Gift for the man with the movie theatre
March 1, 2017 6:37 AM Subscribe
I want to take my husband's home movie theatre up to 11 by getting some custom stuff done up for it, namely custom high definition clips advertising his theatre, maybe some other "branded" items.
My husband has a home theatre which is possibly the best thing ever and is fulfilling his life long dream. He really loves including trailers and various fancy Dolby and THX clips before the movies. The 10 speakers are all lah-dee-dah and apparently positioned just so to be THX certified (???). He really goes all the way and takes a lot of pride in it. I really want to thank him and help him to take it up a notch by getting some personalized promo clips for his movie theatre done up. What would be REALLY fun is if I could establish a "brand" for his theatre, with a logo and everything, and then just take it all the way. Get him a t-shirt done up with "chief projectionist" printed on the back for him. My mother could embroider some blankets with the logo on the corner. Make a sign for above the theatre door, etc.
The biggest problem is that he doesn't have a "name" for his theatre. It is just "the theatre". We tossed around the name of "The black hole" because I painted the walls and ceiling of the room matte black. I'm working on him to try to decide on a name without letting him know why I need him to do this. (Note: if anyone has any awesome names for a home movie theatre, please share!)
So my question is this:
- what is my best way of getting the trailers/promo clips done? Fiverr? They need to be super high def or he won't like it.
- Is there a software I could get relatively inexpensively that would allow me to do this for myself? If there is that would probably be best because then I could make more as he needed. (I'm a programmer, I feel confident in my tech skills to be able to do this... maybe.)
- what other "branded" things for a home movie theatre would be fun?
My husband has a home theatre which is possibly the best thing ever and is fulfilling his life long dream. He really loves including trailers and various fancy Dolby and THX clips before the movies. The 10 speakers are all lah-dee-dah and apparently positioned just so to be THX certified (???). He really goes all the way and takes a lot of pride in it. I really want to thank him and help him to take it up a notch by getting some personalized promo clips for his movie theatre done up. What would be REALLY fun is if I could establish a "brand" for his theatre, with a logo and everything, and then just take it all the way. Get him a t-shirt done up with "chief projectionist" printed on the back for him. My mother could embroider some blankets with the logo on the corner. Make a sign for above the theatre door, etc.
The biggest problem is that he doesn't have a "name" for his theatre. It is just "the theatre". We tossed around the name of "The black hole" because I painted the walls and ceiling of the room matte black. I'm working on him to try to decide on a name without letting him know why I need him to do this. (Note: if anyone has any awesome names for a home movie theatre, please share!)
So my question is this:
- what is my best way of getting the trailers/promo clips done? Fiverr? They need to be super high def or he won't like it.
- Is there a software I could get relatively inexpensively that would allow me to do this for myself? If there is that would probably be best because then I could make more as he needed. (I'm a programmer, I feel confident in my tech skills to be able to do this... maybe.)
- what other "branded" things for a home movie theatre would be fun?
I saw you are in Canada. The first movie theater there was the “Gaiety Museum and Theatorium”. Sadly it went up in flames last year. The Theatorium is pretty cute to me (and was historically a popular name about 100 years ago)
Sorry, I don't have any info for you about the trailer.
As for branding you could get a custom stamp made. Get white penny candy bags and stamp them and set up a spot with some penny candy jars with a few basics.
You could print up tickets and maybe have some kind of set up where you have the graphic all set up and can add a movie and time and have them printed on cardstock when you were going to invite friends over.
posted by beccaj at 7:11 AM on March 1, 2017
Sorry, I don't have any info for you about the trailer.
As for branding you could get a custom stamp made. Get white penny candy bags and stamp them and set up a spot with some penny candy jars with a few basics.
