West Virginia
(www.starwv.com). They will be joined next month by
equally good folks from Stamford, Connecticut (www.
avontheatre.org), as well as theatres in Santa Monica and
Hollywood, Calif. (www.americancinematheque.com), and
Lichtervelde, Belgium (www.cinemadekeizer.be). All of
them exclusively share with Film Journal International their
thoughts on timing, how they nanced the conversion,
specic challenges they encountered due to their unique
surroundings—and, of course, how programming
philosophies are being impacted. As McCaffery says,
“We’re hoping digital will allow us to expand our
programming.”
SayS CEO JOhn BEll On thE fundraiSing
Campaign fOr digital COnvErSiOn Of thE
nOnprOfit tampa thEatrE, “WE ElECtEd
tO gO With a mOrE graSSrOOtS Campaign.
m
OSt pEOplE gavE uS $10 Or $50 giftS, But
WE raiSEd aBOut $104,000.”
ll of our exemplary movie houses have been around for a
A
long, long time. At 72 years, the Capri is the youngest in
the bunch (barely, by one year). The Aero Theatre opened in
1940 and is operated by the American Cinematheque, which
also runs the Egyptian in Hollywood. Exhibitor-showman Sid
Grauman launched the exotic landmark in 1922, four years
after the Million Dollar Theatre in downtown Los Angeles
and ve years before his world-famous Chinese Theatre down
the boulevard. The Avon was part of that magical movie year
1939 and our small-town wonders in Berkeley Springs and
Lichtervelde were established in 1928 and 1924, respectively.
“I have to remind people that the Tampa Theatre was
built before sound was even invented,” laughs John Bell, the
president and CEO of the 1926 atmospheric movie palace
that the MPAA recently placed on its list of “the world’s best”
(www.thecredits.org/2013/05/ten-of-the-worlds-best-movietheaters). “Since lm is our core business, we were well aware
for several years that digital cinema was coming,” he reassures.
“In July 2012, however, we realized it wasn’t just coming but
that it was here. While there wasn’t any one distributor that
went on record saying they would stop distributing lm prints
to the Tampa Theatre in 2013, that was the message we were
hearing nonetheless. Part of why we had been waiting was our
hope that the digital conversion would be like plasma TVs,” he
laughs. “You know, prices coming way, way down after the rst
ones had come out. Unfortunately that has not been the case.”
The accelerated timing put the nonprot Tampa Theatre
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in what Bell calls an odd position. “We were already planning
for major upgrades to the building, electrical and HVAC work,
seating… Digital cinema was always a part of that larger,
multi-million-dollar package that requires nding substantial
donors to become successful. We realized we had to move up
the timetable on digital and that we needed to bring it out of
the main campaign.” Instead of asking major donor prospects
for less money than they might actually be willing and able to
gift in order to secure the Tampa’s future overall, “for digital
we elected to go with a more grassroots campaign,” he says.
“Most people gave us $10 or $50 gifts, but we raised about
$104,000 that way and were able to approach a friendly local
bank for a bridge loan on the rest because we had to go digital
now.” Bell is convinced that “without the great support that
the Tampa received from the community, we would not have
been able to get bank nancing.”
What about virtual-print-fee support? Every theatre in this
survey responded that to take that option was not an option
for them at all. “I know VPFs make a lot of sense for some
folks,” Bell reasons, “but in our business model, such a deal
has the unintended consequence that you lose a bit of control,
right? We prefer more of an in-house curatorial approach in
how we select and book our lms. It was important for us to
maintain that exibility and control.”
As part of the technology selection process, the Tampa
team sent out requests for proposals. “We started getting
bids at the same time as we were raising money constantly,”
he elaborates about using the website, e-mail blasts and
dedicated mailings to members of the Tampa Theatre. Because
of “specic site challenges due to the historical structure
[including] a pretty steep angle from the booth to our screen
and acoustic issues”—additional upgrades were to be done as
part of the $150,000 project overall.
The Capri as well has bigger plans, and cinema director
McCaffery would also have preferred to put digital off until
“we restore and rehabilitate the building,” he admits. “We
knew the day of digital was coming, but we were stalling as
long as we could. Frankly, I thought the studios would end
their 35mm distribution by the end of 2013, but that the indie
distribs would hold on to lm prints as long as possible. In
retrospect, that didn’t make sense. The indies were the rst
to start losing 35mm because they had to have DCPs for their
lms that played in big-city multiplexes. They don’t have the
money to carry dual inventory, so more and more of their
lms were digital only. As I was missing out on several lms, I
knew we would have to add digital sooner than I hoped.”
At press time, the Capri anticipates its digital debut for the
fall, for which Boston Light & Sound (www.blsi.com), who also
worked wonders on the Tampa Theatre, will install a Christie
projector. “We are now working on all of the coordination
that will be needed, such as construction, electricity, HVAC,
curtains,” McCaffery explains. “The projection booth is barely
big enough for our 35mm projectors, so guring out where to
The Day Our STar WenT DigiTal
by Jeanne MOzier
OWner anD POPcOrn eMPreSS,
Tar TheaTre
S
t was a shock when we
received the rst letter.
Twentieth Century Fox
I
announced they would offer
no more movies on 35mm
lm by the end of 2013. My
husband, Jack Soronen, and
I had to make a decision—a
very expensive decision.
