Movie-goers in the Weyburn area have been able to witness the quality difference offered by digital technology since the Soo Theatre upgraded its equipment in February of 2012.
Weyburn's Landmark Cinemas box office venue, the Soo Theatre, has made some significant improvements for their patrons with the introduction of digital sound and three-dimensional movies presented with RealD 3D technology on a Christie digital cinema projector with a crystal clear image.
"This means a great picture presentation every time," said Paige Sabados, Manager of the Soo Theatre.
In this digital age, it's never been easier to dive into a movie and the Soo Theatre is making it easy to dive, without the long drive.
"This is the same technology that is used in all the big city theatres, so having the same technology in Weyburn shows Landmark's commitment and dedication to the Soo Theatre and the community of Weyburn," Sabados said.
RealD 3D cinema technology uses circularly polarized light to produce stereoscopic image projection. The advantage of circular polarization over linear polarization (film strip technology) is that viewers are able to tilt their head and look about the theater naturally without seeing double or darkened images.
A silver screen is used to maintain the light polarization upon reflection and to reduce reflection loss to counter some of the inherent losses by the polarization filters. The result is a 3D picture that seems to extend behind and in front of the screen itself.
During filmmaking, two cameras are used, one for capturing the left eye image and one for capturing the right eye image. But digital 3D does not include the red-and-blue glasses. The glasses are now a silvery grey and they are made of recyclable plastic.
"The 3D is so different," said Sabados, adding that some of her patrons who could not see 3D images through the classic blue and red 3D glasses are actually able to see in 3D with the new technology.
The special glasses are included with every 3D movie and are incorporated into the price. Even if a patron saves their glasses from a previous movie, they would still get new glasses and therefore pay full price for a 3D movie. The Soo Theatre has two RealD 3D glasses recycling bins in its lobby, though patrons are more than welcome to keep the glasses.
The Soo Theatre had a silver overlay installed on the projection screen in February, when the digital sound board and digital projector were also implemented. Although surround-sound speakers have been in place at the Soo since 2010, they were not able to transmit surround sound until the system was officially converted to digital.
For Sabados and her staff, going digital has made their job much less stressful.
"We don't have to push play, it's all on a schedule and it's all computerized," she said. "We go in, turn everything on and walk away."
Digital glitches can even be fixed remotely, which is drastically easier compared to the specialized skills required for those working with linear film strips.
"There is a lot of hassle with the film. You have a lot of wear and tear," said Sabados, adding that scratches were not the only problem. "Sometimes the soundtrack would get wrecked and it would sound really bad."
Landmark Cinemas theatres run digital pre-shows for twenty minutes prior to show time. Pre-shows include reviews of upcoming movies, technical information and even some trivia. Movie trailers still begin at the top of the scheduled show time.
When asked why sometimes the matinee shows are not family-friendly, Sabados said that it's not her personal preference, that the decision is made higher up than the cinema company and that ultimately, it's all about the box office ratings.
"It all depends on the film company," she said.
Even if a movie has been filmed in 3D and is being offered in 3D, the Soo Theatre does run each 3D movie at least once in 2D for those patrons who prefer not to view in 3D.
To find out when the Soo is running a movie in 2D, or for any other information about the theatre's listings, check their web site (weyburn.net/soo), or find it in Weyburn This Week.
