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001_DEC18_COVER.indd 001_COVER_JUNE19.indd 000_SEP19_COVERv2.indd111
Studio for victory Generation It's the did reel thing Undermoves the magpie arches Planning If Ikea cinema CT interviews What the rise aAndrew ofcinema the Squeezing Cripps, Century Fox's "rented experience" means under20th the main railway advocate changeEasy‌ forline cinema exhibitors intofor London?
Produced in partnership with:
today's cinema How Coca-Cola's fizz Flatpack recliners and developers helping captured core of can meatballsthe —are what we to save thebusiness high giants street the movie learn from retail
20/11/2018 18:44 10:03 22/05/2019 14:42 04/08/2019
ROSETTABRIDGE THEATRE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - DEPLOYED GLOBALLY -
RB RosettaBridge™ RosettaBridge TMS acts as the intelligent, autonomous management system within the cinema; allowing you to build, schedule and control your playlists and content, while acting as the bridge to a multitude of external services such as content e-delivery, advertising, trailer exhibition, equipment health, TDL and KDM delivery. RosettaBridge is built in partnership with exhibitors and equipment vendors to create the perfect Theatre Management System.
RN RosettaNet™ RosettaNet eTMS centralises, simplifies and reduces your cinema operations by removing the need for task duplication across each site. Replacing your site based operation with a remote and singular estate level management function, for example, allows you to eliminate site based tasks like ShowPlayList creation. In RN build it once centrally for all your sites ensuring continuity of showing across your network and a single SPL build network wide. RosettaNet unlocks your efficiencies.
sales@uniquex.com www.uniquex.com Untitled-38 1
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Harkness presents... 90 years of great cinema experiences We’ve long been pioneers in presentation quality. For 90 years, the Harkness name has been synonymous with the world’s finest screen technology. We have a rich heritage of investing in research and development, innovative manufacturing and collaborating with other technology leaders – and our passion and dedication to improving the science of presentation quality is as strong today as it’s ever been.
#90YearsOfHarkness
Untitled-38 Harkness A41Full Page Adverts 2019_AW_V2.indd 1
That’s why we’re the number one choice across the globe, and why our customers can rely on us to provide the ultimate cinema experience.
02/08/2019 01/08/2019 10:18 10:57
Thinking of a laser installation? Let Omnex put you in the picture.
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20/02/2019 15:22
C O N T E N T S C I N E M A T E C H N O L O G Y > VO L . 3 2 N O . 3 > 0 9 / 1 9
70 NEWS
08 17
The latest from around the world of cinema exhibition Cinema Tech Community’s regular quarterly update
FEATURES
19 23 31 34 38 43
Data: our emerging markets need it, says David Hancock Why cinema in the Middle East is an agent of change Surely European cinema is fully developed? Not so… How the African market can define cinema’s future Want a cinema under a rail line? Ask Graham Lodge China: the rise and fall of a major content piracy gang
MANAGING EDITOR: ALASTAIR BALMAIN Motion Picture Solutions Ltd, Mission Hall, 9-11 North End Road, London W14 8ST T: +44 (0)20 3026 1368 E: alastair.balmain@motionpicturesolutions.com ART DIRECTOR: DEAN CHILLMAID E: dean@spacehopperdesign.co.uk
www.cinematech.today
005_SEP19_CONTENTS.indd 5
48 52 66 70 72 76 78 82 84
Why TI’s latest 4K chipset is a resolution revelation QSC: a firm that dreams of the fully networked cinema If Apple did cinema — what we can learn from Big Retail
23
Want to fill up your cinema 24/7? Tune in to variety Meet innovative businesses in cinema with EU backing New tech doesn’t always come cheap. Help’s at hand The UKCA supports cinema for all — and here’s how It’s been a big year for event cinema, with more to come Work
smarter
or
work
harder? AAM’s Alessandra
Skarlatos has some advice for cinemas
COMMISSIONING EDITOR: PETER KNIGHT E: commissioning-editor@cinematech.today ADVERTISING: BOB CAVANAGH Caixa Postal 2011, Vale da Telha, 8670-156 Aljezur, Portugal T: +351 282 997 050
EVENTS
58
CineEurope: so who was there, who was missing?
Patrick von Sychowski reports
OPINION
86
Is high-quality 3D going to fly in emerging markets?
M: +351 962 415 172 E: bobcavanagh@sapo.pt SUBSCRIPTIONS Cinema Technology is mailed to IMIS Members. For subscription details and to read the magazine online, visit www.cinematech.today or e-mail CT@motionpicturesolutions.com
0 9 / 1 9
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Dolby Auditorium Packages Deliver an unforgettable experience for your guests with flexible, cost effective packages.
Complete solutions for your imaging server, audio processing, amplification, and loudspeaker needs.
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Contact your local dealer or Dolby Sales Representative for more information.
DOLBY.COM/CINEMA-PRO
Dolby, and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. Š 2019 Dolby Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved.
Untitled-39 1
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c t
v i e w
Emerging markets: don’t teach new dogs old tricks… The big screen experience isn’t one homogenous entity, says Alastair Balmain. It comes in a range of flavours worldwide.
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Studio for victory Generation It's the did reel thing Undermoves the magpie arches Planning If Ikea cinema CT interviews What the rise aAndrew ofcinema the Squeezing Cripps, Century Fox's "rented experience" means under20th the main railway advocate changeEasy… forline cinema exhibitors intofor London?
001_DEC18_COVER.indd 001_COVER_JUNE19.indd 000_SEP19_COVERv2.indd111
Alk about Emerging markets and,
Being fully informed on the scale of the opportunity
for those in regions where cinema is
and the nature of the audience is the catalyst that supports
more established, it is deceptively easy
investment. And it’s not simply a case of entertaining the
to approach the subject with a degree of
masses and raking in the till receipts — as Melissa Cogavin
condescension: “Let us show you how we
points out in her exploration of the Middle Eastern region
do it in our country — we’ve been at it for more than 100
(on p23), cinema has a fundamental social role to play.
years, after all…”.
Expansion of the big screen experience is about cultural
To do so is to do a massive disservice to markets that are
When we think of cinema’s reach, all too often our
freshest, most inspiring architecture and a big screen
minds turn to Hollywood — the blockbuster releases are the
experience that is the equal or superior to anything that
behemoths that grab box office headlines, but cinema is
you will find in either the US or Europe. There’s no legacy
broader than that. As our writers explain, locally created
infrastructure baggage to handle; the audience demand
and produced content is driving cinema’s growth in many
for entertainment means auditoria are often full to capacity;
territories. There is a demonstrable enthusiasm for stories
and the potential for growth is significant.
that reflect peoples’ lives and backgrounds — and it is
Cinema Technology is proud to be a media partner with
technology that facilitates and democratises filmmaking.
both the MENA Cinema Conference in Dubai this October
Technology too is making varied content distribution more
and the Emerging Cinema Markets Conference in Istanbul
straightforward. Both aspects play straight into the hands
this November. In advance, we have a range of in-depth
of those looking to bring cinema to new audiences.
articles in this issue that explore the nature of the markets
So, when you think about emerging markets, don’t
under discussion. And you will see that they are terrifically
make the mistake of treating the subject as a one-way
varied — but as David Hancock points out in his introduction
conversation — exhibitors in established markets can learn
to our emerging markets focus on p19, information is key.
as much from new entrants as the other way round.
1
2
3
1 Melissa Cogavin
2 David Hancock
3 Patrick von Sychowski
Founder of the ECA, Melissa consults widely within the cinema sector. On p23, she explores the Middle East
Research director at IHS Markit, on p.19 David examines the demand for data in emerging markets
Editor of Celluloid Junkie, on p.43 Patrick tracks the Chinese authorities’ battle to break a film piracy network
www.cinematech.today
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20/11/2018 18:44 10:03 22/05/2019 14:42 04/08/2019
development, not economic development alone.
hitting the ground running with the latest technology, the
Writing in this issue of CT
Produced in partnership with:
today's cinema How Coca-Cola's fizz Flatpack recliners and developers helping captured core of can meatballsthe —are what we to save thebusiness high giants street the movie learn from retail
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e ve n t s
CT NEWSREEL
n e w S ,
v i e w s
&
i n d u s t r y
r o u n d - u p
g l o b a l t h e o f
U p - to - d a te
Barcelona
UNIC launches third Women’s Cinema Leadership programme THE INTERNATIONAL UNION of Cinemas (UNIC) — the European cinema trade grouping — launched the third edition of its Women’s Cinema Leadership Programme at CineEurope this June. A 12-month mentoring programme for women in cinema exhibition, it follows the success of the first two rounds of the programme.
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STRONG/MDI SCREEN Systems, a leader in projection
screen
manufacturing
and
optical
The mentoring programme will see eight talented
coating development, has announced the release
female European cinema professionals receive one-to-one
of its Premium HGA 1.7, a screen developed for the
support and development advice from outstanding women
latest high-resolution laser projectors. Premium
executives from across the cinema landscape.
HGA 1.7 has been engineered specifically for high
This edition will also for the first time see the initiative expand its reach, welcoming mentees from UNIC’s Partnership Programme to include participants from 14 different companies across 10 territories.
output projector systems that demand superior light diffusion properties. Strong/MDI’s lead chemist, Carmen Simion, explained: “Although the new screen is part of the
UNIC CEO Laura Houlgatte commented: “It’s with great
HGA family, the 1.7 coating has unique properties to
pride that we at UNIC are continuing our committed efforts
enhance light scattering and mitigate speckling.”
towards promoting more gender-balanced leadership in
The proprietary technology behind the HGA coating
the industry. We set out with the key long-term objective
results in a whiter-looking screen with an ultra-
of broadening the talent pool for leadership in cinema
wide viewing angle. Images appear bright and even
exhibition, in the hope that the
across the surface while colours in all parts of the
mentees of today would become the
spectrum are deep and rich.
Laura Houlgatte at the launch in June
8
Strong MDI introducing Premium HGA 1.7 Screens
mentors of tomorrow.” www.cinematech.today
04/08/2019 18:42
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Movies@Cinemas and Omnex agree installation of UK and Ireland’s first Samsung Onyx Cinema LED
UK & Ireland
UK AND IRELAND CINEMA integrator Omnex has announced the agreement to install the first ever of Samsung’s ground-breaking Onyx Cinema LED screens in the UK and Irish market. The Movies@Cinemas chain has selected an impressive 10m 4K screen for its Movies@Dundrum multiplex — the flagship venue for a business that takes great pride in the technical quality of the experience it
Samsung Onyx
delivers. Working with integrators Omnex, Movies@
technologies to our audiences”, explained Graham
Cinemas has identified the value installation of a state-
Spurling, co-managing director of Movies@Cinemas,
of-the art Onyx Cinema LED can deliver for audiences. The installation will be supported by the addition of
Omnex: delivering a pioneering experience — and a first for the UK and Irish exhibitor market
The World’s First Cinema LED Screen “When I went with the team from Omnex and saw
audio design from Christie Vive Audio that provides a
these screens in action at Samsung’s HQ in Frankfurt, HIGHLIGHTS • Elevated contrast creates realistic and deep black color expression the image quality blew me away. We’re hugely excited • Enhanced luminance and low tone expression truly delivers High Dynamic Range (HDR) picture quality
soundscape to match the quality of the images.
to• be working with themsurpasses boththetoquality beofthe first toscreens give a Uniform, distortion-free presentation standard cinema
“Movies@Cinemas has always been something of a pioneer, committed to bringing the best audio-visual
• Reinforced screen achieves 10 times the peak brightness of standard projector-based alternatives • Specialized emissive LED technology upholds exceptional picture quality even at low ambient lighting levels,
radically innovative experience to UK and Irish producing a consistently brilliant content engagement environment.
audiences.”. Today’s theaters strive to expand their customer base by promoting themselves as a destination for an unparalleled viewing experience. Samsung is prepared to play a starring role in helping these theaters welcome audiences into the “cinema of the future” with its new Samsung Onyx Cinema Screen. Samsung Onyx takes theater technology to the next level by bringing 4K LED picture quality to the big screen, delivering a more powerful and captivating picture that makes viewers feel as if they are part of every scene. This also includes peak brightness (146fL), accurate color presentation and distortion-free uniformity to bring content to life. As the world’s first cinema-ready LED display, Samsung Onyx offers the versatility and premium visual environment necessary to redefine the theater experience, extend usage opportunities and wow even the most entertainment-savvy consumers.
Muvi Cinemas chooses Cinionic to illuminate screens in Saudi Arabia CINIONIC IS CONTINUING its expansion into Saudi Arabia
Film Projector Lamp Projector Laser“The Projector relationship with operate movie theatres in the Kingdom.
by announcing a strategic relationship with the Next
Muvi advances cinema’s expansion in the Middle East,
Generation Company Ltd (NG), sister company to Fawaz
illuminating screens for 33 million people in Saudi Arabia,” said
Alhokair Group, for its first cinema brand, Muvi Cinemas.
Wim Buyens, CEO of Cinionic. “We’re committed to providing
1900
2000
INNOVATION
2015
EVOLUTION
INNOVATION
Muvi Cinemas plans to open over 20 multiplexes in Saudi
best-in-class laser solutions and services for exhibitors world-
Arabia in the next 18 months, including in Riyadh, Jeddah and
wide for a new visual standard. We are proud to be part of the
Dammam. The exhibitor is among the few granted a license to
expansion in moviegoing experiences, in new markets.”
“As an added advantage, HGA coatings are resistant a nd long-lasting. They are also competitively priced, a worthwhile investment for any exhibitor looking to maximize
the
cost-quality
balance”
noted
Francois
Barrette, VP at Strong/MDI Screen Systems. For more information, email info@strongmdi.com
www.cinematech.today
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six one
product families.
processors
catalog.
amplifiers
QSC offers the cinema industry’s most comprehensive catalog of solutions for the entire cinema complex. Sourcing all of your cinema product needs from one catalog means you can be assured of
loudspeakers
consistent quality and performance throughout the cineplex, or even across
accessibility solutions
all sites in a global cinema chain.
From the lobby to the theatre and everything in between, the QSC catalog provides the tools you need to match any budget or performance requirement.
media servers test equipment
network audio & video control
Š2019 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. #0643-2019
Untitled-38 0632-2019 61products red 210mmW x 280Hmm .indd 1
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C T
N E W S R E E L
THE FIRST CINEMA seats certified for the Flexound Augmented Audio technology are now in mass production as the leading seating manufacturer Ferco has gained Flexound Augmented Audio certification for two of its models, Premium Verona and Premium Milano. Flexound also has its own Finland-produced model available and other manufactures and models will be announced soon. “Our co-operation with Ferco Seating is the next step in a global cinema strategy as augmented audio defies all cultural barriers. We are negotiating with exhibitors from all over the world”, says Flexound CEO Mervi Heinaro. Flexound technology offers equal sound quality in every seat independent of seat location. It improves the clarity of dialogue and enables lower sound volumes in the theatre, as less subwoofer is needed. Augmented audio needs no wearable developed
accessories out
of
and work
NEWS IN BRIEF
Flexound and Ferco team up to deliver in-seat audio
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Cinionic strikes Laser as a Service deal with Omniplex Cinemas Cinionic, the Barco, CGS, and ALPD cinema joint venture, has announced the strengthening of its strategic relationship with Ireland’s largest multiplex cinema chain, Omniplex Cinemas, to upgrade an additional 29
undertaken in 2015 to help
theatres with Cinionic’s Laser
autistic children by adding the
as a Service (LaaS) solution, resulting in more than 40 upgraded laser locations. Through LaaS, Cinionic and Omniplex Cinemas will deliver an elevated and consistent movie-going experience for audiences across Ireland. The move to Laser as a Service means no more lamp
A perfect match: Ferco and Flexound
Finland
sensation of touch to music.
replacements for these
Now the versatile technology
theatres. The upgraded fleet
can be embedded into cinema,
of projectors benefits from up
airplane or car seats, gaming
to 30% increased light output
chairs, cushions and more.
and is an environmental choice with up to 78% less power consumption when compared to lamp projection.
UNIC elects its new board AT THE GENERAL Assembly of the International Union of Cinemas (UNIC)
The LaaS solution deployed at
Board of Directors, elected for a two-
Omniplex Cinemas is
year term, are:
powered by an ALPD laser
held at CineEurope, the cinema trade
Senior Vice-President & Treasurer:
grouping elected a new board to
Jaime Tarrazón - Delegate, Federación
based services from Cinionic
serve for the next two years.
de Cines de España (Spain)
that aim to deliver
The decision saw Phil Clapp, CEO of the UK Cinema Association, reappointed as president and other key
Vice President: Kim Pedersen – CEO, Danske Biografer (Denmark)
board positions confirmed. “I would
President,
like to thank UNIC’s members warmly
graphique Suisse (Switzerland)
for renewed confidence in me and my
Associazione
Phil Clapp, “It will be both an honour
Cinema (Italy)
and
a
privilege
to
support
the
organisation in its efforts to continue
Cinémato-
Vice President: Mario Mazzetti – CEO,
fellow Board members,” commented
Nazionale
Esercenti
Vice-President: Tomasz Jagiełło – CEO, Helios (Poland)
to provide a strong and influential
Vice-President: Richard Patry –
voice for the European cinema sector.”
President, Fédération Nationale des
As well as the President, the UNIC www.cinematech.today
008_SEP19_NEWS.indd 11
consistently improved image quality over time.
Vice President: Edna Epelbaum – Association
light source and outcome-
“Laser as a Service lets us benefit from reduced costs with significant energy savings. We’re excited to roll out these upgrades and continue the partnership with Cinionic,” said Omniplex Cinema’s Mark Anderson.
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AAM brings eco-friendly automation to Screenwriter
Vue joins UniqueX’s Movie Transit DCP delivery network
leading Theatre Management System (TMS), Screenwriter. The latest version provides AAM’s
Unique X, one of the leading
exhibitor customers with advanced automation options and support for the newest projectors
names in digital cinema
and technology in digital cinema. “AAM actively develop and improve Screenwriter to ensure it
software solutions, has
continues to streamline essential operational services for cinemas, while also providing them
announced that Vue
with a platform for further innovation.” noted Mark Kamiyama, head of global sales at AAM’s
Entertainment has chosen to
parent company Luxin-Rio International. “We’re proud to provide a robust, user-friendly system
install its Movie Transit DCP
that allows our customers all around the world to drive efficiency and innovation.” Additional
content delivery solution in all
features available from the latest release include eco-friendly automated show stop mode that
of its 91 cinemas, a total of
automatically shuts off the projector for shows where no tickets have been sold; show trimming
870 screens, throughout the
that can dynamically remove content from the beginning of the pre-show to prevent scheduled
UK and Ireland.
shows from overlapping; and dual KDM ingestion for premium screenings where object-based
The completed
ARTS ALLIANCE MEDIA has announced the release of new features and integrations to its
audio formats are encrypted separately from the DCP.
deployment of Movie Transit will streamline further Vue’s cinema operations, integrating fully with both
CinemaNext and France’s Megarama announce agreement for 110+ laser projectors
Unique X’s Smart Trailering and Basekey KDM management solutions
Paris
which have already been successfully established across the Vue network. “Vue is dedicated to offering a premium out-ofhome entertainment experience and this demands, amongst other things, innovative and robust technical solutions,” commented Roland Jones, THE EUROPEAN SPECIALIST in
be undertaking this renewal project,”
cinema exhibitor services Cinema
said Jean-Pierre Lemoine, president
Next and French circuit Megarama
and CEO of Megarama Group. “At a
have announced an agreement for
time when moviegoers are ever-more
the sale and installation of a minimum
discerning, it is part of our strategy to
been impressed by the
of 110 Barco laser projectors at 15 of
elevate our image quality to provide
performance and capability
the cinema chain’s current sites and
audiences with the best experience.”
of Smart Trailering and
upcoming new cinema builds through
Georges Garic, SVP of CinemaNext,
Basekey, the addition of
2021. CinemaNext will oversee the
commented: “This deal, which consists
Unique X’s Movie Transit
replacement
primarily of equipment distribution,
content delivery solution is
projectors in all Megarama-branded
installation
the next step in our drive to
cinemas in France, Spain and Morocco.
represents anticipated revenues for
“We’ve enjoyed a long partnership
CinemaNext of more than €10 million
executive director of technical services at Vue International, adding that the service complements the existing software: “We have
optimise cinema operations.”
