Cinema 16:9 - Lansdowne's Little Big Screen Cinema

A Minor Snag.

2008-12-02T04:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was over at the shop working on some demolition, when I discovered a little snag.

My warm knitted hat has a snag in it. It wouldn't be a big deal, but it is handmade from Peru. It is my hand knit Peruvian cap! How can I go on wearing it? I mean, if I continue to wear it in these conditions, everything could unravel, right?

I guess I am going to have to wait until my hat can be fixed... or worse case scenario... I'll have to wear a different hat temporarily, you know? Make do with what I have, and try to be patient. Peruvian hand knit hat snags aren't fixed in a day.

Ah well. in the process of handmaking knitted Peruvian hats, I suppose that snags will happen. But it really sucks when they do, you know?

After a Brief Thanksgiving Hiatus

2008-11-30T07:35:00.000-08:00

We hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving! Cinema 16:9 is under construction, and tonight at midnight we'll be breaking through between 35 and 37 N. Lansdowne Ave. So, it's video time for this momentous occasion!

That is unless something else happens first. (We're expecting our second daughter any time now.)

So wish us luck with whichever happens first!

News Flash - Days Pass With No Updates

2008-11-25T05:28:00.000-08:00

How did six days get by without a single update, you ask? We have been very busy... but I have no good excuse... I could have at least posted a little something, just so you know everything's alright. A little call wouldn't have killed me. Well, I'll try to switch to a more daily format with the blog soon enough.

In the meantime, this occasional flurry of posts will have to suffice.

But I've got a great post for you today. Our guests today are from the Regency Cafe, you know them well - Chris and Marcy Allen! (studio audience applauds)

But before we get to the news, I have to thank the Chris, Marcy and Tommy, for their help at the shop. We scraped and shoveled and bagged all that tile up.

It was hard work, and we banged that out in a couple hours. And also thanks to Chris, who helped cut out my old abandoned pipes.

Without you Chris, I think I'd still be futzing around with my plumbing.

Speaking of futzing around with plumbing... thanks for your help with that jawn... I mean "John."

Now on to the news:

The awning's will be going up this Friday! Deep green, and as close as they can to the original, the theater will be uniformly dressed. No more naked storefronts! I'll post pictures as soon as they have them up! Or perhaps this momentous occasion calls for video!

So with the awnings going up, it might be a good time to mention the other news - It's no secret that Cinema 16:9 will be partnering with local vendors whenever possible to bring you your movie treats. And it has been mentioned that Cinema 16:9 will be serving Regency Cafe coffee as well as some of their tasty treats. But as it turns out, the Regency Cafe will be even closer to Cinema 16:9! The Regency Cafe is moving to the shop on the right side of the Lansdowne Theater marquee!

We've come to be good friends with the Allens and we're thrilled to be able to work next door to them at the theater. I've always been impressed, not only with the Regency Cafe's coffee, but their dedication to high-quality baked goods, an excellent monthly gallery and featured musicians.

So in a matter of a couple months, we'll have movies on the left and the coffee shop on the right - a central location for good food, arts and entertainment in Lansdowne.

But how soon? The Regency will still be open regular hours at it's current location for the rest of the year. Visit the Regency Cafe at 14 S. Lansdowne Ave., Lansdowne, PA 19050 to find out more about 2009 their move - or visit their website, regencycafe.com to learn more about what the Regency Cafe has to offer.

The Big Photo Update Post

2008-11-19T10:28:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while since I posted pictures of our construction. And so, I give you:
Pictures of Our Construction
We're deep in demolition, come in, put on your hard hat, and let me take you on a tour.

You may have noticed our signs in the window. Usually I have the window shade down so I can sing and dance along to my ipod without anyone to some song or other. I've been listening to a lot of Dr. Dog and Cake.

When the time is right, we'll be breaking through this wall, to combine the two spaces together. I wonder if there is a band named Dr. Cake...

Rather inconveniently, the wall behind me here is the one we're busting through... all those wires and pipes and things? Yeah... um... we'll have to sort that out first.I suppose i f there were somewhere for me to put a dumpster I wouldn't just leave my trash around on the floor.

October 26 - What am I going to do with this stuff?

November 2 - Ah! If I pile a pile in front of the pile I can make the pile higher.

Then of course there's the other giant pile of trash. How many piles is that now?

November 17 - Ta-da! Great now there's room for me to start making more piles of trash on the floor... Speaking of the floor...


The Current Floor - It reminds me of the hallway in my old Elementary School	Beneath the institutional tile - A poured terracotta - If I could get the glue off, this could be really cool!

Beneath the terracotta is: pitted concrete. In the back of the store, they'd put down vinyl sheet flooring, and the glue just pulled the terracotta up with it. The tile in front comes up easily so far. It was very disheartening thinking that I'd have to pull up all of the terracotta. With any luck, my floor won't look like the surface of the Moon.

Cinema 16:9 Membership Benefits

2008-11-14T05:58:00.000-08:00

Movie Rental in a Movie Theater in a Movie Theater?
How Novel.

Yes, members and non-members can all rent at Cinema 16:9. Each level of membership has its benefits, so you can decide how you would like to take advantage of Cinema 16:9. Appreciating movies should always be this simple!


Membership Level	Rentals at a Time	Theater Tickets	Price/Month
Production Assistant	1 (No Late Fees)	$5.00	$9.99
Director	2 (No Late Fees)	$5.00	$14.99
Producer	3 (No Late Fees)	$5.00	$19.99
Non-member	1 ($3.50 For DVD, $4.50 Blu-ray)	$7.50	$0.00 + Late Fees

What Makes Membership Different at Cinema 16:9?

