Oh...and it looks great! Simple goes a very long way. To get people to come back you want something that is simple and easy to get what you want. If you have to click something more than about 3 times to reach your goal, you are losing your audience. You have two types of viewer...those that like flashy stuff and those that could care less. Ultimately, with your site, the main goal is to retrieve info and retrieve it quick and your design thus far seems to please both those crowds!

Well done.

Agreed. So great to hear. Thanks!

I guess what I mean is coming from a parent's view I might want to know what kind of kid friendly movies are coming up. Most parents have no idea what is coming and if there was a way to view those upcoming movies to maybe plan a play-date or birthday, etc. it might be useful.

Another thing is that I feel that tehre is a huge market out there for review sites that tell you about the issues a movie might have for children - Is it to intense, to much adult talk, violent, sex, etc. If you could incorporate a ratings guide based on something like what kids-in-mind does, you could have something very useful by a crowd you were not even thinking about. I know that it would be based on assumptions, but from your own opinion of what the trailer and "scoop-talk" is providing you might be able to give an idea of it's rating of maybe 1 to 10 of whether or not it is "kid-friendly".

Just adding this simple feature might bring the attention of a crowd that you were not even thinking about. I know I would use it!

[This message has been edited by caleblyn (edited 12/11/2013 5:12p).]

I think you've convinced me to at least do a ratings category. That way you'll be able to see a list of every G-rated or PG-rated movie coming out, in order of release date. I can definitely see a lot of people using that now.

As for the kid-friendly ratings thing, it's a good idea, but one I may have to incorporate later. If only because it'd require me to see all the kids movies in theaters, and then report back on them. Not only would that obviously be a headache, but as a single, unmarried male in my early-30s, I think I'd probably end up just creeping a lot of people out. But if the site ever gets big enough, and I'm ever in a position to hire any kind of a staff, it's definitely a feature I could incorporate.

I really love the simple, elegant look of the site.

Have you considered on the "Expanded" view alternating shaded and non-shaded rows to make it easier to read across?

Thanks.

And that's a good idea. Was wondering if something like that would make it feel too busy, but probably not. Adding it to my notes.

it works for texags!

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As for the kid-friendly ratings thing, it's a good idea, but one I may have to incorporate later. If only because it'd require me to see all the kids movies in theaters, and then report back on them. Not only would that obviously be a headache, but as a single, unmarried male in my early-30s, I think I'd probably end up just creeping a lot of people out. But if the site ever gets big enough, and I'm ever in a position to hire any kind of a staff, it's definitely a feature I could incorporate.

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One last point and I'll leave it alone...you could make a simple link to www.kids-in-mind.com for each movie. Their ratings are only 3 numbers like "3-4-3". You could have the numbers off to the side (next to the RT%) which would be a link to kids-in-mind. This would not take any of your time and heck, maybe they give you an advertisement kick-back for sending people to their site to read the "family-friendly" review.

Just a thought and like you said maybe it can be worked into version 3.0.

[This message has been edited by caleblyn (edited 12/12/2013 7:58a).]

One more thing: be sure that whoever you hire to design and build it understands responsive web design. These days, more and more people are using mobile devices to view websites, and you want your site to work equally well across all tablet and phone screen sizes, as well as the desktop.

caleblyn - Good idea. Bookmarked that site and I'll try to incorporate it. Thanks!

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One more thing: be sure that whoever you hire to design and build it understands responsive web design. These days, more and more people are using mobile devices to view websites, and you want your site to work equally well across all tablet and phone screen sizes, as well as the desktop.

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Agreed. For instance, I want the header/menu to be constantly seen at the top of the page, so it's easier to navigate. If you're at the bottom of the list, I don't want you to have to scroll all the way back to the top in order to switch pages. But when looking at those current mock-ups on my iPhone, in landscape mode, the header/menu takes up more than half the screen vertically. Wouldn't work as is. So finding someone who can make the look work across all platforms is definitely a must. Will probably have to end up going with a header/menu that's a lot thinner than the current, rough version.

