As some of you reading this may know, I’m an Australian. I was heading back to Australia late last year, lining up at the airport – waiting for my flight to board and the question popped into my head. A scary question. The question most of us in the industry have wondered about at some point, but maybe haven’t said out loud. ‘Will cinema get back to the way it was?’.

I boarded the plane and squeezed into my seat and started watching an in-flight movie. After about 15 minutes I realized – this is not IT – this is not how film should be watched, not for the full impact at least. And I don’t mean because I was sitting in economy. The screen size, the sound, no audience, no immersion. This is not the way these films were meant to be experienced. Now on a 16-hour flight, it’s not a bad way to pass the time - but it isn’t going to be that unforgettable, and potentially mind-opening experience.

So, now I think about this question a different way.

How do we, as an industry, MAKE SURE cinema gets back to the way it was – and better yet – have it grow.

At Vista we happen to be a software company, and all we do is cinema. So, naturally we have spent a lot of time thinking about this with a technology lens.

Many of you may know that we released the cinema reopening kit mid last year, specific technology to assist our customers in dealing with concepts like social distance seating and touch-free concession ordering. But something that frustrated us was how difficult it was getting this newest tech into the hands of exhibitors – it was obvious we needed a new approach.

I’ve heard lots of people talk about their love and support of the industry – but I’m proud that we’ve not just spoken about our support of the industry, we’ve been investing heavily, particularly during COVID to build something new, to allow us to all evolve and be stronger together.

I am therefore delighted to announce as of today that Vista Cloud is what we’ve been working on.

Vista Cloud means more relevant and timely innovation than ever before. It means us taking care of the tech so you can focus on what matters most, delivering the ultimate moviegoer experience. Vista Cloud signifies a major evolution of Vista’s solutions and today is just our initial launch, we are going to continue investing in this offering – giving exhibitors instant access to innovation and our new tech.

I look forward to talking to you, our clients and industry, more about Vista Cloud in the coming months (hopefully in person).

Stay safe and see you at the movies!