New Look
www.cinematech.today >
VOL.31
NO.2
> 06/18
their hand in w o the sh o c "a d ct n a iv y
e
Sam sun g,
a ren "a ew vi
So n
The leading magazine for cinema industry professionals
LED Screens
A big little sector The impacts of consolidation on the Studios and Exhibitors
000_CT _JUN18_COVER.indd 1
Cinema on demand How crowdsourced screenings are mixing up movie programming
Films in the field
Produced in partnership with:
Celebrating 75 years of entertaining the troops with Forces Cinema
15/05/2018 12:44
HDR is eveRywHeRe
HDR FOR CINEMA
© 2018 YMAGIS GROUP - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
anD now in youR movie tHeateRs
Jerry Murdoch | jerry.murdoch@cinemanext.com | +44 7968 434611
www.eclaircolor.com
Untitled-2 1 Ad CinemaTechnoMag Boom EC.indd 1
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The future of content delivery. Join us on the road ahead.
For exhibitor + distributor For e-content + live events Two networks forged together motionpicturesolutions.com/news
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50 NEWS
08 17
The latest from around the world of cinema exhibition IMIS update: dates for your diary over the summer
FEATURES
18 23 28 32 37 40
LED screens get real: market entrants show their hand How Ferco stays ahead of the pack in seating tech Learning your lessons: what other sectors can teach us How data analytics can help boost occupancy rates Crowdsourcing the cinema screen: a new way to watch Consolidation: what are the upsides for the industry?
PRODUCTION EDITOR: ALASTAIR BALMAIN Motion Picture Solutions Ltd, Mission Hall, 9-11 North End Road, London W14 8ST T: +44 (0)20 3026 1368 E: ct@motionpicturesolutions.com ART DIRECTOR: DEAN CHILLMAID E: dean@spacehopperdesign.co.uk
www.cinematech.today
005_CT _JUN18_CONTENTS.indd 5
54 59 65 68 73 77 82 87 90
Bringing some depth and focus to light field cinema Attention troops! 75 years of the Forces Cinema service How 360˚ digital tours are bringing the customers in
32
Cineplace: an event cinema tool to pinpoint punters Exploring the old-school VR experiences of the past It’s time for a home cinema projection rennaissance
EVENTS
Feeling a little inventive? The UKCA needs your help Why event cinema needs to reach beyond the arts Celluloid film formats: the strong case for their future
COMMISSIONING EDITOR: PETER KNIGHT E: peter.knight@madcornishprojectionist.co.uk ADVERTISING: BOB CAVANAGH Caixa Postal 2011, Vale da Telha, 8670-156 Aljezur, Portugal T: +351 282 997 050
45 50 53
Samsung, Saudi, Cinionic: the buzz from CinemaCon Barcelona in June? That’s CineEurope on the agenda Big Cine Expo: showcasing India’s cinema business
M: +351 962 415 172 E: bobcavanagh@sapo.pt SUBSCRIPTIONS Cinema Technology is mailed free to IMIS Members. For subscription details, visit www.cinematech.today or e-mail ct@motionpicturesolutions.com
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Bring out every drop of cinema magic With Sony Laser Phosphor series Keep cinema goers coming back for more with uncompromising movie experiences. Sony Digital Cinema 4K Laser Phosphor technology delivers utterly immersive, high-contrast, detail-packed images, so your audience can lose themselves in unforgettable cinema moments. • Industry leading 10,000:1 contrast ratio • Up to 30,000 lumen brightness • The Only HDR-ready laser projector on the market • Eliminates lamp maintenance for increased operational efficiency With the Sony SRX-R800 series, your audience can enjoy consistently pure, brilliant images with every screening. Find out more. Search ‘Sony 4K Digital Cinema’ today.
Cinema without compromise
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c t
v i e w New Look
www.cinematech.today The leading magazine for cinema industry professionals
Sam sun g,
The impacts of consolidation on the Studios and Exhibitors
Cinema on demand How crowdsourced screenings are mixing up movie programming
Films in the field
Produced in partnership with:
Celebrating 75 years of entertaining the troops with Forces Cinema
15/05/2018 12:44
he impact of consolidation in our
Cinema without projection? Is that heretical, or the way of
business is one of the themes running
things to come? well, it wasn’t so long ago that we were
through this issue, whether that be
asking the question “cinema without film?”, yet we’re still
within the major exhibitor chains, the
watching movies on the big screen. There are challenges, of course, not least the price, but
content itself — consolidation of genres into one amorphous
the promise of LED screens is one of hitherto unmatched
tentpole blockbuster is a direction film lovers desperately
contrast ratios and a 3D experience that lives up to billing.
fear that modern cinema has been headed for some time.
“But it’s just a big telly,” sneer the naysayers. True, to a point,
Fortunately, just as technology has enabled faster
but cinema is founded on the shared big screen experience.
delivery, brighter screens, higher dynamic range and
While it may concern us, technical delivery of the image
deeper blacks, so too can it provide at least some of the
doesn’t overly trouble audiences. Does it matter to them if
answers that seek to address the challenge of “content
the light source shifts to the front of the auditorium?
monoculture”, whether that be in mainstream feature films, or, more recently, in event cinema programming.
To some, it really does matter — as Martin Dew explains
Turn to the articles on the crowdsourcing film platform
smaller gauge film projection in home cinema — it may be a specialist interest for the hardiest of film enthusiasts, but
(page 68), or Patrick von Sychowski’s article on what cinema
to those with a passion for the art of projection, 16mm and
can learn from other industries (page 28), and you will see
Super 8 in the home manage to capture at least some of
that technology is most certainly the industry’s ally when it
the glory of cinema in all its clacking, whirring vibrancy. As
comes to encouraging both diversity of content and
Christopher Nolan and others have demonstrated, there’s
audience on our big screens.
still plenty of room for analogue in our digital world.
And where are those big screens headed? Samsung’s Onyx LED screen was the big noise at CinemaCon in April.
1
2
on page 77. In this issue, he explores the resurgence of
OurScreen (page 37), the market analytics tool Cineplace
3
On the subject of things old and new, I trust you enjoy the modern new look to this issue of Cinema Technology!
1 Martin Dew
2 Alexa Raisbeck
3 Bryan Cook
Formerly at Lucasfilm THX and NEC in the US, on p.77, Martin puts the case for home projection
Trained as a film handler and projectionist, on p.90, Alexa argues that celluloid is a format of the future
COO of IMIS, Bryan is undertaking a PhD in light field cinematography, a subject he explores on p.54.
www.cinematech.today
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Hollywood studios, or indeed within
Writing in this issue of CT
NO.2
LED Screens
A big little sector
T
VOL.31
a ren "a ew vi
As studios and exhibitors shrink in number but grow in size, there’s concern about the impact on our industry. Alastair Balmain offers CT’s view on this state of affairs
y
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their hand in how the os "a dc ct an iv e
So n
Consolidation: a narrower world view?
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i n d u s t r y
e v e n t s & v i e w s
CT NEWSREEL
n e w s ,
r o u n d - u p
g l o b a l t h e
U p - to - d a te
o f
“Cinionic” joint venture launches
China BARCO, CHINA FILM CO. LTD (CFG), Appotronics and
together of forces to create energy in
CITICPE announced their strategic joint venture, Cinionic, at
the Cinema industry.” The new brand
CinemaCon. The new company will focus on a combination
comes
of innovative cinema solutions, flexible financing and a
“Experiences.
comprehensive service model that enables exhibitors to
Rijsbrack, Chief Marketing Officer at Cinionic, comments: “It
major on engagement with moviegoers while simplifying
is our commitment to customers — that they can count on
technology and operations. Barco will be the exclusive OEM
Cinionic to deliver the ultimate cinema experience. It’s
partner for projection and image processing technologies
simple, direct, and reflects our commitment to deliver
in the joint venture. Appotronics will provide industry-
compelling audience experiences.”
leading laser and retrofit solutions while CGS contributes
www.cinionic.com
with
a
matching
tagline:
Delivered,”
Carl
The anticipated new JV focuses on engaging the audidence
solutions for Premium Large Format (PLF) screens. The company name “Cinionic” conveys a combination of cinema and ionic, — the partners define it as the “coming
USA
Irwin launches the ZG4 recliner IRWIN SEATING COMPANY has Smoothly does it: the new ZG4 range from Irwin
introduced the ZG4, the latest in its Spectrum Recliner Luxury Series. A new seat module offers exceptional comfort with a deep cushioned ride in conjunction with a proprietary recliner mechanism for a smooth “Zero Gravity Motion”. Early screenings of ZG4 have led to positive reviews as customers easily find optimum viewing positions.
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Wanda and Christie establish Cinema Technology Centre of Excellence CHRISTIE HAS ENTERED into an
technology for Wanda Film Holding
agreement with Wanda Film Holdings,
and its global affiliates; RGB laser
a subsidiary of Wanda Group to
retrofit solutions for Xenon projection
establish a joint R&D centre for cinema
systems; and LED cinema screen
technology in the Wanda Studios’ site
development.
in Qingdao, China.
The CTCE will assist Wanda and
The new Wanda-Christie Cinema Technology
Centre
of
Excellence
Christie in areas such as the selection of
laser/illumination
technology,
China
(CTCE) will be solely owned by Wanda
including guidance on choosing the
Film Holding, with Christie as the sole
best
partner to operate the facility for
appropriate for Xenon-to-RGB laser
Wanda Film Holdings and Christie
advanced R&D of digital cinema
technology
officially opened the CTCE at a
projection
including:
installed base of more than 60,000
ceremony on 27 April.
projection
digital cinema projectors worldwide.
www.wanda-group.com
customised
systems, RGB
laser
THX announces PLF cinema offering
retrofit
technology
globally
to
where Christie’s
The new CTCE — an R&D hub with digital projection at its heart
Volfoni selected for Cineworld’s 3D rollout France
VOLFONI, THE LEADING European THX LTD, renowned for the
of
3D
technology,
has
of
world-class
announced that Cineworld Group has
and
consumer
selected the company for a 3D cinema
announced
systems rollout across multiple cities
certification cinemas
provider
electronics,
has
THX Ultimate Cinema — a
and countries in Europe.
cinema
Cineworld selected Volfoni for its
offering that meets all THX
3D cinema systems and has deployed
Certified Cinema standards.
a combination of Volfoni’s products,
3D
The THX Ultimate Cinema
including the efficient SmartCrystal
customers. Cinemas need advanced
features a dual laser projector
NEO series and the award-winning
3D systems to improve operational
configuration which integrates
SmartCrystal Diamond series. The
efficiency and deliver brighter 3D
image optimisation technology
deployment includes sites in the UK,
projection for a better audience
to deliver a 4K resolution
Poland, Czech Republic, Romania and
experience,” said Alain Chamaillard,
image which has increased
Slovakia. “We see increasing demand
chief sales officer of Volfoni.
brightness, contrast, clarity
for high-performance, high-efficiency
www.volfoni.com
branded
premium
cinema
systems
from
our
Volfoni offer better operational efficiency at Cineworld
and rich brilliant colours for premium large format screens.
CinemaNext signs seating deals
THX Ultimate Cinema will also be equipped with immersive
said Ruben Mookerjee, SVP
CINEMANEXT HAS signed separate global agreements
multi-dimensional
sound
products and services at THX
with Malaysian and Chinese seating manufacturers, Ferco
systems, ensuring that movies
Ltd. “The launch of the THX
Seating Systems and Guangzhou Leadcom Seating,
remastered for this premium
Ultimate Cinema is an example
respectively
experience truly represent the
of our commitment to enhance
international distributor of their products in select markets,
filmmaker’s intent.
the movie-going experience
including Europe, Middle East and Africa. It follows a similar
“For more than 35 years,
— and we look forward to
agreement with European seating manufacturer Ezcaray
THX has set the standard for
working with our exhibitor
announced in February. “Teaming up with these two new
the audio and visual fidelity of
partners to bring this offering
partners for the cinema market is excellent news for us as it
entertainment
to life.”
completes our seating offer available to exhibitors,” explains
experiences,”
recognising
CinemaNext
as
an
official
Esperance Ngandu, CinemaNext seating product manager. www.cinematech.today
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HARMAN Professional Solutions opens new Experience Centre in London HARMAN PROFESSIONAL Solutions, a global leader in audio, video, lighting and control systems, has announced the opening of its new Harman Experience Centre in London. The facility expands the growing global network of Harman
N E W S R E E L
NEWS IN BRIEF
C T
>
Samsung opens Onyx LED screens In April, Samsung and partner Moving Image Tech (MIT) opened the first U.S. Onyx theatre at Hollywood’s Pacific Theatres Winnetka w/XD. Samsung also announced partnerships with Golden Screen Cinemas — the largest cinema company in Malaysia, — and Austria’s Cineplexx
Professional Solutions Experience Centres, which includes locations in Los
Cinemas — to bring the Onyx
Angeles, Singapore and Shanghai. The London location will also serve as the new
screen to movie-goers in each
headquarters for the EMEA region.
of those territories.
Designed to showcase how Harman solutions address customer needs across a variety of entertainment and enterprise market applications, the 25,800-square-foot (2,400-square-meter), facility demonstrates the integration of multiple Harman brands. “The opening of the experience centre in London represents a major
Ushio to prolong warranty life of DXL-40BAF/L lamps Ushio has announced that it’s
investment in the EMEA region, enabling us to deepen relationships with our
successful DXL-40BAF/L bulb
customers and greatly expand our presence across critical markets,” said Chris
has been made even stronger
Smith, vice president, EMEA, Harman Professional Solutions. “Not only will the
— with its warranty extended
facility offer customers the opportunity to experience Harman innovation
by a further 100 hours. “These
firsthand, it provides our staff with a state-of-the-art headquarters that will allow
new lamps have 100hour
us to pursue new opportunities with greater speed and efficiency.”
longer warranty time
pro.harman.com
compared to the already existing DXL-40BAF/L lamp, bringing it to a total of
Next-Gen IMAX for AMC and Cineworld
1,400hours,” says Agata Michalak, marketing manager
HAS
moviegoing enhancements including
announced deals to install IMAX’s new
IMAX’s immersive sound, seating and
ground-breaking laser experience for
re-designed aesthetics at all 55 IMAX
commercial multiplexes at more than
locations owned by the chain. Under
Eclair Color pairs with LED Cinema
140 sites. Deals with AMC Theatres
the agreement, the companies will be
Samsung and Ymagis Group
and Cineworld Group PLC will see the
adding IMAX with Laser systems to 26
engineers and technical
latest-generation projection system
new IMAX theatres and upgrading 29
teams have worked over the
transform the premium moviegoing
of its existing IMAX sites, including 15
past few months to integrate
experience in the two chains’ theatres.
currently open and 14 sites in backlog.
EclairColor HDR technology
IMAX
CORPORATION
at Ushio Europe,
AMC has signed a binding letter of
“IMAX with Laser provides the best
intent to install IMAX’s new laser
moviegoing experience and will be
Screen to achieve outstanding
experience in 87 of the exhibitor’s
our leading premium offering,” said
image quality for long-term
highest-performing “IMAX at AMC”
Mooky Greidinger, CEO of Cineworld
broadcast and alternative
locations across the U.S. Under the
Group PLC. “IMAX and our collective
content. The two companies
agreement, IMAX with Laser systems
organisation have worked together for
claimed a contrast ratio of
operate under a joint revenue sharing
more than 20 years and we both
1,000,000:1.
arrangement with 12-year lease terms.
understand how
Meanwhile Cineworld and Regal
to create the best
sites are set to incorporate additional www.cinematech.today
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Gofilex and MPS to unify and expand European e-delivery Alamo Drafthouse signs up EclairColor
digital content distribution — have announced they have signed commercial and financial agreements
CinemaNext and Texas-based
that pave the way for the strategic alliance of MPS’s 700-site LANsat estate with Gofilex’s pan-European
movie theatre company
network of more than 1,400 sites. The agreements see the two companies’ distribution networks unite
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema,
to service film distributors and exhibitors in more than 2,000 locations throughout Europe.
have signed an agreement for
GOFILEX AND Motion Picture Solutions (MPS) — established names in theatrical film servicing and
The collaboration includes financial investment from MPS, which will drive the networks through
the installation of the
the next phases of market-leading electronic delivery and event streaming solutions. MPS’s financial
EclairColor HDR at 10
input also enables Gofilex to expand its footprint significantly across the 19 territories it already services.
locations in Texas, Arizona,
“Uniting our two E-delivery footprints makes total sense — we have been talking about this for
California, Colorado, Missouri,
years and are excited to bring our combined knowledge and shared customer-first approach to other
Nebraska, New York and
markets,” says Paul Huis in ‘t Veld, CEO of Gofilex, “We have always felt that collaboration throughout
Virginia. “We’re excited to be
the full content supply chain is key to the industry’s future and working together with MPS will
part of this HDR adventure
allow us to roll out Gofilex’s advanced E-delivery and
with EclairColor,” said Alamo
streaming solutions.
Drafthouse Founder and CEO
www.motionpicturesolutions.com
Tim League.
LTI launch six new xenon models
Jean-Pierre Decrette to receive UNIC honour JEAN-PIERRE DECRETTE, until recently director of development at Cinémas
Lighting Technologies International (LTI) has
Gaumont Pathé, has been named as the 2018 recipient of the UNIC Achievement
released six new xenon lamp
Award, given each year in recognition of outstanding dedication and service to
models including the
European cinema exhibition. The Award will be presented as part of the
XDC-1600B, XDC-2500B and
CineEurope Awards Ceremony on Thursday 14 June in
XDC-7000B for Barco digital
Barcelona, Spain. After being named CEO of the Pathé Palace in 1995,
cinema projectors, the XDC 6500BI2 for IMAX Gen III
Jean-Pierre Decrette became director of development for
projectors and the XDC-
Les Cinemas Gaumont Pathé, the largest cinema operator
2100C and XDC-2300C for
in France, the Netherlands and Switzerland, in addition to
Christie digital cinema
its operations in Belgium. In that role, Jean-Pierre was integral in establishing the
projectors.
Jay Wyatt heads to QSC
company as one of the most widely-recognised names in
Barcelona
European cinema exhibition, with over 1,000 screens across more than 100 theatres.
QSC, LLC has announced that Jay Wyatt has joined the Cinema team as sales engineer. In his new role, Jay
CHINA FILM CINEMA Da Guang
seven-screen site is taking advantage
for pre-sales technical
Road in Nanjing, has become the first
of the key features of CA2.0, including
support, product training,
in China to operate the projection
a centralised server to live-stream
and cinema system design
booth with no human intervention
selected DCPs (from a library of
consulting. He most recently
using GDC Technology’s new Cinema
hundreds of titles) to each and every
worked at GDC Technology as
Automation 2.0 (CA2.0), which is
auditorium, automatic-rendering of
a sound engineer.
designed to automate the workflow
show playlists (that include pre-show
fully. The multiplex has been running
screen advertisements and movie
for several months with zero incidents
trailers), intelligent management of
reported, The daily operation of the
power supplies and screening quality.
will be primarily responsible
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www.cinematech.today
15/05/2018 16:17
28-29 AUG’18 | MUMBAI presented by
REINVENTING IMAGINATION On Galalite screens, every movie is a fantasy-filled masterpiece. By reinventing imagination, we reinvent benchmarks in cinema screen technologies.
info@galalitescreens.com | www.galalitescreens.com
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Madrid’s Odeon Sambil multiplex sets a new benchmark INGEVIDEO AND Equipo de Cine have implemented Spain’s first 4K cinema with Dolby Atmos and
500 screens for 4DX
Christie Vive Audio in all 12 theatres, two installed with Christie RGB EWD laser projection. The only
CJ 4DPLEX, the world’s
multiplex in Spain with more than one laser screen, the Sambil has two screens equipped with Christie
leading 4D company, has
Solaria CP42LH RGB projectors. These two Christie RGB 3DLP projectors introduce EWD (Enhanced
reached the 500th 4DX
Wavelength Diversity) technology to Spain, reducing the impact of speckle. “Christie is the only
screen milestone with the
manufacturer offering EWD projection — and that means we can give our audiences a truly
launch of its newest location,
unforgettable movie-going experience,” explained Luis Millán, owner of Odeon Multicines.
at Pathé Belle Épine Cinema in Thiais, France. The first film screening in 4DX at this
Russia’s largest chain launches
location is “Ready Player One” — an ideal showcase for the innovative film technology.
