The cinema is a really nice old building which consists of literally about 5 rooms. It has a lot of character to it and is a really genuine example of an old style independent cinema. The staff were really friendly and helpful and answered all of my questions, and the whole experience was nice and casual.
Here are the photos of some parts of the building (A screening of 'Hugo' stopped me from being able to photograph inside the auditorium) and then the interview below.
Summarised Interview:
Audience: What is the main age group of the audience here?
It depends of the film, there is usually a range of ages. There are a lot of middle-aged, middle-class women but there are also a lot of students and elderly. It depends on the film and the day.
Is the gender profile mixed or weighed in any direction?
It is a mixed gender audience, possibly marginally more female than male.
Nationality: Is the audience a mix of nationalities or generally British?
Mainly a British audience, but some international customers (US/ Canada, Australia, India etc)
Are all the films British or are some international?
They are British films where possible but mostly mainstream American. Where possible they are BBC Film Council films generally. Because the cinema is completely independently owned, it has to buy into larger US commercial style films to support revenue, as compared to the Hyde Park Picture House which is mostly council owned and council funded, allowing it to show much more low-key independent films.
Do you show films with subtitles or are they usually all English language?
Very rarely show films with subtitles, mostly all English.
Popularity: What are the most popular films in terms of genre and rating?
Mix of all genres, popularity depends on the film itself. Horror films are not really shown because the cinema does not play 18 certificate films generally.
Are there more popular days of the week?
Saturday and Wednesday. Wednesday because of Orange Wednesdays.
Can you give me an average number of customers per screening or a %?
It varies so much depending on the film. The capacity is 468 but wouldn't want it to be that full. The closest it came was 460 for the last Harry Potter film screening.
Are there more popular months than others?
Summer is the worst time of the year because many students leave and the majority of films shown will be kids films which are not very popular. The first half of summer is the worst because of all the new kids film releases.
Decrease is custom: Do you think there has been a decrease in custom over te last 5 years?
Kid films/ senior screening have dropped slightly.
Why do you think this might be?
The global recession probably, especially in affecting pensions.
Is the decrease noticeable/ threatening?
Hardly noticeable but of no real threat to the cinema. The biggest threat to the cinema is digital integration. The cinema runs on 35mm film reels but many cinemas have transferred to the far less reliable and more expensive digital standard, meaning that film developers are increasingly cutting out physical film from new releases.
Existing events: Do you have any existing events/ special nights at the cinema?
The Zombie Film Festival and the Jewish Film Festival are annual events at the cinema. Every month there is the cinema Classics.
How popular are the events?
The Classics are always popular, especially with seniors. The zombie film festival is really popular, attracting audience from all over the UK. Cottage Road is the only place it is shown.
Do you have some kind of budget for the events or any sponsors?
The events are completely self-funded by whoever is running the event, they just hire the cinema as a venue. The Zombie Film Festival is sponsored by the WSPA and some funds go back into it. As a cinema, Cottage Road contributes by hosting the events and staffing them.
Promotion: Is there any existing promotion for the events?
The event organisers deal with all the promotion themselves, but the cinema is given some things to put up themselves.
What forms does the promotion take?
The usual sort of things; posters, fliers etc.
Where does promotion get distributed?
Posters at the Library and throughout Headlingley. ZFF posters get spread throughout Leeds, right into the town centre. It also gathers TV publicity, so it is a really big event.
Finally, would the cinema like to show more independent cinema and contemporary British cinema?
Yes, if the films made more money the they would be shown, but as it stands the cinema has to show higher budget popular films for the revenue.
This was a really helpful visit for research material. I also asked about the reality of the event that I am proposing. The original idea here it to have a week long (7 day) film event with a different independent film showing every night and a focus on showing the importance on independent films. The problem here is that the films need to be sort of rented by the cinema for a certain amount of money and a certain amount of time. Lesser known independent films obviously are cheaper but also generate way less revenue, whereas larger budget blockbuster style films are more expensive but are a guaranteed money maker because of all the publicity and promotion, which also means that they have to stay screening for a longer amount of time.
Besides being probably unable to afford a film event like the one I am proposing, the cinema said that I should keep in contact with them and show them any work I do and let them see how the project progresses. To get some shots of the auditorium I will go back before a screening when they said it would be fine to take photographs. They also said that I can contact them at any time with any more questions or enquiries.
No comments:
Post a Comment