The Megarama laser deal represents €10m of revenue for CinemaNext over the next two years
of
Series
1
digital
with CinemaNext and are excited to
1 2
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008_SEP19_NEWS.indd 12
and
maintenance,
over the next two years.”
www.cinematech.today
04/08/2019 18:42
THE GLOBAL LEADER IN DIGITAL CINEMA SOFTWARE AND SERVICES
SCREENWRITER TMS
PRODUCER ENTERPRISE CMS
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Streamline your day-to-day operations and minimise manual errors using the world’s most powerful, flexible Theatre Management System
Give head ooice visibility and control over every screen using AAM’s cloud based Circuit Management System
Monitor the equipment for all your screens from one Network Operations Centre in real-time to resolve any issues before they aaect shows.
Unlock new advertising revenue by ooering precision pre-show campaign targeting and selling unused inventory
STREAMLINE YOUR OPERATIONS AND BOOST YOUR REVENUES AAM is Proud To Provide The Leading 4D Cinema Experience
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Untitled-39 1
WWW.ARTSALLIANCEMEDIA.COM
02/08/2019 11:31
C T
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>
Christie develops Vive Audio range
IMIS update – a busy year so far! THIS YEAR, THE International
CHRISTIE HAS ANNOUNCED
Moving Image Society (IMIS) is
several developments in its Vive
beginning of Harkness
really starting to focus on our
Audio range, with its loudspeaker
Screens’ 90th birthday
international
writes
line-up extended thanks to the
celebrations. For the entirety
Bryan
launch of a new, low-profile, coaxial
of its 90 years, the company
Cook. In case you didn’t know it,
ribbon
surround
has been at the forefront of
we livestream all of our events to
sound speaker, the LS2C. At the
cinema screen technology,
our members around the world.
same time, the LA3Si and LA3i
now employing more than
This year so far we’ve had over 16
speakers
100 people in five countries.
events
launched.
chief
members,
operating
covering
production
officer
topics
management
from to
driver
ceiling
(pictured)
have
September 12th marks the
been
Founded by master
Designed specifically with the
draper Andrew Harkness in
designing visual effects for big-
premium
immersive
budget features like Blade Runner
application
in
2049 and many more. All of the
the LS2C is a new coaxial
world of cinema. Just two
recordings of the livestreams are
ribbon, two-way speaker
years after the company’s
available in the Members Section
that meets the Dolby
inception, the founder passed
of the IMIS website and more can
Atmos specifications for
away, leaving the company to
be found out by heading over to
small- to medium-size
his only son, Tom.
societyinmotion.com
auditoria. Similarly, the
We are also starting to ramp up
the
development
of
cinema
1929, Harkness Screens soon
mind,
became a leading force in the
Under the guidance of
LA3 and LA3si models
Tom Harkness, the company
our
offer greatly improved
developed a reputation as the
communities. IMIS focuses on
surround-sound designs
dominant name in cinema
covering the education, training
that offer performance
and connections between areas
improvements
of the moving image industry,
previous models in the Christie
from conception of ideas through
loudspeaker range.
over
screen production, pioneering several
production and all the way to
the use of PVC as a means to Designed for premium roles
replace heavy woven fabrics that initially made Harkness a name in cinematic circles.
distribution and exhibition. Our
Harkness today continues
communities are formed to give
ensure they deliver the right skills on
to be a leader in screen
members opportunity to focus on
the correct tools and equipment to
technology, having had
particular areas of the chain of
make sure students are employable
thousands of its large screens
development or even explore new
upon graduation.
installed in over 130 countries.
areas they’re interested in. If you’d
1 4
Harkness Screens celebrates 90 years
Our
course
accreditation
has
The company is currently
like to be involved email bryan.
been a feather in our cap and dates all
researching and developing
cook@societyinmotion.com
the way back to our accreditation of
the future of laser projection.
Finally, we are starting to
courses at the Royal Polytechnic in
The 90th anniversary
accredit courses outside of the UK
the 1930s. Currently, we accredit over
celebrations will usher in an
— we have received interest for
25 courses and have added six more
increased commitment to
accreditation in Asia and are
from the University of Bournemouth
engage with the public. This
partnering with an organisation
and one from Farnborough College.
will be done through the
in India to expand our services
production of a wide range
abroad. Our course accreditation
of online content that tells the
acts as a bridge from education
Harkness story and the story
institutions to the industry. We
of its committed members
look at applicant courses to
of staff.
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Film services since 1938. This is how we connect.
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02/08/2019 11:53 10:34 22/07/2019
C T
N E W S R E E L :
C T C
U P D A T E
Community matters…
IN WHAT IS PROVING to be an incredibly exciting year and
now developing a range of advanced courses to provide
transitional period for the film industry, CTC is rising to meet
further education.
the challenge of supporting cinematic excellence globally ,
At CineEurope, we welcomed on board our first
helping the exhibition sector provide moviegoers with the
Sustaining Members (RealD, Harkness Screens and QSC),
best experience possible, writes Richard Mitchell, president
released our report in to the causes of 3D ghosting and
of CTC; the global cinema technology community.
recorded our first podcast taking our popular “In The Pub
In March, CTC supported the UKCA to deliver its two-day
With Mike Bradbury” seminar session and turning it in to a
conference in London and released a critically acclaimed
bar side chat on all things cinema (see above). If that wasn’t
“Exhibitors Guide to Premium Formats”, helping exhibitors to
enough, CTC partnered with Celluloid
crystallise the differences between various formats around
Join our cause
Junkie to continue to enable a focus on
only web content providing its growing community with
Behind everything we do at
interview series with 12 of the leading
exclusive videos, white papers and test content. Education
the
Technology
women in cinema, learning about their
remains core to CTC’s vision and in early May, we hosted a
Community is a passion for
careers to date, the challenges they’ve
one-day “Creating The Best Movie-Going Experience” training
ensuring that moviegoers — in
faced and how we make the industry
course with 40 delegates. The course provided attendees
fact cinema-goers — have the
more diverse and inclusive in the future.
with useful guidance on achieving picture and sound
best experience that it is
In latter half of the year, CTC is
perfection, the importance of testing, screen brightness,
possible to achieve. If you
continuing its partnership with the
understanding digital naming conventions, keys, TMS’,
share that ambition, you can
growing BigCineExpo conference in
accessibility, event cinema and auditorium cleanliness.
please join our community
Mumbai, providing expertise to the
Based on feedback, the CTC’s learning and education team is
today by heading over to our
important Indian market and also
site: cinema-technology.com
partnering with ExpoCine in Sao Paulo,
the world. Following this, CTC then launched its members-
Cinema
diversity conducting a landmark video
Brazil providing educational sessions. CTC EXECUTIVE TEAM Richard Mitchell (President), Graham Lodge (Vice President), Denis Kelly (Secretary), Mike Bradbury, Sandie Caffelle, Michael Denner, Danny Jeremiah, Peter Knight, Sarah Lewthwaite, Adam MacDonald, James MacFarlane, Andre Mort, Mark Nice, David Norris, Ngozi Okali, Kevin Phelan, David Pope, Toni Purvis, Steve Rance, Jim Slater, Simon Tandy, Patrick von Sychowski, Paul Willmott.
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CTC ADVISORY COUNCIL Tom Bert (Barco), Mark Christiansen (Paramount Pictures), Laurence Claydon (Consultant), Brian Claypool (Christie Digital), Theresa English (TK Architects), Nicolas Hamon (Kinepolis), Roland Jones (Vue International), Dominic Simmons (BFI), Russell Smith (Motion Picture Solutions), Debbie Stanford Kristiansen (Novo Cinemas), Alexey Vinokurov (RealD)
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22/05/2019 14/05/2019 11:52 11:02
G L O B A L
king e c o l m Un er
I
A key constraint on growth of cinema in emerging markets is lack of box office data. IHS Markit’s David Hancock explains that, without data, finding a way ahead is tough
out a map . . . ith w
arkets? N m g ot n i g
T’S THE SUMMER of 1991. Boris
a small outfit called Pixar ‘to make and distribute at least
Yeltsin has been elected President
one computer-generated animation movie’ — “Toy Story”.
of Russia, in South Africa apartheid
Amidst these momentous, world-changing events, consider
is being dismantled and, in Poland,
the small… a young research analyst in his first job needs to
Lech Walesa is the newly elected
find out information on a range of large media groups and
president. On the communications
countries. There’s no internet, a fax is the best there is. He
front, internet is now available to unrestricted commercial
sends out 150 letters to press and communications officers
use and the number of computers on it reaches 1m during
around the globe and waits for annual reports to come
the year; Microsoft releases MS Dos 5.0; “Terminator 2” rules
back by post. The process takes weeks, a lot of paper and air
the North American box office and Disney signs a deal with
travel by postal services. Yes, that young researcher was me.
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Moving on 28 years, the same process would take less than a day, using no paper and no air travel. Information is easier to obtain, and there is an abundance as governments, organisations and companies share more and store more. This applies to the film sector as much as any other. Film agencies have become more willing to publish key film and cinema metrics in a consistent and regular way, making markets more transparent to outsiders. This is a process that research firms like mine have helped and encouraged in various ways over the years. The reason we encourage this is not only self-interest so we have more accurate and timely data, but more importantly because it is vital for the industry as a whole to have high-quality and up-to-date information for use by investors, professionals, film agencies and strategic co-ordination bodies. Industry development happens because of a belief in growth, underpinned by good decisions. These can’t be made without understanding the competitive position of a sector at the beginning point. There are still a great many countries that do not have a regular and credible data collection system in place for the film industry. In one Eastern European country with a sizeable number of cinema screens, which I will not name, you could find out the number of admissions to the circus in a given year but not the total visits to the cinema. Given the potential for investment in both of these entertainment forms, this seems a skewed sense of data priorities. As I allude to above, there is little excuse for ignoring the basic information needed for cinema in an age of elevated access to information. When I hear of countries being talked up as the next big thing in the world of cinema, the first action I take is to see what data is available. If there is very little — and what there is in the public domain is confusing — that country is unlikely to make it to the next level of development in the short to medium term.
ossible ING p e ST TH IR outsid F r THE side o is in o m d o rs fr see or investo nt to is to s a ly w a y n r a t et a coun f the f mark form o rstanding o some usually e und untr y o n c a a ll have in gain ay we erent e to ial inh hat m t t n s r te e e o p rativ p to oth just im t d , it’s o t re n e a mark comp n. It is tand a rmatio s ties r fo ri e in o d h n t re mo ta to u nce au a a t d r o d ata p o d o p a the im have g tting u sure of e as a S e h . it y m r dust ney. If also a that in is nd m o a e n e lu o a v e im t h plac takes t a hig a re h n u t t a c c ly ru is like ation infrast inform , then it t, h e n c n e u o S m d t inves been sector. t n e h te t n la on ck yme t placed to unlo h and emplo d e g lm t ra e grow trong fi be lev nomic vel, a s o le c y’s l e r t ra g n u u t a co creatin t a cult s. t reflec ities. A n a n io h u t s t r s n e o opp a stori social te pes te s a it re d c n y ry sa reot indust allenge nge ste s also and ch to cha a y m it e c a culture in ap fe etter. C s the c lity of li r the b a fo u This ha s q n g io in t y k p t a e ri o m rc e a pri ment, and pe s y not b tertain a e n e m m e o a c nd in provid ral are e cultu lasses a nt. c e h T le m r. d in te bet ing mid r paid enterta h grow fo but wit r desire te a a gre comes
David Hancock is Research Director, Cinema at IHS Markit and President of the European Digital Cinema Forum.
OUTSIDE OF SOUTH AFRICA, African nations such as Nigeria (population 196m), Ethiopia (106m), Egypt (99m), Tanzania (59m), Kenya (51m), Uganda (44m), and Algeria (42m) all represent potential returns for producers and distributors if a cinema infrastructure can be put in place — preferably alongside a sustainable local film production sector. Africa has a population of 1.2bn, compared to Europe at 740m and the US at 327m. While it is not realistic to expect similar levels of screen density and cinema-going any time soon as levels of both are currently low in the majority of countries, the potential is clear. Without data collection and reporting structures, this growth will not occur. It’s imperative that authorities in these countries, those representing supra-national interests in these regions, and companies seeking to operate in them, grasp this opportunity to develop modern cinemas by urging the creation of better data and information. I would say this, wouldn’t I? Well, yes, I would. I’ve seen the transformative effects of data and information. Countries may face other challenges, some of which seem (and may be) more pressing, but the film and cinema sector can help solve some and alleviate others. Setting up such an information infrastructure is the best place to start.
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THERE IS MUCH FOCUS on untapped markets for cinema, as the industry seeks to grow. The obvious ones, such as Saudi Arabia, are widely discussed, but there are
A GOOD EXAMPLE IS South Korea, which took a
countries in the Middle East, Latin and Central America
decision to grow its cinema sector in the 1990s. Once
and South East Asia which are untapped in the truest
the policy had been outlined and growth began, the
sense, offering a huge potential for box office. Arguably
country found it could only move to the next level of
the most under-developed, in cinema terms, is Africa
development once it had set up a box office collection
with over 50 countries, most with under-developed film
system. Initially resisted by both cinema circuits and
and cinema infrastructures. IHS Markit tracks around
distributors as it would mean sharing information, the
1,500 modern screens on the continent, of which just
resulting system has laid the foundations for one of the
under half are in South Africa. Of them all, only a handful
world’s biggest cinema sectors — and Korean cinema
of African countries has any cohesive data collection,
companies are now also investing on a global level.
harmonisation and dissemination provision in the field
When China began its short and relentless march to
of cinema. Most will have a central statistical agency,
being the world’s largest cinema market (by screens) a
and global bodies such as the World Bank and IMF (and
decade ago, one of the first acts of the government was
companies such as IHS Markit) can supply demographic
to establish a ministry responsible for its growth and
and economic data, but most lack a culture ministry
regulation. Funding policies adopted led to high levels
or film agency as a co-ordinating body. Political will to
of investment and the rapid growth we have witnessed,
create a data infrastructure may, understandably, be
but the body also began to collect and release data on
missing. The downside of not having any accurate and
the sector for the first time. Admittedly, there have been
timely data over a period is that potential investment in
teething issues with this data — but from a position of
that country is unlikely to be forthcoming.
zero data, the current situation is a marked improvement.
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EMERGING
MARKETS
The Middle East:
A market with vision In the context of emerging markets, few are embracing cinema as keenly as is the Middle East. Melissa Cogavin explores the rapid growth of the sector in a burgeoning — and premium — region
T
WENTY YEARS AGO, pre-internet and
structural reform, something unimaginable only a few years
Whatsapp, researching cinema activity
ago; each state — mainly constitutional monarchies — has
in the Middle East would have been
laid out aggressive plans which have seen cultural barriers
complex, possibly quite inaccurate and
lifted, rules relaxed and an embracing of consumerism on
certainly decidedly vague, buoyed up
unprecedented levels. Across the seven member countries,
by anecdotes and conjecture over hard
investment on education, infrastructure, retail and leisure is
facts. The region was difficult to navigate as a westerner,
being executed on a colossal scale. As a result of this more
mired in political tension and tradition and, in the case of
liberal agenda, opportunities are opening up and this is good
Saudi Arabia, cinema as an art form was until recently subject
news for the workforce, education, young people, women,
to a 35-year ban entirely.
technology, retail and each members’ GDP. The effects are
In a radical shake up, and facing some hard truths about
being felt right down to the kind of film you can go and see
reducing its reliance on declining oil reserves (the official line
at your local cinema in the region, and who was involved in
being ‘lower oil prices prompting fiscal tightening and
making it and who serves you the popcorn.
diminished government accounts’), the Gulf Cooperation
The trickle-down effect of Vision 2030 on the region (see
Council (GCC) member states are ushering in unprecedented
panel overleaf) has seen unrivalled and rapid development
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THE MIDDLE EAST A fast-growing cinema market, with a keen eye on the future, the Middle East region is seeing unprecedented change
of new cinemas in a burst of creativity not experienced in
Vox your dinner comes from a ThEATre by [Gary] Rhodes’
established markets such as Europe. In Dubai, whose journey
restaurant. At Reel Cinemas’ Platinum Suites in its 26-screen
began around 20 years ahead of much of the rest of the
flagship cinema in Dubai Mall you can enjoy Egyptian cotton
region, the architecture alone is astonishing; the city has
covered pillows, cashmere blankets, literally hundreds of
emerged from the desert, limited only by the imaginations of
staff members — cleaners, cashiers, ushers, security guards
architects and the deep pockets of developers. No planning
ensuring the auditoria are spotless, the drinks ice cold, the
regulations and listed building status to worry about here.
food delicious, all served with a smile and perfect English. It
The skyline is one jaw-dropping, gleaming, towering work of
was dazzling; if this is Dubai, what will the Kingdom of Saudi
art after another. The same is true for the shopping malls and
Arabia (KSA) be like in a few years? The carbon footprint is a
the cinemas within.
worry, granted; but the young population takes the climate
In April, I saw for myself how high-end the cinemas are in
crisis seriously with new developments having a zero-carbon
Dubai, without exception. Roxy Cinemas has cornered the
footprint. “We are much better than India or Indonesia,” I was
market in the boutique experience; one site showcases lavish
told, a little defensively. Clearly it’s all about perspective.
English country house style décor inside a 1.2km-long shipping-container BoxPark development. One 40-seater
Entertaining a youthful population
auditorium contained $10k reclining Chesterfield seats. At
Across the GCC region (which includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
Novo Cinemas near Abu Dhabi I saw cream leather recliners
UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman) new-build cinemas in
with a built-in iPad to order freshly cooked high-end food. At
shopping centres are taking place, and existing malls are
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The bistro at the Roxy Cinemas’ development in the Dubai BoxPark mall — dressed up as an English country house and quite unlike a standard multiplex
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EMERGING
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being retrofitted with state-of-the-art cinemas in Saudi to cater for a disproportionately young population — 75% is under 35. With women now allowed to drive for the first time, a ban on cultural attractions is somewhat
Above, Roxy’s CityWalk cinema in Dubai;above right, the Sony 4Kpowered La Mer Picture House on Dubai’s waterfront
Vision 2030: the Saudi way ahead You may have heard the phrase “Vision 2030” bandied about but what is it
limited — there’s a lot of appeal in getting out of the heat and
and how does it affect the cinema industry? Mohammad bin Salman bin
going shopping. It’s the main pastime in the Gulf. All the big-
Abdulaziz Al Saud (known locally as MbS), King of Saudi Arabia, is a high-
name operators are investing in Saudi. Adon Quinn, general
profile monarch with progressive plans. In the policy brief outlined by the
manager of Muvi Cinemas, the country’s first homegrown
Middle East Policy Council the list of initiatives is ambitious and exhaustive.
chain (the licence owned by UK operator The Light) told me
The first details were announced in April 2016, but the extent of the change
that its first cinema, a 15-screen retrofit to an existing mall,
that is proposed makes Brexit look like a walk in the park. Here are just a few
opens next month in Jeddah. Over the coming two to three
topline plans:
years they expect to open eight further locations within the next eight months, and an astonishing 250 screens within
The curbing of subsidies and resulting changes to the compact between
two years with the creation of new malls across the territory.
the Saudi population and the royal family
An interesting upside to such late development is that best
Restructuring to accelerate government decision making and efficiency
practice is being applied routinely in the KSA thanks to
Establishing two Councils to oversee government strategy
everywhere else having had to learn from its mistakes.
