Even though it has space for 350 cars
and covers 25,000 square metres,
Autocine Madrid Race is very near to Madrid’s central Paseo de la
Castellana: With a bar and food trucks reminiscent of the US drive-ins from the
1950s, Autocine Madrid Race opened on 24 February – perhaps appropriately
– with a screening of the musical Grease.
The founding partner of the newly opened drive-in, Javier
F. Espejo, explained: “deciding on the ideal projector for our drive-in was no
easy task: we’re talking about a huge 250 square metre screen and a cabin
located at a distance of 110 metres. And when you factor in the light contamination
of the city of Madrid, it means we needed a really powerful projector. After studying
what was currently available on the market we opted for the Christie CP2230 and
I have to say we are thrilled with our choice: the spectacular quality of the image
and the powerful light more than met our needs. In addition, we were pleasantly
surprised by just how easy it is to operate.”
All the technical aspects
involved in installing the projector and getting it up and running were carried
out by
Técnica
Cinematográfica Loza, with the support of
Kelonik. Since 1950, this
family company based in the Basque County has been working in the design
and kitting out of cinemas. And Isabel Loza, confirmed
they decided on Christie for the new drive-in because of the brand’s proven reliability. “Because
the screen was so big and the projection distance so long (110 metres), with the
added complication of being in the open air, we needed a projector that would give us the maximum brightness
and contrast possible. And the CP2230, with its 6000W lamp and its 33,000 lumens, was
the ideal match for the screen. Likewise, we also highly valued the fact that
it is so easy to operate and requires little maintenance.”
The CP2230, which has 2K resolution upgradeable to 4K,
is located in a cabin designed by the owners in a shipping container conditioned
to house the equipment, with air conditioning to ensure perfect functioning. The
projector is fed from a Dolby DCP-2K4 server with 6 Tb for storing contents. The
sound for the movies is relayed on FM to the radio in the cars.
“The truth is that we are really happy with the final installation and we are hoping for a big success with
the new project,” said Isabel Loza. This is by no means Loza’s first experience
with drive-ins, having installed another three in the north of Spain, more
specifically in Torrelavega, Gijón and Getxo, the last two with Christie projectors.
The drive-in’s programme gives audiences a chance to watch all-time
classic movies as well as the latest blockbusters and the company also has
another drive-in in Cantabria, in the north of Spain.
