Introduction
People wish to start a cinema for all sorts of reasons, and with all sorts of aims. It maybe a community project, with the aim of raising some funds for a local project; or it maybe that it is a Pop Up Cinema which has a specific purpose and then disappears. Or it maybe a disaror to run a commercial cinema, or anything else in between.
It doesn’t matter which type of cinema you wish to start, there are a number of things which are all the same and which need to be considered:
Equipment
A projector, sound system, screen – the size, type and aquistion will depend on the purpose of the project, and where you obtain them from will also depend on whether it is a permanent or temporary cinema.
Once you have the projection equipment, and someone who knows how to use it, you need to think about the films you are showing. Are you aiming for the most recent ones, old ones, artistic ones. Depending on the answer to that will depend on how you obtain them.
License:
http://www.filmbank.co.uk/which_licence.asp
Key Resource, Links and Information
Below, are links to key resources and places of information that will help with moving your idea of having a cinema into some sort of reality:
The Independent Cinema Office:
http://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/resources/how-to-start-a-local-cinema
The British Federation of Film Societies:
http://bffs.org.uk/export/sites/bffs_site/pdffolder/Starting_a_CC_2010.pdf
The Other Cinema
http://www.theothercinema.org
Film Bank
Dealing with individual film distributors to get films for your cinema can be hard work and time consuming, so Film Bank, is a good place to go. The company also makes it easier to obtain the relevant licences to show films: http://www.filmbank.co.uk/
BFI:
Getting old now, but stil of interest and useful is this document produced by the BFI: http://www.bfi.org.uk/filmtvinfo/publications/pub-rep-brief/pdf/acny_all.pdf
Film Booking/Programmers:
http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/About_Us/Services/
More General Resources:
What Is Needed to Start a Cinema Business?
http://www.ehow.co.uk/info_7976031_needed-start-cinema-business.html
How to Start A Movie Theater Business
http://www.ehow.com/how_4523385_start-movie-theater-business.html
Adverts:
Two companies provide paid adverts in cinema’s either: Pearl and Dean:http://www.pearlanddean.com or Carlton Screen Advertising:http://www.carltonscreen.com/ which can provide some extra income for each film. The adverts come in once a week and if you are lucky are already made up for you.
Trailers and Posters:
National Screen Services, now owned by Carlton Screen provide trailers for films. Details at: http://www.carltonscreen.com/htm/aboutus.php:
Film Booking:
Film Booking. City Screen provides film booking services for independent cinemas:
http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/site/virtual/local.htm:
Cinema Programmes
Cinema Programmes to look at:
The Electric Cinema, Nottinghill: http://www.electriccinema.co.uk/programme.php
Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Maidenhead: http://www.nordenfarm.org/.