Erik Zimmerman
TrailerCave
DATE - April 2022 to July 2022
ROLE - Research, User Experience, Visual Design, Prototyping
A mobile app that brings users closer to the movies through online ticket purchasing. Or find a movie to watch at home and TrailerCave will let you know where to stream your selected movie.
TOOLS - Figma, Photoshop
- THE PROBLEM
Because there is so much content at our fingertips between a myriad of streaming platforms, choosing a movie to watch can be overwhelming. With so much to choose from, finding a new movie worth watching can be like finding a diamond in the rough, especially when planning a trip to the theater.
Ever felt like this?
- THE SOLUTION
My goal was to connect users to a movie they will end up enjoying while providing seamless ticket purchasing if they wish to watch a movie in theaters.
- RESEARCH
To better understand my user, I interviewed eight individuals in order to define what movie trailer browsing applications could be doing better. A primary user group was young adults that watch movies or television on a daily basis.
Some sample questions are:
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What information is crucial to choosing a movie to watch?
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How do you decide if you'd prefer to watch a movie in theaters versus at home?
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What are some issues you have with watching movie trailers on existing apps? And what are the positives?
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Where do you usually watch movie trailers?
- USER 3
"When I'm not mindlessly scrolling Netflix, I mostly use a combination of Youtube, iMDB, and Google to find new movies to watch. It would be nice if there was a singular app that checks all the boxes without being overwhelming."
Key Pain Points
1
SPOILERS
Do not unintentionally disclose information the user doesn't want to see
2
TIME
Wasting time watching a bad movie, especially in theaters
3
INUNDATED
Too easy to get distracted by content when looking for a film to watch
4
CONFUSED
It can be hard to tell what a movie is about and if it is worth watching
Key Insights
1
Users want to be able to watch trailers for movies both in theaters and at home. Apps that only promote movies in theaters provide less utility. The retention rate may increase by including movies to watch at home along with where to stream.
2
Other movie trailer applications can lack focus and lead users down a rabbit hole, making it difficult to choose a movie to watch. A concise overview of the movie is preferable with only key details such as reviews, genre, synopsis, and cast.
3
Organization and ease of use would differentiate my app from competitors. Make it as easy as possible to find a movie to watch.
- User Persona
"The journey is more important than the destination."
Amanda
24, Local News Editor
Film School BFA
ABOUT
Amanda recently completed her BFA in Film Production and landed her first job as a junior editor for the local news network. Amanda grew up loving film and television and would consider herself a movie guru. She spends most of her time with her significant other and they usually stream content but occasionally likes to go out to the theater if something is worth seeing there.
GOALS
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Find new movies to watch with boyfriend and friends
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Stay current on trending films
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Organize movie nights at the theater
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Can be hard to tell if a movie is good or bad based on trailer
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Hates spoilers
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Good seats being taken
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Wasting time on a bad movie
FRUSTRATIONS
FRUSTRATIONS
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Finding age appropriate movies for children
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Trouble finding four seats next to eachother in theater
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Watching the same type of thing repetitively
GOALS
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Keep children occupied
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Find movies to go see with kids on weekends
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Browsing for nostalgia
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Look for movies to stream with spouse
ABOUT
James is a professional software engineer for a large company and has worked there for thirteen years. He has been married for ten of those years and has two children, ages five and eight. James grew up interested in technology and the movie-going experience is nostalgic for him. Nowadays, he mostly goes to the theaters with his children on weekends as a fun family activity.
37, Software Engineer
MS Computer Science
JAMES
"Data is all around us, the difficult part is figuring out what to do with it."
Ticket Booking User Flow
- Competitive Audit
QUALITY
The premier movie ticket service for those who wish to purchase tickets in advance. In fact, Flixster and IMDb use Fandango for ticket purchasing services. Fandango’s app is flashy and the hierarchy is clear. Everything is designed in hopes to encourage a user to purchase a movie ticket.
MARKET POSITION
The one-stop for all things movies that are showing in theaters. 70% of the target audience are customers who wish to book tickets in advance. They excel at branding, Sells their own gift cards as well as rewards for purchasing via their app, lending to a loyal following.
STRENGTHS
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Strong brand identity with rewards incentive with robust user profiles
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Best advanced ticket buying platform with theater locators and all the info needed to make an informed choice of which theater to go to
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Selling movie tickets. Has a featured section to build hype and convert sales. Has an option to be notified when a favorited movie is available in nearby theaters
WEAKNESSES
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Lacks focus on organization beyond the "Featured" option
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"Spotlight" page is busy and not here for giftcards
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Link to profile only possible via "Spotlight" page
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Desktop version is outdated and clumsy
QUALITY
A poorly designed mobile application containing several movie trailers for recent movies. Their app is designed in a way that makes it simple to watch a trailer and then book a ticket without any frills. The design of the app lacks sophistication and would like to see a modernized version of the app. It doesn’t even have a dark mode option.
