A £25k cinema room to support people with disabilities and their families opened in the UK this month after efforts from integrator proAV and charity Together For Cinema.
The facility at White Lodge, a two-acre site in Chertsey, is Together For Cinema’s 25th cinema installation and the first room for people of all ages.
A screening of Aladdin marked the official opening of the space that incorporates an NEC projector, Sapphire Electric screen, QMotion automated blinds, LED lighting, and Crestron AV control.
ProAV donated products and accessories as well as their time to the project. In addition, the following companies donated equipment:
• Crestron (Control): CEN-SWPOE-16, RMC3, HD-TX-101-C-E, Crestron App;
• Dataflow AV (Screen): Sapphire Electric Screen;
• Marantz (AV Receiver donated by AWE): SR 5014;
• Middle Atlantic (Racking) donated by RGB Communications: MA-CFR-12-18 Racking, Shelving and other items as required;
• Monitor Audio (Speakers): 4 Radius 90 speakers, Subwoofer, Apex A40 centre speaker;
• NEC (Projector): NP-P554WG;
• QMotion (Automated Blinds): 3 x motors and fitted blinds. QzHub3;
• Sony, donated by Midwich (BluRay Player): UPB X8000.
Mike Hey, head of marketing and fundraising at White Lodge, thanked proAV, Together For Cinema and all those that donated technology.
“The new White Lodge cinema room is transformational,” he said. “We are supporting children, young people and adults with such a broad range of disabilities and accessing normal cinema complexes can be very challenging.”
Ian Morrish, founder of Together For Cinema, said: “This would not have been possible without the drive and determination of Amy Amesbury at proAV. She brought the venue to Together For Cinema’s attention and helped make it happen at every step of the way. Her passion for, and support of, White Lodge combined with her commitment to the project helped overcame all the challenges that Covid 19 threw at us.
“With a new Together For Cinema team now formed I’m delighted to be able to announce that our 26th installation will be at the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in Huddersfield, and should be completed in Spring 2021. Melanie Malcolm of Bespoke Home Cinemas in Leeds will be managing this installation and she is part of the new team so she’s ‘in at the deep end’ pretty quickly!”