Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Theatre Websites

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Posted by Adam Fraser (Member # 1074) on 12-09-2001, 02:15 PM:

Where did the movie theatre website links go? I wanted to add our theatre's website, and get any comments anyone cares to share. it is www.pinestheatre.com Thank you for any responses.

Posted by Richard C. Wolfe (Member # 431) on 12-09-2001, 04:29 PM:

Adam,

I think your website looks just fine. Now what do I mean by "just fine"? It looks very similar to my first website which I thought looked great, and many people told me it was great. But then one day a professional website builder that I know came and told me my site lacked punch. What... how could that be I asked, everyone seems to like it. She then told me that it was "flat". What it needed was dimension... 3D lettering and effects to make it stand out. Since she offered to build me a new one at no cost I accepted. Now when I compare our present one to my original I see what she meant. Hers looks much better. So to me... yours looks great, but if it had a little "dimension" added, it would look fantastic.

I took the tour, which is always my favorite part of a website. WOW, what a theatre! As one who usually prefers the old time movie palace look, and doesn't like hardly any multiplexes... I must say that I LOVE your theatre, it's beautiful! It's different, but really neat... warm and cosy, yet very theatrical. Only one thing missing... where's the curtain? I'm hoping it was just open for the picture.

How old is the theatre, and is everything original? It gets five stars in my book!

I hope it's doing well.

Posted by Adam Fraser (Member # 1074) on 12-09-2001, 04:59 PM:

Thanks for the info about our website, any comments are appreciated. Our theatre was opened in 1941 and is about 90% original, with the exception of the sound system (digital), switch to Xenon, and a few other things. The building is pretty much the same as people saw it in the 1940's though.

Posted by Adam Fraser (Member # 1074) on 12-09-2001, 05:01 PM:

oops forgot, we DO have curtains. Had them open for the pictures.

Posted by William Bunch (Member # 1040) on 12-12-2001, 08:24 PM:

Beautiful !!

Bill BuncH

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 02-26-2002, 11:37 AM:

This is the theatre I was at for the last five or so years that I was an operator.
http://www.cameocinema.co.uk/

Posted by Jacob Huber (Member # 1138) on 02-26-2002, 03:26 PM:

The place I spend most of my time: www.showplacecinemas.com

Posted by Greg Pauley (Member # 503) on 02-27-2002, 11:10 PM:

Our website is www.ourshowtimes.com and features a live 24hr webcam placed in the lobby of the Park Place Stadium Cinemas. Richard, check out the Keith Albee Theatre on our website, it's a 1928 Thomas Lamb design.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 02-28-2002, 03:37 AM:

Adam, I love the place! Two things though........U need a pix of the outside of the place, and is the cry room where U have to put kids that are disappointed that someone killed all the animals hanging on the walls? Really neat place and must have been one of the few theatres built during the war.
Mark @ NEW GTS

Posted by Glenda Cockrum (Member # 542) on 02-28-2002, 01:36 PM:

Adam, Wow, beautiful, unusual, unique. It's a shame David Lynch didn't see this when filming Twin Peaks, it would have fit right in! How soundproof is your cry room? I am thinking of adding one, just not sure of the soundproofing with the glass?

Posted by Adam Fraser (Member # 1074) on 02-28-2002, 03:09 PM:

Glenda,
Thanks, our cryroom is pretty soundproof. It has double paned glass and the room is made of 4" walls with 1" solid red cedar exterior. It is really a life saver when there is a crying baby in the theatre. The only time the public can hear them is when the baby is screaming at the top of its lungs. Mark, we are in an area of the country where having trophy animals on our walls is very common.. most little kids love it. BTW the auditorium has no mounts in it for ppl that dont like to see that kinda stuff. And there is a pic of the outside of the theatre in the "maps" link of the website, but thanks for the info. never realized that we didnt have a pic of the exterior in the "theatre tour" section...

------------------
Adam Fraser
www.pinestheatre.com

Posted by Patrick de Groot (Member # 858) on 04-06-2004, 04:29 PM:

www.pinestheatre.com
The end of the web of the site
It isn't there anymore

Posted by Adam Fraser (Member # 1074) on 04-06-2004, 07:07 PM:

Patrick,
Sorry, the website had to be moved because a squatter got the domain . Network Solutions was sending the bills to the wrong address and they never got to us. Try here, www.pinestheater.com

Posted by Dan Chilton (Member # 2288) on 04-06-2004, 07:41 PM:

Out of curiosity, how do you guys feel about theater websites... in general? Do you think they detract from or add something to your theater? Do you favor simple informative sites or full-blown, completely-interactive, ticket-buying, show-stopping, concession-requesting internet extravaganzas? What features would you like to see on your theater website?

