Saturday August 1: Somerset House outdoor film: West Side Story

Somerset House* Summer Screen Outdoor

Art:
I organised a great night out at Somerset House in several steps (yes, you bet it was in my elaborate email to friends): first to start off with cocktail drinks at Bombay Sapphire Dusk Bar (www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual_arts/909.asp)on the river terrace against the sunset, then to grab some sandwiches and get a good seat at courtyard and have a picnic dinner in the summer breeze while shaking to the live music DJ is playing, then the amazing musical should start against the backdrop of historical Somerset House surrounding.

In reality, it was raining, and we couldn't get through to the Dusk Bar. So bought some healthy food take-away food from Leon nearby and settled on the Courtyard directly. However, me and my gang were still in high enthusiasm, influenced by the people surrounding us - apparently, I was the newbie to this kind of outdoor cultural event in British summer and didn't come completely prepared. People had proper picnic hampers with them, with wine glasses, picnic cloth, and some nice canapes! People also had huge umbrella to shield them from rain and wind. At that moment, I decided that I would make this outdoor cinema my annual cultural outdoor event and do it better next year!

The beauty of outdoor cinema is the informal setting and merging of natural landscape and the movie screen that brings you into a Neverland. Compared to an traditional public cinema experience in an constriained indoor environment, in an outdoor cinema, people are more expressive about their feelings and interact more actively in the viewing as well. This is especially true for a well-loved classic like West Side Story, whose verse and lines are all memorised by fans. There were plenty of spontaneous sing-alongs, finger snappings (whenver Jets were out), and rounds of applauses among audience throughout the screening. Discussions and chit-chatting with friends throughout the film are not frowned upon either and lying down on the ground is well allowed even by the British standard ;-)

Outdoor cinema is a proper night out with pre-cinema DJ playing in full swing, picnic calling and a very involved viewing experience, if you make it right. It's the cinematic magic at its best across all years against the eternal high summer night dark blue sky.

Almost forgot to mention, there are talks series before each screening as well called "Behind the Screen", which gives educational background to the film creation. This is really the forte of British cultural events - always attending to the educational need for audiences, be it young or adult. You learn till you die, as the Chinese saying goes.

Commercial:
I don't understand yet fully the commercial side of film copyright, but I do know Summerset House Summer Screen Festival is co-sponsored by Film4 Channel. Tickets are sold for about GBP12.95, which is higher than regular cinema tickets.

Due to the well-planned programmes and its popularity(www.somersethouse.org.uk/film/default.asp), almost all tickets are sold out beforehand. So I guess the season must be profit-making - profits would be divided between Somerset House and Film4? Wait a second, on Somerset House's page, two other partners listed are BAFTA and Shooting People ("the international networking organisation dedicated to the support of promotion of independent filmmaking"). Among the four organisations, SH would be responsible for the overall events organisation, scheduling, marketing and sales; Film4 copyright providing; BAFTA and SP probably help inviting VIP guests (Dev Patel and Freida Pinto arrived for Slumdog Millionaire) and organise the talks...

I would be interested in finding out more about the economies work here and will come back with an update!

China:
This type of event would have great appeal in China. In fact I do believe there are already outdoor cinema in China, but the unparallelled advantage Somerset House has is simply the stunning space. Most screenings in China I can recall are done in an open square in parks, so the scale and sense of belonging to an exclusive event is lacking. On the commercial side, I doubt if the Chinese events are making money out of it, but if better and stricter organisation is possible, they can definitely be turned into profit making as well.

Venue: I am scratching my head now - a venue big enough with enough historical appeal must exist in good old China. Now the question is, logistics and government approval... Hmmm I am very curious now - must find out when I visit China next time!