Backyard Home Theatre

Regardless of your budget, backyard movies can be fun for the whole family

As adults we may no longer be able to make blanket forts, but we can still create our own drive-in movies.

Minus the cars, of course, and the commute.  Constructing a little area in your backyard to screen movies on a gloriously warm summer night isn’t really all that hard. All you need are a few pieces of equipment, some chairs, and a bowl of popcorn. Simple, really ̶ or is it?
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Screening Area
Yes, you can use a sheet or the side of your house if you like, but that’s only if you want to see stucco on Ryan Reynolds’ face or watch as a particularly tense scene in “Minions: The Rise of Gru” flutter softly in the wind. No, we’re well into the 21st century and the outdoor screen is very much a thing. 

Staples, Best Buy, and Amazon have a number in different formats and sizes running from around $200 into the thousands, but the Elite Screens Yard Master Plus ticks off all of the boxes if you can slam down $560. Slimming it down a little, the RCA 100-inch portable projector screen can be had at Walmart for a paltry $68. Rentals? Go to River City Events, who have your back with 25-foot inflatable screens for $350.

If you’re determined to go the sheet route, make sure it’s pulled very tight and has somewhere in the area of a 400-thread count. The thicker the better!
(rivercityevents.ca, amazon.ca, walmart.ca)
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Media Player
Can’t be stinting on this one, because the better quality player you have, the better quality the image will be. Again, you can find yourself lost in the range of prices out there, but let’s draw a line down the middle and suggest the VANKYO Leisure 1080P projector, which does a fine job of streaming from up to 21 feet away for just under $400 at Walmart. 

You’ll need your phone, streaming stick or computer for streaming services to connect with via wi-fi, and probably better speakers, whereas the BenQ GS50 features a 2.1 channel Bluetooth speaker with extra bass. It already supports AirPlay and Chromecast casting for iOS, MacOS, Android, and PC devices, so no worries on many of the popular streaming apps. The cost? This beauty will set you back $848 if you grab it from Amazon, though it does cover the bases quite nicely.

Most likely you’ll be pulling the projector back or bringing it forward in order to get the correct screen size, so have a small table and an extension cord handy. A power strip should be kept on hand, and in case your home wi-fi isn’t powerful enough, consider investing in an extender. They can be found at Canadian Tire, Staples, Best Buy and other places, but it’s another item you don’t want to cheap out on. The UltraXtend has been getting rave reviews, and while only available online at the moment it’s actually a decent price at $49.90 US.

(ivankyo,com, benq.com, ultraxtend.com)
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Seating
That really comes down to a number of factors, doesn’t it? Lawn chairs are a great idea if you can find where they’re stashed in the basement or garage, and blankets can be deployed as well. If you have a tarp, lay it down first so that you don’t get stains on them. Pillows are a great idea; the bigger the better, and if you have a blow-up mattress, then you’re really riding in luxury.  

The Neighbors
Singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman once observed in a song to his wife that “there’s no need to let the neighbours run your life,” and while that’s true, it’s also a fact that you need to keep them informed. An outdoor movie night with the family or friends can be really irritating for folks next door, especially when there’s no forewarning. Let them know, and even consider inviting them. Maybe they’ll bring over a few bottles of wine or that potato salad that you’ve heard so much about.

Food
We’re going all out here in this article. No microwave popcorn or bags of popcorn twists for us high livers. Oh no, we’re bringing in a genuine popcorn machine from River City Rentals for $135. Then again, we could also choose the candy floss, sno-cone or the hot dog machine if we want to go all out. Infinite Event Services even offers margarita machines if you’re so inclined. If you figure you’ll be doing this on the regular and want to buy, Canadian Tire has a Betty Crocker Movie Nite Cinema-Style Kettle Popcorn Maker for $114.99.

(rivercityevents.ca, canadiantire.ca, infinteeventservices.com)

Other Factors
Royalties are part of a larger discussion when it comes to the arts, but if you’re screening a movie among a small group of family and friends you don’t need to worry about that. If you’re charging and packing people in you’ll need to revisit this. 

What you do need to worry about are bugs, and while you’ll never fully rid your yard of wasps, mosquitoes and other biting nasties you can alleviate it with wasp traps, mosquito trappers and perhaps some Deep Words Off, because we do live in northern Alberta. 

Finally, it might be tempting to wait until after the sky is completely dark to screen your movie, but keep in mind that Edmonton and other communities surrounding the city have a noise bylaw that means you can be shut down after 10 p.m. if someone really doesn’t want to hear Ryan Gosling singing his song from “Barbie” wafting through their window.

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