Screening films outdoors is no day in the park

A Stay Puft marshmallow man blow-up doll loomed from the top of the nearby Nordstrom building as Jennifer Gerard, 31, relaxed on a blanket with a BLT sandwich.

"It's nice to sit out and hang out, where there aren't as many restrictions as in a theater," said Gerard, an advertising account executive. "It feels more like an event. Otherwise, I'd be sitting at home watching TV."

That kind of four-star review is boosting a small but growing industry that provides outdoor screenings of films. Typically, they are hired by cities, community groups or other organizations that offer the show free of charge.

Last month's screening of "Ghostbusters" was staged by Open Air Productions, an Atwater Village company that has been in the business just under a year. It was hired by the Grove's management company, which puts on a variety of public events as part of its efforts to attract shoppers.

Open Air owner Dana Schwartz said she expected to screen 100 movies this year, at venues including a courthouse garden in Santa Barbara and an amphitheater at San Diego State University.

She has clients lined up through 2009 and employs a full-time event planner and 10 on-staff tech aides who perform such duties as audio-visual setup and customer service. Her company also helps secure the rights to screen films.

Schwartz estimates that the company will pull in just under $200,000 this year. That's "not bad" for a small open-air screening business, considering the expenses associated with constant equipment upgrades, she said.

"It's trying times for everyone, and there are other companies out there doing similar things, but everybody was pretty busy this summer," she said.

The number of outdoor screeners is difficult to track because no official association exists to do so, but most industry insiders agree that dozens of companies exist and that their numbers are growing.

Cities are among the most reliable customers. La Quinta's community services department sponsored a free summer series near City Hall featuring films such as "Ratatouille" and "Charlotte's Web" on a 20-foot screen. In July and August, audiences in San Jose saw films including "American Graffiti" and "The Shining" in San Pedro Square downtown.