Below are the steps that I took to construct Ellie's Drive-In Theater. The whole project only took a couple weeks and could have been faster if we had worked on it every day. The most important thing is to research other people's designs and see what will work in your situation. Then plan everything out on paper to make sure your design will function before going and buying supplies just to have to return them or buy more.

I started out my construction by making a simple picture of what I wanted my screen to look like.  I thought I'd start very simple and just make a big rectangle with a single, vertical brace in the middle.  I used 2" PVC pipe because it seemed sturdy at Menards.  I put it together and found out that although it was sturdy, it was also heavy, and standing it up was nearly impossible.

I decided to return those supplies to Menards and switch to some 1-1/4" PVC and redo the design a tad to be a rectangle with 3 vertical braces so it looked like 4 rectangles attached together.  This design change made it much sturdier and the lighter PVC made the frame much more usable.  This is the design I stayed with.

The total supply list for the frame was:

Five 8' PVC pieces (Vertical pieces)
Eight 4' PVC pieces (Horizontal pieces)*
Nine 2' PVC pieces (Legs and feet)*
Two 90° PVC corner pieces (Top corners)
Ten 3-way PVC connector pieces
One 4-way PVC connector (above center leg)
*Made from 8' pieces cut down to length

Once I got the frame put together and in its final form, it was time to start working on a screen.  There are many ways of getting a fabric screen.  You can order a screen from companies on line such as Dazian, you can buy a drop cloth, tarp, or some other pre-made items from a local Home Improvement store, or you can make your own.

We decided to make our own from Blackout cloth purchase from a local fabric store.  This fabric is designed to not let light through which makes it perfect for a movie screen.  We couldn't find a piece large enough to make the whole screen so we made the screen from two pieces sewn together across the middle.  If you look closely at the pictures below you can make out the seem.  However, it is mostly invisible once you are showing a movie.

Once the screen itself was made, I needed to decide how to attach it to the frame.  At first I thought of using grommets and bungee cords to attach it to the frame.  I didn't go with that idea because I didn't want anything to tear and wanted the screen as big as possible.  Instead, we sewed loops into the edges of the screen and the frame edge pieces slide in and keep everything nice and taut.

After putting the screen together and standing it up for the first time, I quickly realized I needed to anchor the screen down because the feet would never hold it upright in the wind.  I first used some rope and steaks which worked fine but were ripped out during a large wind storm.  I now use ratcheting tie-down straps I purchased at Sams Club.  They are incredibly strong and can be tightened easily via the ratchet system.  I also pounded wooden steaks into the ground so we don't have to worry about them getting pulled out.

We had out inaugeral showing at my daughter's 1st birthdya party but I, of course, needed to do a trial run beforehand to make sure it worked.  There's no better movie to use than Star Wars so thats what I did.  I set everything up, waited for it to get dark enough outside, and started the show.

WOW!

I can't even describe the experience of seeing a movie on a huge screen in your own backyard.