Thanks to the generosity of Town of Woodstock taxpayers as well as individual donors, the Woodstock Town Hall Theater is about to enter the digital age. At the most recent 2013 Town Meeting, voters approved $60K in funds to assist Pentangle Council on the Arts with the purchase of a completely new and up-to-date digital projection system.
We received the following press release (WEB edited) from Pentangle, a Woodstock Early Bird sponsor. We encourage you to enjoy movies here at the Town Hall — especially this weekend when we get 3-D and Free Popcorn….
On Friday, June 21st, the Town of Woodstock and Pentangle Arts Council will celebrate the launch of the long-awaited Digital Cinema System that will take the Town Hall Theater, a historic entertainment space, into a new era and ensure its survival as a popular movie house for the region. For the first time ever, Town Hall Theatre movie-goers will experience not only the enhanced quality of the digital format, but also the visual magic of 3D.
After a short closure for construction and installation of the new equipment, the Grand Re-Opening Weekend will take place June 21-24 and will feature the summer blockbuster Star Trek: Into Darkness in 3D. “It’s the perfect, fun movie to introduce audiences to the new technology,” says Pentangle executive director Sunni Fass, “When you’re talking about digital and 3D, there’s nothing better than a film that has big-screen appeal and larger-than-life special effects.”
During a lively Town Meeting in March 2013, supporters rallied to the cause and participated in a healthy debate about the economic, social, and artistic importance of preserving movies at the Town Hall Theater.
Their efforts resulted in overwhelming passage of a Special Article providing $60,000 in town funding for the purchase of digital equipment.
Pentangle Arts Council, which currently runs the movies as a non-profit endeavor, also raised additional funds from private donors to support the ongoing maintenance and operation of the new system.
A cutting-edge Christie Solaria One Plus 9000-lumen projector will provide a dramatically brighter viewing experience, and Christie IMB server will enable the use of the new industry-standard “DCP” (Digital Cinema Package) film format. Processed by hard drive movies exhibited with the DCP format have a higher frame rate and are always “like new” no matter how many times shown, unlike 35mm which can become scratchy over time.
Pentangle will also be able to use this new system for superior BluRay presentations, as well as special live and recorded HD events including the launch of the renowned “National Theatre Live from London” series starting in Fall 2013.
Pentangle Arts is donating its 35mm projector and platter system to the Randall Drive-In Theater in Bethel, for back-up use when they show older films such as “creature-feature” B-movies from the 1950s-1970s. “The equipment is still in great working order,” explains Pentangle director Fass. “It was a priority for us to find a new home for it, where it could continue to be used for the enjoyment of movie lovers, rather than becoming a museum piece.”
Julia Carlisle