Examining state-owned sectors as candidates for privatisation
Muvi recently organised a pop-up cinema on the beach in Jeddah. Four showings in one evening took place of a first-
Public investment fund restructuring to increase investment resources and allow the fund to manage new types of assets;
run movie at a beachside screen complete with protective
Strategic transformation and establishment of the country as a leader in
wall to prevent piracy, bean bags and a café. The first show
industries other than oil and gas;
was at 7.30pm, the last at 2.30am, and each show had an
Forming strategic partnerships and enhancing Saudi Arabia’s trade links
occupancy rate of 90%. In this case the featured film was
with nations worldwide and increasing exports.
from Hollywood, but Egyptian films are an even bigger draw
The creation of a society in which all enjoy a good quality of life, a healthy
in this region. Adon told me, illustrating the point about the
lifestyle and an attractive living environment
country being totally underserved by cinemas: “Occupancy is routinely 85-90% in cinemas here. You have to book 3-4 days www.cinematech.today
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in advance to see anything.” Obviously, a tipping point will
their own movies. They’re now investing in other films. That’s
occur at some stage where saturation of the market is the
unrecognisable from 15 years ago. What’s happening in the
most likely disruptor but that is clearly a few years away.
KSA today mirrors what happened in the UAE back then.”
Even Kuwait, one of the most religiously conservative
Leila also made the point that national pride among
countries is seeing rules relaxed and development in earnest.
young audiences is an important driver in the surge in local
Mike Thomson of The Big Picture knows the country well.
film production. “There’s a return to self,” she explained. “It’s
“The National Cinema Company had a 50-year exclusivity
an expression of: ‘I’m a global citizen but I am also an Emirati
deal that ran out six or seven years ago — up till that point
and I appreciate my roots.’ There used to be a theory here
they had the market to themselves,” he told me. Skilful
that to be modern you had to be western. It’s not like that
negotiation aside, I asked him what that meant for growth.
now. You can be modern in an Arabic country.”
“Obviously there is competition coming in the shape of
So culturally the region is developing fast, but so far,
Grand, Vox and others, and that in turn has meant that the
event cinema hasn’t really been exploited. The big chains are
NCC has had to review its offering,” he explained. Without
aware of it and some are more invested than others, but all
competition, the multiplex offer is decidedly dated and the
see the potential of bringing additional programming to
boutique experience is yet to reach Kuwait, so a big revamp
complement Hollywood and homegrown content. In Saudi
is underway, seeing a rise in standards across the country.
Arabia and Kuwait no event cinema production has made it
There is clearly opportunity in this territory for operators with
onto screens there yet; however one of the elements of the
big dreams and money to spend — much like its population.
Vision 2030 initiative has allowed concerts and theatrical
A burgeoning homegrown slate
events to be permitted in public for the first time, lifting the ban on mixed crowds, dancing and singing in public.
The ambiance is luxurious and the experience often a tailored and more intimate one — not so much the big screeen experience
Local film production is also seeing a dramatic uptick in the region, so competition for screen time may soon be an issue. The GCC region includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman
Leila Masinaei is the driving force behind the MENA Cinema Forum, now in its second year and taking place in Dubai this October. She explained that there have been three key perception, education and demand, and she sees this phenomenon rolling out across the region over time. “There was a point in time in Dubai when we had maybe one or two arts centres across all of the UAE. There’s been a dynamic shift; 10-15 years ago theatre, film and art were viewed as nothing but hobbies, fun careers. There has been huge investment from the government and these days if you’re an
85-90%
recent developments that affect local film production: Egyptian cinema is a huge crowd puller. Occupancy is often as high as 85-90% in the region — and booking ahead is essential
40
Auditoria sizes are often quite small in the region. A 40-seater is not uncommon
actor, it’s a profession that’s taken seriously now. “The second is education. The Sharja Performing Arts Academy is newly opened — it’s a palace and 100% funded by the government of Sharja.” Investigating the academy online, you can see its palatial setting offers BA courses in acting, theatre and film production and, according to Leila, it is one of the best-equipped, most advanced centres in the world. For those who don’t know the region, Sharja is one of the Emirates alongside Abu Dhabi and Dubai itself. Finally, Leila explained that the effect of the Vision 2030 initiative of the KSA has done a huge amount to bring investment and talent to the region, raising the standard of local film production and increasing demand. “The speed of film production has increased. The number of titles, regional and national collaborations is increasing year-on-year. Recently I have met a handful of people from seven or eight organisations who began by self-distributing 2 6
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“The multiplex offer is decidedly dated so a big revamp is underway in places like Kuwait, seeing a rise in standards”
Rapid change — and little resistance
so much smaller, but these days it’s the same market share as
The pace of change is eye-watering. What might take years of
the whole of the US. A $10m box office for both Hollywood
debate and round-the-houses negotiations in parliament in
and Bollywood content is common.”
the UK can be decided overnight. “You plan your life with the
He went on to applaud the work of cinemas themselves.
possibility of disruption here,” Leila explained sagely. “Wars,
“Credit to exhibition in the region — it’s a part of the world
alliances, infrastructure changes things quickly. Change is a
that is willing to work collaboratively with distribution and
constant here and it’s rapid. We understand that. Normal life
they will listen to us. Why? Because they are hungry for our
will continue, with a new set of changes.” With the expectation
business, they see the opportunities as much as we do. They
of change, the resistance to it is removed, so rapid change
have a great appreciation for the bottom line.”
can be facilitated. One of those changes is immigration.
The increasing profile of women is something that came
Avtar Panesar, VP of special projects at Yash Raj Films — one
up again and again. John Sullivan of The Big Picture told me
of India’s leading film studios — explained that in 2004 Dubai
that in Saudi Arabia the workforce is well-educated, engaging
alone represented just 6% of the company’s international
and enthusiastic. They are young and fully supportive of the
business (by comparison, the UK market was 35% and the
reforms taking place. The ratio is also refreshing; 50:50 male/
US was 30%). “People said I was mad to invest in Dubai at the
female, even at management level. Kuwait paints a much
time, but I felt there was an opportunity.”
more traditional picture, with men in management positions,
Around that time, the UAE was experiencing an explosion
and more visible roles in general — and that looks set to stay.
in its Indian population; it was 1m in 2004, it’s now 3m. Avtar’s
Kuwait isn’t trying to compete with any of its neighbours in
hunch proved correct — now the UAE accounts for 30% of
being the most progressive (the big reserves of oil there are
Yash Raj Film’s international business, so clearly content in
likely to be a factor), though there is a definite sense of that
this region is diverse. It can’t be just a numbers game though,
taking place elsewhere in the region.
can it? Avtar laughed. “Not at all. In the Emirates, marketing
“In the UAE, the picture is the same but women
and distribution costs are much lower because the place is
are considered thought leaders, pioneers,” Leila told me.
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At $10k per seat, these Chesterfield recliners illustrate the lengths that cinemas in the region are prepared to go to get the luxury right
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Censorship? Easing restrictions Censorship is also being affected by this shift in attitude. I can vividly recall in the early 2000s sending the Saudi censor board a VHS copy of Disney’s U-rated animated feature “Atlantis” for release on DVD. Featuring a watery cast dressed mainly in modest swimwear, any suggestion of flesh came back from the board edited out. The result was a nonsensical 12 minutes of footage. Unsurprisingly, “Atlantis” never got a release in Saudi Arabia. The Vision 2030 edict is now lifting censorship restrictions to facilitate trade and compete with its neighbours in the region. The sense is that Saudi Arabia wants to be seen in censorship terms as liberal as the UAE so in turn the UAE is having to work a little harder to stay one step ahead. That isn’t to say that it’s anything like as liberal as the West and every piece of content still needs to pass through a strict censor board. But the shift is noticeable. Perhaps it’s time to revisit “Atlantis”.
compete for product from the West to distribute amongst the other chains themselves. At present there is only one distributor — Front Row Filmed Entertainment — that is in the enviable position of hoovering up all the business, but there is plenty of room for healthy competition. It seems inevitable that this will take place over the next few years. Local offices for major studios may well spring up as they see the potential in investing in the lucrative Arab market. There will be a sweet spot, where the number of cinemas just services the swelling population — there is a danger it may eventually tip over into saturation. But all this seems a long way off and as Adon Quinn reminded me, “Let’s just speed to market while the going is good.” All of this activity, the liberalisation of trade, the embracing of diversity, the huge state investment and the education of the workforce is going to be a force for massive positive change in the region. Dazzling though this all is, there are caveats. These are still sheikhdoms. Perceived
accomplishments applauded in the UAE.”
freedoms may not quite be as they seem. Doing business
Room for competition, not over-saturation
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here is different. There are cultural, political and ideological differences between the West and the GCC to be mindful of,
There are gaps in the market; distribution has yet to take hold
but the opportunities are extensive and exciting — and for
in the GCC as a standalone business, and the cinema chains
creative industries, the next ten years will be captivating.
2-3
The luxury vibe, as typified by Reel Cinemas’ Platinum suites. Is the A/C a little chilly? Take a cashmere blanket
“High-profile women leaders are encouraged, and their
In the coming 2-3 years Muvi expects to open eight locations in KSA in the next 8 months, and an astonishing 250 screens within 2 years
in 2004, Dubai represented just 6% of India-based Yash Raj Films’ international business (the US accounted for 30%). Dubai now accounts for 30% of its business
6%
www.cinematech.today
31/07/2019 11:26
#Be The Lite
They can imagine. They can feel. Together, let's make them see too. As we at Galalite celebrate 60 years of innovative cinema screen technologies, We pledge to share our proďŹ ts to aid the visually impaired and spread awareness about preventive blindness. When you purchase a Galalite screen, part of your contribution goes towards awareness of preventive blindness and impacting the lives of children and adults with visual disabilities to lead a life of hope, dignity and a bright future. Join our initiative for helping those who can only Imagine, See. Visit imaginesee.org to know more
In association with info@galalitescreens.com www.galalitescreens.com
Untitled-38 1
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Untitled-38 1
02/08/2019 10:36
Europe: still a land of opportunity
I
Though Europe is widely regarded as one of the most developed of cinema markets, as Guillaume Branders explains, there is still growth potential, despite perceptions.
EMERGING
MARKETS
N JUNE, UNIC published its
territory to another, testament to the region’s
annual report into cinema
inherently fragmented nature. Most strikingly,
trends in Europe, accounting
record-breaking figures were registered in the UK
for 1.29 billion admissions
— the highest level of admissions since the 1970s
and €8.1 billion in box office
— while German exhibitors suffered one of their
revenues in 2018 — close to a
worst ever years. Perhaps most interesting, in the
quarter of the global theatrical market for films. As
context of emerging markets, is that these figures
always, performances varied widely from one
showed
several
areas
where
cinema-going
T O P 1 0 U N I C T E R R I T O R I E S I N T E R M S
IN ADMISSIONS (2008-2018) 40%
80%
120%
160%
200% 240%
280% 320% 360% 400%
Bosnia and Herzegovina
+395%
North Macedonia
+278%
Romania
+252%
Montenegro/Serbia*
+197%
Slovakia
+149%
Estonia
+123%
Turkey
+83%
Poland
+77%
Bulgaria
+74%
Hungary
www.cinematech.today
031_SEP19_EUROPE EMERGING.indd 31
* Cinema-going figures for Montenegro and Serbia are combined due to local distribution practices.
+65%
1.29 bn
OF GROWTH
cinema admissions in Europe last year according to UNIC’s annual report
€8.1
billion Euros in box office revenues recorded for the same periord according to UNIC
Admissions figures in the UK were the highest since the 1970s
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emerging global markets, delivered by Christof Papousek, CFO of Cineplexx, one of the leading cinema operators and key investors in the region. With extremely low admissions per capita — with for instance 0.1 annual visits in Albania or 0.6 in Serbia, compared to the European average of 1.5 — there’s no doubt there is more to come for local cinemas. More broadly, various Eastern European countries are worth pointing out when it comes to identifying emerging
EUROPE With a total population in excess of 700 million, there are still territories the cinema business should consider “emerging”
markets in the region. While they can arguably be considered as more mature markets than those mentioned previously, there has been almost constant growth in Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia in recent years. First of all, these territories have all managed to break their all-time admissions records in either 2017 or 2018. The outstanding
continues to increase steadily, underlining the potential for
example is Romania, where admissions increased by 252%
growth in many European territories.
since 2008 — despite a surprising lack of successful local
Among these, the Baltic States have delivered impressive
content and the lowest level of screen density in the EU. This
results for the past few years. Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania all
last point illustrates that the cinema industry in many of
enjoyed growing admissions and box office in 2018 — and
those territories actually had to rebuild itself from scratch
these last two have done so consistently for the past decade.
following the closure of most cinemas towards the end of
Leading this trend is Estonia, where admissions have more
the USSR and in spite of sometimes
than doubled since 2008, hitting an all-time record of 3.6 million in 2018. As a matter of fact, the country is right behind France and Ireland when it comes to admissions per capita, with 2.8 annual visits to the cinema per inhabitant. One of the main reasons — together with an increase in state support — is continued success of local productions. The most popular films in Estonian and Lithuanian in 2018 were local productions — the comedy “Class Reunion 2” in Estonia and the historical drama “Ashes in the Snow” in Lithuania. That
“One of the main reasons behind Estonia’s growth is the continued success of its local productions”
inexistent local support. It didn’t stop operators from investing significantly across the region: for instance, 124 screens opened in the past decade in Bulgaria alone, a 132% increase of its screen population. And most recently, Samsung announced the opening of an Onyx LED screen in Romania.
being said, low screen density in the region indicates there is
Still powerful in combination
still significant potential for further growth in years to come.
In 2017, Russia managed to become the leading European
The Balkans’ rise
territory in terms of cinema admissions — just ahead of France, which regained the top-spot in 2018 — with over 212
Another region worth highlighting is the Balkans. Cinema
million tickets sold. Twenty years ago, in 1997, there were only
was one of the many sectors damaged by the conflict in the
55million cinema-goers in Russia (compared to 148m in
region, which only formally ended in December 1995 — a few
France). In the same period, Turkish cinema operators went
weeks after the first edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival.
from attracting 17 to 71 million people to the big screen.
Since then, cinema-going has been recovering at impressive
Today, both territories still register admissions per capita and
pace. Focusing on the past decade, admissions increased by
screen density levels below the European average. While
395% in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 278% in North Macedonia
analysts might focus interest on the markets of Africa, the
and 197% in Serbia and Montenegro (figures for both are
Middle East and South-East Asia, one should not ignore the
often combined due to local distribution practices). There as
combined potential of many European territories. Did
well, the success of local content can be highlighted as an
someone say European cinema was dead?
essential factor. In 2018, the Serbian film “South Wind” led
Guillaume Branders is senior industry relations and
the box office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and
research manager at the International Union of Cinemas
Serbia, helping the latter increase its box office revenues by
(UNIC). Learn more about UNIC and download its latest
an incredible 19.9%. We were delighted to have a presentation
annual report — with detailed cinema-going data for 2018
focusing on Serbia during CineEurope as part of a session on
in Europe — by visiting www.unic-cinemas.org
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www.cinematech.today
31/07/2019 12:00
EMERGING
MARKETS
C I N E M A - G O I N G I N T H E B A L K A N S A N D
B A LT I C S I N 2 0 1 8 ( S E L E C T E D T E R R I T O R I E S )
11
43
21
61
34
24
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
Serbia
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
HRK
RSD
EUR
EUR
EUR
BAM
Screen Density
Currency
6.1
147.4
1,602.8
20.6
13.3
22.4
+7.1%
+7.8%
+19.9%
+6.3%
+3.4%
+11.1%
1.2
4.7
4.1
3.6
2.5
4.3
+7.9%
+1.4%
+18%
+3.4%
+1.9%
+6.3%
0.3
1.1
0.6
2.8
1.3
1.5
0.5%
1.3%
21%
17.9%
22.1%
27.5%
BALKANS www.cinematech.today
031_SEP19_EUROPE EMERGING.indd 33
Box Office Revenue 2018
BO change from 2017
2018 admissions (millions)
BO change from 2017
admissions per capita
national film’s share
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NOS multi-screen operation in Mozambique trades close to 100% occupancy
Africa
946,363
Middle East
85,686
Asia
58,294
51,254
Europe
19,177
8,423
North America
Latin America
H E A D O F P O P U L AT I O N P E R S C R E E N S G L O B A L LY :
1 in 10 children born by 2050 will be Nigerian, going by current trends
Africa: Infrastructure Rob Arthur explains why most markets in which cinema is underrepresented — notably Africa — are far from the unsophisticated territories many envision. In these markets, cinema will often see the latest technology deployed from the outset — not the upgrade path experienced elsewhere.
W
HEN ORGANISING A conference or
A conference to represent a community
event, there are always memorable or
Later this year, the Emerging Cinema Markets conference
ground-breaking opportunities. The
(19-21 November, www.ecm19.com) will focus on the
first ECM Conference, held in Istanbul
continent of Africa, Turkey (our host nation) and New Europe
in late 2018 aimed to deliver a
(the Balkans and former Soviet states), Central Asia and the
conference that would enable debate,
Gulf Cooperation Council states. In combination, these
discussion and insights into markets never previously
states present a market opportunity of 1.7billion people
showcased at international film and cinema trade events.
currently served by just 6,850 active
Some have referred to them as “the underdogs”, but that’s missing a key global issue: 70% of worldwide economic growth is forecast in emerging markets.
Booming populations and prosperity The growth in the middle class and urbanisation is taking place at a fast pace; with population growth occurring as a result of longer life expectancy and improved quality of life.
“Africa accounts for around 16% of the Earth’s population, but a nominal amount of the global box office”
cinema screens. Our aim at the ECM conference is to spotlight market opportunities and discuss the positives and challenges to market entry. Film and cinema development cannot work in isolation from other cultural, country or regional factors. Cinema in emerging markets
Some already large cities in Africa are expected to increase
needs support to overcome significant barriers, which are
their population by up to 80% by 2025, with 10 cities alone
generally not discussed at other industry gatherings —
contributing more than US$50billion per annum to the
including investment and development funding and
world’s economy. How about some perspective in the
setting up a territory or company for growth.
context of emerging markets? That’s approximately the
The conference is turning into a community whose aim
equivalent to the total gross domestic product of countries
is to share common goals; develop cinema infrastructure;
such as Serbia, Azerbaijan or Uzbekistan.
and enable growth in each market. #ECMIstanbul aims to
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www.cinematech.today
31/07/2019 12:06
EMERGING
MARKETS
6% 16% 20% Africa covers 6% of Earth’s total surface area
Africa accounts for 16% of the global population
Africa covers 20% of the planet’s land area
A View from the top Rory Stewart OBE, former UK Department for International Development Secretary At the Africa Financial Services Investment Conference held in London in May, the UK’s former international development secretary, Rory
40%
of the world’s population will be from Africa by the end of this century
93,000,000 IMAX, which has seen great success in Africa has one screen per 93,000,000 people on the African continent
Stewart, discussed Africa’s growth: “There is a strange sense that you lurch from an incredibly optimistic positive vision of where Africa’s going, to suddenly going to the absolute opposite of people being very gloomy… Clearly in that tension between these two principles, between the incredible potential of Africa and people’s sense of frustrations, is something in the centre of
& opportunity under-representation.
