There has been renewed interest in showing films in village and community halls. What could be better than just strolling down the road to the hall and meeting with friends and neighbours and after the showing being able to share your views on the film you have just seen together.
It is advisable to find out what community support there is for having films in the local hall before you go too far down the road of buying equipment. A simple house to house questionnaire, not only asking about support for provision of such a service but also what type of films they would like to see, what time of day and which day of the week will prove useful for your planning and if you are intending to apply for funding to help prove the need for your project. It would also be a good to get some idea about how much they would be prepared to pay, give a range of prices to tick/circle, such as £3 -5, £6 -£10 as this will help with planning your budget. It is best to ask all you may need to know in one questionnaire rather than having to do further surveys.
If the results from the survey seem encouraging it would be a good idea to have a taster session or two before purchasing equipment etc. This would enable you to assess how genuine the support would be and show up any potential problems such as poor acoustics or the level of blackout required. Equipment could be borrowed or hired for the trial.
· separate committee from the village hall committee
· subcommittee of the hall committee
· film club.
What you decide will depend to some extent on the type of screening you are intending to do. Are there going to be paying public with general advertising or is it going to be a film society with a membership fee and restricted publicity?
Separate committee.
They will need:
· A constitution
· People willing to take on the usual roles of Chairman Secretary and Treasurer plus others.
· To book and pay for the hall in the usual way.
· Be responsible for obtaining funding for /and maintaining the equipment used
· To check that the hall is licensed to show films ( Premise License) and obtain any other the licences needed where people pay to see the film
· Organise the showing, publicity, sale of tickets, provide stewards etc.
Subcommittee of the village hall committee.
The Hall committee will need to;
· Establish the terms of reference including setting a budget, booking the hall etc.
· License the hall for showing films (Premise License) where people pay to see the showing
· Make sure there are people willing to be members of the subcommittee to take on the organisation of showings, some of whom must be hall committee members etc.
· Organise the showing, publicity sale of tickets, provide stewards etc.
Film Club/society.
Will need:
· A constitution and committee
· Members who pay a fee to be members
· To check the hall is licensed to show films ( Premise License) and obtain any other licenses required.
· To fund or obtain funding for the equipment
· Organise the film showing
· Book and pay for the hall.
Film club case study.
At East Garston in Berkshire a film is shown on the first Tuesday of the month from October to May. There is an annual subscription and then it is free to see the film (this guarantees enough money up front to hire the films. Guest pay £4.00 per film. Food can be ordered on the door and delivered in the interval- sometimes fish and chips or curry which comes from a takeaway.
Premises license considerations.
It is important to check whether the hall has included in the licence the showing of films as one of their licensable activities. If it was not included it is suggested that, at least initially, a TEN (Temporary Event Notice) is used. Once you are satisfied there is support to continue showing films and it is to become a regular happening the hall committee can ask their Local Authority to make a variation to the Premises License to include showing films. As a village /community hall that is a charity there should be no charge for the variation but costs could be involved in publishing the variation in the local press.
Types of screening.
There are two types of screening ‘theatrical’ and ‘non- theatrical’.
Theatrical Screening.
This is where the film is shown to a public, paying audience.
The film is usually booked from a theatrical distributor.
It is the reasonability of the organiser to make sure the audience is of the appropriate age for the films BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) certificate. This can be checked on the www.bbfc.org.uk
Non- theatrical screening.
This where the film is screened to a closed membership (film society) with no admission fee paid at the door. The films have to be obtained from a ‘non- theatrical’ film distributor.
For details of film formats, equipment and booking films see www.bfi.org.uk/filmtvinfo/screening
For advice if you are planning regular screenings and/or are considering setting up a film society see:
Independent Cinema Office - develop and support independent film exhibitions in Britain.
www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk
UK Film Council – take the lead on national distribution and exhibition policy and the Digital Screen Network programme to equip venues with digital projection facilities.
MPLC (Motion Picture Licensing Company) – provide an umbrella licence for organisations looking to screen home DVD/videos to an audience.
Film Bank - Single Title License from whom you can book a film on a theatrical or non-theatrical basis, generally available are films titles 3-4 months post cinema release. Details of rates and how to book a film can be found on www.filmbank.co.uk
Several venues use Moviola based in Dorset for more information of their service go to www.moviloa.org.uk
Produced 2007