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Saw the classic surf flick Five Summer Stories (1972) this weekend. The venue is what made viewing this flick so special. It was screened *outdoors* .. at Heisler Park (here in Laguna) .. while waves could be heard crashing on the beach below. This picture shows the place where the screen was positioned .. on the walkway, between the grass and railing in the distance. It measured ~10-feet square (3-meters tall): plenty big for all to see. The watery horizon in the far distance seemed to magically divide the lower half of the screen from the upper. Behind the lower half: the ocean. Behind the upper half: sky .. which continued to darken until the show began (7PM). ••• continued ••• They used a Sanyo digital projector. Image quality was spectacular. Colors > super-vibrant. A speaker sat on each side of the screen, delivering surprisingly robust sound from atop their chest-high pillars, where each was mounted. The only bummer is that this was the last such screening this year. I heard (from Keiko) that previous screenings this summer included two other classics: The Sound of Music (1965) and The Wizard of Oz (1939). Five Summer Stories is produced by MacGillivray-Freeman films .. based locally here in Laguna. You can usually run into Greg MacGillivray at the Orange Inn, getting a cup of coffee. His company has produced many of the popular IMAX films you've seen. It's impossible to describe how cool it was seeing a film here. Downright magical. It reminded me of seeing a concert at Humphrey's (another outdoor venue). Except the backdrop at Heisler is even more dramatic. Did I mention it was FREE? Local businesses donated the funds to rent the projection equipment. I think the City also cut a "visual arts" grant. Somebody told me Nikolai was there, but I didn't see him. (It was dark.) Viewers brought their own chairs to set on the lawn. Some also brought along a bottle of vino to share. Lots of kids were there, enjoying the grassy, coastal entertainment. Nothing like watching a classic surf flick with the smell of salt in the ocean air and the sounds of waves crashing on the beach nearby. Can't wait for next year. My vote for a film: Raiders of the Lost Ark. I also think it would be cool to screen a scary one around Halloween. For more info, here is a Google search pre-configured for the query: movies films heisler park laguna beach |
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