Bad Projection Is Ruining the Movie Theater Experience

[Steve Guttag]

The target audience of the ICTA seminars was towards the lower-end tech and upper-end GM on technical aspects of cinemas. I'd say, for the size of the room they were in, they were well attended. I only sat in on one of them and it was the second of two on the same topics that day (they ran a morning and an afternoon session on Monday).

[Mike Blakesley]

I didn't even know about those seminars - were they a "member only" event? We went to the 3:00 keynote on Monday and just about everything after that, well until I got sick on Wednesday night, after that I was down for the count for the most part.

So CinemaCon hosts seminars about "how to promote attendance" but "the proper projection of a movie" isn't the sort of topic they cover in those seminars?

Makes perfect sense.

That's because CinemaCon is not a tech convention. They don't give presentations on how to properly brix a soda machine either.

[Steve Guttag]

That's because CinemaCon is not a tech convention. They don't give presentations on how to properly brix a soda machine either.

Jeeze Mike, you didn't make it down to the Coke booth either? They were covering how to brix for the perfect mix

In all seriousness, CinemaCon (like Show West before it) had indeed, had technical seminars geared for various levels. Those of us on the tech side have often had activities outside of what the delegates attend. Remember too, Cinema Con has been sponsored by ICTA as well as NATO, so there is tech in there. The tech in the ICTA presentations was geared for the lower-end tech and for exhibitors more than for any advanced technician. You had speakers from QSC (various aspects of sound), Sharp/NEC and Chase Taylor this year go over some IT stuff. Sure, ICTA could have done a better job of getting the word out but I think it was more of a taste for how well it would be received. The session I attended was reasonably full and engaging.

[Mike Blakesley]

Well now you know I was at the Coke booth since that's where we ran into each other!

You're right about ICTA not getting the word out enough. There is a lot of the content at the convention that is (by necessity) geared toward the bigger players, which is to be expected, so I probably don't pay as much attention to that aspect of it as I could -- figuring that most of it will be beyond our needs anyhow. Although this year I paid more attention than usual to projectors since that'll probably be the next big thing we have to buy. I always come away with about a half million dollars worth of stuff on my "I wish we could..." list.