I really do think that finding the right designer is going to the toughest part of this whole process. It should be a fairly "easy" build, since it's not a super-complicated site, but finding a designer/team who can understand, improve upon, and properly-execute the database aspect of it, while also coming up with a genuinely bold, simple, stylish look/logo/etc is going to be tough. But maybe not.

Though, I've already started looking for design companies here in LA and the list is almost impossible to sort through. Especially having no clue about that whole world. The vast majority of options I've seen are pretty bad. If you're a web design company who can't even design a good site for your own company, you're doing it wrong. And that's most of these companies.

A few I've found so far that (kind of) stand out, though...

http://wndrmnt.com
http://thisbythem.com
http://toi.io
http://isadoradesign.com

Guess I'll just start with those, plus a couple others, early in the new year and go from there. If none of them work out, surely one or two will at least be able to point me in the right direction...

[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 12/12/2013 11:23a).]

Looks really good, I'd use it. Whenever it becomes a household name and everyone uses it, I'll tell them, "Yeah, I'm pretty close with the founder. I pretty much greenlit the idea."

Btw, anyone happen to know what company did http://aggiefblife.com/? Will research it on my own when I get the chance, just wanted to throw it out there in the meantime.

That's actually a really nice, clean look. I seriously doubt they're in LA - which is a must for me, as I'd want to meet frequently in-person - but I may try contacting whoever that is to see if they have any recommendations.

For those asking for a mouse-over pop-up window with director/cast info, something kind of like this?

Still don't know if I'd have to enter in this info myself for each listing, or if we could just pull from IMDB using some kind of code, but either way there'd also be an IMDB link for each film's movie in the pop-up window as well. Will also try to include the poster as well. May not have enough room to have it pop out to the left like that, so if not, will try to do it above each title...



*** EDIT ***

Settled on a "final" look to give to the designers, so I'm taking down all the old mock-ups. Would rather they not be floating around for the next couple months while the site is being built.

Again, just wanted to tell everyone who contributed & critiqued how much I appreciate it. Really, I had no idea how valuable this exercise would be, as the final product will be a direct result of many ideas in this thread.

Thanks!


[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 12/16/2013 12:58p).]

It looks busy after the rating add. Just a bit cramped over there.

^ Agreed, but I didn't add the ratings. They've been there the whole time, since I first posted this stuff. Hopefully, if we do some kind of alternating column highlights, it won't look as cluttered on that side. Will be something for the designers to ultimately figure out.

My mistake, I saw the above post about adding ratings, and just realized you were talking about the filter column.

I think it has to do with trading the places with RT% and Trailer. It looks closer because of that for some reason.

Yeah, I switched those because there was confusion about the runtime being for the trailer and not the movie itself.

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I really do think that finding the right designer is going to the toughest part of this whole process.

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If they don't know what responsive web design is, just go ahead and scratch them off of your list.

This is a great idea for a site and I would use it all the time. I would access it 95% of the time on my phone, and I would like it to be extremely simplified. Many times a week at some point I have a moment of ADD and want to know what's upcoming in theaters and what's upcoming on DVD/OnDemand/etc.

For instance I'll be driving around listening to talk radio and they might mention an actor I like, then I'll remember a movie of his and want to know instantly when it's released or if it's out on DVD yet so I can add it to a mental to-do list. ADD kicks in so I'll safely pull the car over and quickly check on my phone. ( "Olivia Wilde and Sudeikis are a couple? God she's hot. Wasn't she in that cool Drinking Buddies movie? Is that out on DVD yet? Let's check Flixster - was released in theaters this summer I think so hopefully coming out soon. Yes, out on 12/13 - will watch soon when I'm alone! ) My best app now is Flixster - very simple and easy to scroll through movie releases and DVD releases.