Big, but not in box office terms… yet
be unlocked. And part of that problem is the question of how you unlock finance and how you unlock money in the centre of those economies… One in ten children born by
shine a light on the prospects, capacity and requirements for emerging cinema markets, and the scale of the
this problem which needs to
A comprehensive market study of Africa, by country will be delivered at
2050
will
be
Nigerian,
potentially by the end of the century as much as 40% of
ECM2019. It will identify key
the population in the world
If we are talking under-representation, then the first place
market-by-market macro and
could be African. And of
to start is in Africa. Africa is the world’s second largest and
industry issues and provide
course, that means that the
second most-populous continent. It covers six per cent of
insights into delivering a
labour force that is going to
Earth’s total surface area and is home to 20% of its land area. With more than 1.3billion people and a median age of
growth strategy for the continent:
power the global economy potentially by the end of the
1
century will be African, and
With only 1 screen per 1 million
to provide the markets for our
As was highlighted by Luis Mota, director at NOS Portugal at
people, it represents a significant
goods are going to come out
last year’s ECM18 conference, their multi-screen operation
opportunity, but at what risk? Can
of Africa… [Navigating the
in Mozambique trades close to 100% occupancy! Some
Africa be the next China or India?
development path] is going
96% of the available screens in Africa are situated in 15 key
There is no single solution for the
to be about people with
growth territories where 62% of the population lives. IMAX,
continent, but countries can be
experience of a particular
which has seen great success in Africa, has one screen per
clustered by language, culture and
country. We’re not kidding
geography.
ourselves that because you spent a lot of time in Benin
from now unless the opportunity on the continent is further
2
Who are the developers and funders
Zambia. It’s on making sure
analysed and subsequently developed. Having attended
interested in supporting the
we trust those people, with
several gatherings of investors into the African region during
development of cinema?
the right type of trust, to stick
the course of the past year, it is striking how many are
Will there be studio or national film
actively looking toward the continent with a high degree of
distributor support for cinema
19.4 years, it accounts for around 16% of the world’s human population, but a nominal amount of the global box office, principally as a result of limited access to cinema screens.
93,000,000 people across the continent. Currently, many African countries have zero cinema infrastructure, and that may still be the case a decade on
positivity and optimism. www.cinematech.today
034_SEP19_AFRICA EMERGING.indd 35
the consumers who are going
you’re suddenly an expert on
with
somebody
through
changes.
development? 0 9 / 1 9
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Key differentiators in emerging markets: Five key differentiators which will enable the success of emerging markets, and that will be a focus of attention at ECM2019 this November are:
1
MARKETING TO CUSTOMERS Mature markets in Western Europe and North America have an ageing demographic. Emerging markets tend to have a younger population with
AFRICA
an appetite for technology and stories. They demand a different approach.
The cinema market in Africa has considerable potential — but it is reliant on a carefully tailored development strategy
2
LOCAL CONTENT Those principles are important in Africa as they are in all
From Nigeria to the Middle East, there is a burgeoning local content
emerging markets. Emerging cinema markets are moving
market which is growing in its sophistication.
from being “immature” to highly developed at a rapid pace,
3
and that can take the industry by surprise. They are the new frontier, and their world is different. New territories and new
VALUE AND OPPORTUNITY
cinemas that use new digital technology blended to global
The price of a cinema ticket is different in emerging markets than in
content providers and connected to international supply
mature markets, but it has to be. Visits per capita are low or non-existent;
chains can create new opportunities and possibilities. Laser,
income levels and infrastructure are sometimes limited; but if the Top 15
LED, HDR, 5G are all on the horizon — not upgrades, but all
territories in Africa can achieve one visit per head of population that will
brand new from day one, and all in the most modern of
require 6,250 new screens and 625,000 new seats. At a $5 ticket price over
signature architectural developments, achievements that
$3.5 billion of new box office gross is achievable. Developments have to be
are rarely possible or deliverable in mature markets. While each emerging cinema market is unique, there are common goals which enable development of best
high quality but offer value ticket pricing, such as in India and China.
4
practice from those with years of experience to those about
TECHNICAL
to join the industry. #ECMIstanbul is about listening,
Technical support usually arrives when there is scale, but to be off screen
learning and sharing — certainly not about telling.
for a week and unable to afford a simple repair to a sound system because
Rob Arthur is founder and director of the ECM Istanbul
of the cost of the engineering, will have a significant and highly detrimental
conference. Find out more at www.ecm19.com
impact on revenue; consumer and investor confidence. Support in alignment to development is a pre-requisite for growth.
5
INVESTMENT AND POLITICS
6,850
The host nation for ECM2019, Turkey is at the forefront of delivering 6,850 active cinema screens are currently in operation on the African continent
effective legislative policy to secure a better (and less turbulent) market. Film and cinema are essential components to a successful economy. With government support, a higher level of transparency, trust and integrity can also be delivered which enables investment. It is not un-common in Africa or Central Asia, as current examples, for studios to include operators in their booking schedules only on condition of providing auditable nightly
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returns to ComScore or other authorised box office trackers. Film and 70% of worldwide economic growth is forecast in emerging markets
Cinema can provide national recognition, a sense of pride and “soft power” for government. The development of infrastructure e.g. film studios; enables a place for stories to be shared in cinemas and provides a creative platform for local language to flourish as is happening in Kazakhstan.
www.cinematech.today
31/07/2019 12:06
SOUND as good as it looks CUSTOM DESIGN acousticAL solutions FOR CINEMA Refurbishment and new install Highest sound efficiency
●
●
Flexible in design
Meets all fire safety requirements
www.camstage.com info@camstage.com Camstage Ltd., Unit 8, Batford Mill Industrial Estate, Lower Luton Road, Harpenden, Herts AL5 5BZ, UK t: +44 (0) 1727 830151
Untitled-38 1
f: +44 (0) 1727 855993
02/08/2019 10:38
TECHNOLOGY
PUTTING CINEMA ON THE
RIGHT TRACK
How do you fit a three-screen cinema in the railway arches that lead to one of London’s busiest stations and still deliver a quality experience? Sound Associates’ Graham Lodge has the answers.
ATTERSEA POWER STATION has been a genuinely iconic part of London’s skyline for many years, frequently appearing in photos, album covers and paintings, but few know anything much more about the power station and its history beyond its four impressive brick-built chimneys. The coal-fired power station was built between 1925 and 1941, creating the distinctive silhouette still present today. The power station operated for just 37 years until it was decommissioned in 1978. Shortly afterwards it was awarded Grade 2 listed status, protecting the important architecture. Despite many proposed regeneration projects over the years, nothing really happened and the site fell into an increasingly worrying state of disrepair until around 2012 when a Malaysian company started on regeneration scheme that involved knocking down and rebuilding the four chimneys. The project is due for completion in the next couple of years. One of the key problems with Battersea as a leisure, accommodation and business venue was the lack of transport facilities. The main trainlines from London’s Victoria pass right by the power station but the nearest station is Battersea Park — a 15 minute walk from the power station. Luckily, an extension of the London Underground’s Northern line is also due to be completed in a couple of years’ and there will be a tube station in the heart of the development. There have been plans and schemes proposed regarding multi-screen cinema developments as key parts of the 3 8
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www.cinematech.today
01/08/2019 13:19
regeneration project since the late 1980s but now that Apple has confirmed that it will be occupying over 500,000 square feet of space in the main power station building, there was nothing left for any multiplex operator to develop.
A rather special venue Though there was no space in the main development, fortunately the main railway lines coming out of Victoria did present a unique opportunity for a local operator to create something rather special right next door to the power station. Stephen Burdge, MD of the lovely three-screen Olympic Cinema in Barnes came to an agreement with the Battersea Power Station Company to develop three cinema auditoriums in three adjacent railway arches directly beneath the train lines coming out of Victoria — the Archlight cinema. The other arches in the locality already offer a range of restaurants, a microbrewery, bike hire and other small businesses that bring vitality to a newly developed residential area, so three cinema screens would fit in very nicely. Stephen is always keen to have the latest technological advances in his cinemas so when Sound Associates was appointed to supply, install and commission the projection and sound systems in the cinemas, we were asked to design a completely automatic three-screen venue with Dolby Atmos in every screen, laser projection and the ability to run a multitude of different non-cinema sources such as PowerPoint presentations and, naturally, event cinema in any or all of the three screens. The arches themselves were not enormous to start with, www.cinematech.today
038_SEP19_BATTERSEA.indd 39
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TECHNOLOGY
at around 9.1m wide, 5.2m high at the peak and 12m deep, but the first thing that had to happen was to minimise noise entering from outside — things
The construction of the isolated steel frames for sound insulation
because of the low level of maintenance required,
but
also
generate
less
heat
because and
they
hot
air
compared to an equivalent xenon
like the 150 tonnes of train that passes over the arches every
lamp-based projector. Getting hot air
few minutes. Luckily, acoustic experts had done a wonderful
out of what is effectively an acoustically
job and constructed an isolated steel frame within the brick
sealed brick tunnel was quite an
arches and the frame is completely floating off the ground
undertaking — the only way to get power, ventilation, network
on isolating rubber blocks. This takes up quite a lot of space
cables and all audio between the three screens involved a
and the actual auditoriums are around 8.1m wide, 4.1m high
rather tortuous route: coming out to the front of each arch,
and 9.7m deep — sufficient space to accommodate two
across a bit and then back in again.
60-seat cinemas and one 40-seat cinema by the time the foyer had been constructed.
Now to the technical specs…
Squeezing in Atmos under the arches The Dolby Atmos designs were complicated — I don’t believe anyone had (or has since!) installed Dolby Atmos in a railway
Projectors in the venue are all Barco DP2K-10SLP units with
arch and there was a lot of discussion between Sound
Dolby IMS3000 media blocks fitted to allow for the Dolby
Associates and Dolby over where speakers would be located
Atmos decoding. The sound systems comprise of QSC Q-Sys
along the sides of the arches that would satisfy the strict
network audio systems that handle all the 35+ channel audio
Dolby Atmos guidelines while remaining practical and safe
streams coming from the IMS3000 and supply the switching,
for customers watching films. Luckily, once the positions and
EQ and systems control required and feeding the QSC Q-Sys
angles had been agreed, the designers of the internal finishes
amplifiers running speakers provided by Flare Audio.
in the auditoria came up with a set of angled acoustic panels
Each screen has an individual Q-Sys Core 110c running
For normal DCP playback there is a Rosetta TMS system
and 8-channel Q-Sys amplifiers running all the stage, sub
that handles the scheduling of trailers, adverts and features
bass and surround speakers — all squeezed into an 18U-high
playing on all three screens and there is a LANsat box from
equipment rack mounted directly under each projector.
MPS for receipt of content. For day-to-day operations, the
The screens (installed by Powells) are all matt white masking with close-over proper tabs as well — an amazing achievement in such a small space. Laser light source projectors were selected primarily
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The complex shape of the auditoria presented a few challenges when it came to meeting the Dolby Atmos specifications
that effectively hid the surround speakers.
all audio switching and routing and there were up to five 4-
miniperf and have multi-stop top, bottom and side moving
The Archlight’s exterior sets the tone for what is now an attractive and inviting place for locals to go and watch a film
Rosetta looks after the three screens with little or no intervention from the cinema managers. All automation commands from the IMS3000 server go via the QSC Q-Sys cinema sound system that handles not only all the audio needs of the Atmos sound system but it
The automated operation of the venue can be handled all from one iPad interface
www.cinematech.today
01/08/2019 13:21
AV • Live Events • Production • Audio • Video • Broadcast
also controls all the automation requirements like curtain and masking control, volume, lights etc. The cinema manager can monitor the sound in each auditorium from a central office and also see sound levels on an iPad display. The Q-Sys system allows different playback systems to have different EQs for non-DCP playback and allows for multiple microphones to be used in each auditorium with feedback suppression built in — a handy facility when presenters not used to using microphones are involved! The health of the entire system is constantly monitored by Q-Sys and if anything was to go wrong, it can send Sound Associates technical support an email asking for assistance — no remote NOC required and this often allows us to react to an issue
Goodbye virtual print fee, hello Medialease!
before the site is even aware of it. As an example, the site experienced a handful of ventilation issues in the first few days of operation due to hot weather, but we were alerted to the rising temperature in the projection pod and could get the site to take remedial action before the problem took the projector off-line. Q-Sys also handles all the non-DCP cinema signal routing that has been installed, allowing a laptop to be connected in any screen and routed to all other screens if needed, or for a central Blu-ray player to be sent to any screen with audio decoded by the IMS3000 in each projector. NonSync music is stored on each Q-Sys core in MP3 format and the manager can create playlists for different feature films to ensure the music is appropriate to the feature shown. The finished cinemas blend into the surrounding arches and now that awnings have been fitted to the front of each cinema arch, it is an inviting place to go and watch a film. Sound Associates is proud to have been so closely involved. The Archlight cinema pushes the boundaries of innovation, engineering and new sound and vision technologies. We look forward to the next challenge!
Nothing lasts forever When it’s time to upgrade your digital projector to the latest technology, Medialease can help, providing affordable specialist asset finance. And unlike the VPF, we promise it’s straightforward!
To find out more, please call us on 01327 872531 or email sales@media.lease @medialease www.cinematech.today
038_SEP19_BATTERSEA.indd 41
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digital
cinema projection server No. A15591 was letting pirates make pristine HD copies the very same day that new releases opened in cinemas. The piracy tracking team within China’s
Central Propaganda Department’s Film Technology Quality Inspection Institute even had a nickname for the server: ‘Ghost No. 1’. It was their job to find it — and stop it. But the criminal gang had found a way to exploit a flaw in the server architecture that made it untraceable. In June 2014, Mr Ma Mou registered to operate a drive-in cinema in Anshan City — a steel-town in northern China twinned with UK’s Sheffield — together with his former
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8,000 June 2014, Ma Mou registers a drive-in cinema, starting the network
200
By 2017 there were over 8,000 “on-demand cinemas” in China, not all of them legitimate
Ma Mosong confessed to having made more than 200 pirated films in a 2 year period
5.262m
S E C U R I T Y
In February 2019, it is estimated that “Wandering Earth” had been watched 5.262 million times illegally online on mobile sites and the Twist Film & TV app
50,000 Ma Mou paid CNY ¥50,000 for a first gen pre-DCI digital cinema sever in 2017
west of North Korea, the northern climate with its winds
digital certificate of its server and downloaded the account
and dust, was not conducive for drive-in theatres. So Ma
and password for the KDM storage server.
Mou and Ma Mosong dreamt up new business plans for
Thus Ghost No.1 was back in business with a newly
their “Two Horses” criminal gang. (The surname “Ma” is also
cloned security certificate with serial number A03783. Once
the Chinese character for horse.) They joined forces in 2015
the watermark was forensically extracted from the pirated
with a local business partner and fixer, Huo Molei, to add on
video file it would not be traced back to Ghost No. 1, since
a screen to the drive-in that could show new release films.
the invisible watermark in the image would reveal the
First, get your hands on the content
registered origin of the playback equipment based on the TDL. With the equipment issue resolved, it was time to get
Around this time private cinemas (a.k.a. “micro cinemas” or
their hands on some content. The ‘Two Horses’ checked the
“on-demand cinemas”) were starting to take off throughout
Maoyan ticket app for the three
China, most of them legitimate, but many of them also lax to implement regulations relating to IP protection. To obtain first-run releases a pirate high definition camera recording would be required, but this was a risky thing to do for each cinema release. So, in 2017 Ma Mou paid CNY ¥50,000 (USD $7,235) for a first-generation pre-DCI digital cinema server, a model built by GDC Technology with the serial number A15591 from a man named Huo Mou Lei.
“Rather than sell DVDs, the Two Horses gang targeted private cinemas with their pirated content”
upcoming releases with the highest audience scores. They then partnered with Wang Moufei, head of projection at a multiplex in Anshen City, who became their supplier of DCPs taken from hard drives sent legitimately by distributors. For this, Two Horses paid him CNY ¥500-1,000 (USD $75-$150)
This was the server that had been identified the year
per month to borrow hard drives for up to 10 films. Back in
previously as the source of pirated films. As such, it was
Ma Mou’s studio the gang used professional HD cameras
consequently officially blacklisted on Trusted Device Lists
and sound cards to record the films and used video editing
(TDLs) for the creation of the security keys (KDMs) that
software to tweak, correct and sync the finished film file.
unlock content legitimately on authorised cinema screens worldwide. Ma Mou purchased a server that was effectively
The pirate cinema network
useless. This is where Huo Mou Lei stepped in to help resolve
Rather than selling physical copies (DVDs) or streaming
the problem of how to get pirated copies from the server.
them online, Ma Mou and Ma Mosong decided to target
He contacted a technician named Liu, who had knowledge
private cinemas. By the end of 2017, there were estimated
of how to “clone” a server certificate. Liu gained entry to a
to be over 8,000 such “on-demand cinemas” across China,
cinema in Tang County, Hebei Province under the pretext of
many of which did not respect copyright when it came to
“equipment maintenance”. There he secretly copied the
competing for customers. The gang adopted the traditional
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The gang that couldn’t pirate straight marketing method of contacting the heads of shadowy
With the biggest blockbusters slated for the Chinese
private cinemas, introduced their business, then offered
New Year Festival the pressure was on for the Two
them a pirated sample to play. In reality, they “established a
Horses to deliver. On 27 January this year, Ma Masong
black industrial chain of pirate cinema film production,
paid for three hard drives containing the latest films,
distribution and encryption management,” in the words of
including “The Wandering Earth,” from a multiplex in
Zhang Zuoliang, deputy director of the Public Security
Anshan, Liaoning Province. At the same time, the Two
Administration of the Ministry of Public Security.
Horses had ramped up their publicity campaign for
Knowing that there is no honour among thieves, Ma
the New Year releases that would be made available in
Mou and Ma Mosong ensured that their pirated films did
pristine HD copies. One of the private cinema operators
not get re-pirated by establishing a system similar to that of
who was lured in by the publicity campaign in mid-
legitimately licensed cinemas to monitor offline use by
January was Xiao Mouping, the operator of a private
adding watermarks, encryption, and transmission to the
cinema in Hengdian, Zhejiang.
networked disk storage. “In two years, we’ve made a total of more than 200 HD pirated movies,” suspect No.2, Ma
When Xiao Mouping loaded the encryption software,
Mosong, confessed. Advertising and communication was
ironically he discovered a loophole that enabled the
done over WeChat — reporters were shown an exchange
pirated film to be copied again. The software was not
between the pirate gang and a private
registered and it lacked a patch,
cinema
complained
meaning that Xiao could use this
about the cost of equipment for his
vulnerability to download a new
13-room private cinema. The Two
copy
Horses contact replied, “The monthly
promised by the pirates, all eight
fee is ¥3,000 yuan (USD $434). The first
of the big releases were delivered
time you have to buy an encrypted
on the afternoon of New Year’s
disk. Encrypted disks will be delivered
Eve to Xiao Mouping and all other
by a courier, and the per-room cost is
franchisees. On 4 and 5 February,
¥500 yuan (USD $72), you can re-use it
Xiao Mouping re-recorded the
later. Then the usage fee is ¥100 yuan
pirated films and sold it on to six
(USD $14.50) a month. No, the
further private cinemas. That’s
encrypted disk can be returned, with
when the spread became quite
a refund of ¥300 yuan (USD $43).”
uncontrollable through an initial
Private cinemas that purchased these
Baidu cloud-sharing link.
pirated
owner
HD
who
films
have
in
without
encryption.