MARKET POSITION
An easy-to-use movie trailer browsing application. The target audience is young adults from 18-40. The users occasionally go to the movie theater if something worth seeing is out. The sponsored ads throughout the site along with the outdated design and functionality make the experience feel cheap and would expect the users to reflect that.
STRENGTHS
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Easy to find trailers to watch with simple no-frills design
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Has “Audience Score” from users to complement the Rotten Tomatoes reviews
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Ticket purchasing is simple via Fandango
WEAKNESSES
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User profiles lack substance
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Key info is missing from the app on the “At Home” Tab
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No dark mode option
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Lack of support for less popular titles, info missing or incomplete
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QUALITY
All things movie and television. If you want to know anything about a movie or a television show, this is where you go. The amount of info here is amazing and would not be feasible to compete with in that aspect. IMDb has a highly regarded review system and is the source for movie ratings, only competing with Rotten Tomatoes. The largest negative is the amount of info here can lead users down a rabbit hole when they may just want to watch a trailer.
MARKET POSITION
The most trusted source for all things movies and television. The target audience is entertainment fans of all ages. From celebrity news to movie trivia to full production credits, IMDb has it all. A user could easily spend hours on this app and never pay a dime.
STRENGTHS
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Has option for multiple languages
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Menus are intuitively designed and enjoyable to navigate
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User profiles are designed with intent
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Watchlist feature
WEAKNESSES
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Easy to get overwhelmed with info due to the amount of it
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Scroll feeds are about a mile long and can get lost when going back to look for something
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No closed captions on trailers
QUALITY
Modern, trendy design that I would expect from a movie trailer browsing application. Even though Vudu specializes in selling and renting movies and shows digitally, the info they include along with the visual design is effective in converting sales. The information architecture is lacking, however - the one hamburger menu has 26 options to choose from
MARKET POSITION
The place to rent or buy movies and television shows digitally. Hosting the largest collection of titles on the internet, as well as rotating free titles, this app hits a couple of user groups. The users who wish to rent or buy from the platform are working adults. The users who wish to stream the free movies are likely to be young adults, or even children (there is a kid-friendly option), with little income who would rather deal with ads than spend money.
STRENGTHS
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Visually appealing modern design with scroll feeds for browsing
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Extensive closed captioning options
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Parental Guides and kid-friendly mode
WEAKNESSES
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Information Architecture is lacking. One hamburger menu houses 26 different pages to choose from
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Structured to sell
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Expensive
1. Build on social aspect with comments and reviews with a more robust profile page with unlockable avatars and notification settings.
2. Be transparent about streaming options so the user can make informed decisions where to watch
3. Include Rotten Tomatoes, iMDB, and Metacritic reviews as well as an app based user review system
4. Create a straightforward, modern design with a well designed hierarchy to meet the needs of the target user.
(Vudu was my main inspiration)
- OPPORTUNITIES
- WIREFRAMES
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HOME / FEATURED
Paginated featured page suggests trending options
Filtering and sort by system makes it easy for users to find movies relevant to their interests all in one place
Paginated featured page suggests trending options
Based on my research findings, I developed a homepage that made it simple for users to find movies that are relevant to their interests at that time.
MOVIE DETAILS
Quickly shares this page
Key info is prioritized based on user feedback
Click for overlay showing where to stream this title or cast list
The movie details page aims to be concise while providing the key info users need to decide whether or not to watch a movie.
MID FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
- ITERATION
Featured Page (LoFi)
Featured Page (HiFi)
Home Page (Original)
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During my low-fidelity usability testing, several users had issues with the homepage.
Due to the "Featured" title card at the top, users can only see six movies at a time and the scale on that component resulted in a crowded design.
The solution I chose to this problem was to split the featured section from the movies section.
In testing, I found that most users already had a trusted source for movie news, so I removed that section to be replaced with the new movies page. This lended to a more film-focused application
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The featured page is the first page the user sees when they open the application and is an overview of the most popular movies in theaters. This page updates on a weekly cadence and allows the user to book tickets in just a couple clicks
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Movies Page (LoFi)
Movies Page (HiFi)
The movies page was designed for users to quickly find a movie to watch, whether it be at home or in theaters. A powerful combination of sorting and filters empowers the user to browse with fidelity.
Featured Page (Final)
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In usability testing, multiple users thought the previous design was cramped and lacked emphasis. In addition, the contrast on movie info was not accessible
The new homepage prioritizes the content through emphasis and expanded details. This is achieved with a redesigned featured card that allows for more vertical real estate
"Wow, I really like how this app tells me where to stream the movie. This feature alone gets a download from me."
- HIGH FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
Primary Flow - Ticket Booking
Watchlist Flow
Theater Flow & Leave Review
Profile Functionality
- ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS
1
All iconography that is not universally understood has accompanying text, or a tip indicating what it is for when clicked
2
Theater details include accessibility amenities such as closed captioning devices as well as seats that are accessible
3
Color combinations meet AA accessibility standard. The most important information passes AAA
