Places: Cinema - Outdoor/Open air cinema

Definition courtesy of Wikipedia

An outdoor cinema (also called open air cinema) consists of a digital or analog movie projector, scaffolded construction or inflatable projection screen, and sound system.   Example of an outdoor cinema using an inflatable screen Viewers usually sit on camping chairs or blankets. Some Hollywood world premieres were screened in outdoor cinemas – sometimes with the stars in attendance. Most screenings are free with some raising money for charities.

My local outdoor cinema

There was an outdoor cinema as part of the Stockton Heath festival (where I live) which I attended. They played the film, Up (Pixar), catering to a broad number of visitors. Despite being shown on TV and easily available on DVD, there were hundreds of people willing to pay a small fee for charity and sit on the field.

Film4 Summer Festival

A highlight of the city’s summer calendar, Film4's annual summer festival of films features everything from UK premieres to cult action thrillers, romantic comedies to film classics – all showing on a state-of-the-art screen with full surround sound.

Places: Cinema - Chains

History

Odeon Cinemas is a British chain of cinemas, one of the largest in Europe. It is owned by Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group whose ultimate parent is Terra Firma Capital Partners. Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch. Odeon publicists have claimed that the name of the cinemas was derived from his motto, "Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation", but it had been used for cinemas in France and Italy in the 1920s, and the name is ultimately derived from Ancient Greek. The name "Nickelodeon" was coined in 1905 and was widely used to describe small movie theatres in the United States during that era.

By 1930, "Odeon" was a household name and the cinemas known for their maritime-inspired Art Deco architecture. This style was first used in 1930 on the cinema at Perry Barr in Birmingham, which was bought by Deutsch to expand the chain. He liked the style so much that he commissioned the architect, Harry Weedon, to design his future buildings. George Coles was also one of their principal architects, remodelling a partially complete assembly hall in Portslade and designing his first purpose-built cinema in Upper Wickham Lane, Welling, Kent which opened on 22 October 1934 and closed on 22 October 1960. It is presently a bingo club in the Mecca chain. It featured central linear lighting, a feature that became characteristic of his work.

Each Odeon cinema had a character different from most other cinemas in the UK, often having a unique and spectacular interior. They also ran their own advertising company, called Rank Screen Advertising, in competition with the UK market leader Pearl & Dean, which it eventually overtook. A smaller number of Odeon cinemas opened in the post-war years (Odeon Marble Arch and Odeon Elephant & Castle being notable instances), but many single-screen cinemas either closed, sub-divided into smaller screens or were converted into other uses, such as bingo. The flagship cinema, the Odeon Leicester Square, is one of the largest cinemas in Great Britain and host to most of London's West End film premières, retaining its large screen and circle & stalls layout.

Controversy

In 2008, Odeon made a controversial move by refusing to screen Rambo (film) on any of its UK screens, blaming it on "commercial differences". In 2010 Odeon and a couple of other multiplex cinema chains attempted to boycott Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010 film), but after negotiations with Disney, Odeon and the other cinema chains backed down.

History

Vue Entertainment (stylised as vue), formerly known as SBC International Cinemas, is a cinema company in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The company was formed in May 2003 when SBC acquired 36 Warner Village cinemas. There are now 69 Vue cinemas, with 654 screens totaling 140,500 seats, including the rebranded flagship Warner Village cinema in Leicester Square. In April 2005 the chain acquired the Ster Century chain from Aurora Entertainment; this included the highest grossing cinema in the UK or Ireland at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Dublin, Ireland.

History

Cineworld Group plc is a cinema chain operating in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Jersey. The chain consists of 78 cinemas; 76 of which are located in the UK and one each in Ireland and Jersey. It is the second-largest cinema operator in the UK with 801 screens, and the owner of the single largest multiplex by screens and customer base in Ireland. Cineworld Glasgow Renfrew Street is the tallest cinema in the world and the busiest, by customer base, in the UK. Based on the number of screens, the biggest Cineworld cinema is at Valley Centertainment in Sheffield with 20 screens.

Subscription service

Cineworld offers a subscription service using a membership card - the "Unlimited Card" - which provides subscribers with unlimited entrance for a set price per month. It is the only type of cinema subscription service available in the UK, Ireland and Jersey. The card has a minimum subscription period of 12 months. Admission to 3D features incurs an additional fee of £1.50, and does not include the cost of 3D glasses. Tickets can only be acquired using the unlimited card on the day of the film is to be shown. During the summer of 2011, new customers who signed up to the unlimited card would receive the 13th month of subscription free.

Controversy

Cineworld is the only cinema chain in the United Kingdom to operate a 'strict no food and drink policy'[9] on items that have been bought elsewhere. In 2008, a customer was thrown out of a Cineworld cinema after being searched by a security guard who found a bag of sweets.Consequently customers have to buy food and drink at the cinema despite price of food and drink items have been found to be four times higher than elsewhere at Cineworld.

In 2011, falling cinema revenue was attributed to fewer purchases of food and drink due to pricing being so extortionately high, that cinema goers cannot afford it. Other criticism towards the chain is it's unwavering support of 3D technology and in some sites it has been noted that for a whole week there is no option of 2D versions of films, forcing customers who either cannot or don't want to watch 3D films being forced to avoid screenings. Due to the general public starting to turn it's back on 3D films because of the huge price of tickets and general poor quality of 3D technology,  commentators have voiced concerns that Cineworld jumped on the 3D bandwagon too soon.

Places: Cinema - Primary Research

How often do you go the cinema a month?
Do you watch 3D films?