As
turn
advertised them to customers with:
Seeing their films spreading like
“When you watch a movie, two people
wildfire online the distributors of “Wandering Earth,” “Bonnie
only need ¥98 yuan (USD $14.18),” thus working out cheaper than a cinema. For the next 13 months, until July 2018, they built out their pirate network of private cinemas through WeChat groups. Once private cinemas had signed up and been connected, they authorised pirated films to be played via remote control software. According to Beijing News, “Two Horses colluded with a Shanghai technology company to
Police take the Two Horses ringleaders into custody — bringing to a close China’s most prolific content piracy network
Bears: Blast into the Past” and “Integrity” issued a joint take-down letter on the evening of 12 February to a mobile sites/app called Twist Film & TV accused of hosting the films. By this time it is estimated that “Wandering Earth” had been watched 5.262 million times online, “Integrity” 738,000 times and “Bonnie Bears” 1,059,000 times. The app charged a micro-
encrypt their pirated movies. It is no small irony that the
payment for access to the films, as well as placing
head of this tech company even applied for a patent for
adverts for gambling and pornography sites within
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S E C U R I T Y
the film image itself. Meanwhile, Ma Mou and Ma
On screen on the day of release…
Mosong must have been watching the online re-
The private cinemas were thus unable to spread the films a
pirated spread of their laboriously pirated films
second time and had no choice but to pay a monthly CNY
through gritted teeth. More importantly, they must
¥20,000 (USD $2,900) franchise fee. Though they got access
also have realised that their entire criminal enterprise
to film copies early, Ma Mou banned private cinemas from
was about to crumble. On 13 March, the police started
screening films before they had been released in legitimate
a series of raids on private cinemas and, among those
multiplexes. If the film was first shown in a legitimate
investigated, the Zhongshan Public Security Bureau
cinema in the morning, pirate cinemas would have a copy
homed in on a private cinema called “Pony Pictures.”
ready to go around one or two o’clock that same afternoon.
Zhou Xiaomou, the operator of Pony Pictures, then
The industrial scale of this operation is as breathtaking
admitted that he ran an illegitimate cinema showing
as the finesse with which everything from sales, distribution,
films from a pirate distribution network.
promotion and billing was handled. At its height the gang operated a distribution network that encompassed 330
The two Ma’s distribution platform infrastructure and
private cinemas in 20 provinces. Each one of these had
technology came from a Hong Kong, Macao and
been equipped with HD film sources, playback devices and
Taiwan-registered company in Suzhou, to the west of
encryption technology, in addition to the mechanisms for
Shanghai. The company had agents across China and
collecting franchise fees, equipment service fees, per-film
elaborate advertising websites. At the time of their arrests it had a presence in 200 cities across mainland China and comprised more than 800 private cinemas, which, between them, operated more than 10,000 screening rooms. On 19 March the order was given for
Ghost No.1 — the pre-DCI compliant server at the heart of the Two Horses piracy network
fees and more. Yet it was this highly elaborate control system that became part of the pirate gang’s undoing. This is an edited version of an article that first appeared on CelluloidJunkie.com
the Zhongshan Task Force to go to Suzhou and Shanghai under the coordination of the Provincial Public Security Bureau. Taking down the criminal enterprise began the following day, culminating in the apprehension of Ma Mou and his top accomplices. After the success of the operation, a press conference on 29 April brought together law enforcement and the affected film distributors. Li Jingsheng, director of the Public Security Bureau, told the assembled reporters about the pressure to smash China’s biggest-ever film piracy ring, “We had to solve the problem this time. To solve the problem from the root cause, the focus was on finding the source, so this time we proposed to chase the source, check the chain, fight the first evil, and destroy the network.”
that server A15591 was not DCI-compliant that enabled an illicit content piracy ring to flourish. Somehow, the
However, for all the accomplishments of Chinese
operational and logistical industry standards designed
authorities in closing this piracy network, the larger
to distribute and playback content securely were
question remains whether this could ever happen
manipulated. They were exploited in a fashion that was
again. More specifically, could we see a Ghost No. 2 or
unforeseen and which took numerous resources to
even 3 or 4?
uncover. Unless lessons are learned from a case in which one digital cinema server led to copyright infringement on
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Pirating content from a DCI-compliant server is
an industrial scale, many more “ghosts” may turn up to
theoretically impossible. However it wasn’t simply
haunt the industry at some point in the future.
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ENERGY
SERIES www.pulz.co.in
THE ULTIMATE INFLATABLE MOVIE SCREEN
info@airscreen.com · www.airscreen.com · +49 251 60 90 250
Untitled-38 1
02/08/2019 10:43
D I G I T A L
Series 4 projection: The magic of mirrors Inside the latest projectors, a radical overhaul of the chipset at the heart of digital cinema has taken place. Peter Knight examines the details of Texas Instruments’ new .98” 4K DMD chip — and its deployment in Cinionic’s ground-breaking Series 4 projectors.
ESPITE THE BEST EFFORTS of Cinema Technology to deliver the lowdown on all the latest technology, every now and then there’s a new
The family portrait: the line-up of new Series 4 projectors from Cinionic
seen a great number of changes from those early days. Sometimes these changes are minor improvements, while at other times it may be far more significant. The first DCP projectors were essentially Series 0 projectors; the first that
development that occurs that doesn’t
most cinemas acquired were Series 1s; and Series 2 projectors
necessarily achieve the prominence it deserves to garner
saw the introduction of 4K chips among a number of other
within the industry. Two such technologies came along at
incremental changes.
once when Cinionic released its Series 4 projectors at
Many of these “series” evolutions come down to the next
CinemaCon earlier in the year. As part of its launch, Cinioic’s
developmental change of the DMD chips that are at the
Tom Bert gave a technical talk explaining to the assembled
heart of the DLP projector and the improvements introduced
audience about the radical developments inside these
by their manufacturer — Texas Instruments (TI). In 2013, TI
ground-breaking new projectors. Understand the true extent
announced the launch of the improved .98” 4K DMD chip.
of the development that the Series 4 projectors represent
This saw them achieve the seemingly impossible — they
and you may begin to appreciate the significance of this new
managed to fit four times the number of mirrors onto the .98”
technology and why it’s a masterstroke that has seemingly
chip than they had previously. In short, instead of more than
passed many in the industry by.
2 million mirrors, they managed to achieve more than the
The latest DMD chips
critical 8 million mirrors required to achieve true 4K resolution. To understand the significance of the ability to add such
It is 20 years since the first DCP projectors started to appear
an elevated number of additional mirrors to the DMD, first it
in cinemas across the world and in that time, we have already
is necessary to understand how the chips themselves
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work. DLPs work by reflecting the light from the light source.
Use of the same form factor as in previous chipsets means the latest Series 4 projectors can utilise a similar “chassis” as in previous models
Each of their chips has many thousands of mirrors, every one of these can individually move many times a second. The light reflected from these constantly moving mirrors forms the image which is subsequently projected on to the screen. A 2K DMD utilises 2,211,840 moving aluminium mirrors, with each of these representing a single pixel in the final projected image. Each mirror is suspended over address electrodes by a torsion hinge between two posts. Depending on the voltage polarity that is applied, each mirror will either tilt to the left or to the right. When light is applied to the complete DMD, only the light redirected from a mirror tilting to the left
movement for each of the mirrors, there is an additional roll
is projected, thus an image can be created.
movement required. It is this roll movement that enables TI
Enter the 4th dimension With its new ‘Series 4’ chipsets, TI has had to change the
to put four times the number of mirrors on the same-sized chip. It is also why there are now so many 4K projectors available in other industries and applications.
fundamental way that it makes the mirrors move. The new
Without question it is clear that the majority of projectors
chips are called .98” 4K TRP and they have effectively added
in the future will come as 4K as standard. The chipset was
roll to the way in which the mirrors move. What does that
initially released at CES in 2013 to great fanfare with the idea
mean? Now, instead of a simple binary on and off tilt
that it would bring greater brightness through better optical
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D I G I T A L
The new Savoy Grantham – A Series 4 showcase On Thursday 18 July, the new 700-seat, five-screen cinema in
Screen 1 of five is a Premium Large
Grantham, Lincolnshire, UK, opened to much fanfare. The Grantham
Format auditorium that boasts the
Savoy will be the chain’s fifth cinema in its Midland’s-based network,
latest laser 4k digital projection
with a sixth due to open in Doncaster in coming months.
combined with a Dolby Atmos sound system. This screen has 186
There was a significant mix of local councillors and VIPs there to
seats and is the largest, with the
celebrat, together with a wide selection of the UK’s cinema exhibition
auditorium equipped with the first
community. It was quite the party atmosphere at the opening
in the UK of Barco’s latest Series 4
reception held in the spacious box office and concessions area.
RGB laser projection technology. The projection system will be complemented by 28 separate surround channels of sound in
The Cinema Quarter is the first new town centre development in
addition to left, centre, right, and subwoofers behind the screen.
Grantham for more than 30 years and — apart from the cinema itself — the building will house a new centre for the University of Lincoln, as
“We are extremely pleased to be including the first Barco Series 4
well as space for two restaurants. It is adjacent to South Kesteven
laser projector in the UK,” declared Savoy’s MD James Collington on
District Council’s headquarters and a 300-space car park. Previously,
the opening night, “and this will be complemented by Dolby Atmos
the nearest cinema was 19 miles away — a long stretch for the locals.
immersive sound to launch our new Vertex 4K format in screen 1.”
and power efficiency. According to the original press release,
lasers are actually infrared lasers with a second crystal used
the TRP chipset has the ability to produce up to 100% higher
to double the frequency and halve the wavelength to provide
brightness on a frame-by-frame basis, while also consuming
green light. The infrared is then filtered out so that it is only
up to 50% less power. This 2013 announcement heralded a
green light that is output.
whole slew of new pico projectors that have become brighter with a higher resolution, despite their small size, with the
Series 4 Cinionic projectors
ability to run more efficiently — often on battery power.
Alongside NEC and Christie, Cinionic is one of the first cinema
This reduced size aspect represents one of the major
manufacturers to make use of this new chipset from TI and it
advances of the new 4K chip — a smaller chip requires smaller
has coined the Series 4 moniker for its product range from
components to work meaning that the final cost of the
Barco. For Cinionic and Barco, this is more than simply a new
product is correspondingly more affordable. While this article
4K chipset that uses the same form
focuses on Cinionic’s use of the 4K chip (and the phrase
factor
“Series 4” is a marketing term mainly in use by them), it is
(conveniently allowing for the use of
worth noting that both Christie and NEC also use the TI DMD
many of the same components and
chipsets and have themselves launched new ranges of
designs across a whole range of
projectors that make use of both the new TI .98” 4K chipset
projectors).
together with the development in laser light levels.
technology will deliver an unmatched
How laser light is developing
as
the
previous
This
next
2K
one
generation
cinema experience for moviegoers today, future-proofed for tomorrow.
“In tandem with chip developments, technology in laser light has also developed at rapid pace in cinema”
In tandem with developments in the chips used in projectors
The Barco Series 4 models from Cinionic have specifically
for professional applications, laser light technology has also
focused on four areas. The company describes them thus: a
developed at a fairly rapid pace within the cinema sector. To
brilliant image; being ready for tomorrow today; fit & forget;
begin with, the green laser colour of the RGB was expensive
and Barco EcoPure.
and difficult to create and that is why frequently blue light is used which is then altered to create the green colour — this is
A brilliant image…
especially so with laser phosphor projectors. However, several
The Barco AIM (Active Image Management) technology
companies and research groups have found new ways to
guarantees flawless images through the implementation of
create the green laser that is its own distinct colour, in the
Barco patents on image control, processing and driving,
same way that red and blue are. The most common green
enabled through the years of experience in cinema. The new
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Pioneering work: Omnex engineers install the latest Barco projectors at Savoy Grantham
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The other four auditoria at the Savoy site have all been equipped with laser projectors and KSC amps. One of the advantages of installing laser equipment from the beginning was that there was no requirement for extracts to be built into the projection room, just the ordinary air conditioning system. To illustrate how proud the company is of the projection technology installed in its new site, James Collington gave a short presentation, thanking those that had helped with the construction of the cinema as well as a question and answer style session that featured Simon Tandy, MD of the cinema integrator Omnex which was responsible for the installation, and Kevin Marckwick, a technology advocate from the Uckfield Picture House, in Sussex. The pair talked in-depth about the merits of the projection system chosen for Screen 1. And the first film shown in the venue’s new Screen 1? An anniversary edition of “The Matrix” — an appropriately futuristic title that still looked fresh 20 years after its original release. brilliant image aspect delivers the integration of a number of Barco patents that mean the 4K RGB image is now compatible with both white and silver screens, broadening its suitability for a range of applications. The projectors’ all come with Barco AIM (Active Image Management), all are
The Series 4 unit delivers the technology for an in-house premium large format at Savoy’s new site
really does benefit from this maintenance-free longevity. According to Cinionic, there is four times less maintenance required than in other series of projectors and the maintenance itself is more predictable.
laser-based, and offer Barco Colorgenic which delivers the
Efficient, too…
full P3 colour space and more than 98.5% of Rec. 2020, for an
Manufacturers are also conscious of the need to make their
extremely wide colour gamut.
products increasingly energy efficient, a requirement that is
Ready for tomorrow…
virtuous for both the cinema and the environment. In the days of the film projector, it was usually necessary to have
One of the key difficulties for both manufacturers and buyers
three-phrase power supplies in the projection room. These
alike is knowing what features they may need in the future,
days, the efficiency of the new DMD chips coupled with
and with cinema this will often depend on what the
developments
filmmaker may want. The new Series 4 projectors have been
consumption and requirements are greatly reduced, to the
designed to support High Dynamic Range (HDR), High
point that it is possible to run a Barco Series 4 projector from
Frame Rate (HFR) and immersive audio. This adaptability is
either a single phase or three phase socket, depending on
described in the projectors as Barco AIM (Active Image
what is equipped in the projection space already.
Management) — for the buyer, it should deliver a degree of peace of mind for future requirements.
Fit and forget…
in
laser
light
sources
mean
power
Cinionic has gone a step further with the Series 4 projectors — they have introduced an eco-friendly 3 watts/ hour hibernation mode so that the projector can be put to sleep, using virtually no power, but can nevertheless allow for
With few dedicated technical people in cinemas these days
remote support, maintenance and content ingest to take
and an ever-growing requirement for staff to do more than
place conveniently overnight while in this state. The
one job, the requirement simply to install equipment and
integrated projection system delivers an industry-leading 9.5
more or less leave it in situ is great. The Barco Series 4
lumens per watt for an energy-efficient performance, always.
projector has Fit & Forget thinking behind it, that means that
Cinionic say this allows for more than 50% savings compared
it is designed specifically to withstand more than ten years of
to typical xenon projectors.
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AMPLIFIERS
QSC: Striving to deliver the networked cinema With its roots in rock and roll, QSC has been a stalwart name in high-performance amplifiers for many years. But today its range extends far beyond audio, into a fully managed theatre operation system. Cinema Technology lifts the hood on a processing powerhouse.
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I
F BARRY ANDREWS’ motorbike had not broken down on the street in front of Pat Quilter’s amplifier shop in 1968, QSC might never have happened. Pat was building guitar amplifiers for the budding rock and roll industry, and
with his innate skills, could offer much needed mechanical assistance. Though Pat had the technical genius to build high-performance power amplifiers, he lacked the business acumen to grow QSC into a world-class, global organisation. Fortunately, Barry and his brother John did. For over 50 years, QSC has developed the technology that powers immersive cinema, live performance audio and digital collaboration and meeting experiences worldwide. A recognised innovator in the design and manufacture of highperformance loudspeakers, digital mixers, power amplifiers, audio processors, cinema solutions, and Q-SYS softwarebased audio, video and control ecosystem, QSC thrives where technology and audiovisual experiences intersect. QSC expertise is evident in its advanced manufacturing and quality control processes. The company manufactures many of its products in its 81,000 square foot, state-of-the-art
From top, QSC’s founders Barry Andrews, John Andrews and Pat Quilter
facility, in Costa Mesa, California. Utilising a complement of demand planning, parts procurement, operations and logistics, computer-controlled precision assembly, and rigorous testing and control, the QSC facility is designed with build-to-order flexibility, giving the company unprecedented ability to respond to customer needs while keeping both parts and finished goods inventory at well-maintained levels. Select partners in Asia provide additional manufacturing. QSC has earned the trust of customers and partners worldwide with awardwinning sales, service, and support teams QSC Corporate Offices are located on 51,000 square feet which include a stateof-the-art manufacturing facility as well as, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Technical Support, and Service. Additionally, QSC has offices in Boulder, Colorado, San Luis Obispo, California, Sinsheim, Germany, Bengaluru, India, Weybridge, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong, with sales and support staff located throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. QSC maintains a local warehouse and distribution facility in Corona, California, with other facilities in Tennessee, Netherlands, and China. Employing over 600 people, QSC is seen as a great place to work, attracting the talent from all over the world. The company strives to provide a casual fun work environment where people are excited to bring forth their best. Indeed, QSC is a seven-time recipient of the Orange County Register’s “Best Place to Work” award. One of the hallmarks of QSC is to have a vision, and continue investing in the future. Beyond their passion for delivering high-performance products and longterm commitment to customer relationships, QSC is devoted to building a brand known for unmatched quality and reliability. To learn about QSC products and technical support, visit: qsc.com
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AMPLIFIERS
The QSC Product range For the first 25 years, the company’s focus was building reliable, high-power amplifiers for sound reinforcement applications. These quickly gained a reputation for reliability and outstanding sonic performance. Movie theatre technicians learned of the superiority of the amplifiers and soon QSC became the amplifier of choice for cinemas across the US during the 1980s. Today, the company estimates that QSC amplifiers are installed in more than half of the world’s cinemas. It wasn’t until 1990 when QSC hired its first product applications engineer, a young projectionist and cinema
processors deliver optimised DSP equalisation to QSC QSC’s processors often now do the job of multiple bits of hardware, simplifying installations
loudspeakers to maximise the audio performance and simplify installation.
AMPLIFIERS
technician, that the company took a serious look at the Cinema market. Having worked for National
Since amplifiers were the first “core competency” of the
Amusements and then Ballantyne Strong, Barry Ferrell
company, it’s no surprise that QSC continues its dominance
knew what would work in the projection booth, and ultimately, how to create cinema products genuinely optimised for the industry. That “from the trenches” perspective is a hallmark of the QSC Cinema team — today, nearly every member of the team has an extensive background in cinema. Their experience covers the spectrum from running projection booths to entire theatre operations, as well as the development of cinema-specific products. In fact, this deep, hands-on experience in cinema operations inspires many of QSC’s best technological innovations. One example of such innovation is DataPort connectors, which allow a single cable connection between the
QSC built its name on amplifiers — and they are still at the heart of its business today
processor and amplifier to carry audio, control, and monitoring. Every QSC product is full of features that make installation quick and easy — usually inspired by a QSC Cinema team member who has suffered through using gear from manufacturers with less empathetic motivations.
