Four new redesigned Vue cinemas have been (re-) opened this year (Hull Prince Quay, Westwood Cross, Stirling, Thurrock) in the UK and they really seem as if they’re trying to create a new type of movie atmosphere. They’ve all got the standard cool things: huge screens, cafe, licensed bar and comfy seats. Next to that though they’ve got some stuff that have got me excited:

SATELLITE SCREEN
Satellite link up will allow for alternate live screenings of music, sport, comedy and more.

This isn’t really something new, but I still like the whole idea behind it. If you know you can’t go to the event in real, but don’t fancy watching it at home on your “little” TV, why not see it in the cinema? I’ve already noticed that they’re offering footballs games and Formula 1 races in a lot of cinemas, but comedy? Do they mean live stand-ups with this?

SUPERIOR SEATS
Unrivalled Club-class style leather seats forming two or three expertly placed rows in each auditorium to provide the best seats in the house.

It’s not uncommon that cinemas place a special, more expensive type of seating in their auditoriums, but so far I’ve only seen them placing them right at the back. Those aren’t the good spots! Nobody wants to sit there. Here with Vue though they’re putting the seats in “expertly placed rows”. Now we’ll have to see where those experts actually put these seats, but it somehow seems to me that it’s not just the standard “let’s put in the back”.

EVOLUTION SCREEN
New concept screen complete with two and four seater sofa pods, large leather superior seats and enormous bean bags. Make Evolution your screen of choice.

Now this is what I’m talking about! Finally a (large) cinema that’s willing to take a risk and try out something new. I’ve seen a couple of smaller “specialist” cinemas do the whole two seater sofas, but bean bags? I hadn’t even considered them, but they’d be perfect! I was a bit scared about the price first; how much more expensive will the Evolution screen be compared to the “normal” screen?

I checked all three cinemas and it kind of depends on the cinema how they do the prices. On average though, the bean bags are almost always cheaper (in one case just as expensive) than a normal (adult) ticket. The Superior seats are always 1 pound more expensive than the normal adult ticket and the sofas (2 seater and 4 seater) are always 2 pounds more expensive than the total of the according number of normal tickets (as in, when a normal ticket is 6.40, a 4 seater sofa would be 27.60). Not too bad prices, right? If they’re as comfy as I hope, I’d be willing to pay the extra 2 pounds and in the case of the bean bag, they’re cheaper!

I so hope that Vue will carry these type of set-ups through to their existing screens. This is where the future of cinema lies: in creating an atmosphere for watching a movie better than seeing it at home. I want the bean bag experience!

Interesting links for January 29th:

• MoCo Loco: Hanse Colani Rotor House – Weird design for a house with a rotating cylinder, containing the living room, bath room, bedroom and kitchen (as in each time you only see one and the others are hidden). Strange as it is, I think the concept might actually work.
• The Photo Crazy Blog – Macro Insects – Beautiful photos of insects. Is it weird that I find the 4th one cute? What kind of insect is that??
• Byokal : www.zefrank.com – Fun little game/app/toy that lets you play with a kaleidoscope
• The 10 Most Puzzling Ancient Artifacts – Fascinating list of puzzling artifacts. Who made them, how were they made, and why did they make it?
• Flash Movie – Outlines – Cute little flash movie where the outlines of people are jumping/dancing to a piece of music
• Amazing Dots – Cool optical illusion
• Neuroscience: One Pill Makes You Autistic – And One Pill Changes You Back – This is just a weird future idea; I don’t see myself slipping a pill to become autistic for a few hours, even if it would make work easier.