CINEMA PARK and Formula Kino, Russia’s largest chain with over 25 million visitors a
Germany
year, has launched dynamic pricing at three sites, using SmartPricer technology. The
aim
is
to
reward
moviegoers who book early and
come
to
Alcons audio array for Germany’s largest cinema auditorium THE LICHTBURG, A historic cinema
non-peak
the
center
of
Essen,
houses
A unique audio array for a unique venue, from Alcons
NATO and Eclair USA announce content tie-up The National Association of Theater Owners (NATO)’s Cinema Buying Group (CBG) has announced a partnership
screenings. Guests are offered
in
three price levels for movie
Germany’s largest cinema hall with
tickets: “light”, “comfort” and
1,250 seats. Known for hosting major premieres, the venue
movie theaters with cost-
“standard”. Light and comfort
now houses a pro-ribbon Cinemarray CRA30 from Dutch
effective access to EclairPlay,
offer significant discounts to
sound system manufacturer Alcons Audio, which optimally
a DCP content broadband
the standard rate and are
covers the very large hall with its curved balcony.
delivery platform currently in
with Eclair USA, designed to provide participating CBG
optimised in real-time based
The demands on such a cinema are particularly high.
on predicted demand, time of
“With the renovation of the cinema sound system we want
booking and pre-sales. For the
to live up to the increased expectations of our visitors,” says
convenience of the customer,
Marianne
“Light” and “Comfort” rates are
Filmkunsttheater GmbH. Since the landmarked architecture
GDC supply Ushio lamps to INOX
highlighted in green or yellow
of Lichtburg clearly deviates from a standard cinema, a
GDC Technology has
in marketing channels.
special solution was needed. The Cinemarray CRA30 is a
announced it has signed a
Menze,
managing
director
of
the
Essen
use at over 180 North American cinemas.
Smart Pricer is a Berlin-
three-way sound system designed for digital applications in
three-year agreement with
based company that gives
large premium cinemas that demand the highest quality
INOX Cinemas, one of India’s
businesses in entertainment
with perfect sound reproduction and coverage.
leading chains, to supply
and sports the tools to increase
www.alconsaudio.com
Ushio lamps. INOX is known
ticketing
revenues
and
for its state-of-the-art facilities.
visitors.
www.cinematech.today
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I M I S
U P D A TE
International Moving Image Society: moving film forward 2018 has been an incredibly busy year for the International Moving Image Society and our members so far, writes IMIS chief operating officer Bryan Cook. The BBC’s Natural History Unit presented at our
IMIS events coming up in June/July
Bernard Happé Lecture on how they Deliver the Promise. They spoke about all the technical issues from recording in high resolution to filming underwater in order to get the stunning shots we see.
5 June Perfecting the
IMIS Honorary Fellow, Sir David Attenborough helped present our inaugural John Tompkins Natural
Pitch: Writer, producer and
Wildlife Award to Gavin Thurston (Planet Earth 2, Frozen Planet.) Among the winners we are proud to
creative consultant, Christina
welcome Roger Deakins ASC, BSC (Blade Runner 2049), Richard Boyd (BFI), Douglas Trumbull (2001: A
Morelli, on the do’s and don’ts
Space Odyssey), and Sir Ridley Scott (Alien) as IMIS members. www.societyinmotion..com
in pitching screenplays that lead them to development.
Forthcoming events in 2018 In a Magical Land Far, Far Away: The Role of the Production Designer with Terry Ackland Being a Visual Con-Man:
Community matters Even though we’re nearly halfway through the year,
11 June IMIS Screenwriting Community Launch Party Join IMIS for evening drinks
IMIS has a lot more in store. As part of our rebranding from
at the Screenwriting
the BKSTS, we are re-defining the structure of IMIS to reflect
Community launch.!
specialised areas across the wider film industry. Starting this month, we are proud to be launching our
12-13 June Media
first new area: the IMIS Screenwriting Community. Led by
Production Show
Peter Stead, the Screenwriting Community is formed to
The Media Production Show
promote, encourage and explore the role of the screenwriter
at London’s Olympia is the
30 Years of Ad Shoots and
across all forms of media. While this new community is
place to learn about the
What Went Wrong with Geoff
formed to support screenwriters, we welcome people from
newest production methods
Boyle
all backgrounds in our understanding and exploration of the craft of storytelling — particularly as the exhibition
15 June Meet Us at the Pub
Acorns to Oaks: From
community represents the major outlet for film storytelling!
IMIS is welcoming all
Business Plan to Production
Stay tuned as more IMIS communities are launched in the
members of the society to
Company with Mayhem
coming months.
join us for monthly drinks!
Creative Big Shorts: Passion
Join the Society in motion!
19 June How to get an agent as a screenwriter
Projects with High Profile Cast
Be a part of the conversation, join the International
Leah Middleton, film, TV and
with the production team
Moving Image Society today!
literary agent from Majacq, on
from Some Sweet Oblivious Antidote
Learn more about the entire workflow of today’s filmmaking, from conception of ideas through to
how screenwriters can go about getting an agent.
film capture, delivery and exhibition. Filmmaking Without Borders - Journey to the
For more information on membership benefits and to join the society, visit www.societyinmotion.com
10 July Networking Drinks & LGBT Shorts
Oscars: From Concept to the
Our July networking event
Awards
focuses on and welcomes short films from LGBT authors
IMIS CINEMA TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE Richard Mitchell (Chairman), Mike Bradbury, Roland Brown, Bryan Cook, Michael Denner, Kiril Enikov, Richard Huhndorf, Denis Kelly, Peter Knight, Graham Lodge, Adam MacDonald, André Mort, Mark Nice, Dave Norris, Ngozi Okali, Kevin Phelan, David Pope, Toni Purvis, Stephen Rance, Jim Slater, Russell Smith, Simon Tandy, Chris Tostevin, Paul Wilmott, Demir Yavuz.
www.cinematech.today
JUN18_IMIS.indd 17
The IMIS (International Moving Image Society) powered by the BKSTS aims to inspire, educate, train and connect all members of the media industry, whether at entry or professional level, around the world. The Society works to maintain standards and to encourage the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of moving image and associated technologies, in the UK and throughout the world. The Society is independent of all governments and commercial organisations. The Society gratefully acknowledges the support of the following companies and organisations: ARRI • British Film Institute • Boxer Systems • Christie • Harkness Screens • LB Group • London Film Museum • Marshall Electronics • Molinare • MPC • Pinewood Studios • Snell Advanced Media • Sohonet • StreamVuTV • Tradefair For membership inquiries, write to: Roland Brown, President, IMIS, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Bucks SL0 0NH, UK; or email: membership@societyinmotion.com
or those based on the theme of LGBT. To book a place, head to societyinmotion.com/events
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18/05/2018 11:38
LED DISPLAY
Direct view displays
Cinema LED Screens in the Real World
Arguably the most significant innovation in cinema since digital projection, the use of LED screens to show first-run films has been a hot topic for over a year. Patrick von Sychowski examines the market entrants Words: Patrick Von Sychowski
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www.cinematech.today
15/05/2018 13:30
OBODY
SEEMS
SURE
WHAT to call new cinema LED technology, whether it is direct view display (awkwardly
abbreviated
DvD), or active screens, video walls or something else. But nobody who has seen the demonstrations by Samsung and Sony could fail to be impressed by the brightness, clarity, definition, colours, blacks and contrast of the projector-less screens. If anything, cinema purists find them too perfect, much like digital projection is faulted for its lack of flicker, scratches, weaves and other photochemical film characteristics.
Samsung Onyx Theatre
Hear the news: Samsung believes Onyx Sound successfully addresses the issue of speaker placement
UNIC President Phil Clapp stated that he believes that they are in the majority. Moreover, despite these reservations, Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” was the first film screened at Samsung’s first US installation. Presently the Samsung Onyx Theatre situation is similar
Samsung became the early proponent of cinema LED
not only to the prototype DLP cinema deployment in 1999
when it held private demonstrations at CinemaCon in
in terms of installed base and cost but also in terms of
March 2017. The cinema industry was stunned by the
industry buzz that it is generating. It remains to be seen
speed with which the South Korean electronics major won
whether it will similarly dominate cinemas in 15 years’ time.
DCI certification in May 2017 and installed the first unit with
Samsung has an ambitious target of “10 percent of cinemas
Lotte in Seoul last July. Eight sites have since been installed
across the world by 2020.” But Samsung is not the only one
or announced, including in China, Europe and the US.
advocating a bright future for projector-less cinema screens.
The price tag of around $750,000 (including screen,
Sony
audio and install) is still the biggest block to widescale adoption. The second is that the screen only comes in the size of 10.3m for the 4K version. Yet the promises of more than 100,000 hours’ lifespan means that, according to integrators, cinemas are seriously weighing it up as an alternative to laser projection. At its US launch, Samsung also announced plans for a 14m (45.9 ft) screen before the end of the year with wider pixel width (3.3mm instead of 2.5mm). The company also claims up to $25,000 savings for newly built cinemas by eliminating the need for a projection booth and the addition of three rows of seats. The installation of the first Samsung screen in a Hollywood post house (Roundabout in Santa Monica) should mean that feature films can now be mastered for the high brightness HDR screens, though Studios are not rushing to pay for yet another DCP versioning for a stillsmall installed base. Worries about damaged displays has
Tom Stern, camera director of “American Sniper” and “Sully” gives his view on LED developments
Sony showed off its LED screen at CinemaCon 2017 in a public demo intended to gain feedback from the cinema industry, rather than announce entry into the field. The CLEDIS display was already in commercial use, but not DCI
“It’s a little like a piano. Would you rather have 66 keys or 99 keys? Hopefully, one day we’ll have a visual piano with 108 keys: a fantastic tool”
certified for cinemas. However, with Sony projectors having their own IMB, they would not need to look outside the company for an integrated cinema solution. In practice, the CLEDIS screen was considered ‘over-specced’ for cinema use, with a price tag to match. Feedback, though, was very positive. Sony is now on a path to launching a cinema LED screen, most likely before the end of 2018, with the new
led Samsung to issue assurances that defective modules
name of Crystal LED. Unlike Samsung, however, Sony has to
can be replaced and recalibrated in just a few hours.
be mindful of not undermining its existing projector line-
While some high-profile directors such as Steven
up, including the recently launched blue-phosphor laser.
Spielberg and Christopher Nolan have expressed concerns
Sony is also at pains to stress that its active screen solution
about what they see as a ‘big television’ screen in cinemas,
is different from Samsung’s in that it uses micro LEDs.
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LED DISPLAY
Sony’s Plans Oliver Pasch, Sony Digital Cinema Europe “Sony is committed to exhibition through its significant investment in developing Crystal LED, the future of the premium cinema experience with its true and verified contrast ratio of over 1,000,000 to 1! With infinite contrast and colour reproduction that can match what the filmmaker intended, Sony is taking every measure to ensure we deliver the right technology at the right time for the best picture in theatres. With the modular scalable design of our Crystal LED technology it caters for every size of screen — we’re excited to bring this to market for exhibition in the near future and are nearing the end of DCI approval. Our Crystal LED Active Screen solution is coming to market in its current generation, but we’ll continue to develop to the solution for future iterations, working with the Hollywood creative community and studios to develop a solution best fit for their needs, coupled with a realistic product for implementation by our exhibitor partners.”
NEC, Barco and Christie that they too can offer LED solutions for cinema, once there At Cinemacon 2018 NEC hosted demos of a prototype
is significant market demand. Unlike Samsung, they clearly
LED display that showed stereoscopic 3D using passive
do not want such a display to siphon off attention from their
glasses (Samsung uses more expensive active glasses).
current line up of projector-based solutions.
Resolution was low but 3D effects were impressive and without eye strain. NEC is confident it can get resolution up
Samsung’s LED solution uses active glasses for 3D — others use less expensive passive versions
LG… and China enter the fray
and offer a viable product in the near future. Both Barco and Christie have extensive experience in
Samsung’s biggest competitor in the LED TV and display
LED displays for indoor (including cinema lobbies) and
panels is fellow Korean major LG. There are rumours the
outdoor use. A particularly impressive one greets visitors
company will soon come out with a cinema LED product.
approaching Barco’s new HQ in Kortrijk, Belgium. Christie
This could lead to others, such as Sharp or Vizio also entering
even formed a partnership with Wanda Film Holdings early
the field. Yet the biggest potential ‘threat’ to Samsung
this year for a joint Cinema Technology Centre of Excellence
could come from China. Unlike DLP chips, which are strictly
that among other things will look at cinema LED screens.
controlled and licensed by Texas Instruments, there is
As such both Barco and Christie have expressed confidence
nothing inherently proprietary about LED technology. This means that a suitably good LED display with a DCI-approved IMB and FIPS could pass cinema compliance tests. While GDC Techonlogy is currently working with Samsung, there is nothing to stop it from sourcing LEDs from a manufacturer in China for its own solution in the future. China has long resented being dependent on ‘foreign’ projection technology and manufacturers, not least since becoming the world’s biggest cinema The modular nature of LED is a benefit to cinemas as maintenance is a simple affair, relatively
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market by screen count. Cinema LED could give China the opportunity to source future screen technology from 100% domestic suppliers. www.cinematech.today
15/05/2018 13:30
Samsung opened its first US cinema site, Northridge’s Winnetka Pacific multiplex in Los Angeles this April
Onyx LED: the numbers Dimensions: Now: 10.2 x 5.4 meters - 96 panels @ 2.5 mm (4K) 5.1 x 2.7 meters - 24 panels @ 2.5 mm (2K) Q4 2018: 14 x 7.2 x meters - ?? panels @ 3.1 mm (4K)
“Many studios think LED is the best thing since sliced bread,” [but directors like Spielberg and Nolan] “just went after us: ‘You have to have projection… Don’t just go the way of just being television.’ Voices are coming at us from all sides.” And the audio issue? Because speakers cannot be placed behind LED screens, clever solutions have to be found to replicate regular 5.1, 7.1 and immersive sound. This challenge was addressed earlier by AMC for its Taurus curved screens and also in Finnkino’s AS2 solution used for its Scape PLF and over 100 other screens. This involves putting speakers in an array above and around the screen. Psych-acoustics mean people are generally able to distinguish better whether sound is coming from left or right but not up or down. Samsung has improved on this using speakers pointing at the screen, ‘bouncing’ them off it to the audience. “With support from JBL by Harman Professional’s sculpted surround sound system, Onyx Sound expands the audio sweet spot in a given theater,” Samsung explained at the launch of its first US screen, which, funnily
NATO’s John Fithian offers his view of the contrary opinion on LED screens during CinemaCon
1 module = 3,840 LED lights (16cm high x 15 cm wide) 1 cabinet = 24 modules (6 high x 4 wide) 4K screen = 96 cabinets (6 high x 16 wide)
Brightness 146 ftL (foot-lambert) or 500 nit. 15-25 ftL is high-end for laser projection
Estimated Price Samsung Onyx: USD $500,000-$800,000 (screen, audio and installation) Top RGB laser: USD USD $150,000-$300,000 (projector only)
Cinemas: 3/7/17: Lotte Cinema World Tower (Seoul, South Korea)Lotte 20/7.17: Cinema in Centum City (Busan, South Korea) 4/2/18: Wanda Theater Wujiaochang (Shanghai, P.R. China) 20/3/18: Arena Cinemas (Zurich, Switzerland) 1/4/18: Paragon Cineplex (Bangkok, Thailand) 20/4/18: Pacific Theaters Winnetka 12 (Chatsworth, CA, USA) later in 2018: Golden Screen Cinemas (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) later in 2018: Cineplexx Cinemas (Vienna, Austria) Post-production - 20/4/18: Roundabout (Santa Monica, USA) Future: 10 screens total open in May 2018 15 screens total open in June 2018 30 screens total open by end of 2018
EclairColor Samsung Onyx is the third digital cinema display device to be certified for EclairColor HDR-enabled pictures after Sony’s SRX-500 and Barco’s DP4K projectors.
enough, is less than 15mins drive from Harman’s US headquarters. www.cinematech.today
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Getting ahead is easier with the right technology The right Theatre Management System will do more than give you complete control and visibility over your screens, it will give you the freedom to focus on your audience. Turn your cinema’s day-to-day operations into something that happens in the background, and get back to driving innovation across your business. Arts Alliance Media provides the world’s leading TMS, helping over 40,000 screens automate their processes behind-the-scenes and deliver better experiences for audiences on six continents. Discover what you’re missing on Booth 601 at CineEurope. www.artsalliancemedia.com
@ArtsAllianceM ArtsAllianceMedia hello@artsalliancemedia.com
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S E A T I N G
Ferco: At the forefront of seating technology Marrying function and technology, modern cinema seating helps to shape the experience. Peter Knight discusses developments in the sector with Ferco’s CEO Tim Barr Words: Peter Knight
Elements, such as swivel tables, are now a common sight on premium cinema seating
V
ENUES ARE POWERFUL SPACES explains Tim Barr, straight off the bat, “People
go
to
venues
to
be
entertained. To be carried away. They come to learn. To collaborate. The right space can create immersive
experiences. It can also generate world-changing ideas. It’s why we’re passionate about designing the seating that fills these spaces.” With that ethos, it’s easy to see why Ferco Seating enjoys a strong position in the seating business. Experience gained from working across multiple sectors including sports and education allows Ferco’s team to learn from www.cinematech.today
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S E A T I N G
“Cinemagoers are becoming more and more aware about the luxury seating that the cinema world provides” each separate area and put that knowledge into use across its range. That helps the company stay at the forefront — in April Ferco signed a seating distribution agreement with CinemaNext which, in Tim’s view, is a step in driving business growth based on goals of excellence & innovation.
A changing industry
the requirements of the exhibition business have changed. Ferco premium seating at Cinema City’s site in Sharjah, UAE, illustrates the role it has in creating the right ambiance
The biggest technological changes in cinema in recent
First came the introduction of food service — meaning tables and holders — and next has come the dominance of the recliner to the point that these now represent the majority of sales. With the introduction of the multiplex, requirements for seating changed, too. Now, to satisfy different price points, it is the norm to see more than one type of seating feature within the auditorium.
decades, such as the introduction of Dolby Atmos, IMAX
“Today’s cinemagoers are becoming more and more
and digital projection, have snaffled precious budgets over
aware about luxury seating that cinemas provide,” says Tim,
the years, but now the focus in many auditoria is on seating.
giving the example of Ferco’s Premium Verona model that
As is widely recognised, demand for luxury seating has
can accommodate iPads and swivel tables in the armrests,
increased significantly in the past decade. This changing
“These allow patrons to order food and drinks conveniently
demands can be seen directly in the Ferco showroom, as
and eat in comfort without the need for waiting staff to take
Tim explained. The company has seating from the 1930s
orders. Initially, take-up of electric recliners, such as those
right through to its contemporary products. In recent years
we recently installed in Novo Cinemas in the UAE, was slow.
