Support your local Cinema presents its new Website!

Dear all,

as some of you already know from the Europa Cinemas conference, we are proud to introduce you to our brand new website : www.supportyourlocalcinema.com is now born! Please sign up here to become a member of our broader network, communicate with other members, receive the latest news and updates on cinema and social media.. and benefit from SylC’s products, like an Iphone App for your cinema!

We look forward to meeting you there- this is now where you will find us !

Autumn Update: Apps and innovations (EN-FR-DE-SP)

** Voire ci-dessous pour la version francaise / Für die Deutsche Version, siehe unten / Para la versión española, ver más abajo **

ENGLISH

As we drift into Autumn and find ourselves back at our desks and no longer on sunny beaches or at barbecues, but watching the leaves turn to russet and brown, at least we can comfort ourselves with the news that the Support your local Cinema project continues apace!

 

Autumn Leaves

 

Having finally come to a brief standstill following our whirlwind European tour earlier this year, our core team was able to sit down together and have a thorough brainstorm about our next steps.  As you will know from the Support your local CinemABC handout from Cannes, we have long been thinking about iPhone applications, Facebook widgets and networking blogs to develop for our partner cinemas.

Q. What’s 2 Miles Down, Three Stories up, and constructed entirely of cubes?

A.  See below… (we’ve got to keep you guessing – and besides, you love a quiz – we know you do).

 

Phoenix Square

 

As Digital Spaces go, Phoenix Square, literally, has it all.  Cinema screens, gallery spaces, editing suites, a production studio, satellite connectivity, dark fibre, courtyards for outdoor screenings, interactive white boards – the lot.  It’s an indie cinema-digital  enthusiast’s playground.  I kind of wanted to live there.  Of course, that’s also an option – the place has got flats for rent and everything.  Blimey.

Julian Marsh, the award-winning architect for Phoenix Square clearly had a vision

On the Road Again…

 

Leipzig, host city for the Filmkunstmesse, once the home of Bach who was choirmaster at this very church.

 

Well, as summer doffs his cap and pops off for a holiday of its own (also known as ‘winter’ – boo), we at SylC find ourselves back on the road.  Since arriving back in the office at the end of July, we’ve already been seen in London, Berlin, Bristol, Leipzig and even Brighton.  And the adventure continues with trips to Hamburg, Manchester, Leicester and perhaps, if we’re very good, Glasgow, to keep us busy.  And, forwhy?  Well – to fulfil our mission to remain at the forefront of that strange yet enticing boundary where social media and arthouse cinema meet.

Alors que l’été rend sa casquette et s’octroie des vacances (aussi connues sous le nom d’»hiver »- bouh), nous à SylC nous trouvons de nouveau sur la route. Depuis notre retour au bureau fin juillet, nous avons déjà été vues à Londres, Berlin, Bristol, Leipzig et même Brighton. Et l’aventure continue aves des excursions à Hambourg, Manchester, Leicester et peut-être, si le succès nous sourit, à Glasgow- histoire de rester occupées. Tout cela pourquoi ? Eh bien- pour réaliser notre mission : se maintenir en première ligne de cette étrange et fascinante frontière, où réseaux sociaux et cinéma d’art et d’essai se rencontrent.

The most exciting thing about these various excursions is

Immortality: 1080p24, H.264

In August’s edition of Sight and Sound there is a brief reference under ‘in production’ (p.8) to Guy Maddin – that Canadian connoisseur of a particular early cinema aesthetic .  Although the main headline is regarding the happy fact that Maddin is about to start shooting his first feature since My Winnipeg (2007), it was the aside that interested me:

“Concurrently, Maddin and a few collaborators will shoot parallel material for an online project remaking lost films from the silent era”.

Echoes of Laura Mulvey’s excellent Death 24x a Second drifted into memory and I wrote this in my notebook: “Digital and online = the media of reincarnation”?

Face your profile!

Face your profile! Faites-face à votre profil!

Our today’s advice finds itself in this useful article from the very recommendable Mashable:

Here are 5 tips for social media beginners willing to start with a Facebook page, for instance.

As you exhibitors well know, and following up Rachael’s suggestions at Bologna Young Audience Seminar “Making an impression”- the first impression is very often a visual one.

SylC: find us online and offline

Online…

Don’t forget that you can keep up to date with the world of SylC and get top social media tips, useful links, information on relevant festivals and events, funding opportunities and news on the following sites:
- Blog: http://supportyourlocalcinema.wordpress.com/
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SupportylCinema
- Facebook page: http://bit.ly/cSG0Az
- moviepilot - http://www.moviepilot.com – only in German at present, but as I mentioned, watch this space for international versions coming soon!

…and offline!

Rachael will be talking to the Wales Specialist Film Exhibitors Group on 20 July.  And running two social media workshops at the ICO Training Course ‘Promoting Your Film Events on a Shoestring’ at SylC partner Watershed on 1 September 2010.

Our top 10 social media tips

SYLC’S TOP 10 TIPS

If you are thinking about social media as a solution for you, here are a few things we suggest you keep in mind…

1. Don’t panic – strategise! Social media is new for everyone

Don’t get carried away with concept over content: think long term and develop a strategy that suits you and your audience, rather than jumping in to everything!  Chose one option (Facebook is a favourite) and start with that.

2. Trial and Error – Social Media offers instant feedback

It’s quick and easy to try things out online and special events or festivals are excellent testing grounds for new ideas.  As social media is designed to keep track of user activity you can easily see what your audience responds to.  Put a post on Twitter, ask your followers to RT, and check your stats in a couple of days.

3. Collaborate! You are surrounded by people who are already ready and willing to support your cinema.

Why not invite all of your staff to social media brainstorms?  Or create a youth board to input ideas?  Ask your audience. Some of our core cinemas have started to

Phase I summary and Cannes handout

We were delighted to be able to present our initial findings at the Europa Cinemas Conference in Cannes.

If you weren’t able to join us there, don’t worry – you can download our handout including our research, results of our audience survey and some Top Tips for cinemas wishing to engage with social media below.

SYLC_Handout_small

Hamburg again, Mein Herz für Zeise

by Léa Germain, project assistant Support your local Cinema

At Zeise, Jan-Oliver Lange showed us how a good online communication strategy can develop just organically and gains efficiency with the practice. With his inputs, Zeise now experiences the use of facebook as a fantastic means to gather precious feedback from its audience. Here social media manage to reflect Zeise’s branding as J-O puts is: popular art-house, uncomplicated and direct..

Au Zeise, Jan-Oliver nous a montré comment une bonne stratégie de communication en ligne peut se développer de manière organique et gagner en efficacité avec la pratique. Grâce à ses contributions, Zeise voit désormais en Facebook un moyen fantastique de récolter les précieuses réactions de son public. Ici, la présence sur les réseaux sociaux parvient à refléter l’image de Zeise telle que la formule Jan-Oliver: cinéma d’art et essais populaire, simple et direct.

What’s new in Hamburg??

The sun, of course! Back in Hamburg to visit the Zeise Kino.  I was meeting Jan-Oliver on a wonderful Friday in April.

Zeise Kinos in da place

Young, dynamic, highly fashionable, so is Zeise. In the heart of the bohemian district of Altona, the Zeise Kinos don’t really suffer from the concurrence of the multiplexes sprouting all over Hamburg. There are many reasons for that: their varied and quality programming – not too specialised but not mainstream as well, the beaming aura of neighbouring local world star Fatih Akin, regular shows such as poetry slam sessions featuring talented artists…