Just trying to get a conversation rolling, and fish for a few ideas for my own theater's site!

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 04-06-2004, 07:46 PM:

Showtimes should be accessible within one click if they are not on the front page.

Most importantly, the server should automatically remove showtimes Thursday night if they haven't been updated for the following week.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 04-06-2004, 09:52 PM:

I just want the basics on a theatre web site: showtimes, directions (with map or link to mapquest), ticket prices, and a phone number to call for more information. In the case of a multiplex, I'd like to know which screen each film is playing on. On-line ticketing usually comes with a ripoff "service fee" that I'm not interesting in paying.

If the theatre is of historical or architectural interest, I'd like to see some pictures of the interior and exterior of the building and maybe some notes on its history.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-06-2004, 10:10 PM:

Our showtimes are on the front page, but we're in a real small town, so there is a lot of local interest in our history. To that end, we have quite a few pictures of the theatre in the "old days" and a ton of pictures of people who have worked here.

I also have a collection of show calendars from the 30s to the 80s that I put on the site. I'm also a numbers nut, so I have plenty of "facts and figures" and a Q&A section, plus a booth tour, pictures of old tickets, newspaper articles about the theatre, and so on and so on.

But for anyone who doesn't want or need all that (which, admittedly is most people), the showtimes are right up front with an easy link to "more information" -- synopsis, rating reasons, exit times and so on.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 04-06-2004, 10:18 PM:

Mike--very nice job! I love the old calendars and I wish that more theatres would include historical schedule information. It looks like you have a great theatre there.

Posted by Jon Miller (Member # 163) on 04-06-2004, 11:58 PM:

[thumbsup]

to your site, Mike! I have a weak spot for projection booth photos...your site really shines with the pictures from the past and the present. The technical information for laypeople is a very good addition, too!

That's what a site should be!

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 04-07-2004, 12:38 AM:

quote:
Sorry, the website had to be moved because a squatter got the domain . Network Solutions was sending the bills to the wrong address and they never got to us. Try here, www.pinestheater.com

GOOD!! At last, yet another Theatre has become a Theater like it should. How many more to go? [evil]

=TMP=

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-07-2004, 04:16 AM:

Mike, what a GREAT website! That has got to be the most impressive theater's website I've seen. Well organized and lots of interesting stuff to look at without breaking the cardinal rule of "showtimes within 1 click". [thumbsup]

For those who haven't looked at it, check it out http://www.roxytheatre.net

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-08-2004, 01:03 AM:

Thanks guys for the great compliments. I wrote up the booth segments trying to make it understandable for the average person, but I always kept in mind that film-techers might visit too, so hopefully everything is accurate! [Smile]

Posted by Dan Chilton (Member # 2288) on 04-08-2004, 10:34 AM:

Great site, Mike! [Smile]

Posted by Richard C. Wolfe (Member # 431) on 04-09-2004, 01:32 AM:

Mike... From one Roxy to another, allow me to also express my satisfaction with your website redo. An excellent job indeed. I love theatre websites with lots of pictures, and you certainly have them. And of course the important stuff... what's playing and when is easy to find as well. I'm in the process of working on a new homepage for our site as well. A much simpler one. The current attraction is there on a scroller, and all information both for films and live shows is only one click away, but there is still too much stuff on the home page that is of no interest after the first time someone visits.

As to the importance of websites. I think they are becoming more and more important as each month passes. Where else can you advertise so much information for almost free. It only costs me $12.00 a month to maintain my website. I can't buy 1/4 of an inch per day of newspaper advertising for that amount. We get 5 to 10 new subscriptions to our e-mail newsletter each week. The only place anyone finds out about it, or can sign up for it is at the website, so I know people are going there. Just let me make a mistake on the website information, and boy do I hear about it.

Our site is at www.roxytheaternorthampton.com

We have pictures as well. Not as many as Mike, but we're working on it.

Posted by Adam Wilbert (Member # 1184) on 04-11-2004, 02:43 AM:

www.pickfordcinema.com

Real basic "whats showing" and whats coming at Bellinghams only independent.

