MuVChat: Doing their best to ruin your theater experience

After years of warning movie-goers to turn off their cell phones before the start of a show, theaters are now considering new ways to combine the movie experience with mobile technology. A company called MuVChat has created a method that allows patrons to text comments that are shown on screen during a film. Best Buy is taking this to the another level with the release of an app called Movie Mode in conjunction with the release of “Despicable Me” next month. The app will essentially work as a real time translator for the dialect of little henchmans referred to as “minions” in the movie. Currently, the technology will only allow for translations during the credits of a movie, but the technology will be fully enabled for the Blu-ray release of the film.

While there are obvious times when it might be acceptable for in-movie cell phone use, such as during kid films, many people are left wondering if this is a technology that does more harm than good. Despite efforts by the app producer to build in features that turn off sound and limit screen brightness, cell phones can be a huge distraction in a dimly lit theater. Even today, if someone in the front row turns on their phone to send a text message, the glow of the screen can be seen all the way in the back of the theater. However, with the resurgent success of 3-D as the latest marketing gimmick to drive ticket sales, it is likely that this will not be the last example of creative in-movie marketing.