We travelled to the Watershed on foot which took approximately 10 minutes from the centre. We all met in an open public area during the middle of the day, we decided to do this as our last experience on a group outing was during the evening and we later decided this was unsafe. We also agreed that it would be of greater interest that we compared a daytime viewing audience with that of a night.
Other factors which differentiate from our first trip is the location of the cinemas. The Cube is situated off a main road in a quieter, residential area while the Watershed is in the heart of Bristol boasting a city centre position.
In addition another contrasting quality is the audience. On the outside you may think that the Cube and the Watershed are very similar but in this case we are trying to show how different they are although they are within the same market.
The Cube is a non-profit, volunteer run organisation which requires funding and public support to continue running. Some would argue the Cube cares more about the film industry and is appealing to people who have a genuine interest in film and animation and want to support smaller organisations. In relation to this, when we went there to see the Don Hertzfeldt screening we had to become a member to watch the film. This shows how the Cube relies on loyal clients to keep coming back to ensure that the microplex remains in use and there is no loss of numbers.
On the other hand, the Watershed could be viewed as a money making machine which doesn’t have a genuine interest in the industry. Ticket prices were £2 more and there was no requirement to become a member. This ultimately shows that the Watershed wasn’t in need of returning customers and doesn’t need the support of the public to continue running. An important thing which we all felt was that you didn’t feel as part of something as you did with the Cube.
The Cube’s layout was 1920s modern, it felt old fashioned upon entry, displaying interesting collages and illustrations, it was dimly lighted. The auditorium was cosy and wasn’t like a contemporary cinema, the old velvet seats were like a time machine. There are just 108 seats, which creates a sense of a communal gathering. It broke the norm of the regular cinema experience with humorous spoof adverts. In comparison the Watershed has three cinema screens, which again makes me think more of a more of a profit based organisation rather than the non-profit organisation that is the Cube.
Other factors which differentiate from our first trip is the location of the cinemas. The Cube is situated off a main road in a quieter, residential area while the Watershed is in the heart of Bristol boasting a city centre position.
In addition another contrasting quality is the audience. On the outside you may think that the Cube and the Watershed are very similar but in this case we are trying to show how different they are although they are within the same market.
The Cube is a non-profit, volunteer run organisation which requires funding and public support to continue running. Some would argue the Cube cares more about the film industry and is appealing to people who have a genuine interest in film and animation and want to support smaller organisations. In relation to this, when we went there to see the Don Hertzfeldt screening we had to become a member to watch the film. This shows how the Cube relies on loyal clients to keep coming back to ensure that the microplex remains in use and there is no loss of numbers.
On the other hand, the Watershed could be viewed as a money making machine which doesn’t have a genuine interest in the industry. Ticket prices were £2 more and there was no requirement to become a member. This ultimately shows that the Watershed wasn’t in need of returning customers and doesn’t need the support of the public to continue running. An important thing which we all felt was that you didn’t feel as part of something as you did with the Cube.
The Cube’s layout was 1920s modern, it felt old fashioned upon entry, displaying interesting collages and illustrations, it was dimly lighted. The auditorium was cosy and wasn’t like a contemporary cinema, the old velvet seats were like a time machine. There are just 108 seats, which creates a sense of a communal gathering. It broke the norm of the regular cinema experience with humorous spoof adverts. In comparison the Watershed has three cinema screens, which again makes me think more of a more of a profit based organisation rather than the non-profit organisation that is the Cube.
Visual Culture: Trip 1
The Cube, Microplex Cinema: 22nd October
For my visual culture studies, we have been placed into groups to organise trips to find galleries where it would be suitable to showcase our animations. We initially considered all the local venues placing them into a list. After researching the locations we decided to visit an animation screening at, “The Cube” which is a miccroplex cinema that shows mainly art house features, but also recent famous movies like, “Paranorman, Bronson and Alpha Papa”
We visited the screening of, “It’s such a beautiful day” by animator/director Don Hertzfeldt, The screening was fantastic, especially in the environment it was set in. I personally felt like the venue was made catered for animation shorts. The ticket price was cheap and membership fee was just one pounds. The audience seemed to really enjoy, this was evident by the large amount of people there, lots of people became members on that evening alone. The audience was rather mixed in ages, but all seemed to share a love of animation and all very much enjoyed Hertzfeldt’s sense of humour.
After leaving we all agreed it was a nice venue to present visual work. We agreed we like the audience, they were mannered and didn’t distract us, the staff were pleasant and had a very nice casual attitude.The microplex was old and this added character to the environment, there were movie posters all across the walls, and also art illustrations. There was a pub and a little shop selling merchandise which is good for people showing there work there.
The screening was at 8pm, so it was dark and damp conditions whilst we were making our way there and back from the venue which is about a ten minute walk from where I live. The venue was hard to find initially as it’s so small. We had to complete a risk assessment form before leaving as we needed to consider the possibilities of an accident or incident happening I will post the form in my next post.
THE CUBE
4, Princess Row
Bristol
BS2 8NQ
email: [email protected]
The Cube, Microplex Cinema: 22nd October
For my visual culture studies, we have been placed into groups to organise trips to find galleries where it would be suitable to showcase our animations. We initially considered all the local venues placing them into a list. After researching the locations we decided to visit an animation screening at, “The Cube” which is a miccroplex cinema that shows mainly art house features, but also recent famous movies like, “Paranorman, Bronson and Alpha Papa”
We visited the screening of, “It’s such a beautiful day” by animator/director Don Hertzfeldt, The screening was fantastic, especially in the environment it was set in. I personally felt like the venue was made catered for animation shorts. The ticket price was cheap and membership fee was just one pounds. The audience seemed to really enjoy, this was evident by the large amount of people there, lots of people became members on that evening alone. The audience was rather mixed in ages, but all seemed to share a love of animation and all very much enjoyed Hertzfeldt’s sense of humour.
After leaving we all agreed it was a nice venue to present visual work. We agreed we like the audience, they were mannered and didn’t distract us, the staff were pleasant and had a very nice casual attitude.The microplex was old and this added character to the environment, there were movie posters all across the walls, and also art illustrations. There was a pub and a little shop selling merchandise which is good for people showing there work there.
The screening was at 8pm, so it was dark and damp conditions whilst we were making our way there and back from the venue which is about a ten minute walk from where I live. The venue was hard to find initially as it’s so small. We had to complete a risk assessment form before leaving as we needed to consider the possibilities of an accident or incident happening I will post the form in my next post.
THE CUBE
4, Princess Row
Bristol
BS2 8NQ
email: [email protected]