The Great Outdoor Movie Projector

The completion of Sourlands is still months away, but I’ve started to ponder how to roll it out once it’s ready. I premiered The Farmer and the Horse at Howell Living History Farm, outside on a perfect August night in 2010, and it was a fantastic experience.  Outdoor screenings can be a little stressful for the filmmaker -- because there’s no knowing what the weather will be -- but nothing beats showing a film on a huge screen under the stars. It was downright festive. The great outdoors is also very accommodating to situations when you have no idea how many people will come but you're hoping for as many as possible. That was the situation for The Farmer and the Horse premiere, and we ended up with over 300 moviegoers.

I like the idea of having a big outdoor screening for Sourlands as well. Somewhere local. (Or maybe it should be several screenings, throughout the Sourlands region.) Today I took the first step toward screening self-sufficiency by ordering a new digital movie projector. Now, to project a movie just about anywhere, all I’ll need is an electrical outlet and something to point the projector toward. I’m pretty excited.

If anyone has any good ideas about places to show Sourlands in Summer 2012, drop me a line at jtflesher@gmail.com. Indoor locations work too. Also drop me a line if you’re interested in hosting a screening of The Farmer and the Horse. I can bring the projector.