nofilmschool » theaters

Help an Independent Movie Theater with the Brattle's Digital Projection and HVAC Renovation Kickstarter

Joe Marine — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 02:14:50 +0000

Often when I’ve talked about small theaters going away or losing relevance thanks to the digital transition, many seem incredulous. Part of the reason they’re closing left and right is related to the expensive digital transition, which involves far more than buying an HD projector at a local Best Buy. Many of these theaters, though, offer something no multiplex can: films that are way outside the mainstream and American or foreign classics, many of which are only available in 35mm prints. The Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of these independent theaters, and they’re heading to Kickstarter to raise money for some necessary upgrades. Check out the video below: (more…)

Help an Independent Movie Theater with Cinefamily's Digital Projection and Restoration Kickstarter

Joe Marine — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 01:25:39 +0000

If you’ve had the chance to go to an independent movie theater, you know it’s a completely different experience than going to one of the chain theaters. Many of these theaters only have a few screens, and they tend to specialize in older films or those on the fringes of the filmmaking world. The theaters may not always be in perfect shape, but most of them care about the movies first — and it shows. With everything going digital, these smaller theaters are starting to disappear unless they make serious monetary investments, and that’s exactly the situation that Cinefamily in Los Angeles is going through right now. Click through to check out their Kickstarter launch video: (more…)

RED Challenging the Competition with a 4K Content Distribution Network and 4K REDRAY Players

Joe Marine — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 21:40:34 +0000

RED seems to be on a roll lately. First it’s massive price drops, which include a $4,000 RED ONE MX body — you know — a camera that has shot many high-end feature films, and it costs only a little more than DSLR after the price drop. Now it’s looking like their REDRAY player, which plays highly compressed 4K material at lower-than-Blu Ray bitrates (but with almost indistinguishable quality), will begin shipping soon. The biggest news, however, is that RED is partnering with another company to introduce a 4K content distribution network built right into REDRAY. Slowly but surely 4K is arriving, and the only thing left is displays and affordable projectors – and RED is working on the latter. Click through for more details on both pre-announcements. (more…)

Can Filmbot Make it Easier to See Movies in the Closest Theaters with Friends?

Ryan Koo — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:15:04 +0000

I’m visiting friends in Denver, CO this week and the movie we all want to see is Moneyball. So my friends bring up Fandango to find out where it’s playing locally. However, what they don’t know is that Fandango, like its competitor MovieTickets.com, doesn’t simply show you the nearest theaters as you would expect. Instead, both sites prioritize their own partner theaters and, to varying degrees, hide theaters from which they don’t collect commission on ticket sales (often relegating theaters to the next page even though they’re closer geographically). Enter Filmbot, a new independent showtime engine that promises to treat all theaters equally, including independent listings and special screenings, and that also aims to make your theatrical experience personalized and social using Facebook. It’s limited to New York city right now, but it should be expanding to other areas soon. Here’s the demo video: (more…)

Hands-On with the RED RAY 4K Playback System for Independent and Home Theaters

Ryan Koo — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 19:52:02 +0000

I’ll have more to come on RED’s NAB announcements (or strange lack thereof) in the coming days, but after a few visits to their booth, I thought the product that was being underreported was the RED RAY 4K playback system(s). The RED RAY Pro — announced long ago — was running flawlessly in a corner, and the RED RAY consumer version was on display as a mock-up. After spending some time with RED engineer Stuart English, the devices looked a lot more disruptive — especially for independent theatrical distribution. (more…)

Where Are the 3D Art Films?

Ryan Koo — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 20:39:33 +0000

Lost in the debate over the future of 3D is the question of how independent art-house films could take advantage of the added dimension — in ways that have nothing to do with the shock value of horror films or the spectacle of action movies. In an article at Salon, @mattzollerseitz asks the question of what could happen if filmmakers begin to use the use 3D technology to make films that are more abstract or more intimate than their 2D counterparts. (more…)