Hands-on
roots
and
A View from the top Barry Ferrell, senior vice president, QSC Cinema Business Unit
technological
innovation has led to what QSC claims is the cinema
Barry has been involved in cinema his entire working life,
industry’s most comprehensive catalog of cinema
starting as a projectionist while earning his electrical
solutions. Over 140 products fill the pages of their
engineering degree, writes Peter Knight. In 1988, Barry
catalogue — it’s a lot of products, so the catalogue is
went to work for the well-known Strong company as a
divided into six product families.
projection pre-wire supervisor. He was responsible for integrating projection and sound systems for both 35mm and 70mm applications and would assemble and test the
PROCESSORS
entire system made up of components from a variety of
Cinema processors are becoming more complex, with a
manufacturers before shipping to the theatre site. This
greater level of functionality, often replacing a number of
dramatically reduced time spent on site installing the
separate boxes with a single piece of hardware. QSC offers
systems. It is this experience of dealing with a variety of
four series of cinema sound processors, all of which interface
different connectors and outputs that helped to drive
easily with its DCA and ISA Series power amplifiers, and
design decisions at QSC.
provide complete signal processing and crossover, with
When Barry was hired at QSC in 1990, QSC was mainly a
many models also offering booth monitoring. QSC 5 4
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LOUDSPEAKERS
in cinema power amplifiers to this day, with three series of 2-, 4-, and 8-channel amplifiers, specifically designed for
QSC offers a wide range of loudspeakers for behind the
cinemas. QSC’s DCA Series has been an industry standard
screen, surrounds, and subwoofers.
for over 20 years and can be found in the majority of the
Its passive, 2-, 3-, and 4-way screen speakers all deliver
world’s projection booths. The newer DPA Series is a class D
the same hallmark QSC sound quality for rooms of any size.
design, which is available in 4 and 8 channel models, and includes DSP for loudspeaker signal processing and other functions. A special version of DPA, called DPA-Q, is intended for use with the Q-SYS Ecosystem and is used most frequently for immersive sound formats with the
The addition of USL to the fold in 2017 brought a range of test and measurement equipment in-house
The SR Series surrounds fit the bill for rooms from 5.1/7.1 to the largest immersive or PLF applications. They also offer both single and dual-driver subwoofers, including the massive SB-15121 21-inch “earth-shaker,” to reproduce the lowest of the low frequencies.
Q-SYS Core processor.
The loudspeaker range covers all applications and auditorium sizes
MEDIA SERVERS AND TEST & MEASUREMENT In 2017, QSC acquired Ultra Stereo Labs (USL), the highly regarded cinema processor manufacturer based in San Luis Obispo, California. While some may have perceived this as an easy way to reduce competition, in reality, QSC was able to absorb a cadre of extremely talented engineering resources, and add several critical product categories to its catalogue. In other words, this was a strategic and calculated acquisition. Not only did USL make some of the best and most useful cinema test and measurement products, but they had already proven to be a leader in the early days of IMBs. Having an IMB, or IMS, in the catalogue dovetailed neatly with the growing acceptance of Q-SYS for Cinema, the company’s network audio, video, and control ecosystem.
general-purpose amplifier manufacturer. The widescale
other business units, so the company is able to share
acceptance of Dolby Stereo in the 1980s became a huge
knowledge, learnings and understandings from other
growth accelerator for the amplifier business. Soon, QSC
areas to build and develop products that work within the
Model 1400 amplifiers became one of the most popular
cinema environment, and within the same ecosystem.
models, as they were sold to Dolby who pre-wired the
Part of the value of this View from the Top feature is that
systems before sending them to the cinemas. Barry’s role
it is aimed at the future. Barry sees the development of
at QSC in the 1990s helped him to build direct relationships
Cinema On Demand growing, where there are smaller
with cinema owners and operators through attending
auditoriums entirely rented out by the customer, and the
industry events and tradeshows. This led to the formation
film is transferred over the network to the auditorium
of the Cinema business unit. During the film days, QSC
server. This is where the new QSC products such as the
manufactured everything after the processor (B chain),
CMS-5000 Cinema Media Server come into play, as the
while in the digital days (now) QSC supplies the whole
server has a network speed of 5-10Gbits that allows the
chain, including the sound processor. In fact, QSC has
film to be delivered over the network in just a few minutes.
become one of, if not the largest suppliers of processors for digital cinema systems.
Another key part of our discussion was the “Networked Cinema”. The network is the backbone of the cinema, and
Barry has been able to draw on his considerable
Q-SYS is positioned as the solution to control and
projection room experience and on the challenges and
integration. Barry sees huge importance and value in the
frustrations of installation and integration. QSC has two
network, and shares insights on continued product
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AMPLIFIERS
Hands on with the CMS-5000 Media Server At CinemaCon, I had the opportunity to get my hands on the CMS-5000
Cinema
Media Server in a demonstration at the QSC booth, writes Peter Knight. The server comes with an internal solid-state drive along with a 10G fibre port, which means it is possible to ingest a feature while in playback at an incredible 5-8 minutes. The current average is half an hour or more — meaning the CMS-5000 provides significant time savings. As a freelance projectionist, I am used to going into projection rooms with a variety of equipment, so it has become second nature to use existing software. For me, this was the test of the QSC server — could I build and use the interface without help or information from the QSC team? The short answer was yes. It was effortless and straightforward to build a playlist and utilise the playback feature. Following the demonstration, I spent another half an hour discussing small changes I felt would make the interface more user-friendly with the product manager and developer. Overall, I enjoyed using the CMS5000 and look forward to seeing the product in cinemas worldwide.
development efforts that reflect the shift in AV. The
2009 and was initially aimed at the largest and highest
networking of things will continue, along with the ability
performance systems.
to integrate and control from one place.
parks, airports, and cruise ships, where hundreds to
QSC has a comprehensive vision of a family of
thousands of channels must be processed, routed, and
technologies where all components are designed to work
controlled with absolute reliability. The power of the Q-SYS
as a system, with seamless and simple integration. Today,
Ecosystem goes far beyond its ability to serve as a cinema
cinema content is essentially data, and much of it is
processor. The flexibility of Q-SYS allows it to include many
already delivered on a network.
other important functions and subsystems within the
Network operation
centers or NOCs monitor many cinemas. With a cinema
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Early adopters included theme
modern cinema complex.
site, there is often a network for systems such as point of
The introduction of immersive audio formats and QSC’s
sales, ticketing, on-screen advertising, and building
creation of smaller Q-SYS Core processors made Q-SYS the
functions such as HVAC, lighting, and other operations.
ideal solution for Premium Large Format Cinema. More
QSC has been a leader in networked audio technology
recent product additions, like the DCIO (Digital Cinema
going back to 1996 when QSC was the first licensee of
Input/Output) hardware interface and DPA-Q amplifiers,
CobraNet. Peak Audio invented CobraNet as a way to use
have made Q-SYS a cost-effective choice for the entire
standard Ethernet networks to route digital audio. This
multiplex, including the 7.1 screens. Q-SYS control and
standards-based approach is evident in the Q-SYS
monitoring is now available for all screens, not just PLF
Ecosystem where they have continued with Ethernet for
rooms. With the launch of the CMS-5000 Cinema Media
the Q-LAN network and Intel processors running Linux for
Server, Q-SYS has an integrated, end-to-end solution from
audio processing and control. Q-SYS was launched in
the server to the loudspeakers; all of it controlled via Q-SYS.
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NETWORK AUDIO, VIDEO AND CONTROL Unlike many manufacturers, the Q-SYS Ecosystem is the only truly software-based ecosystem that offers audio, video and control processing, networking integration plus remote monitoring and management in one tightly integrated solution. Cinema complexes, like any other business establishment, are migrating their operations towards a software-based network infrastructure, the Q-SYS Ecosystem helps to ensure the best user experience while reducing design and deployment risks and costs.
Accessibility equipment is a growth sector at QSC
ACCESSIBILITY PRODUCTS As part of the USL acquisition, QSC was also able to add a full range of Accessibility Products to its catalogue for hearing and visually impaired moviegoers. In the US, it is estimated that there are over 50million people with hearing loss and almost 8million with visual impairment. Statistics are likely to be similar around the world. Many of these people have given up on going to the movies because they can’t fully enjoy the experience. Across an entire cinema chain, that can be a lot of lost revenue for a theatre operator. www.cinematech.today
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E V E N T S
E V E N T S It’s a strange CineEurope when the show’s biggest hit isn’t new technology or a Marvel film but fresh coffee, Patrick von Sychowski reports
CineEurope: go for popcorn,
A
LTHOUGH June
in the
attendance was slightly up, it felt quieter and more
subdued at CineEurope this year, not least given the absence of Sony and Lionsgate. Fox’s takeover by Disney was made physical with the parent of Marvel et al also taking over the coffee meeting cube in the CCIB’s foyer. After a year of mixed fortunes (record highs in UK but lows in Germany), exhibitors were confident of a good 2019,
though
with
no
major
expectations for the show.
Sunday, the new Monday The week kicked off informally on the Sunday with the half-day ICTA seminars and award ceremony. IHS Markit’s Charlotte Jones provided the slides and numbers demonstrating that
‘European
cinema
remains
stable, recent screen growth outlook is positive’ and in particular the ‘number of UK sites reflects positive momentum’ for the industry. This 5 8
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40% Six years ago media spend on digital for film marketing was around 5%-6%. Today it is 40%.
silver bullet isn’t subscription offers. Continuing to engage with CineEurope, the European Commission sponsored
panels
on
untapped
audiences as well as access issues, but also hosted several small, innovative companies on its trade show stand that might not otherwise have been able to come to Barcelona to meet potential clients (see pages 72-75). UNIC’s CEO Laura Houlgatte took over opening ceremony duties from
Cinema risks losing younger audiences to digital distraction
, stay for coffee...
(the re-elected) president Phil Clapp, with a strong message that “Cinemas are not only here to stay — we’re here to grow and to bring audiences
Paramount’s Mary Daily feels the need for speed in the slate show
together all over the world to share an unmatched big screen experience.”
Coke’s new caffeine kicks No company brings as much to
point of regional strength was echoed
large geographic footprint, with a
CineEurope as Coca-Cola, but this
by Comscore’s Arturo Guillen on
keynote on emerging markets from
year the delegates had an extra
the panel, “The healthier the local
Comscore’s Guillen and ‘A Focus on
reason to be thankful, in the form of
product, the healthier the [cinema]
South Africa’ by Avalon Group’s CEO
a different brown beverage on the
market.” UNIC’s Guillaume Branders
Aboobaker ‘AB’ Moosa, followed by
Costa Coffee stand. Coke’s European
explored futuristic technologies like
Serbia. There was a large number of
channel director Oliver Delaney, in his
AI and VR, though few had strong
non-European exhibitors at the show,
second year at CineEurope, suavely
immediate implications for cinemas.
and not just because of the meeting
hosted two great seminars, while the
“Big data” was examined by Cinema
of the Global Cinema Federation.
red and white booth continued to
Intelligence’s Claudio Tenescu (260Gb
A major theme was the talk of
grow as everyone’s favourite hangout
of annual data, no less!), while CEO
the ‘second digital revolution’ on the
(thanks to behind-the-scenes efforts
Debbie Stanford did a star turn on the
executive roundtable of the major
of Blue Stocking Partnership’s Prill
panel session with Novo’s diversity
exhibitors (Vue, Event, Cinepolis) and
and Sarah), as well as being the
of content (Hollywood, Bollywood,
key studios (Disney and Universal).
closing night (afternoon) sponsor.
Arabic and Malayalam films). “I don’t
“Exhibitors and distributors have a co-
The first Coke seminar asked the
run cinemas,” she noted, “I run event
responsibility in promoting films,”
audience whether they were ready for
and entertainment hubs.”
noted Disney’s Tony Chambers, “once
the digital revolution. The panelists
ICTA’s awards to Cineplex’s Ellis
studios have delivered a quality
certainly were, with Uber Eats present
Jacob and Stockholm’s Bio Capitol
product and marketing campaign.”
in over 520 cities, covering 220,000
were particularly warmly applauded,
And all that in a changing media
restaurants and hitting an average
after which many hurried from the
landscape — “Six to seven years ago
30-minute delivery in just three years.
Hilton to the beach pavillion where
media spend for digital was just 5%-
With Hoyts Australia, UberEats is
UNIC’s board of directors spent the
6%,” observed Universal’s Duncan
already delivering cinema snacks to
afternoon cooking up a paella storm.
Clark, “today it is 40%, in some cases
the home, though sadly not yet by
60% and for some markets for certain
drone. A multi-country survey by Coke
titles it’s been pure digital marketing
examined attitudes to three new
With prompt 9am starts every day for
to target customers.” Cinepolis CEO
ways of ordering food: pre-order
panels, CineEurope laid claim to a
Alejandro Ramirez warned that the
online, digital kiosks and order to seat.
The main event…
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Seminars, sangria and sun
Disney’s “Lion King” perfectly demonstrated how the circle of life draws new generations to old content
With just eight slate presentations (compared to 12 two years ago) there was more time for seminars — and companies on the trade show said traffic was more steady. There seem to be
The second day’s sustainability
more seminars than ever with the venue next to the trade show floor seeing a good audience
seminar delivered positive messages,
for most, despite occasional sound issues.
but only once UNIC’s Laura Houlgatte pointed out that the EU is phasing
“Technology is driving cinema, it drives streaming, [but also] drives infringement,” observed Liz
out disposable plastic faster than
Bales, CEO of BASE at the start of “Film Theft - Where are we?” panel. Movio’s Sarah Lewthaite
previously expected. “Sustainability is
seem to be the only one to stick to her data guns, when at the ‘Industry Roundtable: From
not something that just sits in a corner
Customer Insight To Admissions Growth’ the moderator Marine Suttle seemed to throw the
of our company,” noted Coca-Cola’s
panel a curve ball by asking whether it wasn’t really ultimately about gut feeling. (Data says ‘No’
sustainability director Teresa Noor-
— and helps make better informed decisions.) The panel on mini-theatres and on-demand
lander. Costa’s head of sustainability
cinema (chaired by yours truly) heard from people like Theresa English who revealed how a
Oliver Rosevear revealed how simple
10-screen multiplex by TK Architects had just 300 seats, despite featuring two PLFs. UNIC
measures can reduce the use of straw,
launched the third edition of its successful Women’s Cinema Leadership mentoring scheme.
cups and napkins while saving money.
Behind the scenes Celluloid Junkie’s Helen Budge was busy interviewing women cinema
In fact, coffee was the unexpected
leaders about their experience for the video series by CTC, which also threw an impromptu In
star of the show, with long lines
The Sangria Bar podcast With Mike Bradbury (now available on SoundCloud). “There’s no
forming at the trade show stand for
industry like the cinema industry,” said Celluloid Junkie’s 2019 Top Woman in Cinema Mariam
Costa Coffee, now that it is part of the
El Bacha, “Nothing more entertaining but you have to work hard and be resilient.”
Coca-Cola Company. With branded coffee having already proved a hit for
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The closing ceremony saw awards bestowed on everyone from big and established Paramount
UK exhibitors, continental colleagues
veterans to small next generation Estonian cinema managers. For the fourth year in a row
are now also discovering the financial
Disney picked up the award for the biggest hit in Europe for its “Avengers” monster hit.
uptick of offering coffee before, with
“Avengers: Infinity War”, that is — “Avengers: Endgame” will no doubt give Disney a fifth win next
or even after the popcorn. Over 3,000
year, unless it is upstaged by “Lion King” or “Star Wars IX”. As much as Disney saved European
cups of various hot beverages were
cinemas in the first six months of 2019, even one great studio cannot save the whole industry.
served from the Costa stand (with
As everyone toasted the success of 2019, thoughts were already turning to 2020 and beyond.
recycling provided next to it) in two
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> Cinemas beating Vue and co, with the installation help of the UK and Ireland integrator Omnex. Powster launched
Instant
Tickets
with
Everyman, while Vista was everywhere and its new party venue proved a hit. GDC Technology had a major signing
ceremony
for
Cinema
concept
with
its
GoGo
Malaysia’s
Golden Screen Cinemas. Indeed, the presence of the Southeast Asian exhibitor was a further sign of the global reach of CineEurope. Next door to GDC, people could try their VR bongo skills at Ymagis’ Illucity Corner. Meanwhile, Korea’s CJ 4DPlex sneak started the show with a demonstration of its ScreenX and 4DX technologies at a Barcelona cinema that included a glowing testimonial from Cineworld. Who was quietly doing the most business? In all likelihood it was the many seat manufacturers that were demonstrating innovations such as built-in wireless charging for their premium recliners. And finally… the popcorn machine from China looked the spitting image of the Cretors machine at the opposite end of the trade show floor.
Studio Slates Which studio came to show their slate at CineEurope and who didn’t was as much of a topic of conversation as the trailers, clips and films that were and a half days and a further 800+ at
projectors, but decided to spread
shown. Notable in their absence were Coca-Cola’s Oliver Delaney compered two seminars, including a session on sustainability — a much-needed concept that the cinema world needs to embrace
the self-serve Costa Coffee machine.
the love between Cinionic/Barco and
And don’t blame Coca-Cola that this
Christie. Cinionic also went all-laser
year popcorn was served pre-packed
with
in both bags AND buckets outside the
Christie became a re-seller for AAM.
auditorium.
anyone?
QSC and Harkness affirmed their
Equally, don’t be surprised if next year
continuing commitment to their apps
there is Costa coffee there too.
and technology platforms. Dolby
this way is publicity and advertising
Cinema is expanding in the UK with
money well spent. Also absent were
Sustainability
Industry moves
Cineplex
for
Austria,
while
Odeon, who also announced its 20th
Despite many press releases few
Luxe cinema. Meanwhile Samsung
genuinely surprising announcements
kept a low profile, though the first
came out of CineEurope this year.
Onyx LED screen in the British Isles
Cineworld put in a big order for laser
appeared in Dundrum, with Movies@
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Laura Houlgatte, UNIC’s CEO opened the show, saying: “Cinemas are not only here to stay — we’re here to grow”
both 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures, the former now nestling in between Pixar and Marvel in Disney’s slate-of-slates, while the latter was taking a year out both here and at CinemaCon to see if promoting films
eOne and Lionsgate (apart from Rhian Johnson’s Agatha Christie-ish “Knives Out” footage), as well as the odd
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European
operator
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E V E N T S
Universal vied with others to present a diverse, ambitious range of content — in this case, largely successfully
Studios’ CEO did join the European Commission-sponsored panel that examined untapped audiences. The biggest show in town was Disney, of course, and the studio did not disappoint with the surprise appearance of Tom Hanks in person! In Barcelona! No video clip “Sorry I couldn’t be there,” of Hanksy, but the real thing, there to promote “Toy Story 4” (screened on the Thursday). The audience applauded him like a movie star that has earned their cinemas hundreds of millions over the decades. Fox was acknowledged with clips for “Ford vs. Ferrari” and “Ad Astra”, as were Fox Searchlight and Blue Sky, before the multi-year slates of Disney Animation (“Frozen II”) and Live Action (“Mulan”), Pixar (two original films) but no new clips from “Stars Wars: The Last Skywalker”, before an ensemble
In town to promote “Toy Story 4”, Tom Hanks received an enthusiastic welcome during the Disney slate
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of singers and dancers took to the stage to remind everyone that “Lion King” is set to be the summer’s biggest hit. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Disney is still untangling the Fox www.cinematech.today
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distribution responsibilities in most of its European territories. No small task! The Universal slate ended with a
3,000
cheeky dig at Disney’s habit of positioning all its titles in a timeline between now and forever — but then reminded exhibitors in the audience
The Costa stand proved popular — 3,000 cups went in just 2.5 days
that “one studio alone will not save your cinemas,” and that what was needed was a broad and diverse slate of films. And that is exactly what Universal brought to the party at Barcelona, ranging from the highoctane action of “Hobbs & Shaw” (a.k.a. “Fast & Furious 8½”) to the refined English snobbery of “Downton Abbey”. Director Paul Feig did not attend this year, but sent greetings from London where he was busily
8/12 Only 8 slates were shown at CineEurope this year — against 12 two years ago
Sadly there was no Helen Mirren on
to provide mid-budget commercial
stage to repeat her ‘“F**k Netflix”, but
films for cinemas, but its slate was
WB is clearly still looking to cater to
underwhelming, with “21 Bridges”,
older audiences with films like “The
“Greenland”, “Hustlers” and “My Spy”
Good Liar”, as well as Very Serious
not creating much of a stir. “Shaun
Drama films from Ed Norton and Ben
The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” and
Affleck. Warners then doubled down
“The Secret Garden” from StudioCanal
editing “Last Christmas”. Universal also
on horror, with “Doctor Sleep” (a
were both charming, while UniFrance
showcased plenty of animation to
sequel to “The Shining”), “Annabelle
gave a masterclass in how a trailer can
give Disney a run for its family money,
Comes Home” was the Monday night
condense the plot of an entire film,
with “Abonimable”, “Trolls: World Tour”
screening and not least director Andy
thus avoiding the need to see a grim
and “Minions: The Rise Of Gru.” No
Muschietti previewed two scenes
French father-son football drama.
