Mediaboss Marketing

RUSKIN

Shrouded in a black garbage bag, the 67-year-old film projector sits in a corner of the small booth.

Last weekend, it played its final film at the Ruskin Family Drive-In.

A new machine, humming with life, is in line to take over. The digital projector has all the bells and whistles the film version lacked, and a hefty price tag to go with it.

Owners Ted and Karen Freiwald estimate the transition to digital will cost about $150,000. After raising a small percentage of that on their own, they are now borrowing from a private lender.

It's a risk for the one-screen theater built in 1952, but a necessary one. By 2013, production companies plan to stop distributing movies on film. Digital will soon be a theater's only choice.

"We had to do it," Karen Freiwald said. "You've got to do what you've got to do."

It's a decision many small theater and drive-in owners struggle with these days. Some are raising money, others are taking on debt and some may be forced to shut down.

By borrowing, the Freiwalds hope they have secured the drive-in's future for years to come. The Ruskin drive-in is one of only seven in the entire state, according to drive-ins.com, a website that monitors the outdoor movie business.

After a weeklong installation, the Freiwalds will reopen their drive-in today to present their first digital movie.

Link:
Ruskin drive-in theater goes digital to survive