The Film Blog

The Watershed Experience

My experience of the arthouse cinema in Bristol known as ‘Watershed’ was filled with delight over the alternative screenings of many independent films and the added luxury that comes with it. The location of the Watershed is placed by the harbour which is centered around Bristol’s creative hub for entertainment, including the hippodrome that attracts a varied audience, ranging from students to middle aged people. As well, its location is perfect for an afternoon outing because of the amount of restaurants available in the near-by area. The entrance of the Watershed has large windows that offer a great amount of natural light, whilst the ceiling just above the entrance has fairy lights. Inside the Watershed, the bright lights and bold colours create a vibrant and positive atmosphere that welcomes any customers into taking a look around the venue. It also has a board with a selection of the chosen films that are being screened that day which any cinema-goers can look into by reading the brochures available that informs you about the film and how it was produced. 

Heading upstairs there’s a social area with loads of tables and chairs that create an opportunity for people to sit down, relax and talk about the film they have just watched, thus making it more of an experience than ‘just going to the cinema’. Furthermore, there’s a cafe that encourages people to rewind and enjoy the scenic view of Bristol’s harbour. As well as a cafe, there’s a bar where you can buy alcoholic drinks which you can take with you to the screening, therefore providing a different experience of watching a film at the cinema, as opposed to a traditional cinema where they only serve soft/hot drinks. This type of environment created in the Watershed works hand in hand for the business as customers feel more obliged to spend a longer time in the venue and either get a little something to eat or have coffee. Furthermore, the brick layout and plant designs placed around the cafe give Watershed an artistic and creative edge that you don’t get in most cinema venues. In the screening rooms there are a good amount of seats available to gather a large audience for the film. The seats are placed a lot more closer to the screen than normal, creating more of an intimate screening of the film as the audience are completely absorbed in the spectacle they are witnessing. 

This type of viewing experience differs vastly from my local cinema in Merry hill called the ‘Odeon’ which has a traditional approach to cinema viewing. The location is part of a shopping center in the West Midlands that attracts its audience because of the amount of restaurants that surround it and with Odeon being the only cinema in a square mile it can sometimes get very busy during peak hours. The multiplex has a very large car parking area which means it can withhold a substantial amount of people inside. In addition, there are multiple entry points to the Odeon, including a ramp so it doesn’t exclude anyone not being able to watch the film because of a disability. As soon as you walk Inside the Odeon there’s a large amount of open space that encourages you to take a look around the venue and see what it has to offer. One of the first things you will see inside is the Costa coffee section which like the Watershed encourages its customers to momentarily relax and reflect on the film you have just watched. As well as a coffee stand, there’s also an arcade center, free of charge where children go to play whilst waiting for the screening of a film. There is also multiple stands placed around the venue which allows you to buy tickets immediately if you’re running late for a particular movie, this also helps reduce queuing time for the popcorn stand. Similar to the Watershed, the Odeon has several chairs and tables for people to converse about the film after or before the screening. Furthermore, there’s the main popcorn stand where people either go to get their tickets or food and within recent years they have expanded the type of food they now serve, which ranges from hot dogs to popcorn. 

In the multiplex there’s ten separate screening rooms available which means people have got plenty of choice over what film they want to go and watch, whereas in the Watershed they are limited to the variety of films they can watch as there are only two screening rooms. Whilst walking to the screening rooms, there are several posters displayed along the wall of upcoming and soon to be released films that persuade customers into coming back to Odeon to watch that particular film. Inside the screening rooms, there are roughly about 200 to 250 seats, some of which are V.I.P seats that have extra leg space, comfier seats and the option to lift up the leg rest, thus making it a much more comfortable viewing. However, this added luxury comes at an extra cost of two pound per ticket, but is definitely worth the money if you are looking to relax in style while watching the movie.  While leaving the screening you are greeted by staff who offer you leaflets containing information of new films coming out and exclusive deals on the Odeon premiere club – a membership that allows you to visit any Odeon in the U.K and see any film, free of charge, all for the price of £20 a month. This sort of membership encourages audiences to come back to Odeon and see more of the latest films. 

To conclude, my trip to the watershed taught myself a lot about the alternative ways of going to the cinema and the different cultures that surround it. I’ve learnt that there are certain elements in the business that attract their audiences through the added luxuries that come with going to the cinema. 

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