As Designer and Creative Director for the Telluride Film Festival, I have made it my mission to see that each of our theaters has its own unique identity, expressed through audio, video, lighting and artwork.  Though the heyday of the "picture palace" has come and gone, by using contemporary technologies in video and sound in combination with lighting scenarios and set design, it is quite possible to create fully immersive environments that give a theater a distinct character and feel from the moment you enter.
Today's multiplex theater environments barrage the spectator with ads as we await the sweet relief of the previews.  The environments I have had the pleasure of creating harken back to an earlier time, when the anticipation of the coming film was heightened by the pre-show experience.

Garry Transue