Media Contact:
Peyton Taylor
904-940-4059
ptaylor@wghof.org

World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX® Theater Now Offers Captioning Services

St. Augustine, Fla. (December 18, 2008)  — The World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX® Theater at World Golf Village now provides closed and descriptive captioning services for hearing and visually impaired guests for a selection of its films.  The World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX Theater is one of only 21 locations in Florida – and the only theater in the Jacksonville and St. Augustine areas – to offer the specific captioning and descriptive services using MoPix technology. 

At no additional ticket cost, hearing and visually disabled adults and children can immerse themselves in IMAX films like never before with the use of either an acrylic Rear Window display unit for closed captioning at their seat or a Starsound headset for descriptive narration during pauses in a film’s dialogue. 

“We are thrilled to offer this new technology to any guest of the IMAX Theater who may have the need to utilize it,” said Jack Peter, Sr. Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the World Golf Hall of Fame and IMAX Theater.  “The IMAX Theater is a unique asset to this community and now even more people can enjoy the distinctive experience it offers.”

The captioning and descriptive narration services at the World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX Theater were made possible through a grant from The Starkey Hearing Foundation, a charitable organization which provides over 50,000 hearing aids per year and conducts over 100 hearing missions each year to people all around the world.  The Foundation also promotes hearing health awareness while supporting research and education.

Using a DVS Theatrical® system, visually impaired movie-goers to the IMAX Theater will be provided with a descriptive narration of select films fed to a small receiver to a Starsound headset, easily used from any seat in the theater.  The narrations will provide information about key visual elements such as actions, settings, facial expressions, costumes and scene changes within each film and are inserted into pauses in the soundtrack, resulting in no interference with the film’s dialogue. 

Hearing impaired guests will be provided closed captions for some films through the MoPix Rear Window system, visible via a reflector to only the patrons who choose to see them.  There will be designated seats within the IMAX Theater set for optimal viewing with use of the Rear Window system reflectors.
All captioning technology used in the World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX Theater was provided by MoPix, an initiative of the Media Access Group at WGBH in Boston, New England’s public media service.  MoPix was launched in 1992 to research and develop ways of making movies in theaters accessible to deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired people through closed captions and descriptive narration.

Current films at the IMAX Theater with closed captioning service include Bugs! A Rainforest Adventure, Everest, The Polar Express and Wild Ocean.  Descriptive captioning is currently offered with Everest and both services will be available with additional films in 2009. Ticket prices for general-run films are $8 for adults with discounts for children, military, seniors and students. Tickets to the special engagement of The Polar Express, running through December 24, are $10 for adults with discounts for children, military, seniors and students. 

The 2D World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX® Theater offers unique movies and entertainment enhanced by state-of-the-art, specially-designed cinematic technology.  Located at World Golf Village, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2008, the 300-seat IMAX Theater is Northeast Florida’s original and largest large-format theater, housing an 80-foot-wide by six-story-high screen to show a variety of entertaining and educational movies throughout the year.  The World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX® Theater is open every day of the year except Thanksgiving and Christmas. For tickets and show times, call 904-940-IMAX or visit www.wgv.com.

About the World Golf Hall of Fame

World Golf Hall of Fame is the ultimate destination for the celebration and recognition of golf’s greatest players and contributors and an inspiration to golfers and fans throughout the world. A collaboration of 26 national and international golf organizations support the Hall of Fame, including the PGA TOUR, LPGA, USGA, Augusta National, PGA of America, The European Tour and The R&A. The museum houses interactive exhibits and historic and personal artifacts that tell the stories of its members and the game of golf. The Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village, a resort destination celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2008. For more information, visit http://www.wgv.com.

# # #

As sole founding partner of World Golf Hall of Fame, The First Tee and World Golf Village, Shell Oil Company provides financial support and plays the lead role in charitable initiatives aimed at introducing golf to young people, and through the golf experience promotes scholastic achievement, community service and those values intrinsic to the game of golf: honesty, integrity and sportsmanship.