Website

Written by Dan

I began laying the groundwork for our theater's website this weekend. I'd been wanting to do this for a long time, but everytime I worked on it I would inevitably end up questioning whether I was putting the cart before the horse. I always figured there were more important tasks to tackle, and, up until this point, there always were. Now we're in a semi holding pattern, which means it's time to start hammering out a website.

I've already fine-tuned the design, or shall I say "the look," of the website through this blog. As you can see, the majority of the site is simple CSS with a little PHP sprinkled around for functionality. As far as web design practices go, I always try to steer clear of graphic-laden interfaces to increase page loading speed and enhance the general cleanliness of the site. Of course, this doesn't mean that the theater's website will be completely void of images. It will have lots of relevant graphics along the lines of movie images, posters, event photos, dancing babies, animated gifs, etc..

As I mentioned in an earlier post, one of the main points of the website will be to educate our audience about current and upcoming films. Our movie listings will not only have showtimes and synopses, but they'll also include relevant links (i.e. IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, etc.) and a dedicated forum topic on our theater's bulletin board. We're also going to have a weekly e-mail newsletter that people can sign up for online (or in the theater, if they so choose), a page dedicated to our unique selection of concessions and beverages at the Cinebar, and lots of little features that will help make our website as unique as the theater.

The whole website will be laid out over a PHP/mySQL database, which will help make the continual updates as painless as possible. Along with our main website, I'm also going to register several domain names like MidwestburgCinema.com and MidwestburgMovieTimes.com, and build a community-wide movie showtime database. The purpose for these websites will be to create a singular online repository for all the films that are currently playing in Midwestburg. Of course, since we own the websites, it shouldn't be all too surprising that our films will be featured at the top of the page with the most detailed information and the biggest pictures. These sites will also be a great way for us to bring in some additional revenue through targeted banner ads.

The only problem with these websites will be the constant updating of movie times from the other theaters. I could build a PHP script that leeches the times from Yahoo Movies or Fandango, but those types of scripts always run the risk of becoming irrelevant if the original site is changed or compromised in any way. There's also a few pay services that provide listing feeds, but I don't want to pay for something that I know I can get free somewhere else. I'm sure I'll think of something eventually.

One last thing before I go. Since we're on the topic of webpages and online features... between the two of us, Nicole and I have NINE GMail invites at our disposal. If you'd like one, here's what to do:

1. Leave a comment to this post with your name and e-mail address
2. Include one of the following (or all three if you like):


• Suggest a feature that you'd like to see on our theater's website
• Your best guess as to where Midwestburg might be
• Finish this sentence: "I deserve a GMail invite because..."


3. Submit your comment, sit back, and wait.
4. Nicole and I will disperse the invites over the next couple days.

If you already have a GMail account, or don't care to receive one, your comments are still welcomed and encouraged, as always.

Kulturbrille says:

It would be interesting if you could have a way of voting for films that you haven't decided to bring in or which are classics or yesteryear's best. People would then have a say in what they could watch otherwise. They could suggest titles or you could have a list, and votes or a running tally of the most popular films would occupy a small corner of your main page.

A gmail invite would be nice. :)

¤ Posted on June 21, 2004 @ 12:33 pm

Dan says:

1 GMail invite down, 8 to go.

¤ Posted on June 21, 2004 @ 12:40 pm      [ The Moxie Blog ]

WhimsyChick says:

"I deserve a GMail invite because..."

... I am a loyal reader and will be the first person in line when "Cinema 24" opens (even if it means I have to drive out of state to do it.) Seriously!

¤ Posted on June 21, 2004 @ 1:20 pm

Dan says:

GMail update: 2 down, 7 to go

¤ Posted on June 21, 2004 @ 1:24 pm      [ The Moxie Blog ]

johnny monk says:

one that would be great to have be NOI such a great movie and i think that its great that you guys are trying to get independent stuff out to the masses. there are so many great movies out there that many people don't see. or just pass through theaters un-noticed, i would defidently stop in when open if i ever get the chance. love you blog, hvaen't been reading for long but when i found it i started reading it fromt he first one on. good luck to you two and keep up the good work.

