The Courtyard Cinema in Hereford is part of a complete arts complex and this is where Simon Nicholls works as Head of Film. Simon is ideal for this role given his long experience as a projectionist and also his own home cinema which can be seen here:    • HOME CINEMA TOUR with Simon Nicholls  
35mm is still screened on occasion at The Courtyard but this time we are here to learn about the process of getting a DCP onto the screen. Many of us tend to think it is just a case of pushing a few buttons and then PLAY but as Simon explains, getting to the point when you can press PLAY is where all the work and skill is required. It was quite an education for me and so I hope it will be for many others.
At the time of our visit the Boderline Film Festival was in full swing and this means there is a plethora of movies in the DCP holding station prepared to be transferred to the digital video projector for presentation on the big screen at the appointed time. Each different show has to be built up to run automatically and correctly along with the correct soundtrack at the most suitable volume. Yes, there's far more to it than I ever considered.