FERCO TIMELINE Ferco Seating is an international company headquartered in the UK, with regional operations centres in Singapore, manufacturing facilities in Malaysia, and a network of agents in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim. Established in 1983 by CEO Tim Barr, it initially supplied stadium seating, but has grown into one of the world’s largest manufacturers of auditorium, cinema, education and sports spectator seating.
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Exhibitors were busy investing in digital equipment. Now they are turning their attention to increasing attendance
1987
1992
1996
First exclusive dealership of international seating company
Opened sales office in Kuala Lumpur
Opened manufacturing facility in Malaysia
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15/05/2018 14:28
and revenue by providing luxury recliners and dining
Regulations and safety
served at seat. With this in mind we have developed a
Understandably, furniture installed in public spaces must
range of electric seats, which can be customised to suit the
adhere to strict safety regulations, a point heightened by
aspirations of individual exhibitors. Advanced seating not
recent news headlines of a tragic accident in a cinema in
only reduces the cost of the exhibitor’s wage bill, but more
the UK in March (see panel, overleaf). Aside from exceeding
importantly enhances the customers’ experience — and this
fire regulations, Ferco recliners incorporate an auto-return
can help drive them into the cinema time and again.”
Seating helps to differentiate
Fact File
system that quickly returns to position together with a safety bar that stops the mechanism if it is obstructed. Ferco has established a strong team of professional
With most cinemas showing the same movies and selling
Tim Barr:
designers, craftsmen and quality control specialists to
similar beverages, seating is one of very few points of
C.E.O. at Ferco
ensure its systems meet the highest standards for durability
differentiation exhibitors can deploy. Customers will now
and quality, with an R&D department that continuously
select a location based on how comfortable the seating is
Tim founded
tests all materials used to ensure they meet internationally
and overlook other sites in the process. Though the trend is
Ferco back in
accepted British Standards.
for more recliners, Tim still believes demand will remain for
1983 and has
standard seating, not least because in a number of countries
been at the
rough handling and tip-up mechanisms to name a few.
there persists a legal requirement to have different prices
company’s helm
With 200,000 cycles of testing the norm, it can take up to 6
— but even the ‘standard’ seats are seeing upgrades with
ever since.
weeks of 24/7 testing for each product to go through the
Alongside this, Ferco conducts component testing for
gliding options now added. Auditoria are being installed
process, including fire testing. Ferco does not just make
with a variety of seating including armchair and child-
seating for cinemas, but for a other venues too, including
specific seating and, for some cinemas (notably in Australia),
sports stadia. A notoriously tough environment for seating,
child-focused auditoria.
learnings from the football terraces — and a solid testing regime — help ensure Ferco’s cinema lines are fit for purpose
Innovation in seating
and the rigours of day-in-day out use.
A seat’s just a seat, right? Wrong. Seating has come a long way since the mid-1980s and the dawn of the multiplex. Seating is as much about adding value to the cinema and the customer as anything else — you could say it has a real impact on the bottom line. Thoughtful technology is now commonplace, such as USB ports in the seating to allow customers to charge their phones while they watch a film. As Tim pointed out, most customers watch films at the end of the day when batteries on their mobile are likely to be running low. It might only be a simple addition, but such touches helps to define and improve the customer experience. Beyond traditional seating and their new ranges of recliners, Ferco also provides seating for the 4DX and DBox systems, which then add their own electronic systems for installation into the auditorium, and, in the process bringing a whole new dimension to cinemagoing.
Cupholders? Naturally, but reading lights, USB sockets and tables too on the latest seating
1998
2000
2001
2004
2005
2006
Won a 120,000 stadium seat contract for 1998 Commonwealth Games, Malaysia
Supplied 28,000 seats for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney
Purchased 90,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Malaysia
Awarded with ISO 9001
Won the award to manufacture and supply 3,500 seats for Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and supplied a total of 3,812 seats to AIM Convention Centre, Hanoi, Vietnam
Installation of 60,000 seats at the Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal FC
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S E A T I N G
Working with the customer
including motors, that have the potential to wear over time.
Visitors to CinemaCon, CineEurope and other exhibition-
This technical development could see cinemas needing
focused shows will appreciate that seating stands are often
to enter into a maintenance contract, either an all-inclusive
the most dominant on the trade floor. It’s a competitive
version, or a call-out service with items paid for on a per-visit
market, so how does Ferco differentiate its offering?
cost. With chains installing thousands of recliners globally
For
Tim,
Ferco’s
key
proposition
is
an
innate
this is going to be a big issue in the next 10 years.
understanding of the way seating can define the cinema
Ferco has deliberately designed its recliners so that
and be a revenue generator. Through innovation and using
control panels are easy to access in order to maintain the
experience garnered from other sectors, they aim to deliver
seats easily and efficiently, but does
a quality product that is both flexible and customised to the
more complexity mean we might
client’s specific auditorium.
even see a need to have remote
A tragic reminder of cinema safety
There is another aspect that’s vital in a seat, too — comfort. As Tim explains: “Cinemas aim to take audiences to a different world. Customers pay to relax and to be transported by
a captivating storyline. Comfortable
monitoring of seating performance? In much the same way as digital projection has a NOC, could seating demand one also? “The electronic side is easy to monitor but the
ergonomics play an important role — any discomfort draws attention from the screen. People will shift and fidget. With
A freak accident in March at Vue’s
mechanical would be harder,” says
our study of human physiology, our chairs have been
flagship 25-screen Star City site in
Tim, “In the past Ferco has looked at
designed and formed specially to counter these issues.”
Birmingham, UK, brings home the
occupancy monitoring of seating, but
need for cinemas to consider all
it is difficult — but that doesn’t mean it
aspects of safety, including seating.
couldn’t happen in the future.”
The maintenance challenge As technical elements increase, so too does maintenance
Ateeq
Rafiq,
a
24-year-old
become more of a challenge. Newer product lines are no
father of one, was retrieving a
A comfortable future
longer the simple mechanical devices they once were.
phone from under his Gold Class
With the opening up of cinemas in
Some of the more technically advanced seating requires
recliner [not a Ferco product — Ed]
Saudi
specialist care and servicing. Fortunately, at Ferco, ease of
at the end of the film when his
developments as the Dine in Cinema
maintenance is a fundamental consideration. It could be as
head was trapped in the retracting
in Dubai using celebrity chefs to cater
simple as implementing improvements in the way seats
footrest. Despite the efforts of staff
for
can be cleaned using a leatherette/soft leather. Similarly
and paramedics who managed to
environment, there is going to be a
material improvements make the seats easier to wipe
release him, Mr Rafiq later died in
constant need for seating to evolve to
down with just soap and water and also deliver a reduction
hospital
meet the next set of requirements.
in cracking over time. When it comes to cleaning, seating
suffering from
The ideal of the cinema has always
has been designed to be lifted simply using a gas lift in
cardiac arrest.
been to deliver the most entertaining
pairs, thus making it easier to clean beneath. In the future it
The
tragedy
experience possible. It has firmly
will be possible to raise entire rows via a motorised system.
shows cinemas
always been a seated medium and —
after
Arabia
customers
and
in
with
a
such
cinema
Tim highlighted how maintenance of seats will become
must consider
as Ferco’s own marketing intimates —
more and more critical as their complexity increases. Unlike
a range of risks
state of the art, luxury seating will
simple products of the past that could be easily repaired
when assessing
always provide your audience with
and maintained in-house over a long period of time,
public safety.
unrivalled comfort and aesthetics,
technically advanced recliners require regular inspection.
and this, in turn, helps contribute to
More mechanical parts now require checking, servicing
customer loyalty and an enhanced
and replacing, not to mention the electronic elements,
cinema-going experience.
2008
2009
2012
2013
2014
2016
Opened Dubai Office
Achieved ISO 14001 Accreditation
Installation of FCB-M seating in the Aquatic Centre, London 2012 Olympics
Celebrated 30 years in business
Installation of 78,000 FCB-M seats at the Maracana Stadium, Brazil
Merger with Kotobuki Group of Companies
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www.cinematech.today
15/05/2018 14:28
NEW STANDARDS, TRADITIONAL VALUES Exceptional image and colour quality plus the latest in digital cinema technology delivers new revenue-generating opportunities for theatre and cinema events. These advanced solutions are brought to you by NEC, the trusted leader in Digital Cinema Technology. 3D Movies, Animations, Sports Events, Concerts, News Items or Live Feeds can all be played at superb Digital Cinema quality with different content scheduled throughout the day to match the audience demographic for optimum revenue generation. For further information please visit
www.digital-cinema-nec.com
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18/05/2018 8/5/17 12:25 9:17
B U S I N E S S
WHAT
CAN
CINEMAS
LEARN FROM OTHER
INDUSTRIES Christian Davies, creative director at brand consultancy Fitch, famously says “Retail will change more in the next 5 years than the past 50.” Patrick von Sychowski investigates industries adopting change and lessons they offer. Words: Patrick von Sychowski
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1
Airlines Frequent Flier Miles and Variable Pricing
The only attempt at budget airline-style cinemas began and ended with the closure of easyCinema in Milton Keynes in 2006. Instead, cinemas are today more inclined to go Business or First Class with VIP seating and Gold Class auditoriums. Yet a bigger lesson comes from the airlines’ use of dynamic pricing ticketing and loyalty programmes. Kevin Sterthues, Business Development Manager at SPSmart Pricer GmbH, notes that 90% of hotels, car rentals and airline tickets are already sold online with dynamic pricing. “Big industries are typically first,” he notes, but “in cinema disruption is happening now and is an opportunity to increase revenues” Even 50% of sporting events are sold this way today, but cinemas languish at 20%. Different forms of variable pricing includes new ticket types (‘Super Saver’), dynamic pricing (linked to time and number of bookings) and dynamic price categories (for example, depending on seat). Other industries starting to embrace this include stage shows, zoos and ski resorts, with Germany’s UCI and Russia’s Cinema Park the first cinemas to test the water with Smart Pricer.
euros or yuans. According to Bloomberg, US “airlines make
Airlines also offer lessons in terms of bundling services
more money selling miles than seats,” where “each mile
and products (meals, priority boarding, car rentals, hotels
fetches an airline anywhere from 1.5 cents to 2.5 cents,”
and more, when you book your flight), often going beyond
through the credit card transactions.
their core product. Airlines also have the world’s largest currency, with frequent flier miles worth more than dollars,
2
Banks Go Cashless (like the Swedes)
Time for Cineworld, Odeon and Vue to launch a Platinum AmEx card?
Handling money is both expensive and risky. The hidden costs include labour, inaccuracies, counterfeit risk, and shrinkage (i.e theft). According to Harvard Business Review (‘The Hidden Costs of Cash’, 2014), “U.S. retail businesses lose about $40 billion annually because of the theft of cash alone.” That’s just internally. External risks include robbery. Outside of China the Swedes have gone the furthest in eliminating cash. ABBA sang about ‘Money, money, money’, but in the Stockholm museum dedicated to them a sign states that cash is not accepted. Credit, debit cards and the payment app Swish are the norm. Only 25% of Swedes use cash once a week. Sweden’s second-largest cinema chain Svenska Bio went cashless at the end of 2016, inspired by the smaller chain Björnbiografer, which led the way a year earlier. Cinemas that use online booking and card payments can collect more data on customers and know them better. Perhaps it’s no surprise Swedish community-focused bank Handelsbanken is also the UK’s fastest growing bank, scoring highly in customer surveys. Just don’t expect an ATM.
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B U S I N E S S
3
Retail Customer Centric Online & Offline
The retail landscape is littered with companies that failed to adapt and were often over-leveraged with debt — Toys R Us, BHS, Maplin — but there are also stories of remarkable recoveries, such as bookstore Waterstone’s. Alberto Brea, EVP, Head of Digital Strategy at Edelman NY, famously made the point that “Amazon did not kill the retail industry. They did it to themselves with bad customer service.” This point was driven home in the keynote by MBC’s Laura Chabi at the UKCA conference in March, talking about ‘New Retail’. Speaking to Cinema Technology recently she elaborated that “New retail is the blending of all the best
4
Commercial Property The shopping centre is changing
practices of offline retail that look at Customer experience
As well as affecting individual retailers, online shopping
design (Cx) and marries it with all the best practices of
and changing consumer habits force property developers
digital user experience design (UX).” China has taken this
to re-think malls, shopping centres and retail destinations
concept the furthest, where “this is engineered via the
both in city centres and out-of-town locations. The so-called
mobile device, as customers walk into stores and check-in,
“Mall-pocalypse” has hit the US particularly hard, with Credit
the store gains access to them and aims to offer a most
Suisse predicting in 2017 that “approximately 20-25% of all
customised in-store experience.”
American malls will be shuttered inside of five years.” UK
Regulatory and data governance, such as GDPR, mean
and European market are less over-built, and malls continue
Europe can’t just copy China, but there are lessons to learn.
to boom in China, the Gulf and other emerging markets,
“First and foremost — who own the customer data set?” asks
but developers are nonetheless re-evaluating fundamentals.
Laura Chabi. “A business must have its own first-party
“By thinking more about “place”, the overall experience
customer view and manage the relationship with its
and the connection with that place, landowners, developers
audience.” In a country such as China, where over 85% of
and local government can step into a stewardship role,
cinema tickets are sold on smartphones, there is much to
taking a long-term view to create sustainable change,” says
be learned from New Retail’s O-2-O (online-to-offline)
Rob Arthur, Senior Consultant at CinemaNext Consulting,
customer focus strategies.
with a background in real estate and cinema. “Destinations that understand their local audiences, that offer variety,
The Technology View: Laura Chaibi Head of Digital Research & Analytics at MBC, in the UAE “To become Entertainment-As-A-Service (much like how other industries are moving into service offerings) will give the opportunity to increase the value per ticket sale and will require a cinema theatre to think more like a hotel: what kind of seats, do they offer blankets, is alcohol served, is there close captioning, is there a meal offering and the level of dining experience, are there heat controlled chairs, recliner or not, 3D, IMAX, 4D and — more importantly — what kinds of experiences are current cinema goes seeking and where can new audience segment be found. What do audiences demand to bring them into the cinema-going experience.”
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opportunities for people to get together and give reasons to return are likely to be successful over the long term,” he says. In the UK, The Light cinemas have pursued a strategy of
5
Food & Beverage Super-caffeinated Speed of Delivery
working closely with local councils in opening cinemas in
A recent study done by Spigit.com found that 75% of
town centres that have a ‘halo’ effect for the night-time
companies said their top objective was to improve the
economy. While this has also worked for operators like
customer experience. Technology advances and payment
Everyman, Curzon, Picturehouse and most recently Odeon,
capabilities make up a large part of transforming that
Arthur cautions against writing off out-of-town destinations.
experience. “There is much cinemas can learn from the likes
“Altrincham Town Centre and Market, Westfield, Bicester
of McDonald’s and Starbucks that are forging ahead with
Village and Gloucester Quays continue to grow through
pre-order, self-order and self-pay to speed up transactions,”
innovation, a focus on customers and regular investment”
says Prill Brewin, partner at The Blue Stocking Partnership
he notes. There is a trend, particularly for Millennials and
which does work for Coca-Cola and Odeon AMC.
Gen Zers to shift their consumption from goods (stuff) to
Speed of payment, even more than food delivery is the
experiences (Instagrammable). This shift is seeing malls and
issue, particularly for younger generations. Worldpay found
shopping centres shift the tenant mix to more drink, food
in a recent study of restaurants that three-quarters of those
and activities. “Creating and developing experiences in a
surveyed don’t want to wait more than five minutes to pay,
high-quality environment is essential,” Arthur stresses.
with a fifth annoyed after three minutes. On the flip side,
20% Around 20% of American shopping malls will be shuttered within five years
75%
of F&B companies said their top objective was to improve the customer experience.
just a fifth get frustrated waiting for food to arrive, though this rises to a quarter for 16-34-year-olds. Only 6% of diners find restaurant service “quick and efficient, with Millennials twice as likely to find eating out stressful.” Compare this to coffee chains or high-end quick-serve restaurants (Shake Shack, Five Guys, etc.) where a buzzer notifies you when
90% of hotels, car rentals and airline tickets are already sold online with dynamic pricing.
your food’s ready. “Millennials are huge fans of convenience,” noted Yohan Varella, a marketing executive in Vancouver, in an interview with NBC. “We don’t want to wait 30 minutes to be seated at exclusive restaurants, we want food to be available whenever we want it.” Cinemas are embracing this with pre-ordering of combos via apps, separating the POS and delivery counter spaces and in-seat ordering.
6
Streaming Cinema On Demand
With Netflix, Amazon and other OTT providers streaming
Kudelski and Ymagis’ Eclair are betting this
numerous hours of content, cinemas can no longer simply
can be replicated widely. With cinemas having
rely on new releases. Many have embraced event cinema,
a better understanding of audiences, and now
with the arts, sports and e-games selling out in multiplexes.
more comfortable marketing films themselves,
Cinema equipment and vendors are betting that the
instead of relying on distributors, they can
‘cinema jukebox’ concept is the next big trend. Cinema-on-
access services such as GoGoCinema (GDC), myCinema
demand is already a reality on a small scale — Tugg in the US
(Nagra) and EclairPlay (Ymagis). These offer film downloads
and OurScreen in the UK are enabling film buffs to take
as DCPs or streamed directly — and they provide marketing
control of the schedule. The likes of GDC Technology, Nagra/
material and support for cinemas to create promo material.
What all of the above industries have in common are renewed attempts at consumer focus, convenience and customised experiences. Above all it is essential not to lose focus on the basics of any business, such as good and friendly service. A high-tech CRM system will not impress customers if they see that nobody is cleaning the cubicles in the toilets!
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OCCUPANCY
Driving Occupancy with data Exhibitors who embrace innovative data tools can address an age old challenge: getting customers through the door. Sarah Lewthwaite, SVP at Movio, illustrates how targeted use of data can impact the bottom line. Words: Sarah Lewthwaite
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P
UTTING BUMS IN SEATS has long been the mission of the exhibition industry. With occupancy continuing to hover at an average 15-20%, cinemas are constantly challenged to find ways to grow footfall. With the
growth in online and mobile ticketing, loyalty and subscription schemes, and with deeply entrenched social media strategies, exhibitors have never been so data rich. This presents a wonderful opportunity for cinemas to
41
look to their data sets and to new technologies which leverage this data, to help increase occupancy. Whether it
The number of titles one 17-screen cinema site started showing per week after implementing dynamic scheduling software. Previously, it showed just 19 titles a week
be by scheduling the best showtimes or optimum ticket prices, targeting guests effectively with relevant marketing, or attracting new customers, database technologies now offer cinemas tools to influence occupancy levels positively. The challenge for cinemas to increase occupancy rates
14%
..of likely Black Panther viewers made up 50% of the opening weekend’s admissions from one cinema site’s audience
has often been compared to the challenge facing the airline or hotel industries which also have perishable inventory. But one of the reasons the cinema industry is distinct from these is that demand for the product is more challenging to predict. Most people plan for flights and hotel stays weeks and months in advance. The majority of movie-goers are still making a decision to go to the cinema on the day of the show. Factors such as weather, film reviews, school holidays, sporting events, even transit strikes all influence a cinema’s attendance in any given week. So how can cinema professionals better predict demand for films and predict attendance in a way that will help maximise occupancy? It all starts with leveraging customer data. Over the past few years, products such as Cinema Intelligence and Smart Pricer have emerged, which integrate into a cinema chain’s data sets with these use cases in mind. These products consolidate and aggregate historical film performance and transactional data with external data such as online search, social media sentiment analysis and weather patterns to inform their algorithms.
