written by Michael Denner
May 1999

1984 was the year of the miners strike and believe it or not we had miners at the festival, they made them selves a nuisance by climbing onto the roof of the tent and sliding down.

1985 saw the first major technical advance. The step from 16mm to 35mm. The projector was an old Westar 2001 on a western electric soundhead, it probably dates from the late thirties.

1989 saw the introduction of the open air screen as the cinema tent's popularity had now out grown even the largest of marquees, the screen was a mere 32 feet wide. Also the cinema moved to the area where Muddy Lane crosses what was then the main stage road, and was to became a famous landmark and meeting point for people at the festival for many years to come.

This also was a perfect spot for cinema as the natural slope of the hill provided an ideal rake allowing the best possible viewing area for the audience, also the picture could be seen right to the top of the camping area called Big Ground. This patch didn't come with out its own special set of problems though, mainly from the camping which bordered the cinema area. It was highly desirable to be able to relax in your tent by your camp fire and watch the latest movies. Or simply drift off to sleep listing to the ambient sounds playing through the sound system after the films had finished for the night. We used to have to post a 24 hour guard of field stewards to in the cinema area to stop campers pitching right in front of the screen.

1990 saw the introduction of Dolby Stereo to the open air cinema at Glastonbury for the first time. This proved extremely popular, because in the open air the stereo effects coming from surround speakers are far more noticeable due to the total lack of reverberation normally found in cinemas.

In 92 it was felt that there was a big enough demand for arts and special interest films that was not being met. Which normally only get seen in regional film theatres. This meant the reintroduction of the film marquee. These films were chosen and the tent staffed by the Edinburgh Film Guild. Things ran with out any major changes until 94, when just two weeks before the festival the pyramid stage caught fire, needless to say it was a major blow to the festival because as well as being the main stage it also served as a store. A large amount of festival equipment including the outside cinema screen was lost in the fire. This meant we had our work cut out making a new screen in time, but in a way it was also a blessing in disguise as it gave us the opportunity to make the new screen bigger, lighter and easier to handle than the previous one. The replacement now measured 56 feet wide by 24 feet high, at the time it was the biggest 35mm cinema screen in the country. Also new for 94 was the first use of Dolby Digital at Glastonbury. Which is now the standard, digital cinema sound system used in cinemas through out the world. In order to play the digital tracks properly the PA system had to be up-rated to handle the higher peek levels and improved frequency response. So we got in a 35Kw JBL sound system. 1995 was basically the same with the addition of a laser show between the films. For the 97 festival it was felt that due to the congestion caused by the cinema in the market area over previous years, the cinema should be found a new home. The problems were caused mainly by the huge numbers of people entering and leaving the cinema area when the films changed. So it was decided that the cinema should be given it's own field, which meant the film marquee and the open air screen could once again be together for the first time in nearly five years. This also had the affect of opening up the festival site in general, and making better use of previously under used fields towards the western side of the site. Unfortunately that year it rained heavily just prior to the festival and hole site turned into a mud bath. The outdoor cinema still proved hugely popular despite the rain, and due to the greater space available we probably had our biggest crowds ever, somwhere in the order of 6000-7000 people for with the least amount of hassle. Also in 98 the World cup video screen was in the cinema field.