The Star Theatre is a
nearly 100-year-old movie
house that is the main night-
life in the small historic spa
town of Berkeley Springs,
West Virginia. It is both the
shining light of weekend
nights with its 1949 marquee,
and an important economic
factor in a town where tour-
ism is a major industry. We
had to go digital or close. We
knew we couldn’t abandon
our town to no movies and
an economic hole, so we
made the only decision pos-
sible.
The Star is a true mom-
and-pop operation. Jack and I
are the sole employees along
with various volunteers and
family who ll in occasional
gaps. It’s our year-round
weekend job. Jack takes tick-
ets, runs the projectors and
keeps everything functioning.
I book movies and make the
best popcorn in four states.
We both sweep, mop and
vacuum. We’ve owned and
operated the Star since 1977
and are only the third own-
ers since movies were rst
shown there in 1928.
The abstract decision
was easy to make: Digital or
die. It was the high cost of the
equipment that gave us pause.
We calculated it would cost
virtually every dime in prot
we’d made since we opened,
and about twice what we paid
for the business and building
originally. The movie industry
offered no nancial assistance
and we interpreted the VPF
systems as something akin to
serfdom. The Star is our pri-
vate business, so we did not
think public fundraising was
appropriate. In the end,
we gured we were commit-
ting to work until we were
90 to earn it all back.
Jack set off in May 2012 to
the Mid-Atlantic NATO confer-
ence in northern Virginia to
see what he could learn about
the digital world. Arriving early,
he met up with the folks from
Ballantyne-Strong in Omaha,
Nebraska. It was love at rst
sight and they provided us with
the newest used system we’ve
ever seen: an NEC NC2000C
projector using a GDC SX-
2001A server.
Once we decided to go
digital, we made other upgrades
as well. Jack wanted to be sure
that people would see changes
beyond what a digital image
brings to the screen. We bought
an MDI screen and the Star got a
new coat of paint inside and out.
There was no way around it. We
would have to raise prices.
Even with new, higher prices,
the Star remains a bargain. Adult
tickets increased from $3.75 to
$4.50. Not one person has ever
mentioned the higher ticket price.
The only reaction comes from
our city friends who laugh and
claim that we’re now approaching
1995 level.
Going digital was a chal-
lenging learning experience
for Jack, who has been the
projectionist since we opened.
Originally he used the two
carbon-rod Brenkert projec-
tors installed by the Alpine
chain which leased the theatre
in 1949. In 2002, when the last
American manufacturer of the
carbon rods stopped produc-
tion, we decided to upgrade to
a xenon bulb and platter system.
It was a major quality-of-life
improvement for Jack. No more
Cinema Paradiso. But also, no
more sweating in the projec-
tion booth through the whole
movie waiting to switch from
one projector to another, every
20 minutes or so, to replace the
rods which burned to provide
the light.
Jack gathered a posse of
four friends to help empty the
existing projection booth of the
2002 system and move in the
new equipment. He contracted
with our technical advisers and
suppliers at Cardinal Sound in
Elkridge, Maryland. A pair of
Cardinal technicians came to
Berkeley Springs and spent sev-
eral hours hooking up the digital
equipment, setting image and
sound. Jack was on the phone
with them all the next day as
they worked to adjust software.
Then came the digital opening
night and we held our collec-
tive breaths as Jack ipped the
switch on the server.
Our rst digital movie was
Twilight, Breaking Dawn Part 2.
We gured that audience would
be forgiving should there be a
crisis. There was none until the
following weekend with Lincoln.
We had booked the movie for an
additional day to accommodate
a group of seniors who wanted a
daytime showing. Unfortunately,
the digital key was set to expire
Sunday night and we did not
know enough to recognize that.
There we were with a hundred-
plus old folks patiently waiting
nearly an hour for this newfan-
gled technology to work. While
Jack spent the time frantically
on the phone with Deluxe and
Cardinal techs, I did the obvious:
I went on stage and blamed it all
on Disney.
With our calendar system
where a single movie shows for
a weekend, we have not noticed
any big change in how quickly
we can show a particular title.
One improvement for us is that
trailers are now easily available
in bulk. The digital system is
another step up in easing the
thE Star thEatrE
and JaCk SOrOnEn
job of the projectionist. No
more hauling heavy reels of
lms up and down narrow
steps, splicing and breaking
down reels for the platters.
No more breathing xenon
fumes. Once mastered, the
loading and showing of mov-
ies is much easier, which
makes it possible to train back-
up projectionists.
We’re excited about the
possibilities of digital. The
acoustics of the Star’s 325-seat
auditorium are exceptional and
have delighted performing musi-
cians and those who used it as
a recording studio. Someday we
hope to be streaming live opera
from Lincoln Center—or maybe
World Wide Wrestling.
For our audiences, it is
the crisp image and almost 3D
quality even on our 2D system
that impresses them the most.
Local patron Ken Troy says,
“The image is great and the
prices are still the best around.
But the most important part is
they didn’t change the popcorn
machine.”
Located in a brick building
on a main corner in town, the
Star Theatre is on the West
Virginia Historic Theater Trail.
Check www.starwv.com or call
304-258-1404 for what’s playing.
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