You could print up tickets and maybe have some kind of set up where you have the graphic all set up and can add a movie and time and have them printed on cardstock when you were going to invite friends over.
posted by beccaj at 7:11 AM on March 1, 2017
It's been a while since I looked over there, but I recall there being people who sold these kinds of custom trailer videos for home theaters on AVS Forum. It may take some digging, but I'd look through these two forums to see if you can find anything:
Dedicated Theater Design & Construction
Theater Room Items & Accessories
I have to go to work, but if I have some time later I'll try to see if I can dredge up the more specific links I was thinking of. In any case, those forums might also give you some other interesting ideas....
posted by primethyme at 7:17 AM on March 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
Dedicated Theater Design & Construction
Theater Room Items & Accessories
I have to go to work, but if I have some time later I'll try to see if I can dredge up the more specific links I was thinking of. In any case, those forums might also give you some other interesting ideas....
posted by primethyme at 7:17 AM on March 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
If he's ok with posters, a collection of posters throughout the ages (or one he likes) advertising the theater.
posted by lmfsilva at 8:54 AM on March 1, 2017
posted by lmfsilva at 8:54 AM on March 1, 2017
You could personalize popcorn buckets or snack bowls with his initial/monogram. If he's into the Oscars/awards, you could create trophies for him to pick his top 3 movies of the year and give the trophies a personalized name that fits him.
posted by shortyJBot at 9:11 AM on March 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by shortyJBot at 9:11 AM on March 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
Other things to brand: coasters and pint glasses. I ordered some custom paper coasters for the dude in my life and they were a hit. I used Evermine.
posted by purple_bird at 9:12 AM on March 1, 2017
posted by purple_bird at 9:12 AM on March 1, 2017
I've got a buddy who worked in TV who did a nice sideline* for a while doing the pre-show rolls for the local Alamo Drafthouse. Memail me and I'll give you his contact info.
*they paid him in giftcards, of course.
posted by Oktober at 10:08 AM on March 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
*they paid him in giftcards, of course.
posted by Oktober at 10:08 AM on March 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
I haven't tried this, but you can order personalized M&Ms.
posted by FencingGal at 10:17 AM on March 1, 2017
posted by FencingGal at 10:17 AM on March 1, 2017
Does he have any theaters that he's nostalgic about, or are otherwise his well-known favorites? I would think it might be nice to name the theater after one of those. Example: my parents' first dates in the early 1960s were at the (still operating!) movie theater in their tiny town, The Melba. I'd name my home theater The Melba II, or The Melba Annex.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 10:33 AM on March 1, 2017
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 10:33 AM on March 1, 2017
You need a short featuring an animated hot dog, tub of popcorn, and a soda singing "Let's all go to the kitchen, let's all go to the kitchen.."
posted by Nerd of the North at 1:15 PM on March 1, 2017
posted by Nerd of the North at 1:15 PM on March 1, 2017
The McSockerson Orpheum? The McSockerson Paladium?
I dabble in this for work, and you could make the reel yourself using semi pro software like Sony Vegas, cyber link photodirector, pinnacle or others. It's not exactly programming though, so be prepared for a learning curve. Those programs are powerful but they do have a slight bias towards cheesier effects. Best of luck, what a cool project!
posted by smoke at 2:08 PM on March 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
I dabble in this for work, and you could make the reel yourself using semi pro software like Sony Vegas, cyber link photodirector, pinnacle or others. It's not exactly programming though, so be prepared for a learning curve. Those programs are powerful but they do have a slight bias towards cheesier effects. Best of luck, what a cool project!
posted by smoke at 2:08 PM on March 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
Does your neighborhood have a name? If so, e.g. "NORTH VALLEY CINEMA" could be fun.
If not, you could also name it after your street.
You can get one set of stanchions with red velvet rope for as little as $20 to $30 in the US for the basic piker model; might be a bit more in Canada.
My uncle has one of those nostalgic theater Style popcorn machines. His is a free-standing cart on wheels; Uncle Google shows them at $100-$200, with counter top models in the $50 range.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:10 PM on March 1, 2017
If not, you could also name it after your street.
You can get one set of stanchions with red velvet rope for as little as $20 to $30 in the US for the basic piker model; might be a bit more in Canada.
My uncle has one of those nostalgic theater Style popcorn machines. His is a free-standing cart on wheels; Uncle Google shows them at $100-$200, with counter top models in the $50 range.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:10 PM on March 1, 2017
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posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:08 AM on March 1, 2017