¤ Posted on June 21, 2004 @ 2:22 pm

johnny monk says:

i think that a good feature for your sight would be to maybe showcase a different region most likely monthly and the different films that they have coming out of thier. for instance, you could do france, italy, china, korea, mexico and so forth and so on, and then list some notable movies that have come out or are coming out and perhaps even show one of them at your theater that month.

¤ Posted on June 21, 2004 @ 2:39 pm

Dan says:

GMail update: 3 down, 6 to go

¤ Posted on June 21, 2004 @ 2:39 pm      [ The Moxie Blog ]

chicken says:

Do the cinemas where you are getting show times for distribute a weekly email with show times? If they do it would be easy to write a script to strip the info from these emails and dump them into your database for reference.

no gmail needed thanks - I have plenty spare if you run out - they keep throwing 6 invites a day at me :(

Mxx

¤ Posted on June 21, 2004 @ 2:47 pm

Scott says:

It would be great if your website let you subscribe to movie title/actors/directors and get emailed either when they have a movie coming out, or when your theatre is showing. Depending on the size of Midwestburg, you may not get first run art movies. I know in my small town I am always checking the listings for small, but anticipated releases (e.g. Supersize Me still has not made it to my town).

I know you don't like relying on other sites, but there may be a way to easily link up to some existing web services or even tie into IMDB. Or, worst case, you can add the movie names, director, and principal actors when you add new movies every week. Registered users could get emailed with all of this data (if they choose to, no spam intended), or alerted for a specific person.

And I would LOVE a gmail address. :-)

¤ Posted on June 21, 2004 @ 3:26 pm

Dan says:

GMail update: 4 down, 5 to go

¤ Posted on June 21, 2004 @ 3:33 pm      [ The Moxie Blog ]

Ryan says:

I think you should have polls on your website for classic movies. I know that there are a bunch of movies that I missed in the theatre that I wished I could get another shot at, so have the people vote online and the winner gets a midnite showing on Friday or something. That would be awesome.
And I need a gmail account because I just graduated from college and they terminated my email account, so now I have to rely on hotmail......ugh... Thanks

¤ Posted on June 21, 2004 @ 8:41 pm

Dan says:

GMail update: 5 down, 4 to go

¤ Posted on June 21, 2004 @ 9:39 pm      [ The Moxie Blog ]

Simon says:

Rather than have a dedicated forum topic for each film, why not consider simpler commenting on a detail page for each film listed - this keeps relevant content together and avoids extra navigation - ala IMDB. An even cooler feature would be community submitted reviews which could be rated by visitors.

I'd love a GMail account by the way....

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 12:18 am

Bryson says:

I think it would be a really neat idea if you could have an "If you liked this movie, you might enjoy..." on every movie, or a link to the movie's prequels, sequels, and with a "Did you know?" type of feature on the main page. I always love those, as it teaches me a lot about movies and makes me want to see some of them a lot more (The Bourne series being books, that a new Bourne book is coming out, etc etc.)

to answer where I think midwestburg is (has anyone even tried yet) would be, northern california or perhaps southern oregon... coos bay oregon? eureka ca?)

And I believe I deserve an account because, among trying to get one for a long time, I love to check out new things, and I am an up and coming video game reviewer (I work for Vg-Force.com) and it would be great to be able to store all the screenshots/movies/ideas that I would ever want to.

Thanks a lot!

Bryson

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 1:49 am

Oz says:

This is more of a design recommendation than a feature rec, but what the heck. Put the movie showtimes on the front page of the website. I know the temptation is to make some meaningless, pretty page with a stupid "enter" link. I hate that shit. I mean, I came to your website because I wanted to see it's content, not because I wanted to type in the URL and THEN decide whether or not I want to "enter." And the majority of people checking out your site will want movie times. All the other stuff is nice and dandy but really just pointless drivel if you don't know when the movies are playing. So put that on the first page, front and center, and save everybody some time.

