On 12 Nov 2012 at 8:38pm Pierre wrote:
I am worried about this as it is funded by taxpayer . I hope they can get their publicity better sorted and a website you can find - I have been to two films there and pretty sparse. I like the all saints venue and the new seats are good.
On 12 Nov 2012 at 11:07pm Pete wrote:
Yes I was worried by turnout at my film - hard to find website and listings.
On 13 Nov 2012 at 10:43am jennyb wrote:
Well what did you expect!
On 13 Nov 2012 at 10:54am Merlin Milner wrote:
The films are listed on this site, Viva Lewes etc. I found the website easiliy using Google. Also a tab on LTC's website.
If you have suggestions let me, other councillors or LTC staff know please.
JennyB try to be a bit more constructive please.
On 13 Nov 2012 at 11:44am Independent Thinker wrote:
How about doing what Lewes Cinema did, and is now doing again, and putting bright A4 flyers advertising the films in shop windows, tourist centre, pubs etc. See if there are volunteers who would put them in their home windows on busy streets etc. I've seen one or two around, but nowhere near enough to really make people notice it's up and running again. Not walked past the All Saints for a while but do you have actual film posters up showing what's coming soon there? Are you collecting e-mail addresses for customers to then send mail shots with upcoming screenings, and asking them to pass them on to their friends? A Facebook page? Twitter account?
I want both cinemas to thrive and prosper. It's great to have so much film choice each week compared to before. But relying on people going online to search for listings will only catch the committed film goers, you need to reach a wider audience than that.
On 13 Nov 2012 at 11:49am Merlin Milner wrote:
Thank you IT with your helpful suggestions. Our posters have been redsigned recently to be more visible and easy to read. There is a big sign outside AS with film posters and listings now.
Volunteers would be great. I am sure that the staff at LTC could supply posters.
On 13 Nov 2012 at 11:51am Webbo wrote:
Check out the film page on this site it has details of whats on at Lewes Cinema, Film@All Saints and Lewes Film Club
Check it out here »
On 13 Nov 2012 at 1:11pm Merlin Milner wrote:
Thanks Webbo.
On 13 Nov 2012 at 1:23pm Old Cynic wrote:
Elf and Skyfall for me then - the rest zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
On 13 Nov 2012 at 2:20pm Mother Earthy wrote:
Been a bit concerned about this. The council went on a limb I think booting Lewes Cinema out and it seems quite important that they make it work. And not just for reasons of having a good film night at the AS.
Whatever you think of how Lewes Cinema behaved when they were given notice (and I thought it was quite aggressive an unpleasant) they knew how to make their business work. Commercial films (with the odd slightly more esoteric one) and blanket publicity (presumably involving a lot of spade work). It was pretty hard not to know what they were showing. Their website was quite simple but completely straightforward.
The council screenings have too specialist a play list (like multiple nights of Lewes Film Club), terrible publicity and a website that's really unclear. Last time I went there was a tiny crowd for a what should have been a popular film. At this rate the revived Lewes Cinema will see them off in a few months. I think this would a shame. The council could do a lot worse than simply copy the Lewes Cinema business model.
Any chance that the council could have a rethink Merlin? It doesn't seem like making it work should be too difficult.
On 13 Nov 2012 at 2:27pm Helper wrote:
Mother Earthy, making it work IS in fact extremely difficult - but then Lewes Cinema did say that at the time and many refused to believe it. There are no thousands of pounds to made depsite claims to the contrary as they repeatedly pointed out. But I guess experience helps Lewes Cinema overcome the pitfalls a lot of the time...
On 13 Nov 2012 at 2:37pm Mother Earty wrote:
True enough Helper. I'm certainly not one who assumed that running films out of the AS would be free money. I'm just slightly surprised that the council seem to be botching it a bit when they had a perfectly good business model to copy and a ready made audience. There is certainly work involved but someone has already shown how it can be done.
On 13 Nov 2012 at 2:39pm Merlin Milner wrote:
Come on lets be positive. We have 3 different film operators. This means that there is loads of choice for punters in and around Lewes. Nobody has said it is easy to run and especially market a cinema. However lets all try and make it work for Lewes. It is early days for Film at All Saints and I know that many of the points raised above are or have been acted upon.
Film at Saints is a community cinema, Lewes film club is a specialist club and Lewes Cinema is a commercial operation. All have their pluses and minuses, and the type of films that they show will vary.
We have the opportunity of making Lewes a 'destination' for cinema.
On 13 Nov 2012 at 2:53pm Mother Earthy wrote:
Hi Merlin, My argument here is that there are very few who benefit from the council making a bit of a mess of it. The council, I would suggest, risked a measure of their credibility on this and the start has not gone so well. This not only puts the venture in jeopardy but also affects people's perceptions of the council's ability to get things done.
I am glad things are changing but it seems to me it was unnecessary to go through this process, especially when the whole town was watching (or indeed now not watching).
On 13 Nov 2012 at 3:46pm Independent Thinker wrote:
I want to be as positive about this as possible. There is a great opportunity now to bring people into Lewes (or stay in Lewes) for cinema each weekend. But a lot of work needs to be done to succeed. For example, I've not been to the All Saints since the new service started (timings haven't worked for the films I wanted to see), but apparently there are new seats in, which was a big issue with the old set up. Why no press release about that? Photos of the seats on the website. Why no grand opening with local news cameras and ViPs to cut ribbons? Is the Oyster project doing the catering as was proposed? How about articles about that in local papers, as that's a real selling point. Basically, it was a gamble to take over the going concern, and somebody needs to take personal responsibility for making sure it works. A lot of extra (unpaid) hours and enthusiasm needed, but for the council's credibility this needs to work. Maybe start with some market research. A team of volunteers to go to the Friday market, the precinct, leisure centre, wherever people congregate and ask who knows about the cinema, whether they've been yet, what would make them go if they haven't, what films they'd like to see, and ask them what the best way to reach them with news of screenings would be, if they'd like to be kept up to date. Basically, see if you can find someone with PR/Marketing skills to get things rolling.