Reaching customers with relevancy By understanding the demand for product, cinema chains can begin to use technology to reach audiences with greater relevancy. The exhibition industry generally lags behind other industries when it comes to use of data and
15-20% Industry occupancy rates fluctuate between 15-20%
technology to segment and target audiences. Think of retail, where shoppers get relevant email recommendations for products based on previous purchases, or even the travel industry, which sends personalised communications based on a customer’s online browsing. Cinemas, too, have the opportunity to leverage data to ensure the right
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OCCUPANCY
customers know about the right movies at the right time.
Vikaao has a goal to offer 2,500 titles
Data science tools such as Movio’s new Audience Insights
to choose from by the end of this year.
propensity algorithm are helping to make this easier for
They are attracting new audiences —
chains. By understanding movie-goers’ previous behaviours,
OurScreen has found that 40% of the
Movio’s proprietary similarity algorithm can help predict
audience at its events are first-time
future interests. This algorithm can then programmatically
visitors to that particular cinema site.
predict the best film for each movie-goer, each week.
Occupancy rates also out-pace averages, with OurScreen
The results cinema chains are seeing from a tool such as this are impressive with one cinema confirming that 14% of
2,500
Vikaao is looking to offer consumers 2,500 titles to choose from by the end of 2018
quoting 63% occupancy, 3x times the norm for cinemas.
people who were identified as likely movie-goers for “Black
The future is now
Panther”, ended up making up to 50% of the opening
The cinema industry is changing. The digital world has
weekend admissions for the title. According to Steve
transformed our daily lives, and cinema is no different. The
Mathwig, loyalty program manager from Marcus Theatres
role data will play in improving understanding of audiences,
in the US, “Propensity modelling takes the guesswork out of
enhancing film programming, operations and marketing
who is most likely to see a particular film. It has become a
strategies and in driving attendance, is critical. Innovative
major part of our campaign development strategy”.
products and services that help cinemas address this
By better understanding moviegoers and what drives them to the movies, exhibitors are also able to segment
are becoming more sophisticated and more accessible. Exhibitors who are early to embrace will benefit most.
their total audience accordingly and provide more relevant, communications to bring them to the cinema more often. Going back to the example of “Black Panther”, not every movie-goer is going to be interested in that film — marketing efforts should reflect this. Some movie-goers will be keen
Predicting demand
and all you might need to do from a marketing standpoint is tell avid fans that tickets are on sale. Others need a bit of
The demand for certain films or
films released. Through the use of
an incentive, or may be more likely to see it later in the
content in one cinema may not
data, you have to predict potential
release once they’ve heard positive word-of-mouth.
necessarily be the same in another.
audience and performance of the
Another segment of the audience may be better suited to
Using data-driven tools like Cinema
films to be released and be able to
other films that
Intelligence, exhibitors are able to
further differentiate their screens.
better predict a film’s demand and
Cinemas may in turn be able to
therefore its potential occupancy
screen varied content, potentially
level. This insight will empower film
reducing
programmers to optimise content
blockbusters to generate increased
by location and even by screen. This
occupancy and box office revenues.
have are counterprogrammed to the blockbuster release. So it’s a waste of effort to market “Black
“Movio’s similarity algorithm can programatically predict the best film for each movie-goer each week”
ensures the most in-demand films
the
Cinema
dependency
Intelligence’s
on
CEO
are scheduled for the correct-sized
Claudiu
auditoria,
appropriate
recently that one cinema they work
your audience, their likelihood of seeing a film and crafting
number of sessions at the ideal
with which has 17 screens, went
target marketing accordingly, is a strategy cinemas should
time for the target audience.
from showing an average of 19 titles
Panther” to them. Understanding
use to improve customer relationships and occupancy.
with
an
A broader audience:
Tanasescu,
explained
a week to a far more extensive 41 titles
after
implementing
their
Attracting new audiences
With more films released every
dynamic scheduling software. “By
Data is an important factor in helping increase occupancy
week than ever before, audiences
offering consumers more choice,
— but what about those who are not your movie-goers, or
are faced with more cinema-going
our cinema partners are seeing a
are lapsed customers? How can data technologies attract
choices. In fact, in the US last year,
significant
new audiences? One example of how cinemas are tackling
90% of box office revenue came
attendance and their profitability”
this is via ‘on demand’ movie programming. Products such
from approximately 30% of the
noted Tanasescu.
impact
on
their
as “Our Screen” in the UK (see page 37) and the “Vikaao” platform offered by PVR Cinemas in India offer consumers the opportunity to influence the programming themselves. 3 4
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www.ushio.eu Untitled-2 1 20180501 USHIO CT 1june Cine Europe issue.indd 1
18/05/2018 12:26 1-5-2018 15:47:10
Good design is design that works
Please visit us at:
Ferco Seating Systems
HEAD OFFICE: 38 Atcham Business Park Shrewsbury, United Kingdom SY4 4UG marketing@fercoseating.com fercoseating.com
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11~14 June 2018 Centre Convencions International Barcelona (CCIB), Spain Booth:217
21/05/2018 09:25
ON
DEMAND
Crowdsourcing: A social revolution for cinema New online marketplaces like OurScreen are bringing dedicated film enthusiasts into new venues. CT examines the impact of crowdsourcing on the auditorium
T
ODAY,
COMPETING
LEISURE
interests all vie to keep cinemagoers from your door, so how do cinemas create value in quieter times? How can
they
capitalise
on
flexible
programming — and where do you
uncover a rich seam of motivated film fans? One answer is to explore services like ourscreen.com in the UK or tugg. com in the US. These online marketplaces act as a melange of film club, internet dating site and crowdsourcing hub that unite the trinity of film, cinema and audience. Delivering specific titles to specific audiences is a model in which everyone wins — customers watch a film they are genuinely keen to see, the cinema is guaranteed an audience, often in a quieter scheduling slot and, for smaller distributors and indie filmmakers, the model allows big screen
presentation
of
classics
and
arthouse
films
from a wide variety of genres. Advantages for cinemas are clear — commitment to a
www.cinematech.today
037_CT _JUN18_OUR SCREEN.indd 37
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ON
DEMAND
screening is made once a pre-agreed critical mass of ticket sales is achieved, meaning distributor and exhibitor should, in theory, make money. But what technical aspects must be addressed — and, equally importantly, what motivates customers to be involved? OurScreen’s co-founder David Kapur and Fergus Higginson, founder of Manchester Classic
700 Film fans can select from around 700 new, classic and exclusive films on the ourscreen website then share them with friends and others via social sites
Film (“The most successful crowdfunded cinema club in the UK”), give the technical and social perspective
The Technical View: David Kapur, Co-CEO, Ourscreen OurScreen is a tech business but, really, it’s about people. Projectors have changed, cinemas have websites,
connecting, sharing, and meeting often months before a
but the way we interact with our local cinema has stayed
show. With this level of anticipation, it’s no surprise the
pretty much the same as it was when I was a kid. Nothing
atmosphere is amazing. Average occupancy across nearly
is inherently wrong with that but considering how
5,000 screenings is 63%. Screenings are happening right
differently we now interact with phones, televisions and
now around the country, from cult classics to emerging
radios, it felt surprising. A few years back I imagined how
Indian and Nollywood cinema — and of course independent
great it would be if, for fun, anyone could control their
and arthouse gems. We are excited to be releasing “The
favourite cinema in the same way we control smart TVs.
Man from Mo Wax” exclusively in August and recently held
Selecting what we want, when we want. Imagine also
the UK’s largest-ever crowdsourced screening (see below).
deciding who comes! This became a fascination — I discussed the idea with Ian (my business partner at elevenfiftyfive), Marc (CEO at Trafalgar
Releasing)
and
my
father,
Dilip
(a
serial
A Customer’s View: Fergus Higginson Founder, Manchester Film Classics
entrepreneur). They shared my passion and ourscreen.com emerged. Our mission was to create a website that enabled
I’m an avid film fan and a frequent buyer of film
more people to watch more films in the cinema. Today, we
memorabilia, but I have no background in the film
oversee hundreds of screenings each month in a growing
industry and no event promotion experience.
number of the UK’s best cinemas including Odeon, Vue,
Despite this I organised the largest-ever crowdfunded
Picturehouse, Empire, Reel, Scott and brilliant independent
cinema screening in the UK in April, with more than 400
sites. These screenings are created on ourscreen by film
people attending a screening of the
fans selecting from around 700 new, classic and exclusive
Schwarzenegger classic ‘Predator’ in
titles, sharing them with friends and like-minded people.
Manchester’s Odeon.
Screenings are crowdsourced: a target of tickets must
How? Well, I first became aware of
be sold to confirm each showing. Some cinemas upload a
OurScreen in September 2017 when a
few slots, some upload all their slots. All titles are rights-
neighbour invited me to a screening
cleared in advance and all tickets booked online until 24
he was organising of “An American
hours before the show, when a guest list and capacity
Werewolf in London”. Intrigued, I then
report is sent to each site. Payment is taken once screenings
discussed with a friend how we could
reach their crowdsourced target. Our technology and team
run our own screening. OurScreen
need to work hard, but the magic is really at the screenings.
makes it simple for customers — you
We only truly understood this when screenings started
just choose a film, select a date, time
to happen — ourscreen came to life. We knew this was a
and cinema. They give you a ticket
new way to connect with the cinema, but we didn’t release
price, and then target number of
it would create a new way to experience cinema. Via social
crowdfunded tickets to sell to secure
media and supported by our channels, ourscreen hosts or
the screening. For our initial screening
influencers promote their chosen films passionately. This
of ‘Aliens’, we spoke to our friends and
means a snowballing amount of like-minded people are
colleagues from work, and linked in
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63%
Average occupancy across around 5,000, compared to typical occupancy rates of 20%
24 hrs
All tickets are booked online until 24 hours before the screening, then a guest list and capacity report is sent to each site hosting a screening.
with local Meet-Up groups. With a good deal of effort we made the threshold. We caught the bug and arranged further screenings monthly. Recognising that we needed a larger pool of people to draw on, I set up a Facebook page and an event that I shared via relevant blogs and social media. I soon realised the challenge was to find people in the area who also liked a particular film I wanted to see. To overcome this I set up targeted Facebook advertising. This meant I could select a population of people (say within 25 miles of Manchester) who have previously ‘liked’ a particular film, director, actor, or similar films on Facebook. I typically spend up to £25 on advertising per screening and select a range of “likes” that enable me to reach an audience. Whilst I get a reasonable response rate to ads, I also find that people share the event with friends and that improves ticket sales. I encourage others to help build the community and have a regular pool of people who will attend any and all screenings I organise. Though I don’t make any money from the Manchester Classic Films group, I aim to get a good volume of tickets sold to help maximise the screen size we occupy and generate a good atmosphere in the cinema. I test the water with certain films and genres by sharing a particular trailer or still image from a film to gauge the reaction on the group’s Facebook page. I saw a phenomenal response to a “Labyrinth” screening I set up and sold out the initial ticket allocation (110 tickets) in a weekend — over 900 people were interested attending. So I set up multiple screenings — all sold through word-ofmouth. The feedback from screenings has been excellent. I post pictures on my Facebook page from screenings and this again creates a buzz in the group. Organising this film group has been an empowering experience. I’ve learnt by trial-and-error, but by running my own screenings to build a community, it has been effective in letting me enjoy the social aspect of seeing what I want to see on the big screen and connecting with a like-minded audience. www.cinematech.today
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18/05/2018 16:52 09:57 16/05/2018
I N D U S T R Y
The effects of consolidation Global cinema exhibition is consolidating more rapidly than ever before — David Hancock investigates the impacts this is having on the sector Words: David Hancock
HE TOP 10 CINEMA
and now counts nearly 6,000 screens in 16 countries, focusing
exhibitors
accounted
on the Americas. Outside of Wanda, there are four other
for 35.4% of the market
Chinese companies in the Top 10 circuits by screens, all of
(50,000 screens), at the
which operate in China only. Mexican group Cinepolis is
end of 2017. That’s up
steadily growing its global presence, now operating in 14
from around 26% a year earlier. This is
countries with over 5,000 screens in the group. CJ CGV has
the fastest rise we have experienced,
been expanding too, and now counts over 3,000 screens in 7
probably ever (though data goes back
countries. Outside of the Top 10, UK’s Vue Entertainment and
only 30 years). Between them, the two
Belgium’s Kinepolis are also cross-territory exhibitors, with
largest cinema groups now account
Vue operating across Europe and Kinepolis likewise, although
for 25,000 screens or 15% of the total.
it has also acquired the Canadian group Landmark Theatres.
This has been driven mainly by AMC
The effects of consolidation won’t be felt immediately
and, more recently, since Cineworld
but some things are already being seen — others will come
acquired Regal Entertainment. Other companies, however,
along as the process evolves. One benefit of consolidation
are in the mix and from a dispersed global background.
amongst exhibition is a wider marketing capacity and the
The Chinese group Wanda is behind AMC, which is the
ability to do a global campaign at the exhibition end.
driver company internationally. At end 2017, Wanda/AMC
Increased opportunities for branding and the scale and
had made it into 20 countries and counted over 16,500
reach of campaigns is more attractive to potential brand
screens within the group, and they are one of the groups
partners. Cross-territory potential and scale opens bigger
licensed to build in Saudi Arabia as that market opens. Next
doors. The same logic applies to marketing technological
up is the new pairing of Cineworld and Regal with just under
advancements; the larger the network, the easier it is to
10,000 screens in 10 countries. Cinemark is one the current
introduce concepts such as laser projection, 4D/IMS, and
crop of exhibitors that has long been growing internationally
PLF branding, minimising the risk of confusing consumers.
WORLDWIDE TOP 10 EXHIBITORS BY SCREENS
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1
2
3
4
5
6
WANDA/AMC
CINEWORLD
CINEMARK
GUANG. DADI
CINEPOLIS
CH. FLM DIGITAL
SITES
SITES
SITES
SITES
SITES
SITES
1621
817
538
934
647
752
SCREENS
SCREENS
SCREENS
SCREENS
SCREENS
SCREENS
16,599
9,760
5,982
5,375
5,319
4,661
TERRITORIES
TERRITORIES
TERRITORIES
TERRITORIES
TERRITORIES
TERRITORIES
20
10
16
1
14
1
www.cinematech.today
15/05/2018 13:12
Source: IHS Markit
7
8
9
10
CH. FILM SOUTH
CJ CGV
CH. FLM STELLA
CINEMEX
SITES
SITES
SITES
SITES
672
431
503
324
SCREENS
SCREENS
SCREENS
SCREENS
3,936
3,279
3,233
2,824
TERRITORIES
TERRITORIES
TERRITORIES
TERRITORIES
1
7
1
2
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040_CT _JUN18_HANCOCK.indd 41
25,000
Between them Wanda and Cineworld account for 15% (25,000) of all screens globally
16 35.4% Cinemark has long been growing internationally and now counts nearly 6,000 screens in 16 countries
Percentage share for the top 10 global exhibitors (2017)
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I N D U S T R Y
REVENUES & PROPORTION OF GLOBAL BOX OFFICE Studio
Non-Studio
%
Accounted for by US studios
40
68
35
10.3
25
20
21.5
11.3
12.9
13.3
1 2 .7
67
66
65
21.8
21.8
22.3
22.5
2 5 .1
64
63
10
62
$ US
15
5
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
% Share
30
13.0
61
As has been widely reported on, big data (analytics) has
which no big distributor can do without. Their box office
also made its way into the exhibition sector, with techniques,
weight is even higher than their screen presence. At the
uses and companies practising it more widely understood
same time, studios are facing a new
now. Admissions generated by these newer consolidated circuits, and these across several different countries, will mean more data to be analysed and exploited. This should lead to greater understanding of customers and behaviour, which should benefit the industry long term, not just in box office growth but also tying in cinemagoing with other consumer technologies and behavioural understanding. For manufacturers of technology, consumables and
“Top 5 exhibitors already account for around 43,000 screens, which no major distributor can do without”
landscape. Once the behemoths of global entertainment, theatrical arms of major studios are now smaller parts of larger companies, with their parent companies involved in a wide range of sectors and activities. Studios are consolidating, with Disney hoping to acquire studio assets
fittings, consolidation of their client-base is a double-edged
of Fox amongst others, unable to find the necessary scale
sword — fewer clients to target and sign contracts with, but
they need to continue investing in the number of major
those that remain will be larger for successful suppliers. This
productions and the distribution pipeline necessary to
will require new working practices for both parties, with
exploit them. This may not stop with Disney and Fox.
larger deals being negotiated and presumably greater scope for volume discounting. The exhibitors will need new purchasing procedures and probably new distribution
Fact File
structures as they grow to cope with larger deals.
Distribution: who has the whip hand?
Consolidation of exhibition may accelerate a similar process in distribution. It is not inconceivable that, in a few years, three major studios do 50% of their screen business with just 10 exhibition companies. This radically changes the
David Hancock, IHS Markit
US studios have long had the upper hand against the
nature of the business, where decision-making is done, there is a risk of increased on-screen uniformity. Cinema is changing, partly due to pressures of being a
cinema owners due to the fragmented and territorial nature
David Hancock is
fully digital media and competing with such on content
of most markets. When US studios generated two thirds of
Director, Film and
and technology, but also because of consumers’ higher
the world’s box office between them, they were faced with
Cinema at IHS
expectations of experience and environment, even such
over 300 circuits of some size around the world. This made
Markit and the
things as healthy F&B options and partner franchises.
the studios’ job more complex, involving multiple contracts
President of
Cinema remains mainstream, but some are breaking this
for films, but it also helped the global distributors set terms
European Digital
mould, aiming for affluent audiences. Wherever cinema
— no single exhibitor could dominate. That’s changing: the
Cinema Forum
ends up in years ahead, many are grasping the challenge to
Top 5 exhibitors already account for around 43,000 screens
(EDCF).
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stay ahead of the competition and evolve the medium. www.cinematech.today
15/05/2018 13:12
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18/05/2018 12:40
E V E N T S Cinema Technology catches up with the buzz in Las Vegas at CinemaCon 2018
CinemaCon 2018 Review
C
both
inemaCon was by
2018
dominated two
‘S’s
Samsung Saudi
—
and
Arabia
—
competing with a new ‘C’
(Cinionic) for attention, writes Patrick von Sychowski. Despite 2017 having seen a dip at the North American box
36 Delegates from around the world attended the preCinemaCon EDCF LA tour - the largest ever
last year the tour was arranged by
while
John Graham and Dave Monk, but
archiving, SMPTE DCP, 3D ghosting,
probably also the best, with visits to
audio for LED screens and more were
RealD, the Motion Picture Academy,
covered.