For one, no late fees. More specifically... there is no "late." Your monthly membership allows you to take a certain number of movies out at a time. Take as little or as much time to return your movies as you want or need.

Another reason - No "throttling." When you mail back that movie you rented online, they decide when to mail you that next one. If they want you to only be able to rent 9 movies that month, it's going to be a "slow mail month."

At Cinema 16:9, we're right down the street from you. Your membership is a free pass to come in as many times a month as you want. For $9.99 you could see 30 movies a month or more. Try that with online DVD rentals.

Another great reason to become a member - We are committed to growing our film library. No, we can't offer 50 copies of the same new release like other local video stores, but we will easily have more titles than other stores.

Your membership gives you access to our ever-increasing Film Vault. When a title you want is out, Cinema 16:9 will contact the member using it, to let them know that another member is waiting for that film. As soon as it returns, you'll receive an e-mail to let you know the movie is back in store. If it's a movie we don't have in the library, we'll add it to our purchase list.

In fact, if you have a movie we need, we'll either buy it from you, or you can use it like currency to make purchases at Cinema 16:9. Memberships, tickets, concessions or gifts for friends and family. You'll just have to figure out what to do with all that shelf space.

The best reason to become a member of Cinema 16:9 - We can be your own private theater. As a member, you can rent a film to watch at home, see the film we're screening tonight, or you can rent our 42 seat theater and watch whatever you want.

Not ready to become a member?
Not to worry. You can still come and see movies at the movie theater, and even without the member discount the tickets are very reasonable. And non-members can also rent movies... but late fees will apply.

No matter who you are, you can come and enjoy our concessions. Popcorn, Pretzels, Hot dogs, Nachos and Sodas - all local and organic. Not to mention, Regency Cafe coffee and treats.

Concessions Poll Results

2008-11-13T17:06:00.000-08:00

The results for our Concessions Poll are in!

Tasty Concessions Treats	Votes	%
Tasty desert treats from Regency Cafe	8	12%
Tasty coffee offerings from Regency Cafe	7	11%
Kettle Cooked Popcorn, Buttered to taste	6	9%
Organic Soda	6	9%
Nachos	5	8%
Pretzels	5	8%
BYOB	4	6%
Bananas	3	5%
Hot Dogs	3	5%
Organic Pop	3	5%
Twizzlers brand twizzlers candy things	3	5%
Other...	2	3%
Dr. Pepper	2	3%
Moxie	2	3%
Sushi	2	3%
Cheese	1	2%
Mr. Pibb	1	2%
The King of Bears	1	2%
The King of Beers	1	2%
Wine	1	2%
High Fructose Corn Syrup in a pint glass	0	0%
Kettle Cooked Chicken Livers, buttered to taste	0	0%
Microwaved Skittles	0	0%
slightly burned microwave popcorn	0	0%
	66

The two votes for "Other" included one vote for "The Queen of Beers" and a vote for "Dark."

I'm not sure what they would like to be dark. Beer? Chocolate? All things edible and dark in color? Dark colored, non-edible things? Would you like me to serve up the absence of light? Next time, I hope you can be more specific, voter for other dark concessions things.

There appears to be a slight bias to Regency Cafe offerings... or more specifically "Tasty" Regency Cafe offerings. I will talk to Chris and Marcy about the possibility of only serving their tasty food and beverage offerings.

It appears as though we have a victory for Organic Soda, with nearly twice as many votes than Organic Pop.

We have an even number of votes for bananas and hot dogs. My analysis of that fact has only resulted in silly conclusions.

The inner Marketer in me says that we didn't have enough votes for a statistically significant results. But more importantly, I feel weird knowing there's a marketer inside me. Gross.

So, it's time for a new poll! Click on Today's Poll in the sidebar to get your vote out.

Phase 2-C: Pressure Relief and Joe The Plumber

2008-11-12T17:02:00.000-08:00

After the last post, you can imagine, I was a bit stressed. So today has been a bit of a mess - and a surprise success. But to truly frame the happenings of this morning, let me back up.

My parents were down to help with demolition. (Side note: I can't believe I didn't get a photo of my mom swinging a sledgehammer.)

The important things for them to achieve were:
1. Clean up and bag debris - there was a lot of that.
2. Separate recyclable metals.
3. Help me to remove the small bathroom - remaining fixtures, stud wall, and plumbing.

This was, of course, a complete success - with one rather large issue.

The plumbing. (See Right)

My dad and I chased around a tangle of pipes. I was sure that I'd turned off the water for 35 N. Lansdowne ave... but as it turns out, we hadn't discovered something. Hot water was being supplied to both 35 and 37 from the same hot water heater. What's more, the cold water for 35 splits from the line supplying the hot water heater water, while the cold water for 37 comes from a separate line.

So, it turned out that the by shutting off the water to be able to remove the sink and toilet, my father and I had turned off 35's water and the hot water for the tenant next door at 37.

With the sink lines cut, and no shut off valve to isolate 35 N. Lansdowne's cold and hot water from 37 N. Lansdowne's hot water, it was time to call the plumber.

Untangling this plumbing issue: two valves, and less than 20 minutes. Avoiding a full on flood the basement: Priceless.

So now that my water pressures have been eased, I decided it was time to ease my own pressures.

So, for the entrepreneurs reading this - go back to your business plan. If you planned anywhere as much as I did, you have somewhere to go back to.

I decided to investigate my costs. I started this project under budget, how are costs getting away from me? So I looked at my estimated costs, and updated them, removing the needs we've already met. I've bought a bunch of equipment, and saved a lot over my initial estimates... And what do I find? We're still very much on track!

So with the financial pressures eased, I decided I was having a small business break-through, which inspired me to get a permit for the next phase of demolition- Breaking through to 37 N. Lansdowne.

