Urban Entertainment brings rooftop cinema to Dubai
Published: MEA
UAE: Urban Entertainment has hosted its first rooftop cinema event in Dubai. The A/V company was brought in by the Four Points by Sheraton hotel, which wanted to put on a cinema night at its Level 43 Sky Lounge.
‘We have seen phenomenal growth in Europe and Urban Entertainment is now Europe’s largest provider of outdoor cinema,’ said Nick Turner, regional manager EMEA for Urban Entertainment. ‘We are trying to bring unique and different experiences to people and make use of wonderful spaces such as rooftops or parks, which allows people to come together and enjoy a movie under the stars.
‘We operate in northern Europe which has very rigid seasons,’ he continued. ‘The weather for outdoor cinema is fairly limited to the summer months of May to September. The weather in Dubai is great for outdoor events from September to April, which is good for us as it means a full 12-month operation. In addition, Dubai has some stunning locations to do these events which means that we can bring outdoor cinema to great locations.’
The company has begun operations as an A/V rental business and is actively seeking further rental jobs, as well as putting on its own events. As such, it stocks a range of equipment. ‘We have all of our own equipment and have a large array of screens, projectors and sound systems. We also use headphones for silent cinemas,’ stated Mr Turner. ‘We use inflatable screens so we can go practically anywhere with little effort, we use projectors up to 12k ANSI lumens where half of that would suffice and we use professional quality sound systems to ensure the best sound possible. We find that having our own equipment means that we can ensure the highest quality and also be available for events at the drop of a hat.’
For the screening of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, the company called on an Airscreen inflatable screen alongside Christie projection and a sound system from HK Audio. ‘All of the equipment worked fantastically and we had great sound and images. We received a lot of positive feedback and look forward to working with this client and many others again soon,’ said Mr Turner. ‘There are of course much cheaper options. However, we want to use the best equipment possible. This is why we chose this equipment.’
According to Mr Turner, the first event ran as smoothly as possible thanks to planning for any potential pitfalls. ‘For a first event we couldn’t have wanted it to go much better. The backdrop was sensational as was the venue,’ he reflected. ‘We look forward to many more of these events in the future.’