A trip to the cinema.

What does a trip to the cinema mean to you? Is it a day out with the family or your significant other? To me, a trip to the cinema invokes so many different emotions; some of my earliest memories revolve around being in those seats. In fact, my relationship with the moving image has inspired me at almost every turn in life. As a little girl I could recite most Disney classics word for word, and would happily watch them through, rewind and repeat. From the days when I used to watch those Disney videos until the first several minutes were almost near static from over-use, to my first tentative steps into amateur film production, I have enjoyed immersing myself in a good film.

I love everything about the cinema. I love how the older ones still have those lines on the outside, where in times gone by titles of upcoming and now-showing films would be displayed. These days it looks more like a foreign language since a lot of the letters are missing, but it's still exciting.

Then there's the inside, the smell of warm sweet popcorn, the buzz of the drinks dispenser, the giant cardboard displays of soon to be released films. The neon signs directing you to the refreshments and occasional bar. Buying my ticket is always a joy, I have an unlimited card so handing it over makes me feel like I'm not really paying for a film. I've had that card for just over two years now and have seen around 80 films with it. Some have been amazing, others dire but always an experience. I like to be the first into a screen, for best pick of the seats, if I can I always go for back row centre. No one to kick the back of your seat or throw popcorn at you :) In the dark the rustling and inane chatter is familiar, of course you do get the few annoying people who insist on looking at their phone during the film, or making a noise. But they've never deterred me from returning over and over.

I'm one of those annoying people who loves adverts and trailers. To me that's part of the experience, everything looks better that much bigger. Seeing what's coming soon, choosing the films you will and won't see depending on how the trailer affects me is a huge part of going in the first place. Then the room goes dark and you snuggle deep into the chair and the story begins. The best films aren't the ones with the huge A-Listers, or the biggest budgets. To me the best films are the ones you get totally immersed in, you escape from reality so much you forget you're in a dark room with a lot of strangers. So when the lights come on again you are left with a misty recollection of where you are and the feeling of being part of something much bigger.

After each film, I keep my ticket stub and glue it into my journal. The above picture shows a two page spread of film tickets. I write a brief review and score it out of ten so when the film comes out on DVD I have a reference to look back on when deciding whether to buy it or not. It might come across as a little sad, especially considering about 90% of the films I see, I go to alone. But I actually enjoy my own company, and let's face it there's little more annoying than that friend who asks seven million questions during a film.

I feel I've come a long way since the days of Disney, although I must say I'm still a sucker for the classics. I collect them, only now they're on shiny DVDs and cost a small fortune to buy. Beauty and the Beast was always my favourite, Belle was an aspiration because she loved books as much as I did. She taught me to follow my dreams and always believe that there was much more to life. That may sound rather tragic upon reflection, but I was about four years old at the time...

And so back to my original question, what does a trip to the cinema mean to you? To me it is a magical overload of all my senses. I hope that I go on enjoying trips for a long, long time to come. Thanks for reading :)