Murray Bridge student’s idea could change cinemas around Australia

A local student’s original idea for headphones in cinemas has helped him win a business award at his high school.

Michael X. Savvas

Dec 19, 2023 — 5 min read

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Nick Law ponders the possibilities for his business idea at Murray Bridge’s Cameo Cinema. Photo: Michael X. Savvas.

Murray Bridge High School student Nick Law has a business idea that may change the whole cinema experience.

It was for that reason he won the business innovation award, sponsored by Murray Bridge News, at the school’s recent presentation night.

One of the main factors behind such successful results was a business model Nick created.

“The model I came up with was the foundation of the higher grades, because I’ve spent a long time coming up with this idea,” he said.

“Everyone had to create their own business, and most people just did a business that already exists.

“I took more of an innovative path.”

Nick’s idea was to diversify the cinema experience by setting up a cinema that would provide sets of headphones or earphones for cinemagoers to watch the same movie while listening to it in their native language.

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As part of developing the Audion business model, Nick changed his initial idea of having a cinema in a set location.

“I thought it would be better to just do it as a product rather than a service,” he said.

“I just looked at cinemas that would be interested in partnering around Australia.

“So I planned out where I wanted to send the headphones off to and which states would be the most effective to begin with – like New South Wales, I found was very diverse.”

Nick Law receives an award from MBHS principal Ruth Mussger at the MBHS awards presentation night. Photo: MBHS.

As part of his research and development, Nick contacted a company that specialises in producing headphones.

“Silent Sounds were the company that produced headphones – they use them for classrooms,” he said.

“Elder students wear a set of headphones, and the teacher plays something in the open space, but it doesn’t interrupt other people who are in the school library or whatever and aren’t a part of the class.

According to Nick, Silent Sounds headphones also get used in business meetings so that people who don’t speak fluent English can listen to translations of the meetings.

“I believe I asked them something along the lines of, ‘I was planning on using it in a cinema environment, and they said that they hadn’t considered that, but it would be possible.’”

“So, I was thinking, you just walk into the cinema and then an employee there would offer the headphones and which setting you want them in and hand it to you ready.

“You can set the volume to what you want in the headphones, so people who are hard of hearing or something can then enjoy the movie better, and people who are sensitive as well can turn it down.”

Nick imagined the Audion cinema headphones would be wireless, although it might be an option to plug them into armrests alongside the seats.

He decided against making an app to use with the headphones, as he thought apps may not be popular with his some of his target market.

“People (in Australia) who don’t speak fluent English will tend to be older because they wouldn’t have grown up here – so they wouldn’t be good with the technology,” he said.

“I want it to be as straightforward as possible.”

Nick Law hopes cinema audiences around the world may someday benefit from his idea. Photo: Mix Media/Getty Images.

Although Nick wants to trial his business model in Australia due to its rich multicultural diversity, he can see it eventually going international.

“I found it would probably be useful in other non-English countries like China and stuff,” he said.

“If us English speakers go there, we’re the ones who don’t speak their language too.”

As Nick finds that business is very risky, he’s a bit hesitant to put his Audion headphones idea into practice, but his belief in the product makes him excited about going ahead with it.

“I also think this idea does have some real possibilities outside of schoolwork,” he said.

“It is pretty new I guess – I couldn’t find anything like it online.”

Nick’s endgame is to go into business and become a marketing manager; to reach that goal, he’ll complete a Business and Marketing degree at Flinders University.

However, Nick’s deferred his studies until 2025 to focus on his blossoming romance with his girlfriend in Japan, and as we’ve been told so often, love is the universal language, so no translation headphones are required.