Technicolor’s VR Lab, Universal, the Harman
Experience
Centre,
important
issues
such
as
At the same time representatives
Sony
for cinema trade body UNIC and the
Pictures and Samsung’s new Onyx
Global Cinema Federation (GCF) were
LED screen in Winnetka Pacific 16
also in Los Angeles for meetings with
multiplex in Northridge.
the likes of the Directors’ Guild, where
office, there was a sense of optimism
As always the presentations and
word leaked out that Messrs Spielberg
as the Las Vegas trade show was
discussions of the EDCF tour were off
and Nolan were not keen on LED
bookended by the Marvel-ous results
the record, but the technology and
screens (“big TVs”) in cinemas, but
of “Black Panther” (third biggest US
presentations all impressed greatly,
preferred the projected image.
film of all time) and “Avengers: Infinity War” ($250m in its opening weekend). Yet
the
spectre
consolidation
for
of
industry
both
cinemas
(Cineworld-Regal) and also studios (Disney-Fox) stalked the long corridors Words: Patrick von Sychowski
of Caesar’s Palace, alongside delegates rushing to the screenings, seminars, trade shows and receptions. As
always,
CinemaCon
was
preceded by the European Digital Cinema Forum’s tour of Los Angeles, with a record 36 delegates visiting the
key
companies,
studios
and
institutions of Hollywood. This was the www.cinematech.today
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Delegates came for a packed conference — with many wondering if it’s time to add an extra day to the agenda
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E V E N T S
Studios Out in Force
International Day International Day at CinemaCon was opened with a keynote by Jeong Seo, the CEO of CJ CGV cinemas. He dazzled the audience with images
Sony Pictures Entertainment Walt Disney Warner Bros STXfilms Entertainment Studios Universal Pictures Focus Features Paramount Pictures 20th Century Fox Amazon Studios Lionsgate
from CGV’s leading cinemas in Korea,
This year, no fewer than 11 studios and distributors
which included their own technologies
presented in Vegas and several changes had to be
such as ScreenX and 4DX, but also had
made to accommodate them all. For the first time
bed cinemas, Cine de Chef fine dining
there were no screenings of full features, with
and Sky Box opera-style VIP booths
ShowEast largely taking the role of preview
where the projection room once was.
showcase. Studios took turns in trying to impress
The company, he said, is “moving from
cinema owners with their 2018-2019 slates, Disney
a ‘multiplex’ to a ‘cultureplex’ model.”
with its Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, live action and
Before him Rob Friedman, CEO of
animation titles, including “The Lion King” which
Global Road Entertainment warned
looked as real as a BBC wildlife documentary.
that “consolidation is inevitable,” and
Universal got Cher to sing on stage for its “Mamma
that “content owners will continue to
Mia!” sequel. Sony Picture’s twin aces were Quentin
build direct relations with consumers,”
Tarantino and Leonardo DiCaprio. Warner Bros, as
in a clear nod to Disney’s plan for its
always, wheeled out the most stars, including most
own streaming service.
of the “Ocean’s 8” ensemble.
David Hancock of IHS delivered
Netflix was absent, having also recently fallen
his usual numbers-heavy snapshot of
out with the Cannes Film Festival, but Amazon
the outlook for the global cinema
Studios was present, asking Alexa on stage for film
business, noting that Asia had seen
recommendations. Smaller studios like STX and
100.6% growth in the past five years.
Lionsgate held their own with diverse slates.
After him a panel of representatives of
Paramount flew in Mission: Impossible’s Tom
Disney, Kinepolis, Cinemark and Event
Cruise, the recipient of the Pioneer of the Year
Cinemas (chaired by yours truly)
award from the Will Roger’s Foundation - the first
Fithian and MPAA’s new CEO and
looked at how studios and exhibitors
actor to be awarded it. While Disney showed off
Chairman
could be “Joining forces to Attract
live action footage of its “Dumbo” remake, it didn’t
stressed the importance of diversity,
New Moviegoers”. No surprises that
show off the star, nor did it address the elephant in
not just in Hollywood films but
Big Data is key, but there was a new
the room of the 20th Century Fox acquisition. Fox,
amongst cinema employees. “The
tone of willingness to share and
however, did not shy away from the topic, with
word disruption is thrown around way
collaborate, though no quick fixes.
“Deadpool” sending a raunchy video greeting that
too much,” he warned. ”Nothing needs
involved Hugh Jackman in a dressing gown and a
to be disrupted when it comes to the
hung-over Disney character.
basic goal of our industry: bringing
The afternoon saw UKCA/UNIC’s Phil Clapp interview Cinepolis CEO
Charles
Rivkin.
Fithian
people together to share a communal
and GCF Chair Alejandro Ramirez from
be 25% and that we still don’t know
experience. But that doesn’t mean
Washington DC. Issues of trade and
the censorship and gender separation
exhibitors won’t innovate.” He went on
barriers, but also piracy and windows
requirements. NATO president and
to emphasise ‘robust’ numbers for
were addressed. The International Day
panel chair John Fithian noted that
cinemas both in the US and overseas
ended with a big panel on Saudi
Saudi Arabia was reforming with
in remarks that were echoed by Rivkin.
Arabia, which overtook China as this
tremendous speed, while Adam Aron
At the press conference afterwards
year’s big foreign focus, where AMC
felt $20 tickets there were too cheap
NATO’s team had a bet how long it
CEO Adam Aron and Majid Al Futtaim
and that they’d charge $30-$35 once
would take before MoviePass was
(Vox) CEO Ahmed Ismail got to brag
recliners are installed this summer.
mentioned (Fithian didn’t bring it up
Magana
via
video
link
about being the first two exhibitors to
in his speech), though surprisingly it
open cinemas in the kingdom. Fox’s
Open for business
Andrew Cripps injected a note of
CinemaCon 2018 was formally opened
cinema subscription service ‘disruptor’
caution that tax on cinema tickets will
by the twin keynotes of NATO’s John
was in Vegas, holding one-on-one
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took 39 whole minutes. This US
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15/05/2018 12:37
Christie on the trade show floor inside… the bright lights of Paris, Nevada outside
to the Vision 2020 enhancement and immersive lobby augmented reality and virtual reality entertainment — and a Barco RGB laser also powered the presentations in the Colosseum. Having
played
coy
and
held
invitation-only demos at last year’s was up or down, depending on who
CinemaCon, Samsung was front and
you talked to, with concessions and
centre this year. The week prior,
seating companies appearing to grow
Samsung opened its first US cinema
in tandem (is there a correlation?),
location in Northridge’s Winnetka
while most tech companies prefer a
Pacific 16 multiplex, post-production
dedicated room or two in the hallways.
installation at the Burbank-based
The big brands on show
meetings and primarily there to assure cinemas it was their friend and also financially viable. Though the latest ‘pivot’ that saw MoviePass restrict new members to four films per month, no
11
Roundabout and unveiled its new branding (‘Onyx’). The company went
The world’s largest cinema event
out of its way to wine and dine the
marked the coming out for Barco’s
press with dinners, breakfasts and
Cinionic, its joint venture with China’s
one-on-one interviews. Interest was
ALPD and CGS. The brand and its
already sky-high, with lines for the
colour-splash logo were everywhere,
Samsung demo booth running round
from hot-off-the-press lapel pins and
the trade show block. As well as
business cards to a multi-color water
regular and HDR clips, Samsung also
ballet at Barco’s traditional Belgian
showcased 3D clips, using active 3D
beer party at Caesar’s Neptune pool.
glasses. Images were as bright, crisp
“We are in the midst of a changing
and colourful as you’d expect, but
cinema landscape, where exhibitors
there was no news on studio support
must deliver increasingly immersive
for content mastered for the format.
entertainment to captivate today’s
Inevitably other projector makers
moviegoers,” was the message from
were somewhat overshadowed by
Cinionic’s CEO Wim Buyens. The
Samsung
company was determined a make a
stressed its projection heritage and
be around in 2019. (Anyone remember
big noise and impressed delegates
Vive audio offering. NEC offered up its
The Screening Room from 2016?)
with its offerings from laser projectors
RGB laser, which is winning praise
repeat viewings, and an IHeartRadio. com trial thrown in for free, had attendees speculating whether it will
Distributors and studios presenting at CinemaCon 2018
Topics covered in the conference
social
entertainment
options,
to
cinema concession analytics and the strength of the independent/specialty market. Several delegates complained it was getting increasingly difficult to juggle screenings, seminars, meetings and trade shows, with some pushing for an extra day. The sentiments were split on whether the trade show traffic www.cinematech.today
0045_CT _JUN18_CINEMACON.indd 47
4 MoviePass has restricted new members to just 4 movies per month
100.6%
food and beverage combined with
Cinionic.
Christie
25%
sessions ranged from event cinema, meeting moviegoers’ expectations,
and
Asia’s market has seen a 100.6% growth in the past five years.
...tax on cinema tickets is thought to be on the cards for Saudi cinemagoers
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E V E N T S
Clockwise from right, Samuel L Jackson collects his icon award; the focus on Saudi; NATO’s John Fithian
from customers like Marcus Theatres, as well as a prototype LED display that offered passive eyewear 3D, albeit at a limited resolution. Sony, meanwhile, brought back its Crystal LED display (no longer called CLEDIS), which it was at pains to stress is different from Samsung’s, as it is powered by micro LEDs. No word on when it will ship, but Sony is definitely in the cinema direct display race [see the separate Cinema LED article on pXX]. No less impressive was its HDR-ready SRX-R800 laser projector line, showcased with the new SRX-R815P model, which had the best demo short of recent years (Joseph Kosinski’s “The Dig”). There were even whispers of a ‘baby’ Sony laser projector model coming soon.
Diversifying the offering If there was a unique theme emerging at this year’s show it was that the post-
increasingly
urging
exhibitors
to
Ymagis is also active in this space with
VPF reality meant that vendors were
diversify their offerings, with ‘jukebox’
its EclairPlay and EclairLive platforms.
capabilities that allow for a wider film selection, back catalogue titles and
The world’s turning faster
alternative content. GDC pushed this
More than ever, cinemas are being
with its Cinema Automation 2.0
pushed to innovate and upgrade,
Several deals were announced at CinemaCon,
solution that allows the TMS to stream
whether in presentation, customer
many focused on Regal’s new parent Cineworld,
straight to the projector without the
amenities or insights and analytics. By
which saw CEO Mooky Gredinger photo-called for
need for IMB storage. Coupled with it
its end, CinemaCon attendees who
signing ceremonies for both Barco/Cinionic (600
was the company’s newly launched
had not returned early for the opening
laser projectors) and CJ 4DPlex (154 4DX sites in the
GoGoCinema that gives audiences the
of “Avengers: Infinity War” were wilting
US and Europe). Cinionic also signed CJ CGV as a
ability to pick movies in a cinema-on-
in the desert heat. Some took heart
client and 4DX expanded in the Middle East and
demand
only
from the observation that even as the
Africa. ScreenX signed deployment deals with B&B
offered by companies such as Tugg
world moves quicker, “The movie
Theatres, as well as studio titles from Warner Bros.
(US) and OurScreen (UK). A new
theatre is the only place that stops
Harkness seemed the big winner in Saudi Arabia,
entrant in this space was Swiss Nagra/
time. And that’s good,” said Benicio
supplying all the exhibitors looking to enter there.
Kudelski with its myCinema, that was
Del Toro as he accepted CinemaCon’s
Vista had a big presence at CinemaCon, Kimball
both a platform and content source,
Male Star of the Year award at the
Riley’s first as CEO: it bagged National Amusements
though it was treading carefully and
closing night Coca-Cola gala. It won’t
US as a client. Meanwhile Ymagis took a big step
claiming that it was neither competing
stop for long. Only six weeks separate
across the Atlantic with Alamo Drafthouse signing
with content owners or distribution
CinemaCon and CineEurope, with
up for EclairColor and an LA office, in addition to its
platforms, but keen to work with
some vendors joking they would just
new hybrid tone mapping (HTM) technology.
operators such as Fathom Events.
ship their kit straight to Barcelona.
Signing on the dotted line
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fashion
previously
www.cinematech.today
15/05/2018 12:36
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18/05/2018 12:56
E V E N T S
Celebrating Europe’s cinema
CineEurope 2018 Preview
F
the
irmly established as
the
largest
cinema tradeshow
held
in Europe, this June,
international
exhibition
community,
major
distributors,
manufacturers
studios,
key and
integrators will, once again, head for Barcelona, to celebrate all that is best in the industry at CineEurope. The 27th edition of the convention promises to bring the very best in exclusive studio screenings, mindblowing new product presentations, cinematic technologies, innovations and educational seminars to keep delegates on top of industry trends.
Promoting your business Produced by the Film Expo Group, CineEurope is the official convention of the International Union of Cinemas (UNIC),
the
international
CineEurope gives the exhibition community the chance to meet up with old friends and to discover new technologies
Why CineEurope? Connect with industry peers and thought leaders Watch exclusive footage from Hollywood’s majors
trade
Gain insight about the latest
association that represents cinema national
more than 50 territories within Europe
trends in the industry
associations across no fewer than 37
and further afield, making CineEurope
Discover new content,
European territories. UNIC’s focus at
easily one of the most diverse events
products, technologies and
CineEurope has always been to better
representing exhibitors in the world. If
concessions at the trade show
promote the social, cultural and
you want to know what’s going on in
Honour those who have
economic value of cinemas in Europe
your business, make sure you head to
made notable contributions
and internationally and the schedule
Barcelona this June
in the industry
exhibitors
and
their
at the CCIB perfectly reflects this aim. More than 3,500 delegates attend the
convention
evey
year,
with
representatives from exhibitors in 5 0
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This year’s CineEurope will be held from 10-14 June, at the CCIB, Barcelona. To register as a delegate, head to www.filmexpos.com/cineeurope www.cinematech.today
16/05/2018 16:33
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email: info@omnexdigital.co.uk
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18/05/2018 13:21
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18/05/2018 13:26
E V E N T S
Showcasing India’s rising market
Big Cine Expo Preview
A
fter
a
gala
opening in 2016, last
year’s
Big
Cine Expo, held at the Chennai
Trade Centre, in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu, cemented the success of
this
international
show
and
convention for multiplexes, singlescreens and malls. Only in its third year, the event has already established itself
as
Asia’s
biggest
cinema
exhibition in terms of the highest footfall of direct buyers — and the third staging of the event is set to be the biggest yet.
Destination Mumbai This year, the event moves to the heart of India’s film industry — Bollywood — and into one of Mumbai’s most progressive, impressive destinations —
in the country. There is an enormous
Mumbai’s Sahara Star, an impressive venue for the third staging of Big Cine Expo — an event with a decidedly Indian flavour
appetite for technical knowledge and equipment, owing to the potential in the cinema theatre market here and in neighbouring Asian countries. Big Cine Expo addresses this need, and
the ultra-modern Sapphire Hall at
provides a platform for theatre owners,
the Sahara Star hotel. This ultra-
dominant position, with a cinema
design
modern convention venue is set to
industry second only to Hollywood in
integrators,
size. South India, having the highest
professionals, industry stakeholders
number of cinema screens and the
and the community for single-screen
highest number of movie releases, is
and multiplex cinema entertainment
the top market for cinema exhibition
in Asia and India.
host a gathering that will see more than 6,000 influential figures from
1501
the international exhibition business in town for the show. The strength of the Asian cinema market is undisputed — India alone has approximately one screen for every 7 people (in contrast to a figure
India produces the highest number of movies in the world (1501 movies in 2016)
consultants, project
manufacturers, management
Cinema Technology magazine is proud to support BigCineExpo as a media partner, with the magazine distributed to delegates at the event.
of one for every 125 people in the US). Today on the sub-continent, the
Big Cine Expo takes place from 28-29 August at the Sahara Star, Mumbai.
entertainment
To book your place, head to www.bigcineexpo.com
sector
occupies
a
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H I G H
T E C H
Light-Field Cinematography:
Past, present… and future?
The promise of light field cinematography is a radical disruption of the filmmaking process — one that could transform the creative process for films on the big screen. The technique is still in its infancy, though its roots go back decades. Bryan Cook brings depth and focus to the subject
S WITH ANY TECHNOLOGY AND ARTFORM, filmmaking has come a long way.
The
fundamental way in which images have been captured through the years has not changed that significantly —
separate images — a stereogram — mounted on the device
light is reflected off a 3D
at the correct distance from your eyes in order for a 3D
object which in turn is then transmitted through a lens
Fact File
The film plane records the intensity of the light rays of the
Bryan Cook
of images for each eye that, when shown via a similar
C.O.O. for IMIS
apparatus, would allow the user to see two separate images simultaneously. The brain would piece together the two
image formed. However, starting at the turn of the 20th century, alternative techniques were developed that have major implications on film production and exhibition today.
The History of Light Field Photography
a ‘line screen’ — a vertical barrier created with strips mounted in front of the film plane — to record a different set
series and focused onto a 2D surface where it is recorded.
image to be viewed. Frederic Ives used what was known as
Bryan is currently
images to construct a 3D image without glasses. The issue
undertaking a
with this method of image capture was that it was extremely
PhD exploring the
difficult to modify existing cameras with this line screen —
use of light field
therefore it never really took off. Years later, advertisers have
technology being
adapted the method in lenticular printing, seen on the side
the early 20th century to be able to see 3D images without
adapted to
of bus shelters and the like, to create different images
the need of spectacles. At the time it was necessary not
cinematography
only to hold glasses to your face, but also to have two
in the film industry.
Modern light field photography evolved out of a desire in
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depending on where the viewer is standing. Other experiments through the century picked up Ive’s
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>
torch for interactivity without glasses. Gabriel Lippmann sought to create images that would appear and act more like a window so that when the viewer moved positions new perspectives could be seen. Lippmann and other photographers experimented
The promise of light field filmmaking is strong — including the creation of a virtual “holodeck”
with putting a series of micro converging lenses directly to the film in the camera. In order to be viewed correctly, a matching set of microlenses was needed to render the images into something viewable. Again, the technique, proved tedious to manufacture, but the application of microlenses became a lasting concept.
The pinhole camera comes into play Fast-forward to the end of the 20th century when a few mathematicians — Edward Adelson, James Bergen and John Wang — proposed that if you create a pinhole camera
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Not so different to today’s VR gizmos, the Holmes stereoscope from the 19th century
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H I G H
T E C H
LENTICULAR IMAGES
Light Field Filmmaking It is easy to imagine how light fields could be adapted to
Giving an image depth is simple, relatively — lenticular strips on the film plane record separate images for each eye
filmmaking. Given the often rapid pace of today’s film productions, time is becoming more and more a
Images
commodity. Unfortunately the digital era has erased the
Images
discipline and practice of having rehearsals. Without the benefit of rehearsals, focus pullers are
Vertical Strips
put under increasing pressure to
Vertical Strips
The Capability of Light Fields
maintain sharp focus successfully. Compounding this problem, larger sensor sizes, higher resolution sensors and more efficient lenses all make
Lights fields allow us to do several
capturing sharp focus on set very
things well. We can calculate a new
difficult. If the focus puller is unable to
theoretical
the
maintain sharp focus throughout a
camera’s sensor could be and
scene, it is possible to correct the issue
therefore change the focus of an
in post with light fields. It is important
image. We can open or close each
to note that while the technology can
microlens’ aperture and alter the
adjust the focus, it has its limitations
depth-of-field. If the primary lens is
— in other words, the technology is far
with finite apertures at a fixed distance to the film plane, it
large enough, it becomes possible
from replacing people’s jobs on set.
becomes possible to create subsections of the image. The
to alter perspective to see around
Lytro brought the first commercial
outcome of these photographs is similar to the perspective
some objects. It is possible to take
handheld light field camera to the
of a fly with their thousands of lenses on their compound
macro photos with objects literally
market in 2012 and the second
eyes — each one seeing a portion of the image simultaneously
touching the primary lens itself.
generation in 2014. More recently,
from different angles.
You can also create a stereoscopic
Lytro has incorporated the technology
image from two separate points of
in its Cinema Camera that captures a
reference — hence a 3D image
755 megapixel image (equivalent to a
without the need for two cameras.