Ah, the sweet smell of progress and stress relief.

Phase 2-B: The Possibly Costs More Than Previously Planned Phase

2008-11-11T06:34:00.000-08:00

For all of you who are considering starting a business, you will eventually begin Phase 2 of your plan. Once you've successfully planned and have a budget and think everything is on track in Phase 1, there will come a time for you to "pull the trigger" and catapult into Phase 2, Start-up Implementation.

Once you've entered Phase 2, it is entirely normal for people to begin to tell you- "Yeah, so um that's going to cost more than we'd previously thought." This is the rarely spoken of Phase 2-B, or what we call in the entrepreneurial world: the hazing phase.

Your hazing will begin as you discover a number of your budgeted items may cost more than expected.

At this point, you will begin to consider calling a medical professional to learn whether your suffering from extremely high blood pressure. It may not be necessary, as for some this increased pressure is relieved in the form of billowing steam from the entrepreneur's ears. This will relieve the pressure and you will feel great again.

If you are exhibiting ear steam, do not panic, as that will only increase the pressure, increasing your steam emissions. For those of you who do not seem to have release the building pressure in the form of ear steam, it is strongly suggested that you take the following steps.

Step 1: Carefully clean your ears with cotton swabs. You should wear gloves or an oven mitt in case of a sudden steam burst.

Step 2: Start looking for self-affirmation posters on the internet. Purchase one which encourages you to hold on during this tumultuous phase. (Preferably utilizing a photo of a cat or kitten.)

Step 3: Get an extra hour of sleep. As Phase 2 approached, you began letting your sleeping pattern alter to the point where you dropped from a consistent 6 hours of sleep to something that resembles 5ish hours. You may not recognize the improvement immediately. This is because you are not increasing your sleep, you are just attempting to normalize it. Remember, you may be feeling that there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done that you need to do - Like that check you were going to write last night- Oh and the trash was supposed to go out last night wasn't it? And you forgot to start the dishwasher again, and how are your start-up costs creeping up as you spent the last year of your life focused on nailing down your start-up costs and while even making a significant savings on the necessary purchases you've made thus far...

But this is just a natural side effect from the declining sleep quantity and quality of Phase 2-B.

Another such side effect will be a heightened desire to say "in retrospect." Resist this urge.

Step 4: Get your second wind. You will feel a sudden sensation of irrational and unexplained empowerment. This is in response to your natural fight or flight mechanism. You will feel that you must go on despite the hardships ahead. A second later, you will recognize there are hardships ahead, and will suddenly want to run and hide under a rock.

Step 5: Get a grip. The end, it turns out is not near. You will suddenly realize that the perceived "hardships" which were leading you to consider the prospect of sub-rock shelter, will only occur if you let go and hide under a rock. You consider that the bar for entry into the business world is low, but that the bar for success is high. You were aware of that. So far, there have certainly challenges that inspired your fight or flight response, but those you recognized and addressed. Each of those challenges were successful steps.

Step 6: Resignation to the future struggles.

Step 7: Realize that you feel something different than resignation. That sensation is a deep confidence that you are capable of meeting every challenge ahead.

Step 8: You begin to wonder why you doubted yourself.

Step 9: Someone will interrupt your thought process to ask you why you've been so quiet recently.

Further Adventures in Floor Plans

2008-11-10T06:19:00.000-08:00

This has been a challenge. My sister, an architect, gifted me her time and worked on 9, yes 9, previous versions in three different locations of the concept for Cinema 16:9. I took those concepts to a local architectural firm that is familiar with the space, and they helped to finalize our concept.

All this back and forth was worth it, however. Cinema 16:9 is certainly going to be unique:As you can see, there will be plenty of cafe style seating to enjoy our tasty concessions while you wait for your movie in the Lobby. It will be a comfortable atmosphere... but then- if you look closely, you'll notice that something is missing - yes... the shelves. If Cinema 16:9 is going to be a video rental location, where are the shelves?

Don't worry, we've taken care of that. There are no shelves, because the browsing will be a bit different. You'll be able to sit and look through film books and ask the staff for a movie, or you'll be able to browse with computers, flipping through thousands of movie poster art, searching by actors, directors, years, genres, and more, and then for every film in our library, you'll be able to watch a theatrical trailer or a clip from the film right then and there.

In the end, the goal for Cinema 16:9 is to create a space that people want to be in. I am confident that we will be achieving that goal - becoming not only a unique movie destination in Lansdowne, but a truly unique destination.

Shipbuilding - A Sobering and Less-Than-Nautical, Cautionary Tale

2008-11-07T05:04:00.000-08:00

It's been a long hard road to get to this stage in the business. These blog posts won't necessarily be known to pontificate on the entrepreneurial endeavor, but today, that is exactly what I'd like to present to you.

So this goes out to the entrepreneurs.

I work for a company which manufactures and markets and sells its own luxury exercise products direct to it's customers. When I started there four years ago, I knew that our company's livelihood and likewise my job security relied on a reasonably strong economy.

I started working on Cinema 16:9 three years ago, realizing that it was something I loved. I love movies, I love film presentation, and I love talking with people about films. As this project moved forward, I came to realize that this was something, that if done well, would be a financial success, and a way to participate in the economic stability of my neighborhood downtown.

Sure, our shop will be an alternative to today's options, but what my research showed, was that turning my focus to "Main Street" (or in my case Lansdowne Ave.) there is great opportunity there. I am able to offer a compelling argument for our local alternative to the big guys.

The reality however is that along with great opportunity comes great risk. It comes hand in hand. While I've never been a gambling man, starting this business during difficult economic times feels like just that - a gamble. More specifically, it feels like I'm trying to build a solid, sturdy boat, as the flood waters are already at my knees.