Sophie Wilson
1) Would usually go about 3/4 times a month, bit of a film geek :D
2) Not all that keen on 3D...seems like it's milking the corporate cash cow a bit too much.

Beth Yates 
1) I used to go to the cinema about once a month with orange wednesdays cause it was cheap, but i haven't been in ages.
 2) Some 3D films are awesome but others are pants- depends on how the films made- the best way to see one by far is the imax.

Lisa Whitaker 
1) Probably five times a year.
2) Watched Transformers in 3D(because it was Isaac's Bday) which was pretty amazing, will have been pick and chose cos costs more!

Matt Tucker 
1) once in the past 2 years.
2) not yet but planning on doing so some time soon.

Kirsty Alderson 
1) once a month at least
2) im not keen on 3D films because the glasses irritate me with having to wear them over my normal glasses & its expensive!

Max Gregory 
1) I very rarely go to the cinema
2) 3D films are great

Places: Cinema - 3D

Definition courtesy of Wikipedia

A 3-D (three-dimensional) film or S3D (stereoscopic 3D) film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception. Derived from stereoscopic photography, a regular motion picture camera system is used to record the images as seen from two perspectives (or computer-generated imagery generates the two perspectives in post-production), and special projection hardware and/or eyewear are used to provide the illusion of depth when viewing the film. 3-D films are not limited to feature film theatrical releases; television broadcasts and direct-to-video films have also incorporated similar methods, primarily for marketing purposes.

Anaglyph (red and cyan glasses)

Anaglyph images were the earliest method of presenting theatrical 3-D, and the one most commonly associated with stereoscopy by the public at large, mostly because of non theatrical 3D media such as comic books and 3D TV broadcasts, where polarization is not practical. They were made popular because of the ease of their production and exhibition.

In an anaglyph, the two images are superimposed in an additive light setting through two filters, one red and one cyan. In a subtractive light setting, the two images are printed in the same complementary colors on white paper. Glasses with colored filters in each eye separate the appropriate images by canceling the filter color out and rendering the complementary color black.

The new era of 3D

In a stereoscopic motion picture, two images are projected superimposed onto the same screen through different polarizing filters. The viewer wears low-cost eyeglasses which also contain a pair of polarizing filters oriented differently (clockwise/counterclockwise with circular polarization or at 90 degree angles, usually 45 and 135 degrees, with linear polarization). As each filter passes only that light which is similarly polarized and blocks the light polarized differently, each eye sees a different image. This is used to produce a three-dimensional effect by projecting the same scene into both eyes, but depicted from slightly different perspectives.

Since no head tracking is involved, the entire audience can view the stereoscopic images at the same time. Additionally, since both lenses have the same color, people with one dominant eye (amblyopia), where one eye is used more, are able to see the 3D effect, previously negated by the separation of the two colors.

Christopher Nolan criticised the comparison of apparent '2D films' with emerging '3D films': "I think it's a misnomer to call it 3D versus 2D. The whole point of cinematic imagery is it's three dimensional... You know 95% of our depth cues come from occlusion, resolution, color and so forth, so the idea of calling a 2D movie a '2D movie' is a little misleading."

Why I think 3D films are good

In my opinion, 3D films immerse you even moreso into the film and despite the gimmicky and cliche tactics used by film makers (such as a hand 'coming out of the screen') the effect is usually subtle but engaging. As the 3D glasses reduce the brightness slightly, it may work better with some movies than others therefore it changes with whatever 3D movie you see.

Places: Cinema - Box Office

Box office

A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket. The term is frequently used, especially in the context of the film industry, as a synonym for the amount of business a particular production, such as a film or theatre show, receives. The term can also mean factors which may influence this amount, as in the phrases "good box office" and "bad box office"

Highest grossing films

All of the films from the top 10 (excluding Titanic) were released in the last 10 years and 3 of these in 2011. There have been many reports that cinema-goers are on the decline due to the growing popularity of HD television sets and HD and Blu-ray DVDs and the increase in ticket prices. However, it is clear to see that it is the complete opposite.

Rank	Title	Worldwide gross	Year	Ref
1	Avatar	$2,782,275,172	2009	[# 1]
2	Titanic	$1,843,201,268	1997	[# 2]
3	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2	$1,321,104,684	2011	[# 3]
4	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	$1,119,110,941	2003	[# 4]
5	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	$1,115,800,077	2011	[# 5]
6	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest	$1,066,179,725	2006	[# 6]
7	Toy Story 3	$1,063,171,911	2010	[# 7]
8	Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides	$1,039,418,960	2011	[# 8]
9	Alice in Wonderland	$1,024,299,904	2010	[# 9]
10	The Dark Knight	$1,001,921,825	2008	[# 10

Places: Cinema

Brief definition from Wikipedia

A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ("movies" or "films"). Most but not all movie theaters are commercial operations catering to the general public, who attend by purchasing a ticket. The movie is projected with a movie projector onto a large projection screen at the front of the auditorium. Some movie theaters are now equipped for digital cinema projection, removing the need to create and transport a physical film print.

The first cinema

The first public exhibition of projected motion pictures in New York City on April 23, 1896. However, the first instore cinema was established on June 26, 1896 - it was converted from a vacant store. The first permanent structure, however, was completed in 1906 in Los Angeles.

A typical cinema interior design allowing everyone to easily view the entirety of the screen.

Cinemas in Leeds

Although mainly Vue, there are several independent cinemas including the Hyde Park Picture House.