Voice of London

Regent Street Cinema held the first ever public viewing as an invisible cinema, enticing the public with free tickets, popcorn and drinks of their choice. With popcorn in one hand and a drink in the other, these lucky cinema goers entered the theatre with their glasses on their heads.

Despite the delicate trimmings as evidence to age the building, this new technique of removing and replacing polarisation filters transported the entire cinema to the future. The film choice of Now You See Me was really fitting, as the new tech only allows the audience to see it when the glasses are worn. It also fit perfectly with the campaign Santander are promoting of keeping personal information private and off the internet.

As we sat waiting for it to start, Love Island winner, Wes Nelson’s voice filled the room over the speakers. It was strange to see so many people staring at what was seemingly a blank white screen…until I put my glasses on and it all came to life.

Though the technology has come a long way, there were a few glitches. At one point, two square segments of the screen stopped working and on a separate occasion a single square went dark.

Both instances the problem was fixed almost immediately, but on the first occasion it did encourage a handful of people to leave. But what can we expect of the world’s first invisible cinema – a few glitches isn’t a big deal.

It was much like watching a 3D film with the glasses. The only issues were the slight dents on our noses. Maybe a cushion on the bridge would work.

After the screening, VoL spoke to Santander PR representative, Zara, who said: “the technology can be used on new films as long as they’re not a projection, as long as it’s done on the right format.” This leaves endless possibilities for future cinematic experiences.

Santander worked with this years Love Island winner Wes Nelson to record a short clip of him giving advice on how to keep things safe and confidential online. He spoke of not using unsecure wi-fi’s when entering any bank details and keeping social media profiles private too.

The campaign follows a study finding that 85% of 18-25 year olds share personal information online. The bank want to highlight the importance of keeping PIN numbers and online banking passwords off social media sites and kept privately.

Words: Tabitha Durrant | Subbed: Christian Onions