Hello to The Olympic & Farewell to The Riverside – A Tale of Two Studios

A group of 38 CTA members enjoyed a visit to the Olympic Cinema in Barnes in South West London. They were able to see both of the screens and the projection facilities and were treated to a demonstration of Dolby Atmos in Screen 1.

Dating from 1906, the building was in early use as a cinema but became the Barnes Theatre in the mid-1920's returning the cinema from 1930 until 1953. Used for TV commercials for some years, it became Olympic Sound Studios in 1966 recording numerous famous artistes and the music for several films. U2 were the last band to record there in 2009 and the building remained unused until its re-birth as a cinema in 2013, opening in October with "Captain Phillips".

Included in the fee for this visit, a splendid sandwich lunch was provided on arriving at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, West London. This was followed by a guided tour with Shira Macleod, the Cinema Director, of the building taking in the TV studios and finishing in the cinema. Originally a film studio, the last film made there was "Father Brown" with Alec Guinness in 1954. Then followed 15 years as a BBC television studio producing many well-known programmes until the opening of the TV Centre at White City made Riverside Studios surplus to requirements. The studios then found a new life as a multi-purpose venue and the purpose-built cinema opened in 1987 and soon became one of the best repertory cinemas in the UK. It is equipped with two 35mm projectors and shows film regularly still using changeovers. There is also a digital projector.

Major redevelopment will commence soon and the proposal will provide a state of the art facility for Riverside Studios comprising purpose built production studios, a cinema, theatre facilities, rehearsal space, a new riverside restaurant and café/bar along with 165 apartments.