How good would it be to pull out the garden chairs and invite some friends over for a bit of big screen action in the backyard? Byer Gair reveals how to create your own outdoor cinema.
Outdoor cinemas: in a country reputed to have produced the world’s first feature film and one with a global reputation as early adopters, it’s fitting that we should be into outdoor cinema in a big way.
Properly done, outdoor cinema could easily outrank the traditional movie experience at the local movie house. If the trad movie chains, as reported, are suffering from competition from home theatres, watch out for outdoor cinema! Then you could choose your own level of relaxed seating, audio placement, screen size, dress down to a comfortable level, drinks and snacks to hand… and run the movie when you’re ready.
And we’ll be enjoying that experience Real Soon Now, thanks to the enterprise of a few companies offering the expertise and specialised hardware to deliver the full experience of watching a movie under the stars, complete with a widescreen picture, multichannel sound and relaxed seating.
Most installations use an inflatable, all weather screen that can be placed anywhere in the backyard. Pictured here is the inflatable screen from Cinemalite.
At this stage you can either hire it or buy it: the screen, the projector, the audio system, the seating. Some companies can even fit you out with popcorn dispensers and coffee machines.