And I deserve an invite to gmail because I am a very interesting person.

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 8:00 am

Oz says:

I used the wrong "its." I hate it when people make that mistake. If only I could edit my comment....

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 8:01 am

Dan says:

GMail update: 8 down, 1 to go

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 8:16 am      [ The Moxie Blog ]

WhimsyChick says:

I'm soooo hoping Midwestburg is in SE Michigan. Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Michigan... I'm guessing it's around there somewhere. Any more hints, Dan? Or maybe point us to that post where you gave a few hints?

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 9:23 am

Dan says:

WhimsyChick - I can tell you that it's in one of the states you listed.

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 9:29 am      [ The Moxie Blog ]

david says:

your blog is looking good keep up the good work.it seems like it never stops there is always somthing to change on My Blog.It Keeps Me Busy

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 10:34 am

emanuel says:

cool... pretty interesting your blog! check out mine at www.justeman.blogspot.com ... i'll ttyl! ciao!
-emanuel f.

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 12:16 pm

BG says:

One thing you could definitely do, sign up for paypal and put a link up here so net surfers can donate something if they wish. It's not gonna raise you a mill but it might pay for something. :)

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 1:00 pm

Dan says:

Kind of like the one on this site.

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 1:19 pm      [ The Moxie Blog ]

Oz says:

I think Midwestburg is in Missouri. Beyond that, I have no idea.

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 1:38 pm

BG says:

Are you talking about the amazon system? I'm sorry i didn't spot that. I did a quick search for paypal after reading a whole lotta stuff. :)

Excuse me also because in this day and age of commercialism I am not quite used to not having 30 graphics jumps at me. Nobody reads the side bars anymore. It's a shame really.

:)

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 1:56 pm

Dan says:

Oz - What makes you think Missouri?

BG - So true. So true.

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 2:26 pm      [ The Moxie Blog ]

Oz says:

I guessed Missouri because I think I remember you saying in one post or another that you currently live in St Louis. So I just thought there was a good chance that you hadn't left your home state, only Midwestburg.

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 4:33 pm

Dan says:

GMail update: 9 down, 0 to go

¤ Posted on June 22, 2004 @ 5:10 pm      [ The Moxie Blog ]

Yvan says:

I like your story and invitation
invites of celebrites can you visit my site?

¤ Posted on June 23, 2004 @ 4:03 pm

Hurl old says:

you suck dicks gotta go Shitznit

¤ Posted on June 23, 2004 @ 4:04 pm

Crystal Riley says:

I deserve a gmail invite because I know what it is. And because I've never beta tested anything before, and I'm really excited by the idea that my feedback could be useful.

Also, I think midwestburg is Paducah, KY

I am learning so much from your blog...I stopped bringing my own soda to the movies....though I still avoid going in long enough to miss the Fantanas.

¤ Posted on June 24, 2004 @ 9:35 pm

Village Idiot says:

I deserve a gmail account because I am sick and tired of using Hotmail, I am working hard to make some really good blogger templates that look like the Yahoo homepage (so I cheated, I used a template I found, but made it much better), and I have read this blog every time I can after discovering it through the blogger "Blogs of Note" thing.

I really do like the idea you have for the theater. It is time for more small buisness in America. Keep the theater local!

So, if you get another gmail invite, please send one to me. (And take a look at the template I have done right now by clicking on the website link below!)

¤ Posted on June 26, 2004 @ 8:08 pm

Village Idiot...Again says:

I almost forgot! (I do that a lot on my blog posts) The size of your blog posts are great, what you have to say deserves a larger space than a typical post. (This blog might make a good book someday for people trying to open their own theater!)

¤ Posted on June 26, 2004 @ 8:11 pm

supong says:

i deserve a GMail invite because i want
to use a bigemail storeage

¤ Posted on July 1, 2004 @ 1:43 am

Bryan says:

My guess is Chesterfield, Missouri.

¤ Posted on July 6, 2004 @ 9:53 am

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