We have a lot going on for us personally (on top of starting this business) - a lot riding on this business. I'm sure there are a lot of entrepreneurs who work best under that kind of stress. Others of us can feel the weight.

I was feeling it last night. Exhaustion - I have been waking up early - getting in to work early, so I can leave early. Then going to bed late, so I can get work done for the business. The list of to-dos for our business is long, and getting one thing done, leads to needing to get another thing done. As I plan and schedule, it's all too easy to become daunted. "There just isn't enough time in the day!"

Something I wasn't prepared for was fear of my mortality. No one said, "Oh yeah, and when you go out and try to start your own business, you'll probably subconsciously recognize this as the death of the old way of your survival, which will translate to thoughts or fears of your own death. Hey, good luck with that!"

But what gets me back on track is taking a moment for looking back. I have already made huge steps forward. Five years ago, I wouldn't have suspected myself capable of coming this far. Getting this far doesn't guarantee success, but it is proof that I am capable of captaining my own ship.

Going in to my job the last couple months has been proof that building "your boat" doesn't end when you're no longer standing in that knee-deep water. If I succeed now, I'll have to make hard decisions when we need a bigger boat, when we bring on more crew... and worse, I'll have to make the even harder decisions to throw someone overboard if we start to take on water.

My employer will weather this economic storm, but they're making those very difficult decisions now. I am lucky that I was able to give three months notice - "Yeah, look, in my spare time I'm building a boat. So, let's figure out how I can switch boats without rocking both of our boats."

I went to bed early, last night (around 10pm). This morning, I woke before my alarm- I haven't felt that good waking up in a long time. I decided to write this post as a reminder that when you start your own business, the rewards are not guaranteed, but simple successes (like getting a full night's sleep) are much more fulfilling.

So, this post isn't necessarily exciting to Mr. and Mrs. Joe Flixpack, but perhaps it gives them some understanding of the personal risks (financial and emotional) involved in starting a business.

The Popcorn Machine is in.

2008-11-04T06:21:00.000-08:00

When Cinema 16:9 opens in 2009, you'll be greeted by the sweet, buttery fragrance of popcorn straight from the farm. High quality popcorn will be popped up in our brand new, and quite aesthetically pleasing popcorn machine!

Our popcorn machine came in yesterday, and so the popcorn experiments began. Let's back up. When you get popcorn at a movie theater this is how it's made:

They put oil in a warm kettle, add "Flavacol" and then add the popcorn kernels. three minutes later, the popcorn is popping away.

Sounds pretty normal, but then there's this Flavacol stuff. What is it, and why is it in the simple recipe for popping theater popcorn?

It turns out Flavacol is a salt/artificial butter flavoring.

Our first poppings with our new machine yielded white fluffy popcorn without the industry standard chemical flavoring. It was nice, though not very flavorful, and certainly not "movie theater popcorn."

So, pick up some of this Flavacol stuff and get it over with. If I want my popcorn to offer that classic movie theater popcorn taste, I'm going to have to bring the yellow powder on board, right?

Reginald "Reggy" Flavaco, Inventor of the "movie theater popcorn flavor" we have all come to recognize. Before adding the butter-like flavor to popcorn, Reggy's formula was added to canned meat-like products (with little success.)

So, pick up some of this Flavacol stuff and get it over with. If I want my popcorn to offer that classic movie theater popcorn taste, I'm going to have to bring the yellow powder on board, right?

Well... maybe. But I just can't get over the possible health hazards. I'm going to have to accept that popcorn at Cinema 16:9 is going to be different. So, the "experiments" continue.

Election Day

2008-11-04T05:36:00.000-08:00

It's election day! I'll take this moment to encourage my readers to make sure they vote!

Well, I suppose my most recent visiting international spammers are not necessarily able to vote in the election I'm referring to. They may not even live in a democracy. So I guess voting wouldn't do them any good. But then again, they may be American citizens abroad, and in that case if they are registered, they should have sent in their vote already, right?

Everyone else-
Don't forget to vote! Today's the day!

International Spammers - Thanks for your concern, but I don't need certain "cheeep medz."

I Can See (The Ceiling) Clearly Now

2008-10-31T06:03:00.000-07:00

Ah, progress! Give a man the right tools, and he'll tear down the Great Pyramids. Although, I don't know that he should do that, even if he does have the right tools. But then again, this isn't a Pyramid, I mean, as far as I know there aren't any mummified remains in an anti-chamber off the basement.

Here at 35 N. Lansdowne Ave, Cinema 16:9 is taking shape! Exciting. We pulled down all the drop ceiling tiles, and started dismantling everything. You'll be impressed by the progress we've made!

Let's take a tour, shall we? You can see how everything looked the last time I posted construction photos... and now look at it! Naked ceilings!

We'll have delightfully high ceilings! I'll be able to stretch out and jump up and down in excitement without knocking myself unconscious! Yeah! All those concussions were really starting to effect me.

As you can see, the public bathroom has recently become a lot more public.

I know what you're thinking... What does this all mean for me? I mean it's great to have high ceilings, and that you'll be redoing the bathroom... but what's it going to look like in there?! What is Cinema 16:9 going to look like when you're finished?!
That was what I was thinking actually, but you put it nicer than I would have.

Well then wait no longer!
Voilà! (That's French for "Check it out, yo!")

It turns out that there isn't brick for me to expose, but you get the idea! Here's our beautiful counter... it may not look like it's possible, but this is where you'll actually be able to get your movie tickets, concessions, and where you'll pick up your DVD or Blu-ray rentals!

This is a big post already, so I'll post the floorplan later. So that's all for now! Although, I'm sure I'm forgetting something... hmm.