“Bond 25” footage (having introduced
from “It: Part 2” using Facetime.
the cast and locations, the presenters said, “now you know as much as us,”) but more thesps in catsuit pre-CGI singing “Cats” tunes. Universal also provided two of four films screened: the well-received “Yesterday” and the sweet, if foul-mouthed, “Good Boys”.
Exhibitors on the tradeshow floor reported good numbers, arguably thanks, in part, to a limited number of studio slate presentations
Trying to fill the gap left by Fox
With large, diverse studio slates
and Sony was rumoured to have been
aiming to be the biggest after Disney,
nixed for a preview by QT himself), it
it was once again Paramount’s turn to
was the first time that a slate was
convince attendees it had turned a
presented by the Event Cinema
corner and would churn out hits. It
Association (ECA). Vue’s Tim Richards
mainly came down to two films: Ang
shared early tales of event cinema
Lee’s HFR sci-fi action “Gemini Man”
challenges, and then Grainne Peat
It was with new-found confidence
and stunning aerial footage from “Top
kept the show on the road with more
post-”Aquaman” that Warner Bros
Gun: Maverick”. CEO Jim Gianopolous,
labels and trailers than even Disney’s
rolled out its slate of DC films, with
also in town to hand out an award
Master Slate could muster.
some behind-the-scenes shots and
to his colleagues at the closing
The big fear for next year isn’t that
interviews of “Wonder Woman 1984”
ceremony, came on stage to declare it
Sony won’t be coming back, but that
and
the
was a “time of growth and renaissance”
another studio might choose to stay
Fantabulous Emancipation of One
“Birds
of
Prey
(and
at Paramount. By next year, it can’t be
away too, because even more French
Harley Quinn)” (out in 2020) and an
‘next year’ any longer.
films and event cinema won’t paper
extended look at the new “Joker” film.
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over such a large crack.
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B U S I N E S S
IF APPLE OPERATED A CINEMA... Just what would a cinema designed by Apple look like? How would a multiplex by McDonald’s feel? These questions were tackled in a workshop by Prill Brewin and Patrick von Sychowski at the most recent UNIC Retail seminar.
I
T’S A PARLOUR GAME that people in the cinema business like to play: “What would a cinema look like if it was operated by ‘X’”, where X is anyone
1
Amazon
from Apple to Zara. What underpins
THE WORLD’S LARGEST ONLINE RETAILER doesn’t just
this question is always the desire to
build loyalty through its Prime subscription, but has moved
understand what leading retailers are doing right and how
into physical retail with Whole Foods and the cashier-less
cinemas could learn from them. We selected six very
Amazon Go. It was even rumoured to be interesting in buying
different retail brands and studied what made them
the Landmark chain to go with its Amazon Studios film and
unique and a success. We then presented these findings to
TV production. Amazon Warehouse fulfils orders rapidly
several teams of exhibitors to decide what aspects could
using a combination of humans and robots, but it recently
help create a better cinema of the future. Here is a summary
increased pay to above $15/£10.50 per hour — above
of that research and the workshop findings. 6 4
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2
3
Apple
Juttu
THE I-EVERYTHING MAKER has the highest spend-per-square-metre of any retailer in the world and is a by-word for pricey design excellence and quality. But how would its iCinema look? Apple stores generate 28% of Apple’s total $230bn annual sales. Apple Retail is not a channel to market but as “Apple’s largest product”, where “the hardware is the architecture of the store, the software is what happens inside the store.” “Today At Apple”, a program launched in May 2017, offers interactive classes at stores worldwide. “Our whole concept was: How does the store become more like a town square? …almost a community hub,” said Angela Ahrendts, head of retail at Apple until February this year. No traditional check-out, instead staff double as cashiers and order fulfillment. Store associates are hired for empathy, not sales skills THE BELGIAN ETHICAL fashion store launched in
and staff are instructed to “enrich people’s lives by telling [them] something they don’t know.” There is a philosophy, too: a “store” needs to be a storehouse of engaging experiences, ideas
and
interactions,
with a dose of humanity. The customers’ first impression is important, but so is the feeling they have when they leave. So Apple trains on both the hellos and goodbyes to
The A-P-P-L-E customer service model was based on luxury hotelier Ritz-Carlton’s Steps of Service guidelines:
2015 and might not (yet) be a global name, but it is popular with Millennials. “All our brands have a story to tell, a ‘Juttu’” (‘story’ or ‘anecdote’ in Finnish). The stores are designed to do slow shopping in
A
with products shown by style, not brand. Juttu
P
through a magazine’. You can also wander over to
Approach customers with a personalised warm welcome; Probe politely to understand the customers’ needs;
the food corner, ‘Jummy’, for organic food.
P
Present a solution for the customer to take home today;
L E
describes the experience of visiting as like ‘flipping
Juttu puts creative designers in the spotlight every season. They have the chance to experiment
Listen for and resolve any issues or concerns; End with a fond farewell and an invitation to return.
with their own pop-up space in the store. Juttu fans can devour letters and pixels in JUTTUgram, a genuine newspaper featuring news, styling tips, fun facts, op-eds, interviews with designers, and more.
ensure there are good
The #ikkoopbelgisch (I Buy Belgian) campaign
memories
encourages consumers to discover local brands and
and
people
look forward to returning.
show some national pride;
minimum wage. At Amazon Go you scan your Amazon app upon entering the store, grab anything off the shelf, which cameras and sensors record. Walk out of the store and payment is automatic; Amazon’s 4-star Store in NY’s Soho district features a ‘random’ selection of goods, with 4-star or higher customer ranking. Exceptions are made for “new,” or “top-selling,” goods regardless of rating, giving a similar experience to Amazon’s website. It features lots of Amazon own-brand goods, with ‘Prime Price’ only available to Prime Members. Digital price-tags sync with online prices. Amazon [physical!] Bookstores in Seattle and Manhattan have a curated selection of books, based on online reviews. Wholefoods cross-sells Amazon devices (Alexa, etc.), with special deals for Prime members.
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Ikea
NO NEED TO SELF-ASSEMBLE your own Löxury recliner, because these days a lot of the ‘Curator of People’s Lifestyles’ focus is on the eating experience and sustainability. Did you know that Ikea is one of the top 10 global food retailers? The concept is simple: ‘force’ customers to walk along a path past all goods/sections, the idea being small buys (affordability) and long stays. Play areas where parents can leave children help. Ikea’s Space10 lab in Copenhagen invites a range of people from the worlds of art, design, and technology onto different research projects that result in a range of prototypes, exhibitions, events and workshops. Ideas from the innovation lab include: tomorrow’s meatball, urban farming, recycling/upcycling,
office
in
motion,
energy
Lidl and Aldi
THE GERMAN LOW COST food retailer has taken the UK and US by storm, but it is far more sophisticated than just “pile ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap”.
harvesting furniture, air-improving windows. IKEA replaces a third of its product lines each
Lidl scores highly in customer satisfaction in the UK despite its low
year. ‘Designing beautiful but expensive products
prices, rivalling Waitrose (luxury) and Iceland (frozen food). The sensory
is easy, whereas designing beautiful products that
reality of Lidl’s entrance is that bakery, produce and flowers are all within
are inexpensive and functional is a huge challenge.’
10 feet of the shopper. At Lidl, there is no thinking about brands, BOGOs
Constantly cutting the costs of its products is key:
(buy-one-get-one[-free]), deals, price comps, coupons, sudden endcap
sales prices were reduced from 1999 to 2009 by
promotions or in-aisle shopper marketing. Instead Lidl shoppers love the
around 2% each year. Average spend is almost the
combination of low prices, high-quality items and even limited choices,
same in every country in which it is present and
saying they find it easier to shop there than at a typical store.
the best selling lines of products are the same
Lidl uses assortment, merchandising and design to look more like a conventional supermarket than a discounter. Yet on a market basket
everywhere (viz. Billy bookcase).
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CEO Anders Dalvig says that: “customers must
comparison, Lidl comes up 23% less expensive on private label than even
be even more integrated in the sales process,
Walmart. Lidl’s premise is that once consumers realised the quality of
doing
the
their fare and unbeatable prices, they would give up old brand loyalties.
perception of an improved service level.” Ikea
WIGIG (when it’s gone it’s gone) stock-keeping principles or ‘revolving’
leverages use of mobile technology to alleviate
familiar brands and goods ensures Lidl encourages browsing. It uses a
customer pain points rather than simply creating
combination of aisles (familiar to everyone), pallets (suggesting bargain
something “cool”.
prices ‘straight out of a warehouse’), and waist-high displays (like street-
more
themselves
while
having
In 2006, Ikea’s KPIs showed that the difference
market displays. Yet it only has 1/10th of the selection of comparable size
between the best and worst performing stores
regular food stores. Lidl keep things moving with intriguing product and
was more than 100% — so their goal is to try to
display changes supported by a weekly brochure highlighting upcoming
move all stores up to the level of the best 25%;
seasonal offers based on scarcity (‘get it now or it’s gone’). High rotation
Ikea invests in wind farms in Scotland (catering
on limited shelf space creates the potential to surprise shoppers on every
for 30% of UK stores’ electricity needs), it sources
trip. Lidl create a sense of urgency and newness and delight and discovery
certified wood from 48 countries, and it launched
that keeps shoppers in again and again and again.
Ikea Recovery in 2002 to re-use old furniture. By
Lidl and Aldi are multi-capable retailers who can convey value and
2020 IKEA will run 100% on renewable electricity.
relevance to multiple shopper groups. Lidl (and Aldi) overcame barriers to
It sold one million vegan hot dogs in two months
entry in new markets by establishing themselves rapidly in second-tier
(USD $0.75 each) — 15% of its meatballs are veggie.
sites, being ‘good enough’ at the start, and building from the basics.
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McDonalds
THESE DAYS IT IS an automated kiosk asking customers if they
captured via this platform for personalised marketing and
would like fries with that. The restaurant chain that is a byword for
customisations.
fast food and quick service is reinventing the process and the place
In 2018 McDonalds launched its New Global Restaurant
whereby people come to eat their Big (Vegan) Mac — all from
concept that serves everything from its different franchises all over
sustainable packaging, of course
the world: in Austria, they serve warm curried noodles, in China, a
Under the terms of a McDonald’s franchise, McDonald’s owns
purple taro root pie, in Japan, a golden, panko-crusted Ebi shrimp
or leases the site and the restaurant building. The franchisee buys
burger: thus leveraging its global food footprint to create an
the fittings, the equipment and the right to operate the franchise
Instagrammable experience.
for 20 years. The franchisees are at the heart of the business, too.
McCafe’s major focus is on specialty coffee that introduces a
Much of McDonald’s innovations came from individual franchises
quality drink at a low price point (with a full-time barista pulling
responding to customer demands: the Big Mac, Egg McMuffin,
espresso shots to order). Central to the concept is de-mystification
Filet-o-Fish, Hot Apple Pie, McFlurry, Drive-thru’s and Playlands.
of the coffee hype of some of the larger coffee chains with viral
McDonald’s started 2018 by launching its $1, $2, and $3 menu
advert. McDonalds is also working with Starbucks to re-think the
aimed toward its value-conscious customers. Catering to as many
disposable paper cup. By 2025, all packaging on customer
people as possible is critical: in December 2017 the company
products will come from “renewable or recycled sources,” or
launched its vegan burger in Sweden and Finland after successful
sources certified by environmental organisations. McDonalds will
trials, to ensure that all its customers have a choice.
make recycling an option at all locations globally by 2025.
McDonald’s is currently revamping its stores to create
Just like cinemas, McDonalds has a challenge to get Millennials
“Experience Of The Future” restaurants, which will have self-serve
and Gen X:ers to come to its restaurants. Visits to McDonald’s by
kiosks and table service. McDonald’s mobile ordering and payment
people between 19 and 21 years old have fallen by 13% in recent
system continues to expand, and the company uses the data
years. This is driving the need to offer healthy, ethical food options.
So what can cinemas take from all of these findings? Well, there’s a lot to learn, but the reality is that the ‘Cinema of the Future’ can learn from multiple elements. It could be a cashier-less experience [as per Amazon Go], but with staff thanking you as you leave [à la Apple], with a popular vegan hot dog offering [think Ikea] from a local pop-up vendor [just like Juttu], but only on a short-term basis [like it is in Lidl] as something different will come along next month — although there’s always coffee to go [there’s always McDonalds…].
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H O U R
ENTERING THE
TWILIGHT ZONE
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Do cinemas offer sufficient variety throughout the day? Arguably not, says CT’s Alastair Balmain, who explores some of the ways in which modern cinemas do more to get a wider range of customers in to experience a variety of entertainment that stretches way beyond standard on-screen fare.
I
T’S SAID THAT IF you can remember
in a venue that is open at all conceivable hours of the day.
disco-dancing to the sequin-studded
The Grand is a listed site in a densely populated residential
retro tribute act Dr Glitz and his
area of London, so there are limits to what the owners can
Fabulous Flirtations on any given
get away with in the scope of the licensing laws — please
Saturday night in the late 1990s or
leave quietly to avoid disturbing the neighbours — but
early 2000s, then you were probably
there’s frequently a packed crowd day and night — as this
never really in London’s Clapham Grand — the self-styled
month’s Rugby World Cup is sure to demonstrate.
“palace of modern variety”. Odd, then, that I have strong
The Grand has a schedule of live screenings for the key
and enduring memories of the sun just peeping up when
matches, with kick-off times at anything from 3.45am on a
emerging bleary-eyed from the depths of a theatre that has
Saturday night (perfect for Kiwis and Italians in the late-
seen more business-oriented wardrobe changes than a
night club crowd) through to 9.15am on a Sunday morning
Beyoncé concert…
(ideal for Tongans and England fans looking for a collective
A true temple to entertaiment, the Clapham Grand is a
rugby experience before church). These big screen events
Grade-II listed venue that’s played host to everyone from
are set to keep the venue filled from late September to
Jerry Springer to Jamiroquai via Laurel & Hardy and Charlie
November on Sunday mornings at a time when respectable
Chaplin. Established in the early 1900s as the New Grand
people — cinema staff included — are more normally found
Theatre, over the course of the past century it’s seen service,
in their pyjamas.
among other things, as a bingo hall, a nightclub, a comedy club and a concert venue. In recent years, it’s retained its
From lunch to last orders?
enduring music and variety flavour, offering an eclectic mix
The popularity of a wide-ranging programme serves as a
of regular DJ nights, alcohol-tinged “Bongo’s bingo”, drag
reminder to cinema owners and managers that life exists
act conventions, comedy festivals and boxing bouts, but,
outside of the traditional opening times, particularly if your
significantly for these pages, it has
programme explores cinematic milestones and sporting
reverted to one of the more lasting of
events that, due to their length or international timezones,
its former incarnations — a cinema. Formerly a full-time movie palace — as the Essoldo from the early 1930s to the 1960s — the Clapham Grand has gone full circle, now squeezing into its packed programme regular cinema nights. Characteristically raucous and somewhat camp, this summer the
“Big screen events will keep the venue full at a time when respectable people are more normally in their pyjamas”
inevitably fall outside of standard working hours. Cinema has a long-held tradition of screening into the night (see the “Marathon mania” panel below), but if the cinema managers’ objective is to increase occupancy at quieter times outside of the obvious early afternoon to 10.30/11pm window — what could be quieter than 3am on a Sunday? — it’s clear that you need to seek out alternative audiences and alternative content.
crowds rewrote the stars singing along to “The Greatest
In most cinemas, the concept of kids’ programming
Showman”, booed the baddies in “Shrek” and rediscovered
(and silver screen sessions) are well-established, with
their inner Disney princesses at screenings of “The Little
screenings starting as early as 9am and reduced ticket
Mermaid” — all followed by a suitably themed club night.
prices aiming to lure in stressed parents and frugal
What’s this got to do with regular cinema? Put simply, it
pensioners. As the father of children with an enthusiasm
demonstrates the scope for a genuinely varied programme
for movie-going, these sessions are, in my experience, often
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“Grenade!” E-sports hits the target Major sporting events, in particular, are a natural for
If anyone doubts the production values and budgets lavished on today’s
cinemas as they deliver identifiable, readily targeted
gaming titles, then consider HD staples such as Forza Horizon, Call of Duty
audiences. In the past, Formula 1, Wimbledon and other
or Assassin’s Creed on the big screen. The concept of e-sports in the cinema
major sporting events have all found their way onto the big
is an increasingly familiar one — thanks to the technology behind live event
screen — with mixed success. Notably in the UK in 2012,
delivery, major gaming competitions such as the League of Legends World
Cineworld ran a series of Olympic screenings across a huge
Championships have successfully been broadcast to multiple audiences
range of sports — the live event server LANsat delivered the
internationally, with big-name sponsors like Coke promoting viewing
BBC’s red button feed into sites with the support team
parties in metropolitan venues. Start times are often early in the morning
changing the programme as events switched to offer a true
(or past midnight, if you prefer) as the host nation for these events is often
variety throughout the day. More currently, Novo Cinemas
typically the US or Korea, and running times can stretch well beyond
in the UAE served up a series of special screenings for the
standard film running times. That’s incidental to hardcore fans.