Posted by Steve Anderson (Member # 364) on 04-11-2004, 09:33 AM:

Here are the three sites I manage.
www.franklindrive-in.com
www.franklincinema.com
www.crockettcinemas.com
Personal website www.tennesseedriveins.com

Posted by Matthew Stevens (Member # 2167) on 04-13-2004, 02:12 AM:

Those are all great websites, but from what I have noticed is that the webmaster has choosen an "off" color scheme, here's a good color scheme chooser (http://www.pixy.cz/apps/barvy/index-en.html); there is a lot of text, and what my web design teacher says is that the font verdana is the easiest to read, also, try a darker background (after a while, light from the screen begins to hurt your eyes).

Also there is a lot of cool tricks (galaxy bakground, java script on your background, flash beginnings) but nothing that looks "appealing" like a tail on your mouse doesn't really look all that professional for a theater website. I also found it hard to find out exactly where I was, I tried to look at the title bar, but I only found the name of your theater, nothing about where I was (try bread crumbs). Out of all the websites I looked at, I thought this was the best. http://www.franklincinema.com/ It was simply, looks professional, and is very easy for your customer to know exactly what they want and maybe more.

I'm not saying I'm the best at web design, I will post my website for everyone to critic, but I'm a web design major at college right now, and I have heard it all. www.kimballstwinpeak.com

To get a little off the subject, I will be quiting my job at the theater in a coulple of months, and I am building a ColdFusion Based website to make it as easiest as possible for a manager or owner to update after I leave. I will also include, time stamps, so they don't have to update on the hour that the new films are playing. I also help with this website http://www.sceneinthesprings.com/movies.cfm
This is in coldfusion and has time stamps. Very cool.

Posted by Dan Chilton (Member # 2288) on 04-13-2004, 11:41 AM:

There is a delicate balance between making a site too information-laden and aesthetically pleasing. A good site should have equal amounts of both. You SHOULD be able to find what you want in a timely fashion, but you SHOULD NOT be assaulted by over the top DHTML and Flash animations. Good design should be clean, use lots of CSS, and be easily navigatable.

Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 04-15-2004, 12:06 PM:

re: http://www.roxytheatre.net/

The photo on the main page will look better if it is cropped to fit the defined size on the page.

Actual Size: 450x322
Size on Page: 350x290

Otherwise, a very informational and interesting site. The historical photos provide a great sense of the history behind the theater, and the current photos add personality.

Also, congrats on putting the address including city and state on the front page. Many sites assume that you know where they are located, and that just doesn't work in the greater connected world we live in.

On some of the other sites, IMO, frames should be avoided whenever possible. They are very customer unfriendly and should be avoided like the plague. Also, make sure that your pages have proper titles, as those titles are used in search engines and in bookmarks. A title of "Page 1" does someone absolutely no good when they are looking for your site in their bookmark list.

The site I produce is not geared to one particular theater, but rather a place to get showtimes and information for many theaters and movies. Feel free to visit and let me know what you think, constructive criticism is always welcome.

http://www.bigscreen.com

Rather than just treat showtimes like a commodity like so many other sites (Yahoo Movies, Amazon movie showtimes, etc.), I work with theaters to develop better and more in-depth information. That's why you won't find showtimes for every theater in the country. We do list showtimes for every theater in Wisconsin, and we're expanding as theaters contact us and/or we contact them. Use the zip code of 53151 to see how the site operates when you're nearby to theaters that are listed in our guide.

I would be very interested to hear what people here think of the site. To find examples of what theaters have done with us:

http://www.bigscreen.com/Marquee.php?theater=CapitolCinemas
http://www.showtimecinema.com/

I'm working with some theaters now to design a separate site, and providing their showtimes via BigScreen, so they don't have to manually update their site with each week's showtimes.

I agree with the point about Verdana being very readable on the screen. In the 9+ years I've been doing web design, I've tried many different typefaces (at least, since that was possible, anyway), and keep coming back to Verdana as my choice for most projects. It doesn't fit every application, but it's pretty close.

As far as web sites in general go, I tell my customers that the site should reflect the nature of the business and be consistent with their other marketing efforts. The experience they get at the web site should be in keeping with the experience they get when visiting the theater, when seeing an advertisement, and when calling for information. That consistency builds the brand and presents a clear message to customers.