Does it have something to do with Halloween?

I don't think so.. Oh I remember, I'm going to discuss the sound system today with a local company. So when we begin construction, we'll have all our theater equipment ready to just swoop in and install! Oh, hey! I forgot, it's Halloween! Happy Halloween everyone. Have a safe "candy day" as my daughter says. Next year guys... I've got to do a good scary movie. (While I'm mentioning it, everyone, comment your suggestions for next year's spooktacular.)

A Sign of What is to Come

2008-10-28T05:47:00.000-07:00

Check out our very large sign! It's so big, in fact, that you can see it all the way from the across the street! You may even be able to read it while you're waiting in the evening traffic on Lansdowne Ave!

Considering that it was printed in 8.5 X 11 sheets and then taped together, I think it looks really nice. Of course, it's been rainy the last couple days, and the added moisture has it curling a bit. I don't know how much longer it will hold up, but heck, it's been nice so far. People have been walking by saying:

"Oh look Gwendoline, a movie theater here at the movie theater."

"Goodness Harvey, you are right! We haven't had a movie theater here in Lansdowne since the eighties!"

"Oh, yes, I remember. Do you remember how big my bangs were back then?"

"Ah Yes... do you remember my Jams?"

"Whatever happened to those shorts? You had about twenty pairs."

"Don't forget your spandex and legwarmers, where did all those go?"

"What were we talking about again?"

Meanwhile, inside, I'm swinging a sledgehammer, prying a pry bar, bagging chunks of plaster, and fogging up my glasses. (How do people with glasses use dust masks without fogging up with every exhale?)

It's looking amazing in there! Don't worry, there will be more construction photos to come! Maybe I'll post some tonight. I'll make some time between the sledging and the prying.

A Movie Theater, in a Movie Theater? How Novel.

2008-10-24T05:24:00.000-07:00

Why yes, however did we come up with such a unique concept? Opening a movie theater in a movie theater...

As I mentioned before, I screened films at the Sedgwick Theater several years back, and helped to build a neighborhood micro-cinema next door to the theater in the Mt. Airy Video Library. I created a unique film presentation for every film we screened, including original trailers for films, fun old shorts, cartoons and educational films.

If you have a couple hours, check out the First Friday presentation I put together for July 2006:

I want to bring that sort of presentation to Lansdowne - Daily.

I'm excited to bring the unique presentations I was creating three years ago, now to my own venue. Our 42 seat theater will include original refurbished movie theater seats from the Lansdowne Theater. You can expect high quality, high definition projection and stunning surround sound. A big cinema experience in a small space.

One of the first questions we're asked is what we'll be showing in the theater. We'll be screening second run films, classics, foreign, independent, and local films. There will be a great mix of genres. I hope that you'll check in with us frequently to find out what films are showing.

Aside from our repertory schedule, Cinema 16:9 is thrilled to be able to offer rather unique opportunities for our community! One of our goals for Cinema 16:9 is to enable the community to enjoy and discuss all kinds of film. Community groups, non-profits, and private individuals will be able to schedule their public performances at our theater. Cinema 16:9 will host your group, schedule your film night, obtain the public performance rights for your group, and help promote your event.

Another exciting use for the theater will be for individuals who want a private screening of a movie. Perhaps it's your birthday, perhaps you and a couple friends missed a film in the theaters... Well, you and that handful of friends will be able to schedule your private screening of any movie you want.

With a repertory film schedule with films screening every night, a place to see local films, a movie home for community groups, and a place to call your own private movie theater, we hope you'll all come out to enjoy Cinema 16:9 in 2009.

Okay... so how much will tickets be?

Well, with a monthly movie rental membership all tickets for events in the theater will be $5. $7 for non-members.

Wait... monthly movie rental membership? What are the plans like?

That will have to wait for our next post. This post is already around 5 hours long (including the July 06 presentation at the Sedgwick). Besides, our movie rental system is really cool. There's a lot to say about movie rental at Cinema 16:9, and I want to do it justice!

Everybody's Got Something to Hide, Except for Me and My Monkey

2008-10-21T11:48:00.000-07:00

Hmmm... will there be bananas?

Dropped Drop Ceiling

2008-10-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

Photo Update:

It turns out there's a 13 foot ceiling up there- I just had to take these bad boys down... the previous tenant carved nice wood letters and other things and hand painted them. But since it was basically a wood shop before, there's a ton of sawdust above the drop ceiling.

According to the plan we won't need this wall. When it comes to demolition of the space, it's exciting. Finally, I can smash a hole in my wall without my father freaking out.

This wall goes out to you Peter Gabriel:

I want to be your sledgehammer
why don't you call my name
oh let me be your sledgehammer
this will be my testimony

Sledge.

Sledge.

Wow... my second post out in the open about our business, and I'm quoting Peter Gabriel. There should be more songs about tools.

I want to be your socket wrench doesn't have the same ring though.

Coming Soon!

2008-10-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

Over the past two years, David Titus has been working hard to open a business in Lansdowne, PA. With great pleasure, we'd like to fill you in about what's been going on.

The overall concept is to bring film and video to the public, but by no means is this a simple prospect. Now, for a little background information.

Before moving to Lansdowne, David started Films at the Sedgwick and screened films at the Sedgwick Theater in Mt. Airy. He helped to open the Little Theater at the Video Library. Now organized by the Video Library's owner, the Little Theater continues to be a neighborhood mainstay in Mt. Airy.

Now living in Lansdowne, David Titus has been actively seeking to do the same in Lansdowne. Cinema 16:9 will be a permanent movie venue in Lansdowne, offering a destination for movie fans around the Philadelphia area.