On 13 Nov 2012 at 5:53pm Webbo wrote:
Or you could take out one of those banners at the top of these pages
This site generated over 230,000 pages views to over 30,000 visitors in the last month, so a lot of people will see it.
just saying 
On 14 Nov 2012 at 9:06am Carmen Slijpen wrote:
The All Saints Centre posts weekly film-list by email: send your address to asc.lewes@btconnect.com to stay in the loop. Talk to your friends about the fantastic new seats, see your films there. The All Saints belongs to the people of Lewes, support it.
Check it out here »
On 14 Nov 2012 at 10:38am jennyb wrote:
'JennyB try to be a bit more constructive please.' Merlin Milner I find that comment extremely sarcastic and patronising. I am saying what I think and am not some total moron that you seem to think I am. You hold a position of responsibility and I am absolutely furious at the rude manner you show time and again to people who do not feel the same as you do. It shows a complete lack of respect. I do not wish to turn this into some long running argument but think you have definitely got above yourself. No doubt you will come back with more of the same in a retaliatory snub to this comment which will rather prove the point.
On 14 Nov 2012 at 12:49pm Lewes Cinema wrote:
Lewes Cinema shows films digitally in comfortable surroundings and also runs an email list - which we have done for over 10 years. You can sign-up to our email list on our website at lewescinema.co.uk
What I would say to people is that they should simply go and see the films they prefer, at the venue they prefer - there should be no need to support one venue just because it is council owned or otherwise. We are well aware that we will have regular customers who will sometimes want to visit All Saints rather than Lewes Cinema at the Little Theatre. Usually this will be down to film choice and that is as it should be. When we were operating at All Saints we had many customers who also went to see film club films.
In the situation where both All Saints and us at Little Theatre are showing the same film then it's really down to customer preference, they might prefer the day/time of one venue over another or they might find that one venue gives them a better cinema experience overall.
Check it out here »
On 14 Nov 2012 at 12:51pm Old Cynic wrote:
Just looked at the Film at All Saints website - gawd its a horrible mess. White and brilliant coloured fornt is really hard to read on a black background, take off the old stuff and sort out the presentation and layout so its 'cleaner' to look at - I was going to say a 7 year old could do that - but theyu could do a much better job!
On 14 Nov 2012 at 1:18pm John McGowan wrote:
Looking at the latest selection it does seem to me like the films being picked are a bit more commercial. Not sure if that's deliberate or just what's available. Good either way though as I agree that the Town Council have laid at least some of their credibility on this working. I'd say the website could do with a bit more clarity (e.g. dates in larger fonts) and clearly there is some way to go to achieve the publicity levels that Lewes Cinema had. The social media seems good though.
I've been very keen on the Council trying to develop this and there are obviously big potential benefits if it works well. I do always get slightly uneasy though Carmen when I'm urged to support things in this way. Though I should (and will) it always feels like it places the emphasis where I'm not sure it belongs. One implication would seem to be that, if it doesn't work its out fault for not getting behind it. Perhaps that's unfair but it kind of feels that way. I'd suggest rather that the onus should be a little more on Film at the All Saints offering something that people want to attend perhaps.
On 14 Nov 2012 at 1:20pm Arthur Brain wrote:
It is interesting how not all those Town Councillors who are active online and who promote themselves don't all also promote what goes on at the All Saints. Why might that be? Have a word with your colleagues Merlin. Every little helps.
On 14 Nov 2012 at 2:25pm Independent Thinker wrote:
A very positive attitude, Lewes Cinema, and one I support. We have two cinemas now, and I hope both will thrive. In all our interests for that to happen. Nobody has to go to see films in Lewes, or has to support one venue over the other (except in hopefully rare occasions when same film playing at the same time in both), but my hope is that as many people as possible are aware of both cinemas and know what's playing and when. And clearly Film at All Saints still needs more work with that. After all the confusion, I'm worried some may have got out of the habit, or may not know there are two cinemas now, or might feel that they're being disloyal to go to one over the other. Everyone should just see the films they want to see at the time that suits best. Simple as that, really.
On 14 Nov 2012 at 11:38pm Manic wrote:
Is it just me who despises the use of the word 'Film' when the plural or other words can be used?
It reminds me of the poncey types on The Late Show and the like, waffling on about their favourite artform, etc.
Call 'em films.
On 15 Nov 2012 at 2:52pm brixtonbelle wrote:
But film is an art form. And the word is being used as a sort of generic plural as well, to denote that art form. I'm sure some grammar buff will come on and tell us something about the use of the definite and indefinite article, but 'a film at the All Saints' would sound all wrong; then it would be better to use the plural.
Hmm. Now I've confused myself...
On 16 Nov 2012 at 4:55pm Jack Morganstern wrote:
What a balanced and level headed reply, Lewes Cinema. Sadly negated by your wife being seen removing "Film at All Saints" posters while she affixes your own.
On 19 Nov 2012 at 1:06pm Lewes Cinema wrote:
Jack Morganstern - I run Lewes Cinema and I don't have a wife - furthermore, I have not taken down any film at all saints posters. It's quite possible that others have taken those posters down as they often do with mine.