Madison is known for its quaint village shops, picturesque streetscapes, and historic facades. A strong sense of "local" still exists here-and even succeeds-in this Internet age, but now some behind-the-scenes changes at two of the district's most prominent attractions aim to move the businesses firmly into the 21st century.

Don't expect a revolution just yet, however. Changes at Madison Art Cinemas will allow screening of the next generation of hand-picked movies and a new press at RJ Julia Booksellers helps foster the one-on-one connection between bookseller and buyer by adding another dimension-book printer.

New Medium, Same Stories

Did you know that you might never see another film-in the true sense of the word-in theaters? The conversion of America's theaters to digital is a push by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

The MPAA has nothing to lose-in fact, it'll save millions. It costs between $1,500 and $2,000 to print a single feature film. The burden instead lands on theaters that during the '90s, like Arnold Gorlick's Madison Art Cinemas, installed expensive, durable film projectors. This fact delayed a similar push to digital about seven years ago, but the industry has permitted theater owners-collectively known as the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO)-no more delays. Sometime in 2013, the MPAA will cease distributing 35-millimeter film entirely-it's convert or die.

"It started to move apace this past year," says Gorlick. "This isn't just in the United States; this is the entire world."

While the conversion to digital provides a movie experience that most agree is superior, it's the end of an era. Nowhere is this more evident than in the impending closure of perhaps 1,000 classic movie theaters throughout the nation, such as the Strand 5 on the Jersey Shore, in operation since 1938, and other independent theaters that can't afford to convert.

Installed in 1999, the film projectors at Madison Art Cinemas were replaced by digital boxes late last month, a collaborative effort between Gorlick and the theater's landlord, Jerry Davis of Davis Realty. The bulky projectors with their oil reservoirs, reels, and the five-foot-wide platters were dismantled. Most will go to scrap.

"They would have gone easily, being maintained and oiled, for another 75 years," says Gorlick. "It was bittersweet and poignant to see the 35-millimeter equipment leaving, but on the other hand now that it's gone, this is very sophisticated stuff that we're doing. There'll be no more film snags, no more film tears, no more wearing down of the print; no more oil to deal with, no more leaks."

Gorlick also enjoys having his staff on the floor-not in the projector booth-during movies. All will keep their jobs, he notes.

The change of medium won't affect the heart of film.

"There's no doubt that effects could be made dazzling digitally, but our films depend on plot development, character development, writing," he says. "Whether it's digital or 35-millimeter or any other format, ultimately what people are coming here for is to have a story told to them."

However, the initiative requires retiring a movie icon-one which has subtleties of technique, unique challenges, and nostalgic appeal. A generation will grow up not knowing the sound of a film reel-and yes, also the pops and hisses of analog film. Plus there's the magic of knowing the screen is dark half the time, and that the whole thing worked using an optical effect called the persistence of vision, in which the viewer's eyes fill in the blanks. That, and as with a book, it's just plain nice to hold an object that can tell a story.

"I miss the idea of holding up physical film strip and looking at it and identifying what it is," Gorlick said. "Usually I can look at one frame and tell it's a trailer. When the new digital prints arrive, it comes in something that looks like a black box on an airplane."

This is no DVD; loading the prints can take more than two hours. The industry also assumes a greater degree of control over its product. The "keys" to use the device arrive separately via email, and when the validation period ends, it shuts off automatically to prevent unauthorized showings. Those who opt in (Gorlick didn't) can receive incentives to allow the industry remote access to its devices, 24 hours a day. Movies start and stop by themselves-no one on staff needs to stay in the theater late into the evening anymore. And the image is, admittedly, amazing.

"It projects an extraordinary image," says Gorlick. "Every square inch of the screen is in crystal-clear focus-no movement, no flicker."

According to Gorlick, although it's the end of film, it won't be the end of movie theaters.

"You still need physical movie theaters to confer an aura on a film," he says. "There are films that go straight to DVD, but a film gains importance by having been shown first in movie theaters."

Meet the Author: You

Perhaps a more friendly example of the conversion to digital is the Espresso Book Machine at RJ Julia Booksellers. There's no convert-or-die here, at least so far. The machine, which on first glance popular opinion deems a lobster tank, turns a PDF file into a real-life paperback, complete with color cover and new-book smell. Since the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 29, RJ's machine has printed books for between six and eight self-published authors each day, typically in less than 10 minutes.

"It's getting a lot of attention," says Kirsten Hess, marketing and events manager at RJ's. "You can actually see the book being printed inside, which is pretty fabulous."

The results look just like a "real" book.

"It looks just like anything else you'd find in the store," Hess says.

The cost is a $15 set-up fee and then $7 to $10 per book; or, if you need help from beginning to end, an operator from On Demand Books will walk you through the entire process for a fee. Teachers get discounts and anyone who wants-say, a parent of a student whose work was featured in a class compilation-can stop by the machine to print out a copy at a later date. Authors can make their works available to people browsing not just at RJ's, but also at any Espresso Book Machine in the nation. They profit from each printing. Consumers can also print books that are outside their copyright dates. Overall, it saves shipping costs, reduces wasteful overprinting by publishers, and blurs the line between writers and readers.

"Now we can try and help new authors in their quest of being able to print their first book and be able to assist in that publishing process," says Hess, who mentions that the store is seeking a good nickname for its machine, preferably one that doesn't involve coffee-perhaps one that even involves books. "I think the biggest change is we're really getting the community involved with writing. It's added a bit of pep in people's step because it's just fun.

"You still need support; you still need maybe a publishing house to get your book out there," she adds.

While the digital conversion-at least in this latter instance-seems to be empowering local creative types, it represents a shift to wider industry control in the case of the movie industry. Whether that control eventually shifts in other media to the creators of the work, those who enjoy it, or mega-corporations is something we'll have to wait to find out.