Over the past few months, there has been a great deal of work put in to quietly prepare for its arrival. Based on past experience, this planning phase is immensely important. Especially in the current economic climate, starting a business without a strong and well tested plan is not an option. This economy has made making a real movie venue very difficult.

Research for this project began back in 2005, David surveyed his Films at the Sedgwick audience, poured through hundreds of articles on film exhibition - the past and future of "the movie theater", considered non-profit vs. profit models, studied area demographics, and finally settled on Delaware County for the business. He began to work with the SBDC at Widener University to create a business plan and studied the economic feasibility of the business.

This year has been difficult, it's one thing to say "I wanna show movies. People like movies." It's an entirely different thing to say "I want to create a financially sustainable business which adds to Lansdowne's downtown, employs and pays employees, and offers an experience worth leaving your livingroom couch."

Over the last few months, the business was officially named Cinema 16:9, presentation equipment was purchased and built, making Cinema 16:9 able to publicly screen films - In fact, we've screened publicly with our friends at the Regency Cafe, and tested our presentations for private events. We've been working with consultants and architects to find the right location and right design for our venue and numerous iterations of architectural drawings have been made, and the future home of the business has been chosen. 35 N. Lansdowne Ave. Lansdowne PA - That is to say, at the Historic Lansdowne Theater, just to the left of the marquee.

Since David Titus moved to the Lansdowne area June 2007, he finished his business plan, began talking with people around Lansdowne, and began shopping around for a location for the business. When we heard that the Lansdowne Theater had been purchased by a non-profit, David reached out to them, and presented the rather unique plan for Cinema 16:9.

In March 2008 the concept for Cinema 16:9 was approved by the Theater's board and we began to work out the details of when, where and how. Since March, we've obtained our status as an LLC, finalized our architectural plan, raised start-up capital for the business, and now eight months later, at 9:30AM October 11, 2008 signed our lease with the Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation.

This process has kept us either busy, or waiting. During our downtime, we created this highly informative website and blog, We're thrilled to report since creating this blog, we now have hundreds of loyal international spammers just clammering to read Dave's barely useful ramblings on the start-up of Cinema 16:9 LLC. But now you can visit our blog to hear about our progress, learn what Cinema 16:9 can offer you, and waste your time during lunch breaks!

Soon enough you'll see beautiful awnings up, and interior construction will begin. David will be over there often, swinging hammers and wielding a Dewalt.

We'll be the first to admit it. Our budget is tight. Very very tight. But I'm certain that our success will bring Lansdowne another fun place to go.

Perhaps you are wondering how to help? Chip in! Help us fund our construction! We want to bring the best little movie venue to Lansdowne. Anything you can contribute will help us kick it up a notch.

Can't chip in? Well, tell everyone you know about Cinema 16:9!

Until now, we've left the public appearances of Cinema 16:9 largely unexplained, and we publicly only pursued "portable theater" performances (turning a location into a theater for a night). So really, this marks a significant change for us. This is it, people, we're committed to Lansdowne! Throw back the veil of secrecy! Hooray! That's a lot to announce, and there is more, much more that we're not ready to release, but you, the few, brave international spammers will hear it first!

It's official:

Cinema 16:9 - Coming Soon: A Theater Near You.

(Stay tuned here to learn what you can expect from Cinema 16:9!)

- Cinema 16:9
General Info - info@cinema169.com

25 Sure-fire Steps to Starting Your Own Successful Small Business - EVEN WHEN THE ECONOMY IS TANKING!

2008-10-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

Every time I've said to myself "Okay, so I've got one more day." That "one more day" turns into "one more month."

But you two can start a successful small business even when it appears there's little or no hope for national economic stability! All you need to do is follow these 25 simple steps!

1. Nurture a business idea.
2. Develop that business idea.
3. Research the viability of the business idea.
4. Turn your business idea into a business plan.
5. Talk to people. Find supporters, learn from criticisms.
6. Fix your business plan.
7. Find a location for your business.
8. Win over your potential landlord. Your presence is an asset to their asset.
9. Begin lease negotiations.
10. Wait.
11. Approach banks for small business loans.
12. Wait for banks to respond.
13. Rethink things when you are told: "This is precisely the kind of business we'd be interested in funding, however it turns out no banks are lending to new businesses right now."
14. Use your keen sense of a lack of foresight to not see this as an impending sign of the economic collapse due to set in three months later.
15. Continue lease negotiations.
16. Wait.
17. Commit nearly every penny you can spare to starting up the business.
18. Cut back on phase one plans in order to be able to afford starting up at all.
19. Find anyone and everyone you know who will commit funds to push you over the top.
20. You're going to do this. You spend a couple thousand toward some of the equipment you need to start up.
21. Talk with the contractor about how much of the build-out they can do, and how much build-out you can do yourself.
22. Continue lease negotiations. The location is really very good.
23. Wait.
24. Post on a blog to pass the anxiety producing waiting process. For the love of god! It was over a month since your last blog post. But don't worry, it turns out no one was reading your blog anyway. Website traffic suggests it's just been visits from the guys who keep spamming you.
25. Work out what you will do if the negotiations fail.
26. Receive the lease!
27. Wait as Lawyers do lawyer things.
28. Write a list twenty-five steps to start your own business.
29. Just as you think things will get moving again, your laptop hard drive will crash.
30. Remain inhumanly calm about the possibility of losing 80% of your small business work, and a lot of family photos and videos.
31. Receive a phone-call from Springboard Media to let you know that your inhumanly calm reaction has paid off. They are able to get data off the hard drive.
32. When the "smoke" clears, ask yourself "Am I about to get to the next phase of starting up?"
33. Check your list of twenty-five steps to start your own business - you're on step 33 of 25.
34. Check your e-mail. Nothing. That "you may now build your theater" e-mail has not arrived.
35. Check your voice mail. That "I tried to send a 'you may now build your theater' email, but it didn't work for some reason" voice mail message has not arrived.
36. Reassure yourself that you'll be receiving that email when you get home from work.
37. Reassure yourself that even though that email didn't arrive when you got home, it will probably arrive tomorrow before lunch.

