Pop Up Cinema

Over the last couple of weeks I have been attending Brisbane City Council's China Town Mall 80's and 90's movie nights. Although these free summer events have let me have a cheap and enjoyable night out (and I have got to see "The Labyrinth" and "The Mighty Ducks") there are a few things I couldn't help notice that made me think about how these "pop up" summer events are conducted. 

Iphone Photo of the Chinatown Pop Up CInema

One of the first things that I noticed was that although these events were all generally well attended, especially when taking in those in restaurants that could also enjoy the screening with their meal, the events were by no means full. I also noticed that there seemed to be few people that spontaneously decided to join in and watch the movie, although many paused or slowed as they walked past. I also noticed that there seemed to be a fairly distinct crowd of families with young children or young couples in their late teens to early 20's. 

I started to think "what could easily be changed to attract more spontaneous and diverse users?" and although I in no way came up with a definitive answer, it appeared that these events  needed a better gimmick. For example Gap Filler who I mentioned here, provided a cinema that relied purely on "cycle power" to run allowing for people to get involved with the event on multiple levels. But that is not the only way you could mix it up, why not have inflatable kids pools instead of seats? Or seeing as we are in china town, utilise chinese/japanese style floor cushions. 

Christchurch cycle powered cinema via news.com.au

Personally, as this is one of the few times I have attended a free public event, I thought it was great and am keen to visit many more. I only want to make them cooler and cooler into the future! 

World on a String

In response to the Guggenheim Labs "Transform a Public Space Project" Irene Guzman submitted a super cool project entitled Public2. The idea was that not only could a public square be created out of the impromptu meeting of features such as food trucks (which I just wrote about here) but it should encourage interaction with the public using it and between the public themselves. In order to create an interactive space strings were hung above the area which the public could move and manipulate to create shade and light as  needed throughout the day for their enjoyment of the space. 

Public2 Project Conceptualisation via Good.is

Moveable lamps were also included within the public square, so not only could enjoyment be modified as needed during the day but light could also be directed at night to where it is most needed at night. I think this idea is great in that it presents a simple and well thought out way to achieve public interaction with the urban realm. I personally would want the space to have a bit more colour - perhaps neon strings? Though I think this is a great project to be applied with a temporary time frame, in order to utilise vacant space as a makeshift public square. 

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