I love the general idea of linking to other common sites like IMDB, RT, trailers. I wish there was a website or wish IMDB could add an all-encompassing list of On-Demand/TV listings. For example, at Thanksgiving my brothers and I randomly decided we wanted to watch Zoolander. It's almost 2014 - if we want to instantly watch any movie we should be able to find it quickly and simply, right? Between the 3 of us we have access to Netflix, Directv with all the movie channels and premium on-demand, Amazon Prime, HBOGo, probably Showtime and Cinemax have HBOGo type apps, and maybe other apps we don't know about. It's a pain to search each site separately looking for one movie. After about 10 minutes of searching we found it on Netflix. But it would be great if there was 1 site that listed all current platforms to watch a movie. I see IMDB has this feature added recently but it appears to be an Amazon only sponsored deal.

[This message has been edited by InternetFan02 (edited 12/12/2013 10:55p).]

Love the idea and the mockups. Just one thing...KEEP IT SIMPLE. There's lots of great ideas in here, but if it gets complicated, it loses what makes it great.

I understand being able to re-sort the list by things such as studio and title, but what made your original site so great was it required no effort to see what was coming out. I'd pull it up frequently just to see what was on the horizon. Having the "summer 2015" section was great because you knew when something was slated for, even if it didn't have a specific date.

Not trying to be negative, but adding anything more than what you've got and you're just sorting IMDB differently. I loved your site because it was easy to use and offered the specific information it was designed for. If I wanted to see more about a movie I knew nothing about, I could easily pull it up on IMDB or Wikipedia or something. And you're providing links, so you make that really easy.

TCTTS - Thank you for picking this up again.

I really liked your old site and still have the "dead" bookmark in my browser. I used it all the time, and I appreciated the effort you put into keeping that list up.

Your new mock-ups look good. I wanted to echo the earlier comments about the clean, modern look to what you have so far, and your proposed links for each movie.

Something like this would be an outstanding resource!

I like your heading design, and the column headers make sense for sorting and informational purposes. The main categories look good, but I will agree that the category headings might not be intuitive at first glance. But, you did include brief synopses of each category underneath it (i.e. your Theater-to-home description of "Notable theatrical releases coming to Blu-Ray..."), which helps the user to initially identify what the category represents.

Overall, I think it is a great idea and can hardly wait to slap a new bookmark in my browser for it!

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I understand being able to re-sort the list by things such as studio and title, but what made your original site so great was it required no effort to see what was coming out.

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I don't understand how some of you guys have the perception that options to customize something take away from the simplicity. From my perspective, I'd like TCTTS to present the information on the site in whatever way he thinks is the most beneficial to the largest audience. I just want the ability to take what is presented in the "simplest" format to TCTTS and modify my personal view so that it is tailored to my personal preferences. This way, the EU can visit the site and look at the information as presented; no fuss, no filtering or sorting required. However, if the EU would rather customize, then the EU would have those options. In my opinion, everybody wins.

[This message has been edited by BEaggie08 (edited 12/13/2013 2:05p).]

InternetFan02 - you are my target audience. I appreciate the enthusiasm, and I definitely share your ADD. MIne has caused me to create an entire freaking website I'll also give Flixster a look and see what I can potentially use from it. Good recommendation.

And yeah, I wish there was something like you described. I know exactly what you're talking about. The Projection List will never be it, as I have no desire to sort and categorize old movies (rather, not new movies), but I guarantee you, as On Demand and all that advances, some kind of a system like you described will be put in place. We're in such a state of flux right now all the growing pains that comes with it.

TravelAg2004 - I completely agree. The "condensed" version will basically be my old site. Only the bare-bones, essential info and a lot of white space. Plus, the new way I have in mind will make it even easier to jump to specific years and all that.

And yeah, I'm definitely not looking to be IMDB-light. I'm seriously debating whether or not I even want to have the mouse-over pop-up windows with the director and a couple of cast members, especially when the movie's IMDB page is just a click away. Will likely come down to whether or not it's even plausible with that many listing on a single page (factoring in load times, etc.).

