October 10, 2021 — BRIDGTON — Todd Morton wanted the perfect outdoor movie theater setup to watch movies next to a bonfire under the stars and moon with friends and family at his Woods Pond home.

Inflatable air screen offerings took 30 minutes to blow up with an air compressor and they didn't blend in with his wooded backyard. Telescoping tripods screen frame systems only work on perfectly flat ground and weren't rugged enough.

He hit his wood shop and built a business.

The Wireless Outdoor Cinema Company launched in the spring of 2020 after a year of experimenting with the right setup.

For 20 years, Morton, 49, worked in the high-technology field as an internet marketer selling consumer products online for companies such as Lycos (the internet search company) and Dragon Naturally Speaking Software (a division owned by Microsoft).

After a large corporate layoff four years ago, "I took a break," he said. "I knew I wanted to do something different in my career, and get back to my passion of wood working and being outside. This idea just kind of laid into that at the right time. I love what I do. I'm growing it."

Step one was deciding on screen frame systems on the market that didn't fit his movie-viewing vision.

"I know from experience, getting anything inflatable has the potential of getting tears or leaks and knew the air screen cinemas on the market were not going to make the cut," Morton said.

Step two was deciding on projector stands on the market, which didn't fit that vision either.

"The telescopic tripod projector shelf stands on the market can only hold a projector and none of the other cinema electronics," he said.

Like a DVD player, laptop, receiver, tuner, battery station, or bluetooth speakers.

"After I built my first wooden screen frame system, the next challenge was setting up the cinema electronics and organizing them, as no outdoor projector stands are available on the market." Morton said. "I would stack milk crates on top of each other and use 5-gallon buckets to place my cinema electronics on, which didn't look aesthetically pleasing to the eye. That's when I decided to design a portable, lightweight projector stand built out of pinewood to neatly organize all of the cinema equipment - similar to an entertainment center. At the end of the night, when the movie is over, all you have to do is bring the projector stand inside, and nothing has to be unplugged or boxed up so it's ready to use for your next outdoor movie night."

He sells 12-foot wide screen frame systems to fit 150-inch diagonal screens. Once the screen frames are set up outdoors, they're built to stay out year-round but remain moveable around the yard. Screen options include manual pull-down projector screens and cinematic grommet hole screens, which take less than two minutes to attach, Morton said.

Screen Frame Systems are built out of 4" x 4" pressure-treated lumber and projector stands are built out of a lightweight pinewood in his wood shop and take two to three days. Sales so far have been within Maine, but he can travel all over New England to deliver and set up for customers.

Packages, including screen frame systems, screens, cinema equipment, and custom projector stand, start at $2,899.

His favorite two movies to watch under the stars are "Lost Boys," "which brings me back to being a teenager hanging out with friends and family watching Halloween movies," and "Tombstone," "which reminds me of watching Western movies with my dad."