ELORA – A revolution in cinematic technology has taken the world by storm and is arriving in Elora in early May, when the Gorge Cinema will convert to digital projection.
“The new technology will possibly go unnoticed by some patrons, but since cinema has always been about suspending disbelief and becoming absorbed in the story line of a movie, it’s going to be so much easier without barriers such as dusty or scratched prints or sound that warbles a little,” said John Chalmers, co-owner of the Gorge Cinema.
Centre Wellington has a long history of offering films to its citizens in small, independent cinemas.
The first movie theatre, The Grand, opened in Fergus in 1928, then the Gorge Cinema carried on the tradition, starting in 1974, in Elora’s old Commercial Hotel building on Mill Street.
This rich tradition was jeopardized earlier this year when distributors made it clear to all cinemas they would greatly reduce or even cease the number of film prints made available to theatres.
In fact, the president of the National Association of Theatre Owners told cinemas: “convert [to digital] or die,” Chalmers said.
While this sounds like a simple business decision, many small, local cinemas cannot afford the huge cost of switching.
In a recent article in Indiewire, it was estimated that at least a thousand small cinemas will close across North America in the next two years, which some see as a huge loss of cultural equity, character and potential tourism for many small communities.
“We thought long and hard about this change,” said Gorge Cinema co-owner Deidre Whittaker. “But closing was never an option; our patrons really value having a local cinema in their backyards, so to speak.
“Besides, we are confident they will embrace this new technology, too. We are using a state-of-the-art digital Christie Class D projector with a Dolby surround sound processor.
“Audiences are going to love the crisp, clean image and sound.”
While the average patron may wonder what all the fuss is about, the Independent Cinema Association of Australia calls this digital conversion, “the most important change in cinema exhibition in 100 years.”
Many compare it to the magnitude of change when films switched from being silent to ‘talkies’.
“Our new system is 3D ready, which means we will have the option later, of playing both 2D and 3D films, and also alternative programming such as live TV, Blu-ray and DVD projection,” Chalmers expained.
Despite there being various innovations to the film industry over the years, movies have always been shown on some form of filmstock (today ‘film’ is actually made from mylar – a polyester medium).
Film is a fragile and bulky medium that has always been prone to damage. The new digital hard drives will maintain the integrity of the movies and allow cinema goers to enjoy moving pictures exactly how the filmmakers intended them to be seen.
“I think we will miss the tactile nature of 35 millimeter film, and the “show must go on” nature of assembling a film for screening and sometimes making repairs and adjustments to a mechanical projector just to get through a show, but ultimately our work will be easier,” Chalmers said.
Nick Grose, a projectionist, agrees. “Movie patrons would be shocked to know how damaged those 35 mm prints can get. I’ve seen scratches so bad that it looked like it was raining in the film. Sometimes you get a print and whoever had it last obviously wrecked part of it and sections of the movie have been cut right out. Who knows what the audience is missing?”
While some purists lament the loss of the film format, it is clear that if Centre Wellington residents wish to have movies screened here for another eighty years, the conversion to digital projection is an exciting necessity.
“We feel we are keeping pace with technical and programming advances that are being made by cinemas such as Toronto’s Hot Docs Bloor Cinema and the TIFF Bell Lightbox,” Chalmers said. “Those are the kind of models we aspire to emulate and I think despite being located in a village, our audience wants us to aim high too.”
Patrons of the Gorge Cinema will be happy to note that these changes won’t impact the enjoyment of the historic cinema in the village.
“Our prices are going up marginally, however, during the past 10 years ticket prices at The Gorge have only increased by $1, making filmgoing in Elora one of the most affordable evenings you could enjoy,” Chalmers said.