And you're done! Well, maybe you will be tomorrow...

One Month Later

2008-09-25T06:42:00.000-07:00

The last time I wrote, I had encouraging encouragements for entrepreneurs out there. Today, one month later...

And three days.

Yes, yes... one month and three days later, I have come to yet another installment of my letters of encouragement to entrepreneurs that say relatively nothing because there's a great deal of risk involved with talking openly about this project...

Today, let us discuss a topic I'm calling:

What To Do When Your Project is Slated to Go Public In The Middle of an Economic Sh*t Storm, and Simultaneously, You Have a New President to Vote For, Your Wife is Due...

Step 1. Identify the state of the local economy.
Step 2. Identify the state of the state economy.
Step 3. Identify the state of the national economy.
Step 4. Identify the state of the global economy.

As you work through steps 1-4 recognize your current situation in relation to the local, state, national and global economy.

Now that you've done that, take this moment to change your pants.

Now that you've changed your pants, it's time to suck it up and make the hardest decision of your life. With a more than reasonable amount of personal risk, a very tight budget to get things going, and a hell of a lot to do to become operational, you have every reason to swallow your pride, back down, and settle into your job again.

Ah, but what if you recognize that if the economy continues to tank, you yourself may be out of a job, and your skills will not be very interesting to the firms that are still afloat, because nowadays who doesn't claim to know how to do what you do? It's just computer's right?

You realize that the best way to make use of your skills is to take control, "be the ball" as it were, and strike out on your own. You're probably going to work very hard... you're probably going to work harder than you've ever worked in your life. There is a piece of you that "knows" you will feel a sense of accomplishment as you pull yourself up by the boots- your boots didn't have straps, they didn't need them they were the boots your cousin had grown out of... not that there was anything wrong with them... actually they were great; they had steal toes... and you clawed your way up from them, fixing them with black electrical tape when the leather cracked and split..

Where was I? How did I get to hand-me-down boots? What's the title of this post? "One Month Later." Wow, I'm off topic.

Okay... let me see. Let's move on, shall we?

Step 5. Recognize what you can do for the economy.

What can I do? I'm a simple videographer with a dream. Well, yes. That is what I am and what is my current impact on the economy? I leave town every morning, I work on videos and produce DVDs for a company which manufactures and sells a luxury exercise product. The product my videos help to sell, create jobs in manufacturing the product, marketing and selling the product. That effects my local economy by bringing my salary home, and by the purchases of certain items my family needs from local vendors.

Step 6. Be Local?

There will be a lot of people who are like you. They commute to their job, bring money from elsewhere and store it in town. You have to weigh whether your potential business adds to the local economy, and first of all, provides for you and your own as well or better than your current job.

Step 7. Walk Hard.

I've been sworn and slandered and ridiculed too. Had to struggle everyday my whole life through
Seen my share of the worse that this world can give. But I still got a dream and a burning rage to live. Walk hard. Hard. When they say you're all done. Walk bold. Hard. Though they say you're not the one.

Step 8. Living on the Edge

There's somethin' wrong with the world today, I don't know what it is. Something's wrong with our eyes. We're seeing things in a different way, and God knows it ain't His. It sure ain't no surprise...

Those are song lyrics.

Well, it's um... not bad advice, is it?

It's just not helpful. How about you tell us how you're going about trying to open a business in a down economy where people cannot get loans, and by your own experience, you've watched as the company you work with just cut 5 jobs and sales are down by 40%... And yet you are still taking the risk of opening up a business! What is your business plan that you think you can actually survive in this economy? And if you're business were to end up on the profitable side, you'd have to be concerned by competition, right? If you're successful, all sorts of businesses like your own will start popping up.

Hang on! Look, I don't have the answers. Geez... if I did, I probably should have been in Paulson's place. I mean I don't have an answer, but I can't help but think their "solution" sounds like Dr. Evil - "The US financial system will collapse, unless the American tax payers give me 700 billion dollars..."

But honestly, I've been working hard at this for about two and a half years now. My financial estimates for the business are extremely conservative, and I continue to remind myself that I worked so hard to build the business plan. I have a solid foundation, which I've tested out with the Small Business Development Center at Widener University in Delaware County. And while that hard work doesn't guarantee Cinema 16:9 LLC success, I know how to move forward, and that this can be a tremendous success.

But is it the right climate to be opening any business right now? I haven't looked at the stock market in the last five minutes... for all I know....

For the love of god, I'm just a guy who wants to open a movie theater in the center of Lansdowne.

Ah Ha!

Oh.

Where? Where is your movie theater going to be? I mean I'd gathered it was somewhere in Lansdowne, what with website title and all... but where is your theater going to be?

... um... well that entirely depends on the meaning of the word "is."

Come on.

Hey, did I mention my wife is due at the end of November?

Focus.

2008-08-22T06:01:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have ever considered starting your own business, I have this to say:

Dear lord.

Is that it?

Dear lord, this is hard.

Is that all?

Well I can say a bit more... I finished college, began working for a radio station which a family friend owned. I wanted to make a movie, so I must have imagined that I'd be darting around the country, film festival to film festival... So I quit my job to shoot a film. I ran out of money and time... and failed. So in dire need of a job I ended up at Blockbuster. I didn't ask for enough, so for a year, I was being paid diddly-squat to put videos away, talk to customers, and to wear movie marketing materials such as Shrek ears and the like. I quit that job to start a production company... but I hadn't done any research, I didn't know how much it ought to cost... I grossly underbid a couple projects and dragged several of my friends with me. Half-way through our second film shoot, I realized I was thoroughly demoralized by the work we were doing, and low quality of our product which was the direct result of underbidding.