40k image). This camera has been
Lenticular printing is commonly seen for “simple 3D” — most commonly on a child’s ruler
Left Eye
Left Eye
Right Eye
Right Eye
So, what is Light Field Photography? If we look inside a traditional camera, we can envisage light rays traveling from the primary lens through this space to the film plane (or digital sensor) where the intensity of the rays are recorded. The difference between traditional
position
where
specifically designed to help visual
Shifting…
effects artists determine the distance of the light rays outside the camera.
photography and light field photography lies in the
By knowing the distance, it becomes
understanding of each of the subsections that were
possible to remove some of these rays
proposed from Adelson, Bergen and Wang. These
behind characters or objects — in
subsections of the image allow us the possibility to trace
effect creating a virtual greenscreen
precisely where each light ray strikes the film plane and the direction from which it came. This concept is easier to imagine if you think of a ray
…Focus
without the need of a physical one.
Angular vs spatial
traveling through two pieces of paper. It enters one sheet of
There is a trade-off in what is termed
paper at a particular angle and if we know the distance
the angular resolution versus spatial
between the next sheet we can trace it precisely to the next
resolution. In other words, the more
point of entry on that sheet through basic geometry.
microlenses that are introduced to the
Now visualise thousands of sheets in the camera
camera causes a decrease in the
between the primary lens and the camera’s sensor — this is
number of pixels on the final image.
the light field — knowing the direction as well as the
This is why Lytro developed a camera with a sensor 1½ft
intensity of each light ray.
wide (versus a standard Super 35mm on a traditional video
Using some mathematics we can calculate where the light at any point in space will fall — and this allows us the ability to reform a traditional image. 5 6
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camera) in order to produce a decent 8k final image. The Lytro Cinema Camera produces data output of up to 400 gigabytes per second. The issue here becomes how www.cinematech.today
15/05/2018 14:08
to handle storing so much data, let alone processing it. This is well beyond what a typical film production would sustain currently.
The Lytro Cinema
Camera is over 8 feet in length which
Technology has made focus pulling everharder. Light-field cameras address that (in theory)
is too large to mount to a crane or dolly, let alone a Steadicam operated by a single cameraman. Currently, light field cameras need to be custom-made as mounting the microlens array precisely inside it is extremely cumbersome — at the moment it is not technically possible to retrofit a digital cinema camera into a light field cinema camera.
The Impact on Exhibition While the technology is still very much in its infancy, there are some developments on the horizon that may have a great deal of impact on cinema exhibition. If a light field camera is used and then a light field display is used, viewers would be able to see 3D images on a screen without the requirement for 3D glasses. Light Field Labs, a company started by former Lytro employees, aims to make such panels similar to those being used in the latest LED screens in cinemas today. The other unique use of these panels, is that a virtual “holodeck” as seen in Star Trek could be created at amusement parks for an experience that truly deserves the oft over-used term “immersive”.
The Future The real challenge to light field cameras being used is their development in three areas: they need to show that their capabilities outweigh traditional cameras, they need to become a critical piece of the production pipeline and they need to address all of the downfalls of traditional filmmaking without creating new ones. Currently there are not many companies implementing light fields into filmmaking. Just this March, Lytro was acquired by Google for $40M for its patents in a move that will aid its development of its VR and AR headsets. The market seems to have shifted away from commercial to
054_CT _JUN18_LIGHTFEILD.indd 57
“Light field cameras need to show that their capabilities outweigh those of more traditional digital filmmaking”
personal use. Right now virtual reality seems to be the ideal development ground for the technology as the ability to refocus a scene when combined with eye-tracking headsets could create a more realistic experience for the user. The question looming down the road is whether we will see the technology implemented effectively into the production and exhibition pipeline or if light-field cinematography is another gimmick. Time will tell.
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T H E
F I E L D
Entertaining the troops 75 years of Forces Cinemas
Screening films worldwide is a major undertaking — especially if the cinema is in a tent in the desert. British Forces Cinemas ops manager Jennifer Holdford explains the work of a 75-year-old institution.
OW DO YOU GET THE LATEST
Corporation (SKC) which grew out of the privatisation of the
blockbusters out to British Forces
Army Kinema Corporation (AKC) and the RAF Cinema
stationed overseas on the same day as
Corporation (RAFCC).
their UK release?
We have been raising the morale of troops and families
when you want movies for a ship’s
all over the world for 75 years. What started with 16mm
company or for 50 squaddies in a tent
films projected onto a bedsheet attached to the side of an
in Afghanistan or Somalia? It’s all in a
army truck grew into a military organisation based in
day’s work for Forces Cinemas, the organisation that runs
Buckinghamshire. From there, 35mm prints were processed
14 fully digital cinemas, an 80-seat mobile cinema, and
and sent around the world to fixed and mobile cinemas
specialises in screening movies in unusual places around
serving hundreds of thousands of servicemen and women
the world. Forces Cinemas has been showing films to the
and their families. Although British Armed Forces have
British Military since the Second World War. It forms part of
reduced in number and their presence in other countries is
Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC), a not-for-
much less than at its height immediately after WW2, the
profit charitable trust previously known as Services Kinema
need for cinemas and up-to-date movies is no less. What
www.cinematech.today
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Who do you call
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T H E
F I E L D
has changed is the technology, from projection to ticketing, and innovative new ideas such as Cinelink. The Forces Cinema team has eight digital cinemas in the UK on military bases, overseas there are a further six
Inside the Phoenix Cinema in the Falklands Islands, one of the more remote cinemas in the world (Pic: Charles Ellery)
— two in Germany, three in Cyprus and one down in the Falkland Islands. All the facilities are run in partnership with the local military who provide staff and buildings. The cinemas are all ‘behind the wire’ which means only military personnel and their families posted to that base can see the films. That way, Forces Cinemas don’t compete with commercial cinemas, although in most locations there isn’t an alternative. We offer the latest releases and deliver a range of titles to support the welfare needs of our military communities. This includes working with Nepali distributors to offer content to Gurkhas and their families in the UK and overseas. We are also running specialist screenings
The Movie Machine
this year in support of the RAF’s 100th anniversary — and are always looking for opportunities to encourage fancydress events or celebrity visits.
An “army green” screen…
Forces Cinemas don’t just operate standard digital cinemas. We also run a mobile cinema — our Movie
Our auditoriums with their stage and
Machine, a 44-ton articulated HGV
screen often double as briefing rooms,
with hydraulic sides which expand
but the cinemas are run by volunteer
to
military personnel and dependents in
an 80-seater cinema. This has
Projectionist and Front of House roles.
entertained military on deployment
One of the consequences of relying
since 2001, first in Bosnia and
on military personnel is that staff are
Kosovo then Cyprus where it was a
often ‘volunteered’ for roles regardless
vital element of ‘decompression’
of experience or interest. The only
activities for personnel returning
time projectionists have experience is
from Iraq and Afghanistan.
if they have worked in another Forces Cinema location.
double
the
space,
creating
After Operation Herrick ended in Afghanistan, it returned to the
Due to the nature of postings and
UK, was refurbished and is now
deployments, we sometimes retain
operated in partnership with Sky
them for only a few months, so there
Cinema. We manage delivery of
are handovers between personnel are
promo events for Sky all over the
regular, as is constant training. All this
UK as well as events for armed
means a much higher turnover of staff
forces, bringing a movie experience
than normal cinemas, but their reward
to garrisons across the British Isles.
is getting to see all the new films first,
As part of the event we are bring
and helping their local community.
our famous Ice Cream Ops van
The business model is a revenue
which gives out free cones to all!
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The Cinelink system provides a robust delivery option for when connectivity is non-existent
go ahead with straightforward digital upgrades elsewhere, ripping out 35mm projectors and installing new digital kit across the circuit. All 14 cinemas have Barco projectors and Dolby/Doremi servers which are maintained under a service contract with Sound Associates. We can monitor and control systems from our head office in Chalfont St Peter. Remote access helps us diagnose problems quickly and
Lamp-changing, military style. Forces Cinema relies on serving personnel often “volunteered” for the role
system is Admit One which we’ve
assists local staff in fixing the more common problems. We
used for three years and replaced our
also train our engineers (whose main job is to keep our radio
in-house software. The remoteness of
and TV services running) to do lamp changes and projector
our sites, the time zones and lack of
or server fault-finding. Given it’s a five-
reliable internet meant many ticketing systems we looked at simply didn’t
work for us. Admit One understood our requirements and made the necessary changes, but also provided features we previously didn’t have which has made scheduling and posting local show times easy. Our volunteer staff found the EPOS system easy to learn and quick to issue tickets.
“Given it’s a 5-day round trip to the Falkland Islands, having local expertise on-hand is essential”
day round trip to the Falklands, having local expertise on hand is essential. Film distribution would seem an easy task considering that other parts of our organisation broadcast live TV globally via satellite, but the economics of distributing cinema files by satellite doesn’t work because the number of
Go digital, they said… It’ll be a doddle
sites is too small. Our bandwidth to remote places is still
Our digital projection journey started 10 years ago when
modest and insufficient to transfer complete files, although
increasing difficulty in obtaining and delivering 35mm
up-linking promos or music is possible.
prints meant we had to convert. This was a challenge, not
Hard disks are more reliable and only require a good
least raising the sums to buy projectors and train volunteer
supply chain. We send films to the Falklands and Cyprus via
staff to run them, but also devising new logistics to deliver
military flights out of RAF Brize Norton. One would imagine
the media. We established early on that uploading movie
— thanks to the RAF — that these are reliable. However,
files or using satellite distribution was not an option that
flights to the South Atlantic are limited and can be turned
would work for us. Most places we serve have little or no
back due to bad weather anywhere en route or delayed at
internet — and that applies to some of our UK cinemas!
the mid-way refuelling stop. RAF flights get prioritised for
Our first upgrade couldn’t have been more remote. We
essential freight like food — it’s not uncommon for our
chose the Falkland Islands — it’s difficult to reach and spares
precious cargo of hard disks to be bumped because fuel
can take weeks to arrive. We were concerned the audience
and weight calculations for a flight mean they need to save
should not risk any downtime and decided to run a dual
a few kilos. With a bit of guile, (and the odd box of chocolates)
35mm and digital system side-by-side. That proved more
we get DCPs to the Falklands in time for the release date so
complicated than we imagined but gave us confidence to
audiences see new content within days of UK release.
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Supporting cinemas in remote locations where you can’t jump in a car or send a spare part by courier does
occasionally
result
in
dark
screens. Inevitably it happens at the worst moment. Our projector in the Falklands went down just before HRH Prince William was due to arrive for his tour as a search-and-rescue pilot in 2012. Luckily, we got it fixed and he enjoyed his popcorn like any other cinemagoer. A lamp explosion at one cinema in Germany coincided with a WW2 bomb being found near the base. It caused some worry until it was clear what ihad actually gone bang.
The modern deployment In recent years, the way British Forces are deployed has changed with an emphasis on smaller contingents of perhaps 50-100 deployed overseas for short periods, often in basic accommodation. An important aspect of military morale is sharing downtime together, and a movie night is a perfect way to do this. We began to receive requests for
Operation Ice Cream: the morale-boosting van that often accompanies Forces Cinema events in the UK
Iraq, Kenya, Kuwait, Somalia and South Sudan. It is also ideal for Royal Navy ships and submarines, or any remote location where a cinema experience will boost morale. Film screenings via our Cinelink service are non-commercial with no ticket sales but are administered with a flat fee annual contract. Support to the service at each location
cinema content which couldn’t be delivered via our mobile
comes from a variety of welfare funds and military charities.
cinema or a permanent and expensive DCI cinema setup.
Forces Cinema maintains the Cinelink systems, duplicates
This led to the introduction of a new Cinelink service, a pop-
and distributes new USB content and sends out movie
up cinema experience consisting of a media player the size
posters to help to make the experience as real as possible.
of a router and a simple easy-to-use playback interface. For operational deployments and remote locations, it has
With one eye on the future
meant we are able to deliver films just six weeks after
Our proud history of providing films to the Armed Forces
cinema release with a Cinelink box
has seen many changes over the past 75 years. It is a
connected via HDMI to a TV or projector including 5.1 sound. The technology, developed by US company Swank in partnership with Filmbank, was originally intended for internet
connection.
Swank
soon
realised it wouldn’t work for us and
“An important part of military morale is sharing downtime together — a movie night is the perfect way to do this”
developed a USB option to push films
constant challenge to secure funding to keep our cinemas operating and screening the latest films. We work closely with distributors and studios — their support has been essential in maintaining this service, as is the enthusiasm of our local cinema volunteers and technical staff. However, with our digital projectors nearing end of life, the work to find funds for replacements is underway. We aim to provide the latest movies to a deserving audience for years to come.
into the Cinelink box whilst still meeting security encryption
As well as Forces Cinemas, SSVC delivers a range of
requirements demanded by Hollywood. A new film is
entertainment and welfare services for personnel and
released to the Cinelink box every week whilst the previous
veterans around the world. This includes: more than 20
five weeks’ releases remain available with unlimited
Forces Radio BFBS stations; a BFBS TV service; Forces Live
viewing. The Cinelink box takes care of release dates
Events (CSE) who organise shows for military and civilian
automatically, allowing new films to be deployed several
events; the Forces TV channel, available to everyone in the
weeks in advance and deleting films at the end of their
UK; a 24-hour Forces News service, and the new Forces
exhibition window. This growing part of Forces Cinemas
Media Academy to train service leavers and veterans in
now provides a cinema-like experience to our armed forces
creative digital media skills.
in 22 countries including Afghanistan, Ascension, Belize,
www.forcescinema.com
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www.cinematech.today
15/05/2018 16:06
THE U
MATE CINEMA XENON LAMP
You can depend on LTI xenon lamps to provide the highest quality cinema experience for your customers. LTI lamps deliver consistent, reliable performance in all digital cinema projectors. LTI’s LongPlay lamps deliver up to 50% longer life without compromise in screen brightness. The world’s leading cinema circuits rely every day on LTI lamps. www.ltilighting.com
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MARKETING
Is VR really for cinemas? As Ollie Kilvert, director of the360view explains, it is when it’s used to get the audience through the front door
I
Words: Ollie Kilvert
N A LANDSCAPE OF competitive
Cinemas depend not only on competitive ticket prices
leisure interests, progressive exhibitors
and the right content, but also on customers having a
need to explore innovative ways to
degree of familiarity with the facilities on offer. People are
draw their paying audience members
often willing to spend more if they feel they are getting
in. Customers use their time at the
good value for their experience. For a venue to stay relevant,
cinema as a means of escapism, but
upgrading its facilities is vital — as is promotion of these
the one thing cinema owners can’t escape from is that, as
upgrades. Put another way: if you changed your hair colour,
with most sectors, there will always be competition both
but never went outside, how would anyone know? It may
between venues and leisure activities.
not be the perfect analogy, but the point stands — if you
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065_CT _JUN18_360.indd 65
Providing your customers with an online-accessible virtual tour of your site can help your cinema stand out
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MARKETING
make improvements to your cinema, or open a new one,
remaining holes can be filled by taking further scans. For a
you need to do what you can to tell people about it.
smooth cinema walk-through experience, scan positions
Imagine the advantages of a virtual visit to your venue,
are carried out from a consistent height and spacing to
before you get there. You can select your ideal seat and
provide the most realistic virtual experience.
check out the foyer, the bar area or the restaurant before you get there. For owners, it’s a way to showcase your venue
Time to get social
and demonstrate your advantages. For customers, notably
From a social media perspective, virtual tours deliver a
those with special needs, this facility provides a positive
perfect example of good content marketing. A tour’s URL
bonus allowing them to explore a venue’s accessibility.
can be shared on a venue’s Facebook page, and from there the possibilities are endless. Paid posts promote higher
Enter The360View
levels of engagement and with interesting, relevant content
The360view is a Matterport and multimedia service
such as this, it will ensure more people end up visiting the
provider. We have worked with several cinemas, giving a
box office. A complex which has undergone refurbishment
unique insight into their venues, using the latest 3D
is highly likely to gain an increase in footfall — if they are able
technology. The360view virtual tours provide a 3D online experience that lets the viewer see every angle. A newly opened venue provides the ideal opportunity to showcase a virtual tour. From their computer or tablet, viewers can ‘walk’ around and get a sense of the facilities on offer before even setting foot in the building. The ‘dolls house’ and ‘floor plan’ options give users a sense of the venue. There is an option to embed video and/or images
“From a social media perspective virtual tours deliver a perfect example of good content marketing”
to show-off improvements they have made. We are creatures of habit and will often stick with what we are comfortable with — even if it’s not always the best. If a customer has made the decision not to patronise a particular cinema, its refurbishment will have to be hammered home in all
and URL links, so tours can remain relevant and up-to-date.
its glory to entice them back in again.
Each tour has a URL which can be shared via social media.
With the unrelenting use of social media, a virtual tour is
To create a virtual tour, a full photographic scan of the
an obvious platform to use to promote a brand to a wider
venue is made — including the toilets if that’s required. The
audience. Facebook has over 2.1 billion monthly active
resulting Matterport scan data is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Computing Services. For a high quality 3D showcase, many scans are needed. The more that are carried out, the fewer ‘holes’ there will be in the final model. Once a 3D model has been previewed, any
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users worldwide, representing a 14% increase year-on-year. The new Empire in Ipswich is a stylish, modern venue — and now customers can see exactly that online
Statistically, this means it is too big to ignore. An average of 1.4 billion users log in to Facebook daily. With such a huge (and growing) audience, this is a promising foundation for any targeted marketing efforts.
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16/05/2018 16:31
Case Study Empire Cinemas, Ipswich In March 2017, Empire Cinemas opened a venue in Ipswich. Working in collaboration with the360view, they shared a link to the tour on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ empirecinemasipswich), the ideal platform to reach an audience of new customers ahead of opening. The link to the tour leading to the cinema’s website, which in turn provided all the extra information needed to know about the venue.
Jon Nutton, Marketing Director of Empire says; “There have been cinemas in Ipswich for years and we knew Empire would need to provide something special to attract new customers. We have a great location in the town centre and have used Facebook as a way of engaging with, the community. The virtual tour we shared online has proved very popular. People seem to appreciate the transparency of us showing exactly what we have to offer them and hope that we will continue to reap the benefits of this new technology by keeping the tour link available on our Facebook page and website.”
It’s not all about Facebook, either. Google has recently announced a partnership with Matterport, launching the next generation of Street View tours. These will integrate panoramic images with 3D geometry data to create tours with a higher level of realism on computers and VR devices. When someone finds your listing on Google they will most likely have clicked onto you and not your competition because you have a button called “See inside” which allows someone to take your virtual tour. Visitors from your listing will stay longer and explore an immersive view of the venue which they may have overlooked otherwise had you not had a tour. Publishing tours onto Google provides a great opportunity to get noticed by potential customers. There is an abundance of competition in today’s leisure and entertainment industry and an online presence is a necessity if you want to keep up. As well as cinemas, the360view virtual tours are suited to associated venues: restaurants, bars, hotels and so on. Standard 2D photos of a business provide a basic idea of what an area looks like. A 3D walkthrough is the ultimate way to explore and get a sense of a space. If your customers know exactly what to expect, there’s no reason for them to be disappointed… So don’t be afraid to show off your venue! To find out more, visit www.the360view.co.uk www.cinematech.today
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ANALYTICS
Data: Powering the decision-making process Knowing who — and where — your audience is, can be key to successful live content distribution. Joe Evea, MD of Cineplace, explains how marketplace analysis aims to bring clarity to event cinema releases Words: Joe Evea
HE FIRST INTEREST I HAD in “alternative content” or event cinema as it is more commonly referred to, was a few years ago. Much like today, cinema audiences were stable, but not growing exponentially, and box office, while rising, was buoyed by a spate of blockbusters and 3D movies. The trend, as today, was for distributors to focus the majority of their efforts (and budgets) on sequels and adaptations, not original productions. A number of directors were (and still are) looking to television and VOD as an alternative vehicle on which to concentrate their efforts. With this backdrop in mind, opportunities for events in the cinema appear endless, especially when you consider that we are moving ever-closer to a society that engages with “experiences” rather than things. This is borne out by the rise of the “experience economy” with more spent on
Bringing clarity to event programming
pubs, restaurants and entertainment than in shops or cars.
