Supplies and equipment for art house cinema are essential to create the right atmosphere for your business. Though the most important part of your business is proving the best in independent or classic films, you'll probably also want to move a step up from standard movie theater equipment, giving your patrons not only quality sight and sound but a pampered or luxurious surrounding, too. Fortunately, because independent films are distributed on a limited basis, it is less expensive to screen them; therefore, the profit margin in an art house theater can be higher. This means you can spend more on the quality art house cinema customers expect.

In addition to the many other important business decisions you'll make as you develop your art house theater, be sure to carefully map out the sort of equipment you'll need to purchase. Some items are obvious (like projection equipment), while others are easy to forget but should not be afterthoughts (like crowd control materials). Consider the following:

1. Art house film projection and sound equipment to fit your budget and wow your audiences

2. Concession supplies suitable for an art house movie theater

3. Miscellaneous art house films supplies, including safety and crowd control equipment

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find fantastic sound and projection equipment for art house theaters

Excellence is expected at art house cinemas, and nowhere should excellence be more obvious than in the projection and sound equipment your theater uses. Careful shopping is required to get the best equipment at an affordable price, but begin with well-established companies willing to consult with you on what's best for your particular theater.

I recommend: American Cinema Equipment provides a variety of sound and projection equipment, including parts; click on "Products" in the left-hand menu to learn more. R.S. Engineering & Manufacturing also boasts an impressive collection of projection and sound equipment for cinema.

Buy concession supplies perfect for art house movies

When Americans go to the movies, they expect a concessions stand. When shopping for art house movie theaters, choose classic concession products such as old fashioned popcorn machines and dispensers.

I recommend: For concession supplies such as popcorn machines, drink dispensers, hot dog equipment and other supplies, visit ConcessionStands.com. For nacho cheese machines, popcorn supplies, coffee creamer equipment and other concession necessities, check our Concession Equipment.net.

Select miscellaneous supplies for art house movie theaters

Your art house cinema will also require standard products like crowd control signage and seating. Do your best to buy quality products of some beauty, like stanchions with silk ropes and seating of durable yet attractive velveteen.

I recommend: Cinema Consultants offers a wide range of useful products, including signage, acoustical wall draperies and seating. For crowd control equipment like stanchions and safety products, visit CrowdControlExperts.com.

When you are looking to watch an art house film or sell them through your business, purchase DVDs online or treat yourself to one of the few art house movie theaters left throughout the US. There you can find independent, foreign, classic, documentary and cult productions to suit any film desire.

The art house movie is a popular choice for an evening out or evening in, and you can easily access the many resources. You can often join a local film society to support the art and enter the shows at a discounted price.

To tap into the available art house movie theater resources:

1. Figure out of if you are looking for entertainment or stocking your DVD store with art house film options.

2. Join a local art house film society group or sign up for membership with one of the independent film sites. Both should offer you discounts and film updates.

3. Expand your art house film selections from English only titles to foreign films with subtitles as well for an even wider variety of flicks.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Purchase art house movie selections for you or your business

Stock up on the latest art house movie choices for your store or for your own personal enjoyment.

I recommend: Find the best in world cinema from foreignfilms.com. There you can find anything from art house classics to the latest theatrical and DVD independent film releases. GreenCine specializes in art and independent film. You can purchase them from the site or use their subscription online rental service.

Join or financially back a local art house film society

Join or financially back a local art house film society for greater art house film enjoyment. Film societies often give you advance notice of upcoming films as well as discounts off of tickets that you can use for employee incentives or for business entertainment purposes.

I recommend: Check out the Rehoboth Beach Film Society (RBFS). Card carrying RBFS members are eligible for the senior admission rate for the first day screenings of the Rehoboth Beach Art House Theater films. Become a Cameo Film Society member in Fayetteville, NC, and enjoy films at the Art House Theatre. Become a member of the Enzian Film Society and check out flicks at Central Florida's only full-time, nonprofit alternative cinema.

Patronize a local art house movie theater for a great company or personal activity

Patronize a local art house movie theater for an evening out or an affordable company group activity.

I recommend: Ariki Art Online Gallery is an online source for independent, foreign, classic and documentary films in the LA area. Check out the foreign films at Kimball's Twin Peak Theater in Colorado Springs, CO. They are a mega-plex/mall movie experience that also offers a full bar serving liquor, draft beer, espresso drinks and wine by the glass. Buy tickets online for Art House in Provincetown, MA. Check out the restored Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, MI.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Consider supporting art house movies through your business. You can financially back a film, you can be a corporate sponsor for a film society, you can volunteer at film society events, or you could act as a mentor to new actor, producer or film business person.

