An experiment of revolutionizing backyard movie experience with "Accent"

A Blog by Dipali and Pier-Luc

It was a hot summer evening of July. The heat was unbearable at 28°C, but the excitement was rising for our first drive-in movie experience. Pier-Luc had surprised me with tickets to Ciné-Parc St-Eustache. We packed the car with popcorn, snacks, outdoor chairs, Cleo the cat, and Patch the dog.

What should have been a smooth 40-minute drive quickly turned into a test of patience.

A two-minute stretch of road became a two-hour standstill: a stalled car ahead of us had suddenly transformed into a terrifying fireball. We were trapped in every direction with no way out. The tension rose inside the car. Cleo was meowing in distress, Patch was yapping at the flashing lights of the arriving fire brigade, and our excitement was replaced by sheer panic. What a day!

The film was already started by the time the police cleared the road and we entered the park. Pier-Luc wanted to turn back, but I convinced him: “The worst has already happened. From here, it can only get better.”

The problem

As we looked up at the massive screen, we realized we couldn’t hear a thing: with all the chaos, we missed the instruction on how to connect to the audio. At a drive-in, the movie’s sound is transmitted over an FM radio signal that you tune into through your car stereo. Fortunately, a neighbor helped us out.

Ask me how was the experience? Well, it was a total disaster. We couldn’t open the windows because of the pets and the AC running. Moreover, the audio was broadcasting such that instead of listening to dialogues, we were guessing them most of the time. After a while, we decided to sit outside in our camping chair. We chorused the F-word while staring at our iPhones helplessly. Yes, you guessed it right! Most of the modern smart phones does not support FM radio. A bummer! We couldn’t listen audio with any other means and carrying those premium headphones were useless. Believe me, we managed somehow watching the movie with that garbeled sound quality. Afterall, we financed our own misery. In this manner the “magic” of cinema was being ruined by the lack of communication between modern smart devices and obsolete technogy.

The “Aha!” Moment

On the drive home, we were building our dream— backyard cinema. I quickly googled and told Pier-Luc that buying a big-screen and projector were not that expensive. However, the speakers? He said, “Hmm! speakers”. Our discussion continued about the loud sound from speakers and our lovely neighbours. We live in a very friendly neighbourhood and we don’t want to spoil our neighbours quiet evenings at the sake of our entertainment. We considered using our Bluetooth headphones, but they couldn’t connect to the laptop at the same time. Besides we never wanted to invest in expensive, clunky, radio transmitters and receiver headphones that would most of the time sit in a drawer gathering dust.

We thought, “Why can’t we just use the modern technologies and available smart devices to solve the audio sharing problem?”

Introducing Accent

That night of “fire and frustration” led to the foundation of Feebee Labs and our flagship solution: Accent.

We developed an app that enable audio sharing directly to your smartphone. Aha! now you can connect your bluetooth headphones with your mobile and guess more! Accent can be shared with many people simultaneously. Everyone listening with Accent can watch movie on the screen with perfectly synced audio. No noise issue. No more poor audio. No more queues.

When we held our first screening for six of us including our family, do you want to know what they loved? Apart from crystal clear dialogues and great cinematic sound effects, they loved the freedom of watching together, flexibility and the comfort. Yet the night was a bit chilling but they wrapped themselves with cozy warm blankets while breathing in fresh air and sitting under the twinkling stars in their comfortable chairs. Not to mention, pre-screening— barbaque burgers, during the movie— free, unlimited popcorn and perfect end— with loads of ice-cream were the show stealers. Proud to say that everyone, scooping their ice-cream told us they truely loved the feature of controlling their own volume from anywhere while watching the movie. We remember till date those sparkling eyes of our family and their common laughters from that comedy movie scenes.

Join the Revolution

We are proud to share our accomplishment, which became a breakthrough through our persistent efforts. We believe that Accent is a perfect audio solution for those who love watching indoor or outdoor movies with their family and friends.

Now, whether you are hosting a massive backyard movie night or an intimate indoor screening, Accent allows you to enjoy the blockbuster with a personalized audio.

We’ve shared Accent with our friends and family, and they love it. Now, we want to share it with you.

Get ready to host a quiet movie night? Contact Feebeel Labs to try Accent. Let’s create some unique memories with our family and friends.

What started as a disastrous night at the drive-in has evolved into a mission to share noise-free movie watching experience with the world.