Digital media is everywhere nowadays and this is certainly the case in cinemas where digital projection systems have really taken over in most places. For well over a hundred years projectionists have presented movies to eager audiences on 35mm film, but that era – at least for the major Hollywood distributors – is starting to come to an end. Paramount has already announced that Will Ferrell vehicle Anchorman Two will be the last it distributes in anything other than digital formats and the other big players cannot be far behind a similar move.
Of course, a large part of the decision comes down to nothing other than cost and, if the cinema going public is not demanding it in sufficient numbers, then you can see why they’d make that change. Nevertheless, digital technology – as a part of the cinema going experience – can be something that enhances the experience, even though some of us will mourn that passing of 35mm projection once it has gone from mainstream cinema going all together.
So many people take smartphones into cinema screenings with them these days that they can be something of a distraction, particularly to those of us who don’t have them or responsibly check that they have switched them off beforehand. However, nearly 200 cinemas across the country are involved in an experimental project which encourages theatre-goers to download an application to their smartphones for use in the cinema. The idea is that the app is obtained wirelessly in the foyer which then allows the user to play an interactive quiz once they take their seat at their allotted screen.
The app, known as Cineme, has been put together by the Digital Cinema Media group along with entertainment giants Sony and it currently allows advertisers to send promotions to filmgoers as their phones receive sonic messages from the big screen. For the larger cinema chains, being able to market to audiences in this way could be a money-spinner but it can also be a novel way of encouraging the good behaviour of film goers, by reminding them that is an appropriate time to turn off the phone – or at least set it to silent – ahead of the main feature. Several cinema chains have embraced the app but Cineworld has gone a step further. During all of the new releases in 2014 Cineworld will encourage people who have downloaded the app to immediately switch to silent mode and to then play the quiz, spurring them on with the chance of winning a prize. If such measures encourage cinema audiences, many of whom are addicted to their personal digital technology, to switch to silent then it can only be a good thing.
Simon Rees, who is the CEO of the app developer, said that the technology needed to be managed properly by the owners of cinemas to make sure that the use of digital devices did not become detrimental to the enjoyment of other audience members. “The expectation of the cinema is that it is something special and all that we do is designed to enhance that experience,” he added.
According to Cineworld, which offers the service at Aberdeen, Aldershot, Brighton, Cheltenham, Eastbourne, Nottingham and London cinemas, the app will respond and interact with the screen whilst the audience member sits back and watches the pre-film advertisements. It will continue to deliver additional content and offers, but it stops when the main feature is ready to start.