We lucked out with a new sound system in our cafeteria/stage from a recent bond, but there was no decent screen. Our past PTO prez made a huge screen from about 10 yards of 60" wide muslin fabric. Cut into 3 lengths, sewn together with two seams, suspended from a rod in the rigging, and weighted with 2x4s - it was great! Cost about $50 total. The seams didn't show, the fabric was taut, and the image was big enough that you felt you weren't just at home.
We had everyone in a chair, rather than kids on the floor in front (Principal thought that would get out of control). Worked fine - fidgeting only in the last few minutes.
We also sold popcorn, etc. Tickets were $2 so we made a little money, but not tons. We had maybe 110 there last year.
This year, we were having trouble selecting a good fall movie...there aren't any new G movies coming out in November. Then we asked the principal if it had to be G (which I assumed), and he said OK to PG since the families have the option to attend or not. We will be showing Shrek2 only a week after it comes out on video. Our school is Gr 2-5.
Daddio--how powerful was your sound system? Our system was plenty loud enough, and it was really actually pretty old--I mean like a mixture of equipment that was between 10 and 20 years old.
We had a few sound problems last year, and we found that a certain amount of that is hard to avoid because of gym or cafeteria acoustics.
The best we were able to do was to get as many sets of speakers as possible surrounding everyone. We used three sets of speakers--rear, side, and front to alleviate the problems.
As for the costs involved--the license cost $350 for a year for our size school (350 kids)--it covers every movie the Family Movie Night people have...including most Disney movies.
We started out not wanting to take on the whole cost because we didn't know whether it would work for us or not, so we purchased two one time showings at $50 each. They applied those costs to the year's license when we purchased it the following month.
We recouped those costs not by charging for entrance but by taking donations. We did charge for snacks including pizza, which we sold by the slice. We paid for the license in the first night and chose to continue using that not as a fundraiser but as a free activity for families.
We tested a variety of projection methods and finally found a screen material that worked. I have the directions on how we made it--I'll be happy to share if you e-mail me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . It cost about $60 to make and will last the school at least 5 years.
As for making the projector work--most school av labs keep a projector. This projector hooks up directly to your DVD or video player and can also be attached to your home audio device for sound.
I have to say that Family Movie Nights are about the best idea I got from PTO Today. I am so impressed with the program!
We did one last spring and just used a dvd player and projector. I used my home surround sound and it was to quiet for the cafeteria with 100 plus people. Try to make sure you have something loud enough.
We are doing one in november again, but still not sure what to do with the sound. Any advice?
We are Kindergarten through 5th school, We haven't had a movie night yet, but we did have a all school movie afternoon in the gym and it worked great!! We ended up having a digital projector in our computer lab that we hooked up to a VCR, our music teacher then hooked the sound system in to the VCR. The picture covered half of the wall, and had movie theater sound. It was cool, we showed Jimmy Neutron, the kids really liked it. On our first movie night I think we are going to charge a small fee to get in (25 to 50 cents) and probably sale popcorn, candy, and pop. Hopefully it goes good. The license wasn't cheat so we need to make up a little of the cost. Then come spring I think we are going to try and have a outdoor showing.
We're planning on doing it with an digital projector, VCR, and a big screen. I'm not an electronics geek (that would be my husband). You can rent a large screen TV or a digital projector from a local business. Some of your parents in sales might have one. They use them for presentations.
