Cinema paradise
The ease of modern movie projection
Tyler Durden would turn in his grave if he saw the slickness of modern movie projection.
Gone are the days of splicing film reels, whirring wheels and an attentive projectionist, all relics of a bygone era.
The Press visited Alice Cinematheque to see what goes over the heads of most cinemagoers.
‘‘Around seven or eight years ago it was all reel-to-reel celluloid films, and then digital came along,’’ Alice Cinematheque director Jeremy Stewart said.
‘‘At that stage a lot of cinemas around the country started converting to digital, and now it’s digital everywhere.’’
Stewart took over the business from his father after the 2011 earthquakes. Originally on Hereford St, it moved to the old post office building on High St in 1992.
Stewart said ‘‘of course something has been lost’’ in the modernisation of film projection. ‘‘I mean, along with every other industry, I think a lot of different vocational positions have been lost. It’s just moving forward I guess.’’
The projection room above one of Alices’ two themed cinemas lies at the top of a steep staircase. In it, a pair of large black boxes sit in an otherwise sparse room.
Stewart explained the automated process: ‘‘You go up there in the morning, turn it on, they play all day and at night you go and turn them off.’’
On a computer screen atop the large server, Stewart clicks through a playlist which controls all aspects of the cinema – from curtains to lighting, pre-film advertising and trailers – everything is programmed days in advance.
On the floor, a top-of-the-range Barco 2K projector silently whirrs away, cooled by an air conditioning unit on the opposite wall.
‘‘The films come in and we just drag and drop them in, same with the ads and trailers. It’s pretty simple really.’’
Stewart runs seven screens – two at Alice Cinematheque, two at Deluxe Cinemas at The Tannery, and three at the Town Hall Cinemas in Rangiora – all with a similar projection set-up.
A certified film buff, Stewart said he grew up around films and cinemas. His father started Alice in Videoland in 1985.
‘‘Cinema is escapism and what we try to do here is proved that to everybody’s life,’’ he said.
‘‘I think a disciplined environment to watch film is important, along with a theatrical theme.’’
He said business had picked up at Alice in the past six months, something he credited to the Little High eatery opening over the road and custom increasing at nearby bars. ‘‘I’m doubling down on the central city. I think its got a solid future, especially in this building.’’
"Cinema is escapism and what we try to do here is proved that to everybody's life. I think a disciplined environment to watch film is important, along with a theatrical theme."
Alice Cinematheque director Jeremy Stewart