Mobile movies

Cody Jessee wanted to offer something new and useful to the community.

A rentable outdoors theater setup was something he and Eric Fields hadn’t seen in Jay County.

Jessee and Fields started taking reservations for their business, Small Town Cinema, in July. They hosted a free showing at the Jay County Fair on July 11, and they’ve rented their equipment to a few local residents since then. Their equipment and services are available to those in Jay County and the surrounding area looking to host a cinematic evening outside.

Small Town Cinema provides an inflatable screen, projector and other equipment for folks to spend a night outdoors. The screen is 25 feet wide and 13.5 feet tall. It comes with a 4K projector, sound system and a Blu-ray DVD player, which can be used to stream Netflix or other applications. (To stream, renters will need access to wi-fi.) Folks are also able to hook up any devices with an HDMI port, such as a Nintendo Switch, or devices with screen-mirroring capabilities, such as a smart phone or tablet.

With the setup, renters could watch a movie, stream sports, run a slideshow or play video games on the big screen in their own backyard or other venue, such as campgrounds.

Jessee, the school resource officer for Jay School Corporation, said he had been looking for ways to “bring more fun to Jay County.” 

“I like to think of ideas that can get our youth involved,” he said.

He’s been hoping to establish himself in the community as an entrepreneur. Small Town Cinema is his first business venture since he started doing photography in 2020.

“I wanted to offer something that we don’t have,” said Jessee.

Although he didn’t grow up in Jay County — Fields and Jessee are both Marion High School graduates — Jessee said the community has become his home. Small Town Cinema is his shot at creating more local options for evening entertainment.

“Drive through Jay County and find something to do. We’re a big farming community,” he said. “There’s various things slowly arising, but if you want to do anything fun that’s an activity, you usually have to leave Jay County … I wanna find anything (to offer) that can benefit Jay County at the same time.”

He tossed the idea around with Fields, who helped him prepare to offer the service. In about a week, they had secured their supplies and started taking clients.

Rental fees are set at $150 per evening Sundays through Thursdays, $200 per evening Fridays and Saturdays and $275 per evening on holidays and holiday weekends. (Jessee noted the fee stays the same regardless of what time they start the rental, although he pointed out it does need to be fairly dark in order to see the screen.) The rental includes delivery, set up and tear down. The screen and projector take about 20 minutes to prepare.

Small Town Cinema also has a snow cone machine available to rent for $50 alone or $100 with supplies. Jessee and Fields hope to add more options, such as a cotton candy or popcorn maker and other portable furniture, in the future.

Although the summer season will be winding to a close in the next month, Jessee pointed out they’re looking forward to getting out to more events in the fall.

“We find that during the summer it’s more difficult to rent,” he said, noting the hot temperatures and increased daylight hours. “Our target area is actually fall. It gets darker soon, it’s not bad weather, people like being outdoors.”

To set up a rental with Small Town Cinema, visit its Facebook page, email [email protected] or call Fields at (928) 202-6188.

If the weather takes a turn for the worst, added Jessee, they don’t mind rescheduling rentals.

“Just contact us,” he said. “We’re pretty flexible.”