Either way, simplicity and ease-of-use (for both the user and me) will be top priority.

bigjohn1 - Ha, that's awesome. And thanks.

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The main categories look good, but I will agree that the category headings might not be intuitive at first glance. But, you did include brief synopses of each category underneath it (i.e. your Theater-to-home description of "Notable theatrical releases coming to Blu-Ray..."), which helps the user to initially identify what the category represents.

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Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. It's so tricky because this has never really been done before. No one's ever attempted to properly sort-out and label these different categories in this way. Which is why I think the site will ultimately prove successful, but right now it's a challenge simply trying to name this stuff in the first place.

Like I mentioned above, the whole market and how we receive and watch this stuff is in such a state of flux right now, but I think it feels like it's finally starting to settle into place. Hopefully the site can kind of help that process along, at least in people's minds. Help them organize these different options and categories.

And, like you said, I think the quick descriptions directly below the titles will help, and users will (hopefully) understand & catch-on fairly fast. Ideally, pie-in-sky scenario, these terms start to become the standard, go-to labels for this stuff in the future. But who knows. All I know is that I've thought long and hard about every title-option out there, as have many in this thread it sounds like, and I just don't know if there's any better options at the moment. We'll see.

quote:

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I don't understand how some of you guys have the perception that options to customize something take away from the simplicity. From my perspective, I'd like TCTTS to present the information on the site in whatever way he thinks is the most beneficial to the largest audience. I just want the ability to take what is presented in the "simplest" format to TCTTS and modify my personal view so that it is tailored to my personal preferences. This way, the EU can visit the site and look at the information as presented; no fuss, no filtering or sorting required. However, if the EU would rather customize, then the EU would have those options. In my opinion, everybody wins.

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Agreed. I was somewhat resistant at first, but now I really do think that the "expanded" and "compressed" options are the way to go. I didn't realize how many people didn't want to see studio info, etc. Or, rather, how many people at least wanted the option not to.

But just to clarify, that's about as "customizable" as it's likely going to get. Going down the road of letting people choose exactly what categories the want to see will likely be far too complicated. Basically, you'll be able to see the movie's title and release date, along with links to its RT score and trailer, in condensed view. Then expanded will open up to studio, genre, format, runtime, and rating. Anything more customizable than that would just be a giant headache and most likely unnecessary.

InternetFan02, you're looking for fan.tv.

Just a quick update, if anyone's interested...

I think I've finally settled on what looks to be a pretty sweet web design company. Had a GREAT phone call with the owner a couple days back. I was kind of shocked how into the idea he was. He's meeting with the rest of his team/company today to go over details, get feedback, etc. I'll probably then meet in person next week to go over cost & additional details. So hopefully the ball will officially get rolling here in the next week or so. Trying to have this thing up and running by March (earlier than originally planned), but we'll see.

A couple other items of note:

- Not doing a news section. We both agreed that it'd be too much to keep track of. Though, I'll still have some kind of way to comment on release news, post new trailers, etc.

- The mouse-over function on movie titles that would bring up the movie's poster/director/cast may have to go. It's going to be tough enough having 300+ links on a single page (might be a challenge to load that much text on mobile). So you'll probably have to click on the movie title link itself and just view that info on the movie's IMDB page.

Other than that, it looks like I'll be able to add/keep everything else I'm wanting to do. Though, it's obviously still VERY early in the process. Still a lot to be figured out and cost could still be an issue (but it sounded doable).

And again, the owner thought it was an awesome idea, couldn't believe something like this hasn't been done yet, and just seemed super-stoked to work on it in general.

Can't wait to see how it goes. Will keep you guys updated...

[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 1/10/2014 3:42p).]

Keep chasing the dream. I hope it continues to go well for you. And looking forward to checking it out.

Proud of you for pushing your dream into reality TCTTS! Can't wait to see the finished product!