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MOVIES CINEMAS TECHNOLOGY & NEW PRODUCTS
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Digital deadline: More classic movie houses make the transition
Sept 16, 2013
-By Andreas Fuchs
“Two years ago we began the preliminary
discussions at the board level to assess what we
needed to do and when,” Adam Birnbaum,
director of film programming at the Avon Theatre
Film Center in Stamford, Connecticut
(www.avontheatre.org), says about the Avon’s
approach to the new digital era. (As president of
Nova Theatre Circuit, Birnbaum also buys and
books film for some 30 independently owned and
operated theatres “that are all going through the
digital conversion.”) At that time, the consensus
Av on Theat r e proje c t ionist C hris Sa x e weigh s the
tr a nsition from fi l m to di g ital.
Just like it did for the equally classic movie houses that Film Journal International profiled last month
(http://bit.ly/fji0913dciordie), that point has arrived. In the second part of our exclusive survey, we
continue to look at various challenges in financing and technology implementation that these classic
theatres are facing due to their unique building structures and market positioning.
Birnbaum gives credit to 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight for having made “cautionary
announcements” about the possibility that they would no longer strike 35mm prints at some appropriate
time in the future. “It was a very responsible step to alert theatres rather than leaving them in the dark.
A lot of people didn’t know what was going on and weren’t able to get answers from any of the film
companies. So this was the closest we ever got to a distributor taking some form of accountability for
what was going to happen.”
There were two other indicators that helped Birnbaum determine the urgency of making the move.
“Some of the smaller independent distributors that we do business with, due to economic
circumstances, were going all-digital first.” That was towards the end of 2012, he recalls, before
at the Avon was “to just sit tight and let things
unfold a little bit longer until we got to a point
where it would become a necessity.”
bringing up the larger, industry-wide trends. “Secondly, the number of theatres that were converting
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continued to rise dramatically. That was a critical factor because, let’s face it, it is a numbers game. At
some point, the rate of conversion will be such that the studios will be able to say, ‘We don’t care about
the remaining 7%, 8% or 10%.’ It is already becoming increasingly expensive for them to strike prints.
The labs that make them and depots that ship them are closing. And of the remaining theatres that
have not converted, how many are really economically viable movie houses that produce enough
revenue…to continue to play them?”
Of course, the Avon was never going to be one of those. And neither are any of the theatres in
Birnbaum’s Nova booking service. “I was very proactive in keeping my theatre owners informed on a
monthly or bi-monthly basis” on matters such as ongoing conversion rates and which distributors had
stopped providing 35mm prints. “In that information process, most of my theatres have converted. And
those two who have not yet have firm plans to do so in the near future.”
Another concern of Birnbaum’s was making sure the Avon didn’t get caught in the general conversion
crunch. “Seeing how many theatres were in the process of going digital throughout the last few
quarters, I didn’t want the Avon to be in a difficult position—either because the installer we were going
to use was too busy to do the work based on our schedule and need, or because the equipment we
wanted was on back order because of the many places that were trying to get it at the same time.”
Although that latter problem did materialize somewhat and necessitated moving the February target
date by a couple of weeks, “it was in good enough time anyway,” Birnbaum recalls. “That was another
reason why we wanted to do this a step or two ahead of the curve rather than behind it.”
Making sure that the install itself stayed on track was Gary Engvold and the team at Integrity
Entertainment Systems. “We were just absolutely thrilled with the work that they did,” Birnbaum
enthuses. “Despite the fact that the Avon is a standalone, independent location with two screens, we
received the same treatment and level of attention that they would afford to much larger customers. The
Avon is such a unique building with distinct issues and site-specific problems that needed to be
addressed in the process of switching to digital. We were afforded all the time that we needed and we
are very appreciative of that.”
Birnbaum elaborates on one of those issues. “Our original 1939 projection booth is tiny and services
both auditoriums simultaneously. So, unfortunately, we had to do away with the 35mm projection
systems. We are now 100% DCP only and although we can bring in Blu-ray or Digi-Beta decks, to a
certain extent that affects programming.” (For more about programming, please refer to our sidebar
conversation below.) While the very sharp side angle of the old 35mm projection often caused a
keystoning effect on the screen, the image in the Avon’s rear auditorium was completely corrected.
“The level of picture and presentation has been improved dramatically” in the larger auditorium as well.
Birnbaum mentions brightness in particular, since the theatre has to contend with a throw distance of
125 feet (38 m) from the booth.
Along with two Christie 2210 projectors and GDC servers, the Avon received a Dolby Surround 5.1
upgrade in the process. The nonprofit, member-supported cinema was able to raise the funds privately
and elected not to limit its art-house programming choices by entering VPF agreements.
Similarly, the American Cinematheque, as a “nonprofit organization exhibiting primarily repertory films”
at its Hollywood (Egyptian Theatre) and Santa Monica (Aero Theatre) locations in California, “was not a
candidate for any kind of VPF arrangement,” confirms chief projectionist Paul Rayton. The 1940 Aero
Theatre was converted “via a process of persuasion as well as digging a bit deeper into our pockets.
Having a top-of-the-line digital projector in situ, along with our fully operational set of [Norelco AAII]
35/70mm film projectors, was essential considering the trends in the field of exhibition. The various
corporate participants knew of the mission of the American Cinematheque,” Rayton says, showing his
appreciation. “Through the efforts of certain local industry contacts, they were agreeable to helping
make it all happen at an affordable rate.”
NEC made their 4K projector available to the American Cinematheque at a promotional discount, the
manufacturer confirms. “Just as NEC’s small-chip NC900 is a great fit for small-size art houses, the
NC3240S covers the other end of the spectrum, with powerful brightness and high-resolution for large
theatres —and the Aero’s 38-foot screen and 435-seat auditorium really do it justice.” Adds Jim
Reisteter, general manager of digital cinema for NEC Display Solutions, in a personal note to our
readers, “We are grateful to have contributed to the transformation of such a historic cinema house.
Moviegoers will now experience a new ambience at the Aero as a result of digital cinema, yet the same
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