To combat this, and to capitalise on the opportunity event
In this context, the advantage of cinema is its proximity
cinema offers we have developed Cineplace. In short, it is a
to local communities, There are over 750 cinemas in the UK
digital marketplace designed to support the event cinema
most of which sit in the centre of town providing a ready-
industry. Cineplace has the twin aims of growing event
made communal environment. Digital cinema lends itself
cinema revenue and of driving new and diverse audience
to more flexible distribution, too, opening-up opportunities
groups in to local cinemas. At the heart of the Cineplace site
for large-scale live broadcasts via satellite and IP.
sits a data engine that helps cinemas and distributors make more accurate distribution decisions about specific genres.
Advances in information on audience behaviour have made it more accessible to reach diverse groups, who
We use a variety of sources (see overleaf) to create
express their passion for various types of content and
consumer profiles linked to specific content types. These
activities via social media. It is perhaps surprising then, that while event cinema has shown enviable growth over the past few years, it appears to be reaching a plateau, especially in Western Europe. The stats suggest there were more “events” in 2017 than ever before — but audiences are not growing at the same rate. If you remove the two most successful events of 2017, audiences appear to be declining on an event-by-event basis. 6 8
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FACTORS HAMPERING EVENT 1
2
3
An over-reliance on “arts-based” content: Opera, Theatre, Ballet.
A lack of shared industry knowledge about best practice for event cinema — leading to a lack of consistent audience experience.
The difficulty of reaching new, diverse audiences.
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Event cinema’s defining characteristics Event cinema, although now considered established, was only just being recognised as an emerging genre of entertainment when I first got involved, but I was very interested in the underlying data, which appeared to be telling a compelling story: A n average occupancy rate upwards of 50% vs an industry standard that sat below 20%. A higher average ticket price than standard films and a new audience, not all traditional cinema-goers. Significant interest from brands and media owners interested in reaching a highly targeted and passionate communal audience. The defining characteristics of event cinema, as I saw it then and still see it now, are as follows: An event, or occasion that has a single or limited cinema release and that cannot be viewed widely anywhere else at that moment. Content that readily attracts a clearly delineated and passionate audience. Content that benefits from, and is suitable for, a communal space, a big screen and surround sound.
CINEMA GROWTH 4 Significant risk in distribution — with many projects not offering realistic returns for distributors of new, more diverse content genres. www.cinematech.today
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ANALYTICS
DATA SOURCES 1
2
3
Facebook Marketing API
Twitter Ads API
Streetcheck
4
5
6
Pitney Bowes GeoLife
Wolfram Alpha
Powster
that works for audiences of specific genres. Opera fans for example, might prefer a short trailer via established operatic digital magazines, while eSports fans might react better to YouTube promos — but only if they’re less than 10secs long.
There’s a mountain to climb We are in the foothills of understanding how audiences engage with event cinema marketing, but our aim is to build a more robust picture of where fans are and how to
Fact File
can be compared against UK cities to estimate age and gender distributions for that profile. To illustrate this, we can develop an idea of the number of
Joe Evea:
UK NFL fans, and establish where they
MD, Cineplace
are based geographically. Using our
The Cineplace platform offers exhibitors and distributors alike a better insight into event cinema audiences
database, we are able to match fans to cinemas, establishing Former
a footprint for the distribution of NFL content.
reach them. Additionally, Cineplace pulls in key event cinema and industry news, providing a “knowledge base” that aims to promote and guide best practice across the industry. There is also a cinema guide, which provides information about individual cinemas, including event show times and demographic data on the local community. Every event is listed, working directly with distributors to understand their schedule, as well as looking at all the
We’d be the first to say that this is not a foolproof model
available show time information for event cinema at every
director at Digital
and by no means does it provide all the answers. It does
cinema in the UK. This enables us to list lots of events that
Cinema Media,,
however, offer some context to help decision-making when
may not have been picked up in the mainstream. We are
Joe founded
it comes to placing content on the big screen. Clearly it
also working closely with Comscore, which has its own box
Cineplace in 2017
plays a role in establishing whether an audience exists for
office data section on the Cineplace site, to ensure that
commercial
content never before shown in the cinema, but it can also help establish whether cinemas or distributors may have overlooked locations for existing content. With opera, for example, we understand that while c.200k UK individuals watch it at the cinema annually, over 500k watch it live and over 600k consider themselves opera fans. The aim of our tool, is to establish where to find fans who aren’t watching at cinemas. The next stage is to build plans to reach them. The next integration planned is for the tool to read
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“The aim of our tool is to establish where to find the fans who arent’ watching live content at cinemas”
cinema
box office data is
reported
as
accurately as is possible. To conclude, we believe that more data based in
one
single
anonymised search data from our partners at Powster.
destination can encourage the industry to communicate
Rather than focus on sales data, we are working with
more regularly and openly. This in turn will lead to more
Powster to understand search data. As such, we can
opportunities for content to be successfully distributed to
establish where in the UK searches have been made for
cinemas. Once established in the UK, our plan is to look at
specific genres. Seeeking to buy tickets for select content
Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. As Ray Nutt, CEO of
shows a level of intent and is instructional in respect to
Fathom, recently stated at CinemaCon, the world of cinema
understanding interest based on location. In addition, we
is getting smaller, it is our aim to support this inevitable
can start to establish what media platform searches have
consolidation and help establish a more unified sector,
been made from and build a picture of the type advertising
geared for creativity, innovation and, ultimately, growth.
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H I S T O R Y
Movies for an Audience of one!
As modern cinema professionals we like to think the exhibition industry is a hotbed of innovation, but, as Mark Trompeteler illustrates, today’s technology often takes inspiration from the past — not least the contemporary virtual reality experience. Words: Mark Trompeteler
I
IN RECENT YEARS MUCH has been
the subject of another article. (Good thinking — Ed). The key
written, presented and debated on
issue of this piece is the sometimes forgotten fact that the
virtual reality and cinema. Yet, until
first commercial exhibition and exploitation of photographic
now, true VR has always involved an
moving pictures was via viewing devices — slot machines —
individual viewing moving pictures, or
designed for a single viewing by a single individual, just like
an “experience” on their own, usually
VR. Although this was a short-lived phase, it actually
through wearing a headset. This, of course, runs counter to the mainstream concept of cinema as a communal
predates presentation of movies using projectors.
experience of viewing movies, as part of an audience, in an
Movies inside a slot machine
auditorium, through the technology of projection.
The two earliest coin-operated individual viewing machines
Such individual viewings of VR experiential movies by
that predate film projection were the Kinetoscope and The
points to a different model of income generation. These
Mutoscope — they were like primitive VR headsets and were
experiences tend to be shorter in length than feature films
the advanced movie technology of their time, in the mid-
and the way an individual pays is via a “pay per view” type
1890s, through to the beginning of the twentieth century,
arrangement. How income can be generated by such a VR
operating in the US and Europe. Developed between 1889
approach is dependent on many factors — and is perhaps
and 1891 the Kinetoscope, was a device which allowed one
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H I S T O R Y
image sequence of up to a minute. The individual viewer placed a coin in the machine and turned a handle to operate the circular flick book. The moving sequence of illuminated individual frames was viewed through a hooded magnifying lens viewer for both eyes. The machines were produced and marketed by the American Mutoscope Company which would, within 15 years, develop into the Biograph Studio. Biograph created some of early cinema’s most important films, as well as launch the movie careers of Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, D.W. Griffith, and others.
Parlours and pods instead of auditoria It is easy to forget that the first commercial movie house was in fact a Kinetoscope Parlour, opened on April 14, 1894, in New York. The venue had 10 machines, set up in parallel rows of five, each showing a different movie. For 25 cents, a viewer could see all the films in either row; half a dollar gave
Crank up the entertainment: the Mutoscope isn’t really that far removed from the modern-day VR experience.
person to view the images on a long
access to the entire bill. This was the very beginnings of a
loop of film with sprockets. This
modern revolution in popular culture and entertainment
heralded the long reign of analogue
that was shortly to become cinema. Kevin Brownlow in his
film that became the mainstay of
book “Hollywood: The Pioneers” writes of Edison’s initial
cinema prior to the arrival of the DCP.
reluctance at the idea of using projection to larger
The illusion of movement was a result
audiences. “Edison himself being devoted to the idea of
of the machine conveying a strip
machines in boxes, was anxious not to kill ‘the goose that
of perforated film bearing sequential
lays the golden eggs’ by rushing into projection. Too many
images over a light source. A flashing electric lamp shone
people would be able to see the film at once, and this
up from beneath the film, casting its circular-format images
would undoubtedly reduce profits”.
onto the lens and then through a hooded eyepiece on top of the cabinet. The flash of light was so brief that each
VR: the contemporary Mutoscope?
frame appeared to be frozen in turn. This rapid series of
Recently I visited a VR Café in Croydon High Street, South
apparently still frames appeared to move thanks to the phenomenon of the
persistence
of
vision.
The
Kinetoscope was a result of the work of the laboratory and company of the famous US inventor Thomas Edison, and particularly one of his employees: William Dickson. Partly due to the Kinetoscope’s
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“The Kinetoscope Parlour was the very beginning of a modern revolution in popular culture and entertainment”
London (www.limitless-vr.com). To all intents and purposes it, and the IMAX VR pod at the Odeon Trafford Centre, Manchester,
(www.odeon.co.uk/
imaxvr) aren’t so different from the Holland
Brothers’
New
York
Kinetoscope parlour of 1894, and all the parlours that followed. It is just that society and technology have
high cost, other inventors inspired by the opportunity of the
changed immensely, but the basic principles are the same.
birth of a new motion-picture business, thought about
The economic and profit advantages of being able to
inventing a cheaper moving image machine. In late 1894
use an expensive piece of kit, to project films to a large
Dickson, perhaps disgruntled with his treatment at Edison’s
audience, one in which every member has paid an
company (he left a few months later), communicated an
admission, was obvious. This compared favourably to the
idea for another cheaper movie machine to Herman
operational disadvantages of maintaining a larger number
Norton Marvin and Herman Casler. Casler would perfect
of less expensive devices but only where one individual
the device and patent it as the Mutoscope.
would pay a fee per device per viewing. However enthralling
The Mutoscope worked on the principle of the flip book.
and immersive VR is becoming, if cinema history teaches
The individual frames were small black and white
us one thing, it is the strong probability that the economics
photographs arranged like a rolodex on a circular central
of the matter will prevent VR from upsetting mainstream
core. As many as 850 photographs facilitated a viewing
cinema, as we currently know it, for some time to come.
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H I S T O R Y
Scratch, Crackle, Pop:
The Enduring Appeal of Film at Home Small-format Super 8 and 16mm film projection is alive and well in the home, possibly seeing a resurgence among enthusiasts similar to the vinyl craze for audio aficionados. But what is it about imperfect analogue images on a living room wall that many just can’t give up? Martin Dew explains. Words: Martin Dew, Images: Van Eck Video Services
C
Quite apart from the growing number of film-shooting
hard at work. Just now, though, he’s
advocate directors, such as Steven Spielberg, Paul Thomas
not been channeling his resources
Anderson and Quentin Tarantino, it appears that Nolan is
into another mind-bending cinematic
not isolated in his passion for natural-looking photochemical
extravaganza à la “Inception”, but has
processes of film capture and presentation.
been supervising the creation of a
That fervour for celluloid is alive and well in residential
limited number of ‘unrestored’ new prints of “2001: A Space
circles too. A growing number of film-obsessed home
Odyssey” in 70mm for showing at Cannes Film Festival, and
cinema junkies are shunning 2160p and 1080p projectors
subsequently in major cities across the US. On the back of
and Dolby Atmos audio immersion in favour of Super 8 and
the success of “Dunkirk” in IMAX 15/70, as well as runs in
16mm projectors, with their attendant turning spools,
regular 70mm houses, you might forgive him for declaring
clatter of a juddering claw arm, and bold — but dynamically-
to “Variety” last month that digital projection loses “the
limited — monaural optical and magnetic sound.
magnificence of the best possible exhibition.” He went on
The love of film, its legacy and mechanics, clearly has a
to assert that cleaning a film print digitally removes what he
trickle-down effect, and Kodak is still promising to release a
calls, somewhat startlingly, the “emotional information.”
Super 8 camera for the hipster movie-maker generation.
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HRISTOPHER NOLAN HAS BEEN
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H I S T O R Y
The company brought the CES 2016 show to a momentary standstill when it showed up with the new gizmo, replete with its USB charger, and swivel-mounted 3.5in LCD screen
The Beaulieu 708 EL with capstan drive, one of a generation of high-end home projectors
viewer. Sadly, the slick-looking cam has yet to see the exposed commercial light of day, although J. J. Abrams, director of appositely-titled hit “Super 8”, was quick to back the project, suggesting it would be “a dream come true.” None of this is coincidence. Film-based home cinema has been around since the era of Nickelodeon picture houses more than 100 years ago. It was always going to be a tall order for the digital revolution of the 1990s to convert absolutely everyone. Home cinema was once the exclusive preserve of Hollywood moguls and glitterati, as well-heeled die-hards chilled out in their own darkened rooms, adjusting comfy recliners, and kicking back for their feature presentation. Before the Great War, hefty, expensive 35mm projectors performed video duties in the home. The capital outlay for equipment providing this domestic luxury meant home screening rooms were rare beasts. Consequently, between the wars, more compact and manageable film
filmmakers, documentarians and news stations regularly
formats jockeyed for a position in the home cinema.
continued to adopt the format up until the 1990s. Before
By the mid-1960s, a revolution took place in the form of
the VCR arrived in schools, 16mm film projectors remained
Super 8 film. What had once been the staple of the wealthy
the AV educational tool of choice, as well as the chief means
was now a joy the masses could embrace. The leading
by which to show rented commercial films in institutions.
manufacturer of Super 8 projectors, Eumig of Austria, was
Another rather quirky film gauge arrived on the scene in
making over half a million projectors a year by 1976, while
the early 1920s from French power-
punters increasingly reaped the rewards of a big screen
house, Pathé Frères. Introduced mainly
experience to take on the underwhelming output of small
for collectors of commercial movie
TVs. Collecting Super 8 films became an obsession for
titles (including Mickey Mouse shorts
thousands of cinema devotees before the VHS revolution,
and features such as Alfred Hitchcock’s
but the magic of celluloid film in the home still hangs on.
“Blackmail”), the format was a favourite
An en-gauging pastime
with amateur content creators. Its slightly clunky single central sprocket
“16mm’s acetate base, as distinct from flammable nitrate, gave the new film an appeal to household users”
The driving force for film projectors in the home was not
hole mechanism meant cheap toy
only film collecting, but movie-making itself. The market for
projectors destroyed a lot of early films, and the arrival of
film formats less cumbersome than professional 35mm
Standard 8mm film in 1932 largely outmoded the gauge.
film goes back to 1923 when Eastman Kodak introduced its
Also known as ‘Regular 8’, Eastman Kodak’s Standard
‘amateur’ stock, 16mm. Billed as a budget alternative for
8mm film used side-mounted sprocket holes, identical in
keen makers of silent films, the company touted its first
size to those on 16mm prints. Modified 16mm stock formed
‘outfit’, consisting of camera, projector, tripod, screen and
the basis of spools inserted into a Standard 8 camera, which
splicer, which could be snapped up for $335 (a whopping
needed removing and turning over mid-filming to render
$4,700 in today’s money). 16mm’s acetate base, as distinct
images down both sides of the exposable area. Major
from 35mm’s flammable nitrate base, made this new film
studios began to release ‘package movies’ for collectors, but
gauge appealing to household users. The ability to rent and
few were more than 200ft in length (about 8 minutes), and
buy commercial films from the Kodascope Library was a
Standard 8 projectors with sound were rare.
further boon for investors in this equipment. In 1935, optical
Once again, it was Eastman Kodak, this time with its
soundtracks became available on 16mm, and amateur
brilliant 1965 8mm innovation, known as Super 8, which
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The TQ III Specialist model 1698 — a 16mm projector from the US manufacturer Bell & Howell
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transformed the home movie industry. Smaller sprocket holes than Standard 8 allowed for a larger exposed picture area, and oxide stripes on both edges of the stock provided the means by which to record sound easily during image capture, or later during the editing process at home. Fujifilm
The indomitable Elmo GS 1200, made in Japan and marketed in 1978 for Super 8 film projection
Package Deals Unquestionably, the thrill of Super 8 was the selection of films available to collectors. Prior to the onset of commercial VHS tapes, there were thousands of film titles for purchase by mail order, or at retail stores peppered across the UK.
introduced a competing format, Single-8. This Japanese
The most popular package movies were the 17-minute
challenger deployed a polyester (rather than acetate) film
highlight reels (mounted on a 400ft spools) of major feature
base, and its cartridge loading system required the use of
films, and which Hollywood studios released directly or via
proprietary licensed cameras for shooting, even though the
third parties. A highlight reel would include a skillful edit of
final developed film would run fine in a Super 8 projector.
an entire feature with beginning, middle and end intact,
By the 1970s, Super 8 projectors at various price points,
costing around £30 for recent releases. As the VHS juggernaut
with a head-swirling range of features, could be purchased
advanced, Warner Bros, Fox, Disney and Columbia presented
from camera stores, with the bulk of manufacturers hailing
their titles in evermore alluring packaging, while Universal
from Austria (Eumig), Germany (Bauer) and Japan (Elmo,
Pictures’ Universal 8 distribution arm pushed out a series of
Sankyo, Chinon), while the US’s own Bell & Howell was also a
beautifully transferred reels from its archive, housed in
major player. By the end of the decade, 2x anamorphic
rugged injection-moulded casings, including Hitchcock’s
lenses were available for 2.66:1 Cinemascope presentations
“Psycho” and “The Birds”, disaster movies, and legacy horror.
of commercial releases, while two-channel stereo and Dolby
Every taste was catered for, from the latest tent-poles,
Stereo exploited both magnetic sound stripes (the second
to the rarest Harold Lloyd silent caper. Paramount even
designed originally for ballast as the film ran in the projector).
released full length features on 6 or 7x 400ft reels, including
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H I S T O R Y
Kodak teased the hipster filmmaking community in 2016 with its new Super 8 camera
“Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever”, while UK-based Derann Film Services (who sadly closed doors in 2011) specialised in full-length British greats from the Hammer vaults and Ealing Studios, and went on to release meticulously mastered prints of features such as “Alien” and “Raiders of
Featuring modern elements (such as an LCD screen), Kodak’s Super 8 camera would bring film to a new generation
the Lost Ark”, and version-upon-version of authentic cinema
1990s before the advent of DVD. That the AV industry sat through demos of VHS tapes and laser discs feeding £30,000 line-doubled and -quadrupled Runco and Barco CRTs, pretending they looked good while smiling politely, is extraordinary, particularly given that only 10 years previously most 8mm and 16mm projectors had been binned.
adverts, trailers and day-sets. German-based Kempski,
Film collecting and appreciation isn’t just the pursuit of
meanwhile, produced beautiful full-length prints of “Ben-
a few errant garage-based geeks either. There is a rollcall of
Hur” and “West Side Story” on mylar stock, in both
seasoned industry pros who can’t get enough of it. Keith
Cinemascope and stereo sound. Walton Sound and Film
Wilton, former BBC documentary editor of 30 years and
Services in London also provided a host of abridged and
chief of the British Film Collectors Convention, says he “…was
feature prints, mostly gleaned from the Rank catalogue.
captivated by the content and colour” when he first saw
Prices were usually north of £200 for a modern feature at
“The Adventures of Robin Hood” in the cinema, but loves
the time. Film collecting was not for the faint-hearted.
the “subtlety” of a good film print and the “black level and
Collectors of 16mm titles were also rewarded by the disbandment of film libraries in the 1980s, which left thousands of titles in circulation even to this day. Perusal of eBay and other auction sites will show both Super 8 and 16mm sought-after titles in good condition fetch eye-watering prices.
