This Sunday, December 19th at 8:00am PST, a Special Live Event is coming to Rave Motion Pictures located at 6587 S. Las Vegas Blvd. in Town Square just in time for the holidays. Thanks to the magic of technology, Russia's Bolshoi Ballet will be broadcast live from Moscow performing "The Nutcracker" on one of the Rave's 18 screens. The company responsible for bringing such special shows like one to Las Vegas is Emerging Pictures, a New York based firm, which is the largest all digital Specialty Film and Alternate Content theater network in the United States. Founded by independent film producer, marketer and distributor Ira Deutchman, Emerging Pictures digitizes films and then uses their computer "boxes" and proprietary software to bring movies and cultural events from all over the world to venues within their network using high speed internet connecitons and innovative projection systems. Perfect for "one night only" type events, digitizing allows theater owners to run their programming schedulues the way they used to, turning over content every 2-3 days and encouraging audiences to quickly make the decision to buy a ticket and attend. Since showtimes can easily be split, the system also allows smaller facilities to schedule films more like a cineplex.
Deutchman was a frustrated producer dealing with complicated distribution issues when he made an acquaintance from the broadcasting world while at Sundance nine years ago, who changed his perspective and later became his partner in this venture. Their state of the art technology produces quality images on screen and opens up distribution channels for films to include museums, stand alone art centers, single screen theaters and other alternative spaces. Although their first location, a single screen theater in Scranton, PA didn't last, their next venue opened six months later in Wilmington, Delaware and is thriving. A 350 seat corporate auditorium, 100% of the content that is screened comes form the Emerging Pictures's programming menu. Now, with over 85 theaters in their network and a deal with Carmike Cineams, Ira's company is digitizing film series for distributors such as Strand, Magnolia and Sony and are currently opening up programming options for film festivals. Aside from the cost savings, the new projections systems allow for flexibility in screening content and eliminate the possibility numerous types of equipment failures.
Another recent event that met with great success was the "one night only" showing of the acclaimed documentary "Gasland". Held at multiple locations on December 8th, a webcase/Interactive Q&A with director Josh Fox followed the screening. With the aid of streaming, laptops and projectors, "Gasland" was shown in multiple theaters from Maine to Florida that are part of the Emerging Pictures Network.
Tickets for Sunday's showing of "The Nutcraker" at Rave Motion Pictures are $20 and more information is available by clicking on the Special Events Tab on their website.
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