DISPLAY & MONITORING EQUIPMENT NEWS

Projecting the future

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:52

There is a concern among South African independent filmmakers that the number of local films released on circuit will decrease dramatically because more and more 3D studio films are being screened, and many digital projectors are already converted to 3D.

Danie Bester of the Film Factory (Bakgat! franchise) maintains that the amount of digital screens available for South African content has dropped from 160 a year ago to about 60 today. “The screens are in fact still digital but when the exhibitors have to choose between a 3D film and a local film, we are out of the cinemas faster than the spin of a shutter,” states Bester.

Mark Harris of Nu Metro Exhibition says that this is not the case: “There is a difference between the E-Cinema digital screens and the D-Cinema digital screens that we have on our circuit. Initially we invested in the E-Cinema solution which is primarily for on screen advertising as well as selected full length features, including local films. None of these screens will ever be converted to 3D screens as they are not Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) compliant. In other words major Hollywood studio content cannot play off this system.

“The D-Cinema screens are all new investments over the past three years and are primarily used for 3D content on our circuit.”

Screen Africa contacted Ster-Kinekor Pictures for its perspective but did not receive a response prior to going to press. Stuart Forrest of Cape Town-based Triggerfish Animation (Zambezia) believes the 3D market for animation titles is huge. “For animation producers, this is good news. Animation looks much better in 3D, because you have precise control of the 3D environment and you can tweak it until the experience is perfect.

“I think that eventually the premium on 3D tickets will narrow if not completely disappear and it will be the consumer’s choice to view in 3D or 2D, at little extra cost.”

According to Bester a film’s revenue potential is directly linked to its performance at the cinema. “The more one makes at the box office, the more DVDs you sell and the more broadcasters pay for the property. Obviously with a very short and limited cinema run further revenue streams are negatively affected.”

To print or not to print

Asked whether it is important for filmmakers to create film (celluloid) prints instead of, or in addition to, digital prints, Harris responds: “This is a question that should be directed at distributors that specialise in ascertaining how many prints and which format are best for a specific title. As an exhibitor we are presented with various films that we either decide to screen or not and on how many screens. This is done in consultation with the distributor and depends on the film’s commercial viability.

“For local films the trend is simple: they either go completely digital (using the E-Cinema solution) or totally on 35mm. Very few titles have been a combination of both.”

A film only stays on circuit as long as it does business. It has to generate sufficient revenue so it is not taken off to accommodate new releases at a specific cinema if it is one of the lower earning titles of the week.

Bester provides the perspective of what a film needs to earn on circuit to make money for the producers and if film prints are an option. “The producer has to make R1m at the box office to pay back marketing and encoding expenses (P&A). To release on film adds another R1m to the tab that has to be recouped at the box office before you even start to pay back the film’s initial investors.

“There are obviously some advantages to releasing on film, like a wider release and a longer play window, but in the end it comes down to a bigger budget, bigger risk and an increase in the barrier to entry for younger filmmakers.”

Reduced costs

Forrest maintains that the cost of distribution is always a concern. “However, digital cinema goes a long way to bringing the price down. 3D movies are always digital but the downside is that colour and brightness varies greatly from cinema to cinema. Producers have many challenges when it comes to distribution, exhibition and making their money back.”

Harris points out that the digital revolution has made film distribution more flexible. There are other big advantages for exhibitors such as the ability to show blockbuster movies on multiple screens within a cinema complex; ease of operation; more user friendly technology; the ability to add the latest 3D technology on the digital projectors (D-Cinema only); improved picture quality; the ability to show alternative content from sports, films, education, events, corporate and film festivals; more efficient methods of delivering content to cinemas; back catalogue screenings; and cost effective advertising.

“Digital cinema is experiencing considerable growth and has also been responsible for the rebirth of 3D content, offering a more realistic and immersive experience because of the latest technology and high resolution of D-Cinema digital projectors. These changes may render our current 35mm equipment obsolete in the future. The opportunities of digital projection are many,” he comments.

Forrest says that it is inevitable that digital cinemas will become more prevalent. “This will make wider release for shorter runs more feasible. It will also give cinemas more flexibility to change shows from week to week according to demand without being hampered by print costs.

Where does Bester see the industry in the next five years? “I am very excited about video on demand (VOD) and Internet streaming. The advantage for the producer is that every view translates to revenue. Internet streaming is not yet an option in South Africa but Australia, the US, Canada, New Zealand and the UK, with their large expat populations, are new and large unexplored markets for us.

” SCREENAFRICA Print Magazine – October 2011 (view here)

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