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Bresnan Communications Shows Appreciation for Customers with Outdoor Movies

By Open Air Cinema on July 21, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

As the MasterCard commercials suggest, Americans are interested in “priceless” experiences. And a priceless experience is what Bresnan Communications recently provided for it’s customers when it announced an outdoor movie tour as a show of appreciation for its customers.

“We’ve always done customer appreciation in some form,” explains Sean Howard, the Bresnan Communication’s Public Relations Specialist. “The idea was to partner with a television company we often work with, and together we decided to do a community outdoor movie screening. The idea sort of blossomed.”

“People are really grateful we are doing something cool and free, it really cuts on the cost. It means a lot to people to have an event to do with their children,” Howard states.

Bresnan Communications now puts on several of these screenings on an Open Air Cinema screen, mostly focused in the summertime to take advantage of all the available outdoor venues.

“We usually work with a partner and we always show a family friendly movie so people don’t have to worry about bringing their kids,” says Howard. Some of these family-friendly movies include: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Wizard of Oz, and Open Season.

“It’s really nostalgic to see kids watching the Wizard of Oz for the first time,” Howard recalls. “And the kids are so mesmerized with the screen, they’re always running up to it trying to figure it out.” In addition to the family friendly movies Bresnan Communications offer free service initiatives such as providing digital fingerprinting services for the children who attend the outdoor movies. Bresnan provides child fingerprinting and id photos at designated Bresnan Safety Net booths, as part of the ongoing Bresnan Safety Net community relations campaign.

Howard is one of the lucky people who gets to drive the equipment to the different events. “I like to joke that I’m touring with the Grateful Dead, with all this sound equipment in my car,” says Howard who enjoys these events. “I get to meet all sorts of people.”

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Boulder, Colorado: Outdoor Cinema Up in the Air

By Open Air Cinema on March 30, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

Michelle and Chris Pietrzak relax while waiting for "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" to start at the Boulder Outdoor Cinema in July 2007 while Gretchen Williams, center left, and Katie Wallace have a bite to eat Read more: Boulder Outdoor Cinema may not run this summer - Boulder Daily Camera http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_14752932#ixzz0jdWdx5BF

For 14 years, the Boulder Outdoor Cinema has played classic movies in the parking lot behind the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art.

But its future is threatened because the museum needs the storage space the cinema uses for its projectors, speakers and other equipment, the longtime manager of the film series said Wednesday.

Jeanine Fritz, film series manager who also is a freelance film critic for the Camera, has been in discussions with owner and producer Dave Riepe about taking over the Boulder Outdoor Cinema. Fritz said this time of year she normally would start preparing a schedule and securing distribution rights and sponsors for movies. But she learned Wednesday that BMoCA wants the outdoor cinema out of its storage space by April 11.

Riepe runs outdoor films in several other Denver metro-area towns and does not have the time or resources to keep up the Boulder series, Fritz said. The outdoor cinema has had chronic financial problems, nearly shutting down several times in recent years.

Riepe could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

“It’s going to be hard enough for me to get it going on my own without having to find space,” she said. “At the very least, we probably won’t be having the outdoor cinema this summer. I don’t think they’re ousting us, not at all, but I don’t see how we’re going to make this work.”

Erica Meltzer

Denver, Colorado: Ultimate Outdoor Flicks Headed For Civic Center Park

By Open Air Cinema on February 9, 2010 in Outdoor Movie Events

Many Denver film fans are anxiously awaiting an entirely new cinematic experience when US OpenAir brings 30 consecutive evenings of movies under the stars to downtown Denver this July.

FILM BUFFS WILL BE TREATED TO A FULL MONTH OF OUTDOOR FILMS IN CIVIC CENTER PARK, JULY 14-AUG. 12. US OpenAir, which has produced similar festivals in locations as diverse as Sydney, Australia, Dubai, and Zurich, Switzerland, will show classic and current-run films to 1,400 patrons nightly ($15-20 admission) on a state-of-the-art, three-story-high screen with sound produced by a 32-speaker surround-sound system. As the city continues to pursue a formal policy on fee-based events in Denver parks, differing opinions remain as to whether the planned film fest is in accordance with, or in violation of, the City Charter. See OpenAir article on pg. 36.

From opening night July 14, through Aug. 12, some 1,400 filmgoers will pay $15 ($20 on show night) each evening to view a broad spectrum of cinematic offerings on an enormous high-tech, high-resolution three-story screen to be set up in Civic Center Park, at Broadway and Colfax.

From their perch in an equally high-tech grandstand seating area, movie buffs will be treated to a roster including current and classic movies as well as preview screenings of new films. Comedies and thrillers, dramas and art-house fare, the line-up is expected to include titles appealing to casual movie-goers and videophiles alike. A different film will be shown each evening.

While this is US OpenAir’s first such presentation on American soil, its film festivals have captivated fans in Australia, Switzerland, Brazil, Germany, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates for more than 20 years.

In addition to the unique viewing venue, guests will have the opportunity to purchase a menu of tasty food and beverages provided by a small, but select, group of Denver-based caterers and restaurateurs. The grandstand seating will also include preferred box seating as well as a lounge area for more casual viewing.

As the evening sky approaches dusk, the giant screen will rise – “dramatically” we are promised – on hydraulics. A 32- speaker, surround-sound system will be positioned to ensure state-of-the-art audio to keep distractions out and the soundtrack front and center.

US OpenAir Executive Director Rob Bryant said that Denver was chosen as the inaugural location in the United States so the festival would coincide with the Biennial of The Americas – “a month-long cultural celebration of innovation, imagination and the artistic achievement of the Western Hemisphere” – which will be occurring simultaneously in Denver. “The impact of both events will position Denver in the national spotlight again following the success of the Democratic National Convention,” said Bryant.

US OpenAir is planning additional stateside film fests this year in San Diego, New York and other locations not yet released.

While a number of film lovers anxiously await the arrival of the outdoor series, the Civic Center extravaganza has not been greeted with open arms by all sides. As Denver continues to hammer out a policy that would formally allow for fee-based events to be held in some city parks, some feel that the contract with US OpenAir violates the city charter. Denver’s City Attorney has argued that the extended plan at play in Civic Center is a lease of parkland which is allowed by the City Charter.

The film festival is expected to take up some 11 percent of Civic Center Park, and will require 12 days for set-up and an another 10 days to disassemble, when the 30- day event concludes.

Those who look forward each year to Denver Parks & Recreation’s free Movies In The Park series will be glad to hear that the 2010 season will run from June to August, with at least 10 movies on tap. Currently six evenings are planned at Skyline Park, with at least four other nights at parks around the city.

Amy Allen

source-http://washingtonparkprofile.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=828&Itemid=41

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