Better access to cinema (From Tivyside Advertiser)

Better access to cinema

11:15am Tuesday 12th August 2008

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A cinema film advert produced in Cardigan to promote accessible screenings at arts centres across Wales, is soon to be revised and screened at major cinemas across the UK.

In 2007 Creative Mwldan Creadigol, a media centre located in Cardigan, west Wales, led a project to install specialist cinema equipment in ten Welsh Arts Centres on behalf of The Arts Council of Wales and was majority funded through the Arts Council of Wales Capital Lottery Funding scheme.

The upgrade to equipment at these participating arts centres enabled them to present Audio Described screenings (in which a soundtrack is narrated through a personal head set) and soft subtitled screenings (which involves projecting text onto the cinema screen, transcribing the film’s dialogue and sound effects as it plays). The project continues successfully and enables blind and the visually impaired people, deaf and hard of hearing people right across Wales to fully enjoy the cinema experience with family and friends.

As part of this project, Creative Mwldan produced a 35mm film advert especially designed to demonstrate how access cinema works. The film advert has been playing regularly at the ten arts centres since September 2007 and sends the important message to the general public that there are new opportunities for disabled people. The advert was supported by national disability groups including the RNID, RNIB and Disability Arts Cymru, and again funded by the Arts Council of Wales.

Disability organisations and individuals within the industry recognised the inportance of the advert, saw its potential and brought it to the attention of the Cinema Exhibitors Association. David Pope, director of Business Development, Northern Europe for DTS said: "It is a very entertaining promotion and certainly delivers an important message very effectively."

Under the leadership of the Cinema Exhibitors Association, the national body representing more than 90per cent of UK cinema operators, including all major multiplexes, Creative Mwldan was commissioned to produce a new version of the film advert which will be screened at more than 300 cinemas across the UK.

Other project partners supporting the production and distribution of the new advert include Kodak, Technicolor, VUE, Cineworld, Odeon, Carlton, and Pearl and Dean.

Steve Knight, Director of Creative Mwldan, says: "We are delighted that the work developed by Creative Mwldan for Wales will now be seen all over the UK".

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