Want to open a (RED) digital cinema movie theatre...

[Matt Gerard]

DISCLAIMER- I am not a lawyer. I don't pretend to be a lawyer. I don't want to be a lawyer. Don't call me a lawyer. This is not legal advice. It is the thoughts and musings of some poor soul trapped in a dark edit bay for 10 hours a day waiting for something to render, trying to connect to the outside world.

1) NO. The sales agreement that you (unknowingly) enter when you purchase a DVD/bluray/netflix/itunes download is that those are for your own private viewing pleasure (unless you rented Waterworld). There are reams of data on why, and the number of people you can have watch at one time. Basically if there is a publisher/distributor involved, you can bet big dollars there are limitations, and even if you aren't making any money on the viewing, you may potentially be preventing the people from purchasing thier own copy.

2) Again, any film with a publisher or distributor in the pipeline would have to be contacted for rights to display the film. Unless it is public domain. You need to have the permission of the entity that owns the distribution rights to the film. If its a reduser.net member's indie, you need to have their permission.

So, it might not be as easy as you think, but you also might get a great response from smaller filmmakers that are looking for places to show thier films.

Good luck!

matt

[PatrickFaith]

I've done a bunch of art house shorts in EU ... lot of benefits of doing groups of shorts instead of features. I've noticed really packed crowds when showing arthouse shorts (atleast in EU) , and this does allow food sales as well as "donations".
[btw ... my shorts are under my nickname "Kolor"]

Anyway for shorts, between 2-45 minutes, you gather them up (probably get about 3 hours of them), and just get a simple release note from the "author". This also falls in a different category from a legal viewpoint.
Most shorts have not gone through QC (quality control), so is good to run them off of SSD since the bitrate can be too high.

Most short authors are easy to work with, and are very appreciative of the effort to show, so they sign the form without any hassle. Form needs to restrict the showing to the event series and location of display. There is also a long history of "short" support in France, so people "get" what your doing, show up, and really have a fun time.

[C.H.Haskell]

Matt, I assume that DVDs come with a limited person screening but I am curious what this number is and how my region may differ. If its 150 then I could invite the entire village. ;)

[C.H.Haskell]

I've done a bunch of art house shorts in EU ... lot of benefits of doing groups of shorts instead of features. I've noticed really packed crowds when showing arthouse shorts (atleast in EU) , and this does allow food sales as well as "donations".
[btw ... my shorts are under my nickname "Kolor"]

Anyway for shorts, between 2-45 minutes, you gather them up (probably get about 3 hours of them), and just get a simple release note from the "author". This also falls in a different category from a legal viewpoint.
Most shorts have not gone through QC (quality control), so is good to run them off of SSD since the bitrate can be too high.

Most short authors are easy to work with, and are very appreciative of the effort to show, so they sign the form without any hassle. Form needs to restrict the showing to the event series and location of display. There is also a long history of "short" support in France, so people "get" what your doing, show up, and really have a fun time.

Great feedback Patrik, I am looking into the shorts route as well.

[C.H.Haskell]

Can't tell what your audience angle would be (depending on seating direction) but I once posted I may just hang an old reverse-side billboard sign on the side of a barn and point the Red Projector toward that. If unable to buy one in France, you could get one on ebay and have it shipped. Shipping would probably be pretty costly but overall, a pretty inexpensive screen. And that building in your picture would surely be large enough to handle the billboard signage, even though they span very large areas. I can't believe France has so many bureaucrats they can deploy the projection police in every small town for complete compliance with projection licenses etc.

After posting this image, the same idea stuck me. Yes I am not concerned about projector police...but getting the mayor signature, thats another story. ;)

[Mikael Lubtchansky]

Matt, I assume that DVDs come with a limited person screening but I am curious what this number is and how my region may differ. If its 150 then I could invite the entire village. ;)

Hi Clay (we quickly met once in front of Oliver's door here near Paris a month ago or so)...

In France any DVD / BR you purchase or rent can only be screened within the family circle legally. Any other screening, paid or not, private or public, even on a TV set in a classroom has to get an authorization.

Otherwise it IS a great idea and the short film route certainly is much easier to begin with !

cheers

[Kristin Stewart]

If you want to do things properly and legally, even for projecting short films in France you have to see with the CNC. Don't forget that even in short films, you've got music, and the SACEM will want to get fees for the musicians.

[Mikael Lubtchansky]

a screen under the rainbow

quick and dirty !

[C.H.Haskell]

Mikael! Yes I remember meeting you, thanks for the mock up...you win the bottle! Lots of good infos, thanks all.

[AndrewThomas]

Man, I thought this stuff was complicated in the U.S.!