Fast forward, and I'm married, have a wonderful life in Philadelphia, I have a daughter and another one on the way. And I have a good job at a company owned by a family friend. As I see it, I am at a point, poised to make all the same mistakes again - but this time is different. So here's the thing... this is the nugget of wisdom I want to offer...

If you must start your own business, make certain that you feel an immovable gut wrenching feeling that you must risk it all to do this. Be prepared and spend the time it takes to do what you're trying to do. Impatience and your dream are enemies. I realize now that every day I walk a razor thin line of having my history repeat itself.

This time, it's tangible. Cinema 16:9 will be a success. I've done over a year of planning, and I continue to research my proposed business. My business plan is finished, but the market may change from when I finished it to when I open. I have to be willing and able to make changes to my plan. And this time, I knew to ask for help. I went to the Small Business Development Center in my area and asked for an adviser.

Now, so close to my goal I cannot lose sight of the fact that between now and then, I could still derail myself if I lose focus. As an entrepreneur, bootstrapping my way through planning, I have to remember that I cannot lose focus at my day job. Until everything is in place, that must still be my top priority.

Back Almost to the Drawing Board

2008-08-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

The light is there at the end of the self-imposed tunnel of perpetual conceptual architectural napkin drawings.

I've been working with architects for the last year. Seriously... a year. Okay, so my architects are actual one architect - my sister. She put up with every single change we made in location, space, concept. That work made Cinema 16:9 a reality. So now, it's coming down to the final months, and I have to make certain that what I build is what is legal and what the landlord can allow in the space.

So I want to go with someone local. Someone who can go to the site every day if they had to. And luckily, my potential landlord knew just the right firm for me to work with. And so armed with 9... yes 9 previous versions of all of the different locations my sister did concept sketches for, all of the renderings... I sat down with the architect to help me finalize the concept, and do the schematic drawings I need in order to make this happen.

What I said to my potential landlord was that with all the changes over a year, it's easy to become bogged down in perpetual concept drawings. I said that I need to get out of concept and into schematic.. I think I've got the right contractor, I need the right drawings.

And so we discussed... and discussed. We discussed the feel, the look, the concept, the sales process, the lighting, the bathrooms, the stairs, we discussed the Victorian carousel I'd always wanted, the cinema, the 16, the 9. We discussed it all. We discussed the past, the present and the future. We talked about global warming's effect on household pets in the year 2020. And when it was all over... they said the following:

"Well I think we're going to have to really sketch out the concept first."

Now, I don't suppose that would bother me so much if the architect were Frank Gehry...

"Here Dave. How's this?"

"That's great Frank. Now we need schematics."

"Okie Dokie.."

Actually, I don't think Frank Gehry would be the right architect for this project anyway - and I certainly couldn't afford the first pen flick of that concept.

Where was I? Oh yes... more concept drawings - They must have noticed that several veins in my neck burst and I was bleeding freely all over the nine other concept drawings we'd already completed, because they stopped for a moment and then said the following:

"All of these drawings will be a great help. It really helps to have something to guide us."

So... not all the way back to the drawing board, then... but there will be a drawing... and a board. and someone is at it...

So that timer on the main page of the website... will that mean anything?

Probably.

But not what you thought it meant, right?

Probably.

How much longer?

Well, not much longer... all that blood loss from the other night... I feel woozy.

Wait, what?! It's August? Why Does That Sting?

2008-08-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

For the love of... why didn't anyone tell me it was August!

People don't often think they're dealing with the calendarily challenged.

Man, it's seriously only a month before September.... and really, the only "content" I've been able to show for myself is a bunch of blog postings essentially saying "I can't say anything this month, but next month will be the time!"

I daresay, it has been getting rather tiresome.

I have been doing things. I promise you. I'm setting up a P.O.S. For some reason that makes me want to start singing.

Let's do sing. You know the tune, sing along:
I hope that someone gets my,
I hope that someone gets my,
I hope that someone gets my,

reference as a blogger,
reference as a blogger,
reference as a blogger,
reference as a blogger...

Setting up a P.O.S,
Setting up a P.O.S,
I'm setting up a P.O.S.
I'm setting up a P.O.S.

POS? Other than the somewhat inappropriate acronym I can think of, what are you babbling about?

Well, many things really. Chatting it means parents over shoulder - In algebra it means Partially Ordered Set, but it can also mean Polar Orbiting Satellite.

What does it mean here?

Oh... Point of Sale.

Like a cash register.

Well... in my application it's much more complicated.

And what is your application of a P.O.S?

I just cannot say. Admittedly, it is a bit of a gamble... I think normal wisdom would suggest setting up the POS when there's a place for the POS to be set up in... that will be soon, but until then, I need to start data entry and configuring the damn thing.

I'm sure you're excited by your revelation of your POS setup, but honestly it's not terribly interesting to the public, and once again, you've left us with a feeling that you aren't really doing anything.

Damn. I am doing things. Important things. Things which will hopefully offer you the potential customer a wonderful experience.

Well, how long do you think you can keep us in the dark about all these "important things" you're doing?

I don't know... I haven't intended for my being mysterious to last quite as long as it has. But since you mention it, when I no longer have to be mysterious, it doesn't mean you won't still be "in the dark."

Oh, wait... I just got the post title. Sting... police... were you trying to be clever?

I thought it was punny.

Well there was a pun. Blek.