How often do you visit a DIGIMA to watch a movie ?

[David Hardy]

I just realized that these days i have only visited our nearest DIGIMA twice in the past few years . Even then that was only as a treat for my grandchildren . We went into see The Railway Children Return in 2022 and Despicable Me 4 July 2024 .
Now that's a far cry from my past visits when it would be a least once or twice a week even when working as a Cinema Projectionist .
When i was a child i would sometimes go and see films at least three times a week .
Changed days indeed !

[Douglas Meltzer]

I try to go about two or three times a month. Yesterday I went to see A Complete Unknown, James Mangold's film about Bob Dylan. I thought it was exceptional. The week before, I finally caught up with Gladiator 2 which I also enjoyed. I'm looking forward to seeing The Brutalist at one of the 70mm screenings.

[Osi Osgood]

"Digima", "Digital Cinema"?

[David Hardy]

Osi yes DIGIMA is short for those places you now go to watch Digital Movies . I first used that term and phrase many many years ago when i was still employed as a CINEMA Projectionist during the dawning of Digitally sourced ( DCP ) and Digitally projected movies that was to replace cine film as the norm . My fellow projectionists all agreed with that term just before we were all unceremoniously made redundant and booted out of the industry with not even as much as a thank you for all our hard work , anti social hours , over many decades and loyalty to the movie exhibition industry . All that in favour of watching big screen movies via projected digital video TV images . I was there right until the end projecting both 35mm prints on real cine film and digital movies at the same time from the same projection booth . WE never even got a penny extra for doing so in those bloody multiplex sites which i disliked working in to this very day . I never liked working with those blinking long play film systems either . Be they on cake-stand platters or huge spools .

[David Hardy]

Doug what a shame that watching a movie via 35mm and 70mm projected film was still not the norm these days instead of the exception . It had and still has a unique aesthetic that even the best of 4k or whatever amount of k's Digital projection simply cannot equal as a visual viewing experience . That's only one reason i do not frequent those Digima Projection sites these days regardless of what the movie may be .

[Adrian Winchester]

I see digital cinema films around 3-4 times a month, although 2-3 are when I'm projecting at an independent community cinema. I love film but the fact that the digital picture is always in focus is a plus! With 35mm, it was (and still is) common for me to suffer while frequently thinking that the focus needs a tweak, or one side of the picture is in focus, but not the centre. It doesn't help being a film collector, as no doubt most of us are very quick to spot focus not being quite right. Luckily I'm in reach of the BFI, where film projection is usually of a high standard.

[Lincoln Thorn]

I have a seizure disorder that makes it very hard for me to go to the cinema outside my home, so probably just a couple times a year.

But I can catch most movies later on in my home.

[Graham Ritchie]

Haven't been to the cinema for a while, the last visit to a multi-plex was to watch "Jurassic Park Dominion" I had a hard job trying to stay interested watching that one. I now have it on blu-ray and might give it another chance sometime in the future.

However there is one art house cinema, although not film, but the best in this city and its located in the arts center. The person that runs it is a X cinema projectionist and it looks and sounds great, so if there is a title worth watching then that's the place I go The days of film projection here are long gone now except at home. The Bauer U4 which features in this short is going to go to Ferrymead Heritage Park soon, might even run it there and swap it with the Westar and make that one a static exhibit, will see.

A couple of photos of the one in town.

[Graham Ritchie]

It must be 15 years since we took this video of it

PS I keep bumping into folk at the Park even yesterday, who went to our old Movieland cinema and its all positive stuff, not one complaint so we did something right

[Douglas Meltzer]

David,

While I certainly wish more movie theaters were projecting film, I do enjoy the theater experience of seeing digital movies on a large screen with an audience. I realize I'm lucky to be in New York, where finding actual film screenings is still possible.