“Enthusisasts repelled by the sterility of a Blu-ray collection might still be in the market for a film projector”
Fade to Black
contrast ranges available from different film stocks.” Jon Thompson, studio post-production consultant and owner of Picture Worx Films, says that “…film is an amazing format that we still have not managed to create digitally,” Gwyn Morgan, resident projectionist at Plymouth Arts Centre — who owns a vast personal 16mm collection — perhaps sums it up best by insisting “…film just has that human touch.” After all, this is about the romanticism of being willingly hypnotised by the mechanics of a persistent turning feeder reel and take-up spool, or memories of wandering down to
As we all know, nothing is perfect about film. Colours on
your local fleapit for a double-bill feature back in the ’70s; all
many pre-1980s Eastman Kodak Super 8 and 16mm films
those things of which Quentin Tarantino was reminding us
have faded to pink or brown, and prints of both are
in “Grindhouse”. As Christopher Nolan would attest, it’s all
susceptible to emulsion and base side scratching from
about analogue warmth and coziness, a gently meandering
repeated use and/or insufficiently clean projector film paths
weave as the film passes through the gate, the sumptuous
and storage. Film projectors are noisy (and should be in a
contrast and depth of field, the light-starved inky blacks,
booth) and putting on a movie show was always hard work.
and picture grain so dense you can bathe in it. The greatest
But home cinema enthusiasts even remotely repelled on
travesty of the past 30 years has been the slow, miserable
occasion by the clinical sterility of their Blu-ray “Transformers”
decline of film. Let’s play a part in keeping it alive.
collection might still be in the market for a film projector.
With thanks to Van Eck Video Services for images. The
The act of watching film in the home is utterly unique.
company fabricates parts for projectors (mainly 8/16mm)
Home cinema projection took a nosedive in the early 8 0
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to keep them running into the future. www.van-eck.net www.cinematech.today
17/05/2018 17:41
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A C C E S S
SUBTITLING IN UK CINEMAS: A NEW WAY FORWARD
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In partnership with Action on Hearing Loss, the UK Cinema Association (UKCA) has launched a Technology Challenge Fund, to stimulate development of a solution that allows people with hearing loss to enjoy a better integrated cinema experience. Time to get inventive. Words: Grainne Peat
F
OR A VARIETY OF reasons, many
While efforts have been made to
disabled customers in cinemas have
increase uptake of the current number
difficulties in accessing and enjoying
of OC screenings, the growth in these
the
In
has undoubtedly begun to plateau in
response, the UK cinema sector has,
recent years. This comes at a time
over the past decade, developed a
when expectations amongst customers with hearing loss
number of different and specially-adapted ‘accessible
for better provision understandably
screenings’ in an attempt to address these issues.
have continued to increase. In recent
big
screen
experience.
Subtitled screenings — or open captions (OC) — are an accepted way of opening up the cinema-going experience to deaf and hearing-impaired customers. These involve
The ideal solution must:
years, a number of new products have emerged on the market which allow subtitling text to be seen by the individual
subtitles which relay the script of the film and audio cues at
A viable solution that can be widely rolled out will help boost cinemas’ accessibility credentials
rather
than
the
wider
the bottom of the screen. Despite this solution, the cinema
Allow for a cinema’s hearing
audience. In the main these involve
sector continues to face challenges around the provision of
impaired customers to have an
technology whereby text is seen on a
subtitled screenings. It’s generally the case that the wider
integrated experience alongside
personal screen or is displayed across
audience sees the presence of additional text on the screen
the general public i.e. they should
the lenses of viewing glasses.
as a distraction, and therefore they actively avoid such
be able to view subtitles without
shows. This results in low attendance, which in turn means
disturbing other viewers who do
The challenge we face
cinemas are limited in how many subtitled screenings it is
not want to view subtitles.
While these ‘closed’ caption (CC)
Be easy to use for both the venue
devices, if widely adopted, have the
and, importantly, the user
potential
Be a financially viable solution for
access to the cinema for customers
Cinema operators risk foregoing a significant amount of
venues to install and use
who need subtitling, and to allow for a
income in making OC screenings available, these are in
Be readily compatible with the
more integrated audience experience,
general programmed sparingly, and rarely at peak viewing
existing cinema infrastructure
no one solution has yet achieved
economically feasible for them to show.
The peak viewing time conundrum
times. As a result, there are fewer and less conveniently
significantly
to
increase
widespread take-up in cinemas
programmed OC screenings than customers who are deaf
Projects are expected to develop
or have some hearing loss would like. When there are
and test a working prototype in a
Association, in partnership with Action
technical failures of subtitling equipment, the problem is
‘real life’ cinema with user feedback.
on Hearing Loss, is proud to launch its
In
response,
the
UK
Cinema
felt more keenly by deaf and hearing-impaired audience
Technology Challenge Fund to help
members, for whom that screening might be the sole
stimulate and support development
opportunity in the week to enjoy an accessible cinema visit.
of a technological solution that will
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A C C E S S
allow
people
with
hearing
loss
to enjoy a more integrated cinema experience. The UKCA will provide some initial financial incentives for engagement, then — as appropriate —
The goal is a solution that hearing-impaired customers can use to give a better overall experience
some further limited funding for development of promising concepts, with the hope that support from wider industry partners can be drawn in as the process develops. Should a suitable, viable product be developed that the cinema sector approves and which meets the desired criteria set out in the aims and objectives, Action on Hearing Loss, will help find a suitable commercial partner to develop and create a market-ready product. The successful applicant will have full Intellectual Property (IP) ownership and will take a percentage of the revenue from product sales. The UKCA and Action on Hearing Loss will promote the product across their networks both across the UK and internationally. The aim of this competition is to catalyse innovation in
Phase 2 is only open to applicants
technology that will allow people with a hearing loss to
who have completed phase 1 and
have access to an inclusive cinema experience.
How to apply
Interested? Enter your solution:
demonstrated a technically feasible concept. In phase 2, participants will develop and test a working prototype
The Fund is now taking expressions
in a ‘real life’ cinema. Projects can be
b e from an organisation of any size
of interest to attend the launch
of any size up to £25,000 and can last
y ou can work alone or in collaboration with others
workshop to be held in September
up to six months.
(business, research base, third sector)
2018 at a Central London cinema.
Phase 2 applicants will be given
Up to £75,000 of funding is available to support innovative
To apply or if you have questions
access to a cinema to allow testing
projects in the competition, divided across two phases:
relating to the Fund, email Grainne
during development of the prototype
U p to £25,000 is available for phase 1 (up to £5,000 for
Peat, at the UK Cinema Association
and will have access to a technical
each phase 1 project)
at grainne.peat@cineamuk.org.uk
expert to help ensure that the final
Projects eligible for entry to the challenge, can:
U p to £50,000 is available for phase 2 (up to £25,000 for
solution is technically compatible with
each phase 2 project)
existing cinema infrastructure. Phase
In phase 1 participants will be expected to demonstrate
2 proposals will also be judged by an
technical feasibility of their proposed innovation. Projects
independent panel.
can range in size up to a total cost of £5,000 each. Technical
A showcase event will be held
feasibility projects must be completed within 8 weeks.
at the end of the process at which
Phase 1 applicants will be invited to a ‘development
successful prototypes will be demonstrated to stakeholders,
workshop’ where they can refine and discuss initial ideas
including people with hearing loss, cinema operators and
with industry experts. Phase 1 proposals will be judged by
potential partners able to support the commercialisation
an independent panel, supported by technical peer review.
and/or adoption of the most promising solution.
FUND TIMELINE
8 4
06/18
09/18
10/18
11/18
02/19
03/19
09/19
Applications open to express interest to be involved
Launch workshop at a Central London cinema
Development paper for phase one grant
£5,000phase one grants awarded
Phase one closes
£25,000 phase two grants awarded
Phase two closes
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www.cinematech.today
17/05/2018 15:55
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Event Cinema? MPS is with you at every step.
Venue to truck Satellite to screen Management to support MPS delivers. motionpicturesolutions.com
MPS_MAR18.indd 2
21/02/2018 15:17
E C A
V I E W
Event cinema: time to scale new heights? The event cinema sector has enjoyed success, but certain content is now considered a box office staple. The ECA’s Simon Tandy asks if it’s time to push the boundaries?
W S
ith statistics showing early signs
over another — is there a risk that a lack of experimentation
that
has,
is contributing to a market plateau? Surely there is diverse
potentially, reached a market plateau and
the
event
cinema
sector
content that we are missing. Technologies and social media
with more event cinema content being
enable us to better engage and understand audiences. As
released year on year, is it do or die for the
each genre grows, so too does the opportunity for brand
sector? Event cinema, in varying forms, has been around for
engagement. This may be the key to prosperity, the key to
over 30 years. Whilst the Metropolitan Opera was seen as
making more of an event out of event cinema.
the springboard to the modern era in 2006, the past nine
We are all familiar with how stage, theatre and opera
years have given us more than 1,000 live broadcasts with
houses are “easily” replicated in the cinema, but through
countless encore opportunities helping to raise revenue at
social engagement and interaction we could see tried and
the box-office. Keeping pace with the number of broadcasts
not yet prevalent alternative content sweep an upturn in
is a rise in their quality, the quality of productions and,
the event cinema sector. Indeed, many persist in calling it
indeed, the stock of continually improving cinema venues.
“alternative content” for a reason — let’s have more of the
The quantity of event cinema titles is growing at a
alternative, more of the event and less of the conformist.
similar rate with film content — estimations put the likely
Cinema lets us explore our love of genres, of characters.
value of the event cinema business at $1bn by 2021 — so
It allows audiences that perfect place to escape. Is event
ours is a significant sector in global box office terms. With
cinema a means of heightening that escapism? We should
more content coming to the market, something’s got to
be exploiting further the opportunities that event cinema
give. The battle for screen time has never been so evident.
programming can bring through live director and cast
Whilst no-one is labouring under the impression that
interviews or the potential of new genres such as e-gaming.
event cinema budgets equate those of Hollywood Studios, content owners and cinemas now have a nurtured audience
CineEurope: time to talk of the future
— that helps to capitalise on a product tailored for their
The early years of the Event Cinema Association offered a
business. Locally, owners and operators understand which
great resource for those in the sector to meet, and whilst
products work in their cinemas. Certain event cinema
the sector has many familiar faces, we don’t know all the
content has come to be seen as a safe bet — so is that now
answers. At CineEurope, you can meet the ECA team and
the first question content owners and programmers are
members. We aim to explore some of these questions and
beginning to ask themselves? Is there is a safe bet in one
showcase the best content to keep the sector on the box
ballet over another, a safe bet in one actor playing Hamlet
office map. The ECA believes it’s time to flourish!
www.cinematech.today
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22/05/2018 10:50
2018 Meet me in Miami Film Convention + EXPO
October 22-25 2018 Loews Miami Beach
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To all those who have, or had, some interest in projected moving images, past and present. Perhaps you’re already connected with today’s cinema, technical or otherwise, but have an interest in vintage equipment, or you have been retired from the business so long, you would wish to revisit “the good old days”. Take heart and consider joining The Projected Picture Trust and help preserve the magic of cinema. Apart from equipment restoration, the Trust provides help and assistance to non-commercial community cinemas and museums exhibiting film related artefacts. The National Museum of Cinema Technology has perhaps, the largest collection of all types of film equipment in the U.K. The Data Archive within the museum holds over 3,000 items including technical manuals, film related documents, press cuttings etc. Membership of the P.P.T. will give you access to these amenities as well as the collections within the Trust’s regions. JOIN US TODAY by contacting either of the following addresses. e-mail: contact@ppttrust.org www.ppttrust.org The Projected Picture Trust, Dean Clough Mills, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX3 5AX
089_CT_JUN18.indd 1
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21/05/2018 14:12
o p i n i o n Celluloid film: the format of the future Alexa Raisbeck, co-founder of the Film & Projection Heritage Network which supports cinemas that present celluloid formats, argues that film has a vital future ahead
T
he
digital
revolution
was
a
Try telling an artist in any other line of work they can’t utilise
commercial decision driven by the need
a particular medium. It wouldn’t be done. Cinemas whose
to harness the latest technology available.
business models rely on repertory presentations need to
The speed of change since pixels arrived
continue to have the ability to show prints. Despite the
has been awe-inspiring. The ability to
advent of DCP technology, many films have yet to be
show a film time and again without degradation, plus the
transferred for cinematic presentation. DVDs and Blu-Rays
savings and ease in digital distribution. What’s not to love?
are not the most cinematic or stable of playback mediums.
Well, for me, it was the way celluloid was demonised as
Other factors include our collective archive: stored
part of the marketing in the encouragement to adopt
properly, celluloid is still the most viable storage medium. It
digital. Labelled unreliable and antiquated, it was vehemently
would take decades to digitise what is held on shelves and
jettisoned and gutted, as if complete oblivion would win the
I am an advocate for seeing films in original mediums and
technological war. The problem with this path is that we’re
ratios. Reels of film come with a provenance, a history which
now in a precarious place regarding the future of running
adds to their uniqueness as physical objects. Many savvy
celluloid film. Parts and equipment are hard to source, film
programmers go to great lengths to secure prints for their
consumables hard to purchase, well-trained projectionists
audiences. Film reels, projector mechanics and film strips
have retired or moved on; knowledge is seeping away.
are still utilised to indicate film and cinema. Hard drives and
We are past the pivotal point where there is time to
square silent boxes don’t invoke the same feelings. It is
preserve what is needed for those that want to continue
telling that 35mm and 70mm screenings have become
working with the medium. Celluloid’s supporters are often
events which tie into the general trend exhibition has taken
harangued for their advocacy, and told they are romancing
to preserve itself from home entertainment mediums.
a dead medium through rose-tinted glasses. Why? Why is
Digital is the standard, but over 100 cinemas in the UK
35mm pitted against digital? There is no ‘versus’ here. Film
alone have celluloid capability. When something becomes
worked as a viable medium for over a century and defines
harder to experience its value increases. It’s why “Dunkirk”
much of our visual literacy, so much so that scratches, dirt
was released in 70mm, it’s why some cinemas that originally
and sepia tones are now added in post-production to
removed mechanical projectors are reinstalling them. I
indicate something historic. Digital is not a replacement.
urge the industry to recognise this and acknowledge that
They are different mediums with separate characteristics.
35mm isn’t a medium of the past but has a present and
Should celluloid be available? Absolutely. An artist/auteur/
hopefully a future of co-existence. We’re in the business of
director should be able to work in the medium they choose.
telling stories — celluloid continues to do that eloquently.
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www.cinematech.today
18/05/2018 12:09
blazing fast and Q-SYS readyfast blazing and Q-SYS readyfast blazing TM
TM
and Q-SYS ready TM
Ingest a full length motion picture DCP in the time it takes to play a Trailer? The new QSC CMS-5000 is
a next-generation cinema media server that features reliable onboard solid-state storage, dual HDMI 2.0 Ingestfor a full lengthcontent, motion picture DCP in the time it takes to play a Trailer? The ingest new QSC CMS-5000 is ports alternate and a 10Gb Ethernet port for exceptionally fast DCP – up to 10 times faster directly with Q-SYS, QSC’sdual network platform than other servers.cinema Best ofmedia all, theserver CMS-5000 interfaces HDMI 2.0 for a next-generation that features reliable onboard solid-state storage, integrated sound, picture, and control. Ingestfor a full length content, motion picture DCP in the timeport it takes to play a Trailer? The new QSC CMS-5000 is ports alternate and a 10Gb Ethernet for exceptionally fast DCP ingest – up to 10 times faster directly with Q-SYS, QSC’s network platform than other servers. Best of all, the CMS-5000 interfaces a next-generation cinema media server that features reliable onboard solid-state storage, dual HDMI 2.0 for It’s capablesound, of JPEG 2000 DCI content playback at 2k or 4k 2D up to 60 frames per second, and 4k 3D up integrated ports for alternate picture, content,and andcontrol. a 10Gb Ethernet port for exceptionally fast DCP ingest – up to 10 times faster to 30 frames per second. The CMS-5000 also interfaces supports immersive DTS:X (renders upplatform to 64 for directly audio with formats Q-SYS, QSC’s network than other servers. Best of all, the CMS-5000 ® ® Atmos . channels) and bitstream transmission of Dolby It’s capablesound, of JPEG 2000 and DCI control. content playback at 2k or 4k 2D up to 60 frames per second, and 4k 3D up integrated picture, to 30 frames per second. The CMS-5000 also supports immersive audio formats DTS:X (renders up to 64 ® ® As part and ofofthe Q-SYS ecosystem, the CMS-5000 appears software as3D a Q-SYS Atmos . 4k 2D channels) bitstream transmission Dolby It’s capable JPEG 2000 DCI contentofplayback at 2k or up to in 60Q-SYS framesDesigner per second, and 4k up component, full The system interconnection, audioimmersive channel routing, status monitoring, and control. to 30 framesproviding per second. CMS-5000 also supports audio formats DTS:X (renders up to 64 ® media ® The setsQ-SYS a new standard for server performance and functionality. Atmos . channels) bitstream transmission ofcinema Dolbythe As CMS-5000 part and of the ecosystem, CMS-5000 appears in Q-SYS Designer software as a Q-SYS component, providing full system interconnection, audio channel routing, status monitoring, and control. The part CMS-5000 sets a new standard for cinema serverappears performance and Designer functionality. As of the Q-SYS ecosystem, themedia CMS-5000 in Q-SYS software as a Q-SYS component, providing full system interconnection, audio channel routing, status monitoring, and control. The CMS-5000 sets a new standard for cinema media server performance and functionality. ©2018 QSC, LLC all rights reserved. QSC, Q-SYS and the QSC logo are registered trademarks in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other countries. Dolby and Dolby Atmos are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. 0942-2018
©2018 QSC, LLC all rights reserved. QSC, Q-SYS and the QSC logo are registered trademarks in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other countries. Dolby and Dolby Atmos are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. 0942-2018
©2018 QSC, LLC all rights reserved. 0942-2018_BlazingFaxt_210x297mm.indd 1 QSC, Q-SYS and the QSC logo are registered trademarks in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other countries. Dolby and Dolby Atmos are registered trademarks of Dolby
5/14/18 4:41 PM
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0942-2018_BlazingFaxt_210x297mm.indd 1 Untitled-1 1
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Laboratories. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. 0942-2018
splendidly unexpected We are Cinionic. We listen to exhibitors and moviegoers alike to continuously transform the moviegoing experience from good to better and better to best. From visualization solutions to comprehensive service care to flexible and affordable financing, we exist to provide you with peace of mind and your moviegoers with a new level of expectations when it comes to a “WOW� experience. All CineEurope projection is powered by Cinionic. Come and experience the WOW from June 11 to 14 at CCIB Barcelona. Welcome to Cinionic. Welcome to WOW.
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