A disjointed web site can make people get the impression that your operation is equally disjointed, so doing a good job with it is just as important as providing a good experience in the theater.

If you're in a popular area, online ticketing can be a god-send for your customers. It's all about convenience, and if they can buy tickets to your theater in advance, and they can't for the theater down the road, that's a competitive advantage for you.

One item that many theaters overlook is listing the available concessions. Everyone expects you to have soda and popcorn, but what kinds of soda do you offer? More importantly, do you offer additional items, such as pizza, hot pretzels, hot dogs, etc? This can be an important fact for people if they're trying to decide if they can eat at the theater before the film, or if they need to plan on hitting a restaurant beforehand.

Posted by Stewart Anderson (Member # 1809) on 04-29-2004, 11:30 AM:

I think my previous employer did a good job:
www.jordancommons.com

Posted by Joseph Pandolfi (Member # 223) on 05-05-2004, 09:17 PM:

Here is the site that should be of interest. It is what you can do to a 80-year old showplace that has been closed down because of competition in the area. I was proud to run the booth there and work with a bunch of nice volunteers there for six months when they re-opened in 2002.

http://www.communitytheatrefoundation.org

Posted by James Pope (Member # 1189) on 05-06-2004, 07:32 PM:

Me and a buddy of mine have been working on this one for a bit now.
Redstone
and the main page
Metropolitan rocky mountain cinemas
I dont know how we got incharge of the company's web page but I would enjoy some feedback on them.

Posted by Dominique Replogle (Member # 2387) on 05-06-2004, 07:58 PM:

www.thanksgivingpoint.com www.thanksgivingpoint.com

Posted by James Pope (Member # 1189) on 05-06-2004, 08:45 PM:

Thanksgiving point. It took me a minute to even find where the theatre part of it was at and all it said was buy tickets. What if I dont want to buy tickets online I just want the show times? Just confusing because times are under buy tickets tell them to give you a big movie ad for the theatre.

Posted by Dominique Replogle (Member # 2387) on 05-06-2004, 08:58 PM:

You need to look closer. Click on Mammoth Screen Theater. There you find shows, synopsis, and times. Granted, it may take you more than a tenth of a second. Theater=movies.

Posted by James Pope (Member # 1189) on 05-06-2004, 10:14 PM:

The Mammoth Screen Theater ont he bottom only take me to 3D Adventure movies. what if I was looking for regular movies?

Posted by Dominique Replogle (Member # 2387) on 05-06-2004, 10:44 PM:

we are strictly large format

Posted by Stewart Anderson (Member # 1809) on 05-06-2004, 11:04 PM:

Ah...Dom...Stadium 8... [beer]

(also on the Thanksgiving Point website)

Posted by Dominique Replogle (Member # 2387) on 05-07-2004, 05:46 PM:

Yeah, your right Stewie, I just like to distance myself from those losers at all costs. [sex]

Posted by Stewart Anderson (Member # 1809) on 05-07-2004, 06:45 PM:

So I guess that makes me half loser and half Mammoth Screen employee [uhoh]

Posted by Dominique Replogle (Member # 2387) on 05-07-2004, 07:31 PM:

Stewie, you know you are exempt my brother from annother mother [thumbsup]

Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 11-09-2004, 07:35 AM:

Main St. Cinemas - Yuma, Arizona

After many designs, we finally settled on this one. Tips, ideas, complaints?

(And before I take any flack over the FAQ section about the digital projector, I had nothing to do with writing the description. [Wink]

)

Posted by Matthew Peters (Member # 1495) on 11-09-2004, 08:25 AM:

Picture + show times + links on the front page is a great idea [thumbsup]

.

This website gives a whole new meaning to bubbling. [Big Grin]

(event bubbling)

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 11-09-2004, 03:35 PM:

JavaScript error. Line 336 Char 1 Access is denied.

Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 11-11-2004, 03:48 PM:

quote: Anslem Rayburn
Main St. Cinemas - Yuma, Arizona

After many designs, we finally settled on this one. Tips, ideas, complaints?

This is how the page renders in Firefox 1.0:

Note the overlap of the showtimes and the content beneath them. From the code, it appears to be your DIV tags that specify a specific height and width, but then your column not being wide enough to show the entire content (showtimes) and since there are no spaces between your showtimes, there is no place for the text to be wrapped to fit the confines you've specified. That's just a guess from a cursory review of your code.