Independent movies shown in specific tailored venues sometimes fall into a U.S. category known as "art house cinema." An art house film or art house movie is generally given this genre title as a film that is shown in a dedicated art house movie theater, which adds to its "indy appeal." There are also other genre tags that indicate art house, and more U.S. media attention is gravitating toward identifying and covering this genre.

Businesses that want to "invest" in art house theater in any sense can find useful art house cinema news and trends online covering the most popular art house films, criteria for art house, reviews and demographic trends, as well as a host of other information that will help the cinema-oriented business to find out about what has marketing appeal and what is tracking well in the market, for a variety of purposes including:

1. Renting out or selling art house movie DVDs or operating an on-site facility that could be called an art house movie theater.

2. Promoting a client's art-house film project or otherwise getting involved in PR or marketing for art house movies.

3. Doing market research for a product or service that is relevant to art house and targets the same audience that art house film generally collects.

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Look for art house film news from cinema magazines online

Some great cinema media venues reach out to readers from an online platform. Browse the sites of these editions to find timely news on what's big in art house, where the genre is headed and how to work within it.

I recommend: The Filmmaker Magazine blog offers articles on the demand for Art House cinema. Get more from the International Film Guide: "The definitive source for world cinema news and reviews."

Find other broader scope art magazines with art house cinema news online

Film magazines are not the only ones offering up tidbits on art house film for an online readership: many media outlets exploring various aspects of 21st century culture include art house news on their sites.

I recommend: Get the scoop on art house from the online version of Paste magazine, a news stand favorite covering a range of visual arts, music and more. New media industry heavies like perennial favorite Slate also routinely cover art house as a phenomenon in articles like this Cinema Purgatorio: the Horrors of Art Houses.

Look for more info from public websites on art house cinema

Other wide spectrum public websites operate with some details on art house cinema as a genre and what is going on within it. Check these out for more background before getting involved in figuring the ROI of an art house project.

I recommend: Get art house reviews and info from Ariki Art, a public arts site. Readers can find more art house details at sites like ArtHouse Movies: Independent Films.

The emergence of "art house cinema" represents a true revival of traditional visual arts within a general market headed directly toward futuristic digital technology. Art house cinema is something that a business will often choose to participate in out of a specific business plan, ideology or niche market pursuit where business leaders are clear on how their offerings will contrast to those of other more "mainstream" competition. Knowing about some of the key terms associated with art house will help to bolster this critical knowledge.

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Subtitles

Subtitles are additional wording that flashes on screen during a film. In art house, subtitles are often a way to show what people are saying in foreign languages, as one prominent mark of art house cinema is its willingness to cross linguistic boundaries.

I recommend: See a definition of subtitles at AntiMoon. Get resource material in some surprising trends in subtitled art house in Spain at DescubreMadrid.

Revival house or repertory cinema

A revival house or a repertory cinema is a venue where audiences watch specific kinds of classic films. The art house movement includes many of these 'houses of unconventional film.'

I recommend: See more on repertory houses as well as other info on art house at The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia.

SIFF

The Seattle International Film Festival is a force to be reckoned with in art house cinema. This mammoth festival sets the scene for a lot of art house trends. Follow up on what's happening with large established art house and independent cinema conventions like these for a better handle in the industry as a whole.

I recommend: See more on what's happening with the SIFF with stories like this one from the Seattle Times.

Recession cinema

This term, coined in times of economic downturn, has a lot to do with art house cinema as opposed to the 'blockbuster' style films from large Hollywood producers. Recession cinema is the marker for what kind of film can survive in a down market.

I recommend: Find out about recession cinema, as well as a lot more in feature stories on the future of art house, from Paste Magazine online.

Analog projectors and projection

Analog or 'old school' projection methods are often part of an art house movie setup. This is one way that aficionados of classic or art house theatre seek to differ from the newer Hollywood film trends. In some art house venues, authentic analog projection replaces the norm, which is today's low cost digital projection method.

I recommend: See how analog projection works at HowStuffWorks.

Avant garde

This term, originally from the French, refers to a novel approach or something new, especially in the arts. It is a term sometimes used to differentiate art house from more 'mainstream' film.

I recommend: Find definitions of avant garde at the Free Dictionary online. Also see Dictionary.com for more definitions.