Vue ’ s hybrid house of film
Mike Fletcher walks the red carpet to discover Vue ’ s hybrid offer during a special screening of House of Gucci .
Back in May 2021 , Vue re-opened its 91
UK cinemas following lockdown and in doing so , gave hybrid event planners access to a portfolio of venues that not only offer Sony high-definition 4K digital projection and Dolby sound as standard , but can also be linked together for a multisite , big-screen business experience ( complete with popcorn and reclining seats ).
In November , Vue Conferences and Events showcased its hybrid offer to 280 planners from companies such as L ’ Oreal , HSBC , Facebook and UKTV , by staging a private ‘ red carpet ’ screening of House of Gucci in London ’ s West End and at the Leeds Light retail centre .
The two cinemas were connected over Zoom so that the audience in Leeds
could experience a pre-film talk by fashion historian Amber Butchart on the relationship between cinematic costume design and fashion through the ages .
“ It was a great way of demonstrating how hybrid works in a cinema environment ,” says Rachel Macaulay , head of conferences and events for Vue . “ There has been so much talk about what constitutes hybrid , how much it costs and how it should work , we thought we ’ d show people what was possible . This isn ’ t new for Vue . It ’ s just that it now has a different name . We used to call it a multi-site format and we ’ ve been staging them for more than six years .”
The evening began in London with guests arriving at the Vue Leicester Square and being served Rossini and cucumber martinis in the green and red of Gucci ’ s brand colours . Guests could also enjoy a festive Baileys over large ice diamonds supplied by Icebox , before heading upstairs for Gucci-inspired canapés such as Patrizia ’ s queen scallops and pernod syrup or Guccio arancini with Parmigiano crema .
Before heading into the London screening room , the evening ’ s catering company , The Caterers , tempted guests with sweat treats including Aldo ’ s crepes al Italiano with Sicilian lemon syrup and sugar shards and Sala Bianca baked cheesecake with blueberry Flora crema .
Waiting for guests in their luxurious reclining cinema seats was a bag of popcorn and a bottle of water . But before they could settle back and enjoy the film , the two audiences in the two different locations were introduced to each other on the big screen via Macaulay in London and Vue ’ s Wayne Lamb , who was compering and hosting guests in Leeds .
Production company AP Events handled the hybrid elements , streaming Butchart ’ s fascinating keynote on-stage