Why are there bubbles on the page?

Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 11-11-2004, 09:32 PM:

Am checking into JavaScript error. Can not seem to get it to repeat itself. I used Internet Explorer, MSN Explorer, AOL browser, Opera, and Communicater and they all return no errors.

I am downloading Firefox to test the pages in as well, when it's done I will work on correcting div tag errors.

The bubbles are supposed to make old SpongeBob look like he's underwater on the left hand side. The owner really likes them (I had removed them, but she insisted I put them back).

Edited to add : I removed the div tags that defined width and height, and everything seems to be loading better in Firefox, and still loads properly in Opera, IE, MSN Explorer, and Communicator. Thanks for the help.

Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 11-12-2004, 01:00 PM:

www.spotlighttheatres.com

Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 11-12-2004, 03:15 PM:

One of the oldest continually operating motion picture theatres in the United States today. www.elkstheatremiddletown.com.

Posted by David Yauch (Member # 2754) on 11-15-2004, 12:41 AM:

Adam you may want to change the title of each page away from "New Page 1"

Other than that the page does it's job and the theatre is just beautiful.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 12-01-2004, 05:13 AM:

The Commons: what a place to be! The most "uncommon" experience! Have to say "hi" to Calvin G. for me.

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 12-14-2004, 08:25 PM:

The restored 1927 Vaudeville-Movie Palace in Saginaw, Michigan

The TEMPLE THEATRE is in full operation again including the "as original as they come" Butterfield Special Barton Organ #195.

http://www.templetheatre.com

Plese note that the graphic artist used the scope lens on the flat interior shot, Oops!

Posted by Christian Volpi (Member # 2370) on 12-15-2004, 03:30 PM:

www.mainstreettheaters.com

We own 8 theaters (40 screens) in Nebraska and Iowa. I am the booth manager at the brand new Promenade Cinema 14.

Posted by Jarryd Beard (Member # 2543) on 12-16-2004, 07:45 PM:

Of course, www.carmike.com

(I'm sure I'll piss someone off with a link to Carmike. At least the two Carmikes in State College have a contract for union projectionists.)

Posted by Christian Volpi (Member # 2370) on 12-17-2004, 12:00 AM:

Carmike?? Who are they? They still have theaters? I thought that they went bankrupt.

Posted by Jarryd Beard (Member # 2543) on 12-17-2004, 11:20 PM:

quote: Christian Volpi
Carmike?? Who are they? They still have theaters? I thought that they went bankrupt.

Yes, they went bankrupt along with just about every other large theatre chain in the US a few years back. While once the largest chain in the country, I believe they come in around 3rd now. As of 10/30/04, they had 285 theatres with 2,195 screens. NASDAQ listed CKEC. Of course, you were probably being sarcastic, but I thought I'd fill anyone in with company info. [Smile]

Posted by Christian Volpi (Member # 2370) on 12-18-2004, 11:27 AM:

I was just giving you a hard time. My company just opened up a new 14-plex in Sioux City which has only had one other first run theater in the last ten years, a 12-plex Carmike. Needless to say I have to say crap about them just for fun. I'm sure that they are a very good company.

Posted by Matt Kerekes (Member # 2777) on 12-19-2004, 10:15 AM:

Galaxy Theatres website www.galaxytheatres.com

Posted by Matt Manalis (Member # 2367) on 12-20-2004, 05:34 PM:

Our Website is www.yambacinema.com.au tell me what you think the website was designed and made by myself so any thoughts and suggestestions would be appreciated

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 12-21-2004, 12:34 AM:

What th... ?

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-21-2004, 02:27 AM:

Maybe it looks like that because it's located "down under."

Posted by Matt Manalis (Member # 2367) on 12-22-2004, 04:12 AM:

ummmmm that is very Strange please tell me that its a joke cause i don't want no one looking at my website upside down.....?????

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 12-22-2004, 06:30 AM:

No, I flipped it. It's a northern hemisphere/southern hemisphere thing. Go ahead & guilt me out.

I did wonder why you had to use the button on the other side of the mouse while navigating the site, though.

Posted by Brent Neal Jones (Member # 1048) on 01-05-2005, 07:42 PM:

Alright...'yall let me know what you think. We are going to be adding a comments page soon...and yes Tom a thea tre . Get used to it and give back to the industry that pays you.

Galaxy Drive-in Theatre, Ennis T.X.