Preview Theatre

Capacity

The theatre seats up to 33 in comfort.

The theatre seats are fitted, uniquely for a preview theatre, with fold out work surfaces. This makes the venue ideal in many situations, for instance when film reviewers need to take notes or for conferences.

Unfortunately the theatre does not have wheelchair access.

Projection Facilities

The BBFC Preview Theatre can project in any of the following formats:

• Digital cinema ‘DCI Prints’ encrypted Hard Drives – in 2D and 3D formats. Also ‘audio descriptive’ digital prints if supplied.
• The projection room is equipped with the latest Barco DP 2000 Digital projector with Dolby server and showstore with 2D and 3D capabilities. 
• This equipment is found extensively throughout the cinema theatre industry. Our sound system is equipped with the latest red LED sound heads which are capable of handling the recently introduced cyan sound tracks.
• We can also project Blu-ray, DVD with up to 5.1 surround sound through our Barco projector and Dolby Digital Cinema Sound processor.

The Micro Perforated Screen And Dolby Sound System

Our current screen is a Harkness micro perforated screen which has smaller perforations, which are invisible under normal viewing conditions and is ideally suited for use with multimedia projectors.

To experience cinema viewing to the full, surround sound is a prerequisite. It is recommended that there are at least five speakers strategically placed around the theatre, one of which, the centre channel speaker – mainly for dialogue – ideally needs to be where the screen is.

By using a micro perforated screen, we have been able to place three speakers behind the screen ensuring a high degree of acoustic transparency. The micro perforations are such that the viewing surface is smooth as far as the viewer is concerned, while up to five per cent of the screen is perforated to allow the sound to pass through unimpeded. Our theatre has a further four speakers to provide a total surround sound experience.

The sound is provided through a Dolby Digital Cinema Sound processor.

When is the theatre available?

The BBFC theatre is available when many preview theatres in the West End are not, during the weekday evenings. We are able to offer screenings after 6.00pm Monday to Friday.

Please call 020 7440 1590 or email our Projection team for current availability.

Pricing

The BBFC has set a price that is very competitive with other venues in the area. Our current price is £125 (plus VAT) per hour for a standard evening booking. If you require additional facilities or services then we are happy to talk to you about that.

Please call or email for current availability and any special prices that might apply.

Catering

We do not provide catering ourselves. We offer a professional screening service and are determined to concentrate our efforts on making that perfect. We believe that many companies already have established relationships with caterers and would prefer to continue to use a service they know. However, we are happy to put you in contact with firms that have provided catering for some of our other customers.