Lancaster University Cinema, or LU Cinema, has undergone a re-launch and is now Take 2 Cinema. SCAN spoke to Take 2 Cinema President Andrew McClements about the changes; he revealed that the cinema was originally established in the 1960s and named for the university, therefore the time had come for a re-brand. The student cinema is also a society, with the exec and all the cinema staff entirely managed by students volunteering their time, much the same as the other student media; McClements cited this a reason for the rebrand, telling SCAN “the original name didn’t really fit well alongside the other groups of LUSU’s student media (SCAN, Bailrigg, LA1:TV), we felt like the cinema needed an identity just like the other groups… We hope we can develop a better brand presence on campus that’s individual to the cinema, instead of just being linked with the University”.
[quote]we felt like the cinema needed an identity just like the other groups[/quote]
The cinema’s logo, previously a dinosaur in a top hat, has also changed as the society reinvent their identity to a clapperboard – which McClements feels is “relevant given the name” and “more professional than our older dinosaur logo”. However, the dinosaur logo had a certain charm and McClements told SCAN: “To be honest, we’re not entirely sure how the dinosaur became the mascot of LU Cinema, but we’re going to keep him around for some marketing materials and stuff, just so he’s not completely extinct”. The new name itself was also a hard decision, made by members of the cinema exec. “It took a lot of effort to come up with a new name, I think at one stage a member of my exec suggested ‘That place that shows movies’ out of desperation. But, we chose Take 2 because the point of the campus cinema is to show films that have been out for a few months, so that we can keep costs down and then pass the savings onto students. We decided Take 2 would be a clever way of incorporating that.”
“The rebrand is one of many changes that are being made to the cinema,” McClements added. “You may recall over the last few years, the cinema has been upgraded to digital 4K projection, and 3D capabilities were added last year. We’re still in the process of changing quite a few things. For example, our plans for this term are to get the cinema repainted to a darker colour to improve viewing conditions, we’re going to install a backlit sign outside displaying the new logo, and we’re working with LUSU, ISS and the University on a number of other features that will be announced later in the term.”
The society plan to promote the changes through better use of social networking and through a weekly e-newsletter on the website that students can subscribe to. “It’s exciting that all of this is happening considering we have such a great line up this term – you can see our complete film line-up on our website. Also for the first time ever, I’ll be happy to announce, we’ll be hosting a Disney all-nighter in week 5 which will feature a marathon of fan favourite Disney movies and some other surprises. The rebranding is just the beginning!”
Take 2 Cinema will be at Refreshers’ Fair and you can find out more about their film schedule and joining the society on their website, Twitter or Facebook page.