World Cup Cricket this summer. Why did it work well? A strong multi-national ex-pat population clamouring for a
The sector is in a high growth phase — two years ago IHS forecasted that
communal get-together, coupled with a relatively benign
6.6bn hours of e-sports video would be viewed per annum by 2018, up
time-zone difference between the UK and the Middle East.
from 2.4bn hours in 2013. In 2015, Vue created the UK’s first physical arena for online games enthusiasts; converting part of one of its key London
Democratisation or diversification?
venues into an e-sports arena, seating 600 across three stages. But while
In recent years, enterprises such as GoGoCinema and
watching others play is a draw for some, for others actually taking part
OurScreen have sprung up promising to “democratise” the
with your character up on the big screen is compelling.
cinema, liberating the schedule to deliver the content that specific audiences want to watch, when they want to
Last October, the Dell Gaming Esport Cinema opened in Bangkok — billed
watch it. Similarly, event cinema has delivered new
as the world’s first dedicated e-sports mixed-use theatre, designed to fit
demographic groups, many of whom are pleasantly
traditional screenings alongside e-sports. With a 4K-capable 14.6x6.1m
surprised by the nature of the modern cinema venue. My
screen, Dolby 7.1 and stadium seating, it can seat 60 contestants alongside
own parents are regular visitors to their local cinema now
200 spectators. The venue can be hired exclusively for teams of gamers
— 10 years ago they wouldn’t have given a trip to the cinema
with an all-day pass for 200,000 Baht (£5,000) (10am-10pm) or a half-day
a moment’s consideration. Having been lured in by live
pass for 100,000 Baht. While it may sound like the preserve of larger chains,
theatre, ballet and opera — often at times that are
“bring your own console” offerings are a staple for smaller chains like Savoy
convenient for the recently retired — the experience and
Cinemas and independents who offer dedicated screen hire at affordable
quality of the venue impressed them so much that they
rates. Bring your own kit and they can hook it up to their state-of-the-art
now whizz back to catch appropriate films like “Mamma
projection and sound systems turning SuperMario into a cinematic event
Mia 2” and “The Favourite”. And that’s the point. Cinema is a
in its own right.
place of variety and that variety can be used to sustain and grow attendance. Diversification not just of the programme, but of the types of use the venue and its technology are put to can fill seats at awkward times of the day (or night).
faintly disappointing, programming unremarkable content in exchange for a reduced ticket price. It’s a compromise
Enter the Rec Room…
that does cinema few favours, often with low attendance
Taking the idea of diversification of the cinema to the
and little atmosphere. Arguably some venues would do
extreme, in the past three years in Canada, the Cineplex
better to focus their efforts elsewhere — children aren’t the
chain has been launching its “Rec Room” ventures. These
only ones that will bounce out of bed for the big screen.
bring the idea of the variety hall right back to that
One chain to grasp this is Vue. You can still catch its Mini
exemplified by the Clapham Grand. These new venues
Mornings screenings at 10am for £2.49, but it’s ground-
blend live entertainment, sports and gaming experiences
breaking “This is not a cinema” campaign shows the
under one roof. Each location devotes approximately half of
diversity that cinemagoers can expect on its screens —
its square footage to dining and live shows and the other
whether that’s event cinema, e-gaming, or sports fixtures.
half to amusement games and attractions, including VR
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themed experiences such as “Star Wars: Secret of the Empire” (Your mission: recover Imperial intelligence vital to the rebellion’s survival. Disguised as stormtroopers, you will be transported with your friends and family to the molten planet of Mustafar. Grab your blaster…). Most Rec Room locations feature large outdoor patios with skyline views and each ranges in size from 40,00060,000 square foot. They include large format projection, which is primarily aimed at sporting fixtures, e-gaming and the screening of cult classics rather than new releases. As important are the live shows, bars and restaurants, virtual reality and gaming arcades that fill the space, several of which have been retrofitted from multiplex locations.
In October last year, the Dell Gaming Esport Cinema opened in Bangkok — billed as the world’s first dedicated e-sports mixed-use theatre
40,000
experiences where you can immerse yourself in cinema-
Cineplex’s Rec Room locations feature mixed use spaces, including big screen projection and each ranges in size from 40,00060,000 square foot.
2015 Vue created the UK’s first physical arena for online games enthusiasts in 2015
Rec Room ventures devote around half of their area to a mix of dining and live entertainment offers
In 2012, Cineworld ran a series of Olympics screenings across a wide range of sports
But is it cinema? Not in the traditional sense of Screens 1, 2, 3, 4… So does it offer attractive variety and scope for a diverse range of customers? Certainly. Does it provide a blueprint for cinemas elsewhere? Perhaps — but it certainly offers an alternative model that illustrates the demand for a range of modern, socially-focused options to suit different audiences at all times of the day and night.
6.6bn
IHS forecasted that 6.6bn hours of e-sports video would be viewed per annum by last year, up from 2.4bn hours in 2013.
Marathon mania The concept of 24-hour cinema is nothing new to schedulers, as
saga. The viewer that could stomach the most would take the
many will attest following midnight screenings of anticipated
crown. Take a bow Jim Braden — he breezed through the back
events like the release of “Avengers: End Game” in April. Some
catalogue, followed by nine repeat screenings of the first of the
sites embrace it more evidently than others, though, finding
current trilogy. His prize? A seven-year movie pass. “By the eighth
audiences happy to take the big screen experience to the max.
and ninth viewing, I zoned out, and the movie just washed over me” he later told “The Hollywood Reporter”. No kidding.
Mention “cinematic marathon” and you think of the classics. “Star Wars” and “Back to The Future” are episodic works that
In the UK, arguably the front-runner, when it comes to movie
spring to mind. Inevitably an all-nighter might attract a niche
marathons, is London’s Prince Charles Cinema, which describes
(some might say nerdy) audience — but that’s the point. A small,
its carefully curated cinematic tours de force for the hardened
hardy group of fans seeking a big screen experience is often
cineaste as “butt numbing”. And why not? Their purpose is to
sufficient to fill an auditorium, justifying the operators’ time.
celebrate film culture and to show on-screen the rich threads that can be found within a specific genre or series of films. So, if
Few but the most dedicated would have signed up for the retina-
you’re up for it, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t catch all 720
burning torture of Alamo Drafthouse’s “The Marathon Awakens
minutes of the PCC’s Disney Pyjama Party (pyjamas non-
Sweepstakes” in Austin, Texas, in December 2015. A competition
essential, but advised — as is a toothbrush). Including seven
to celebrate the launch of “The Force Awakens”, the rules were
classics from “Pocahontas” to “Lilo & Stitch”, start time is a very
stringent: watch all six preceding “Star Wars” films back-to-back,
reasonable-sounding 9pm — until you realise the finish time is
followed by repeated screenings of the newest episode in the
9am. Start training now.
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E U R O P E
Backing European film The EU’s Creative Europe MEDIA programme supports innovation to deliver greater visibility of European films. Sara Gayarre highlights some of the nascent enterprises and technologies that the programme is fostering within the cinema arena.
HE LANDSCAPE OF EUROPE’S cinema and
remain the same in the new programme 2021-
content industry is undergoing one of its most
2027, in which investment and support to new
significant transformations, which brings a new
technologies will be a crucial part.
era of opportunities for European storytellers and audiovisual industry entrepreneurs. Given
Promotion not production
this new reality, the success of the European
European films have traditionally had less
audiovisual industry will depend on three core
visibility than their US competitors. This is partly
pillars: fostering new business models, take-up
because, in Europe, support has been focused
of disruptive technologies, and development of
on production rather than promotion. Thus,
new forms of diverse storytelling and promotion.
MEDIA is currently working to shift attention on
Progress in these areas will benefit the whole of
to promotion to reach wider audiences in
the value chain, from production to distribution
Europe and beyond. In this context, Creative
and promotion, as well as access to finance.
Europe MEDIA decided to use its stand at
Creative Europe MEDIA, the EU’s programme
CineEurope 2019 to feature several cutting-edge
to support the European audiovisual industry, is
digital businesses looking to provide goods and
well aware of the challenges this new era brings
services to cinemas and their suppliers.
and is helping the sector to deal with some
CineEurope is the perfect location for such
of the technological issues faced by the film
activity: 3,500 industry representatives from
industry. Among other actions, it does this
distribution and exhibition right through to
through funding assistance for the development
technology and concessions suppliers attended
of innovative solutions and by encouraging
to discover new methods of driving attendance.
collaboration with an emphasis on technology.
This brought a great opportunity to the thirteen
The programme helps SMEs and start-ups to
SMEs and start-ups that were selected by MEDIA
be more experimental when developing new
to showcase their projects, network with peers
technologies by allowing them to create
and find investors and partners to take their
disruptive innovation rapidly. This approach will
ideas further. Here’s a taste of their work…
Promoting European Films for them to ‘leap-frog’ ahead of other international content Fassoo, a Berlin-based company, is a successful beneficiary of
indexed, saving time, money and improving the quality of the
Creative Europe MEDIA. Their initial project — handily entitled the
metadata produced. In doing so, it was also hoped that this would
Multi-Language / Multi-Modal Automated Film Tagging Service
lead to the creation of an automated multi-language video tagging
Project — was supported with €60,000 for the development of a
platform and an online information repository for European film
proof-of-concept of an AI, machine-learning-powered algorithm, a
productions, which would help to stimulate discovery, marketing,
platform and the API needed to enable filmmakers, production
promotion and distribution of such content.
companies, VOD platforms and broadcasters to upload film files to an automated platform. The content metadata could then be automatically tagged and
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Due to the limited resources of many independent filmmakers and production companies, Fassoo envisaged delivering not only critical monetary and time savings, but also offering a standardised
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approach to increasing the visibility of films. Enhanced film data
technology company (FilmDoo) working with a highly specialised
and metatags can be used to improve both offline and online
leading non-film company (PAMA Technologies) to innovate jointly
curation and programming. It was envisaged that sales agents,
and to create technology that will benefit the film and wider media
distributors as well as VOD platform providers would be able to
industry. These solutions play a vital role in ensuring that European
access the Fassoo software to discover relevant film-specific
films are not left behind in a rapidly evolving film distribution
information critical to the promotion and marketing of European
marketplace and potentially provide an opportunity for European
films outside of their natural physical and language borders, both
films to ‘leap-frog’ ahead of other international content if they are
within the European Union as well as abroad.
developed properly.
The creation of Fassoo is a good example of an experienced film
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More info: www.fassoo.com
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E U R O P E
Enriching content online in a legal but effortless way Already available and live in some of the biggest news groups in Europe, and with more than 200 million hits in 2018, isnotTV is an AI algorithm that connects newspapers with the cinema industry. The algorithm scans millions of online articles, and injects ‘content snippets’ when a specific movie is mentioned, without any extra effort or action for the journalist or blogger. This means that, by way of example, if a journalist talks about Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”, isnotTV adds the description of the film as well as all the relevant details together with the legal options to watch it on TV, streaming or in cinemas. The goal of this European company is to make legal content consumption easily available for big, small, new and classic movies alike. This becomes increasingly relevant for nonmainstream productions and ‘on demand cinema’ where users gather to watch niche movies, filling theatres all around the world. Overall, a clear winwin for all, which underpins legal conceptions across Europe for small and big productions alike. More info: www.isnottv.com
At CineEurope, the Creative Europe MEDIA stand gave fledgling tech companies the chance to engage with a range of cinema industry professionals
CINN App is just one of 13 SME companies that has benefitted from EU funding in the cinema technology arena
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Going mobile for greater audience development CINN App is an audience development tool to better
create tailor-made movie marketing campaigns. CINN
capture today’s consumers. Currently only available in
App is a unique two-sided marketplace for the movie
Austria (but scalable to new countries), CINN App can
industry with common goals — increase cinema
be downloaded free and users can see all films available
admissions and collect first-hand smart-movie data
in their city and create so-called “cinema events”. As
from the user. The ultimate goal is to track a user’s
soon as someone creates a cinema-event with the CINN
journey from the moment a trailer was consumed to
App, users from the same area get a push notification
the
and can join the event, browse participants’ profiles
mechanics to increase ROI. CINN App has been
and enjoy the movie together on the big screen.
downloaded more than 2600+ times in Austria (only
ticket-buying
process,
using
gamification
Besides cinema-goers, it has benefits for exhibitors,
Android). From April 24, 2018 to June 18, 2019 CINN App
who can partner with CINN App to make cinema events
users have created 679 cinema events, using the App.
at their location more attractive and draw users to their
The startup is looking for investors to launch in other
sites; and for distributors, who can use smart-data to
countries. More Info: www.cinnapp.com
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Reminding cinema goers not to miss their favourite films Staying in the domain of mobile applications, TrailerApp aims to increase numbers of film viewers demonstrably. Trailers are the key source of data for moviegoers but the potential to employ them is
Savoy Systems Cinema Box Office Software Specialists for Independents
slight and rates of recall of those seen in the cinema remains low. TrailerApp aims to increase a trailers’ advertising impact by equipping cinemas with beacon technology. On leaving a venue, cinemagoers receive an overview of trailers shown before their feature. These can be viewed, evaluated and placed on a list. When the film is launched, the user receives a push message with a link to the local cinema’s online ticket office. Individualised
100+ Independent venues in the UK are using our software, Oscar We’re based in the UK, and so is our 24/7 telephone support We’ve been supporting independent cinemas for over 10 years Mobile-responsive online booking ensures you don’t miss out on customers
appeal, along with convenience and
intuitive
usability
are
TrailerApp’s unique selling points, offering a way to tie-in customers. Trailerdata collects user data and creates a profile of individual preferences,
which
is
Choose between Cloud-based or Server on-site, with access from anywhere 20 million tickets sold, and counting
then
analysed and made available as market research data. Trailerdata contributes to market transparency and offers distributors and cinema owners efficient film evaluation and commercialisation. In-app advertising offers the means to inform cinemagoers about relevant films. More info: trailerdata.de
Conclusion These are just some of the many examples of new business and tools available in the market. At MEDIA, we will continue our dialogue with stakeholders in order to understand the industry and its challenges and to adapt our support to their needs. Meanwhile, we will also continue working to achieve our goals of strengthening a competitive audiovisual industry and contributing to promote European diversity. For more info: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/creative-europe/ www.cinematech.today
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F I N A N C I N G
The Northampton Filmhouse, born from a successful redevelopment of two established arts venues
Medialease: Helping you pay the price of success CT often focuses on innovation, but that comes at a price. We meet Paul Robson, MD of Medialease, a finance specialist helping cinemas fund technological ambitions.
U
SING INNOVATION TO ENHANCE the
prospect of further industry-wide financial support now that
movie-going experience: is the goal of
the Virtual Print Fee has run its course. So alternative funding
those on the technical side of cinema.
options are needed — and Paul’s model is based on arranging
Indeed, Cinema Technology magazine
finance from a panel of approved funders.
extols the virtues of new systems and
“We’ve provided finance for many projector upgrades
products that hit the market — but less
and digital cinema projects across the UK,” Paul explained.
often do we discuss how cinemas can expect to pay for it.
“Whether that’s to a chain, an independent or simply for a
Medialease is an asset finance company offering a range
screening room, our technical knowledge and experience in
of options for those looking to provide audiences with the
the sector helps us to provide appropriate finance deals that
benefit of the latest technologies. These include medium
fit the demands of the industry.”
and long-term rental, on and off-balance sheet leasing and
Many cinemas used the VPF to upgrade to digital but no
hire purchase. It has financed technology in the broadcast,
projector lasts forever. A lot of the projectors were installed
post-production and live events sectors for nearly 20 years
using the scheme a decade ago will soon need upgrading —
and in recent years has also specialised in finance for cinemas.
and Medialease can provide affordable solutions to allow
As well as providing cinemas with projectors, media servers
cinemas to change their projectors before they reach the
and other kit, the company works with broadcasters, post-
end of their shelf life. Monthly payments provide certainty
production houses and events companies, supplying editing,
and transparency in terms of cost. Suppliers often have
grading and audio equipment, and 4K cameras and location
special leasing offers only available through certain channels
playout equipment for major sports broadcasters.
and offered through finance providers such as Medialease.
Founder and MD of Medialease, Paul Robson started in
Significantly, for cinema operators at whatever scale, is the
his first finance job in 1994, working for a captive manufacturer,
realisation that access to technology is not necessarily
which led to him working as a broker in the VFG Video Film
restricted by cost but can be enabled by finance. The
and Grip rental house. Paul then set up Medialease in 2003,
practical case studies outlined on the page opposite show
recognising the demands placed on cinema operators as
examples of different venues achieving their goals with
they face an array of new technology but with seemingly little
affordable and realistic financial support
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Artrix, Bromsgrove
Northampton Filmhouse
Artrix is an arts venue in Bromsgrove, UK. It hosts theatre and
Royal & Derngate is a long-established venue for the arts based in
dance performances, live music, live comedy and cinema
Northampton, UK. Formed from the merger of two venues, the
screenings. A one-screen cinema forms part of the complex.
Royal Theatre opened in 1884 and the Derngate Theatre opened
When the time came to upgrade its projection equipment to
in 1983. A £15m redevelopment project, completed in 2006,
4K picture quality, Artrix approached CinemaNext, one of the
incorporated the Royal and Derngate theatres and provided
larger technology installers in Europe. The projector chosen
additional studio spaces and rehearsal
was Sony’s SRX-R510P, which is geared towards independent cinemas. It provides 4K picture quality, is easy to maintain and has great durability. Once Artrix had chosen its projector, they approached Medialease to agree the finance to fund it. The company has worked with many cinemas to finance new equipment, so was quick to approach specialist lenders and agree a deal. The final arrangement gives Artrix certainty about its set
“On a business level I’m a firm believ er the importance of bringing local cinemas into the digital domain”
monthly payments and made upgrading their projection equipment achievable.
space. Then, in 2013, the Northampton Filmhouse was opened as a onescreen digital cinema at the venue. The Filmhouse proved to be so successful that it was decided a second screen was required to maintain and increase the diversity of the arts-based and current box office programming
to accommodate greater visitor numbers. In April 2017, the second screen at Northampton Filmhouse
The Sony projector was installed in March this year. Since
was opened in a similar ‘cinema in a box’ style, sitting alongside
then, audiences have enjoyed watching the latest releases
the original cinema. When equipping the second cinema with
and live screenings with clearer, higher-definition picture
projection equipment, the Filmhouse approached Medialease
quality. Improvements have also allowed for an increase in
for finance, who approved funding of two new Christie projectors
cinema programming to include regular Saturday matinee
and two new media servers. As a result, the latest kit ensures that
family films, a Baz Luhrmann mini-season and the latest new
the viewing experience at the Filmhouse is second to none and
releases and screenings of live theatre and dance events.
the modern kit delivers reliability.
The Palace Cinema, Malton, North Yorkshire Jeremy Powell, the owner of The Palace Cinema in Malton, North
visit from the local licencing police officer, who turned out to be a
Yorkshire, first fell in love with cinema while helping a school
great supporter of local businesses. He took one look around and
friend run the Winscale Film Club. Around the same time, he saw
asked: “Do you think you could fit a bar in here?” The idea stacked
‘The Greatest Show On Earth’. The combination of those two
up and, soon after, Powell’s fortunes took an upward turn.
things fed his dream of owning his own ‘picture house’ — an ambition he would one day achieve.
A free NEC 800 (formerly the IS8) digital projector arrived via the UK Film Council’s Digital Screen Network initiative, shortly
After a near miss in his late 20s while pursuing an engineering
followed by a conversion to twin screens. A second NEC projector
career in TV and radio, Jeremy spotted The Palace Cinema in 2002
— plus an upgrade from 35mm to digital — funded with asset
whilst working on an outside broadcast. It had all the basic
finance from Medialease, improved matters further. “Seeking out
requirements: a screen, a projector and some seats. But it was
asset finance was done out of necessity,” admits Powell, who was
looking careworn. Still, Powell took a deep breath and put his
introduced to Medialease by Arts Alliance Media.
money where his dream was. “I thought I could mend it,” he says. “I also thought I understood business, but now I realise I didn’t.”
As Paul Robson explains. “As soon as we took the call from Jeremy, I wanted to help. On a business level, I’m a firm believer in
His idyllic vision of second runs and classic oldies was not
the importance of bringing local cinemas into the digital domain,
working. He admits to being naive about film booking and
since it enables what is a micro-business to offer other creative
acknowledges it took a while before he realised that running a
services to local consumers and to industry. I was also keen on a
successful independent cinema is about booking films that pay,
personal level as I am passionate about old school cinemas
not the ones that you — the owner — think the public should want
surviving — not least in Malton, which is a lovely market town I’ve
to see. But those early struggles were soon forgotten, thanks to a
known all my life as my father was born and bred there.”
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U K C A
V I E W
Technology that drives accessibility Bringing the big screen experience to a wider audience was the motivation behind the UK Cinema Association’s Technology Challenge Fund. Chief executive Phil Clapp gives an update on its progress.
T
HE UK CINEMA SECTOR has worked
ever-present risk of film theft, cinemas have spent the past
hard over a number of years to make
decade and more telling customers to put their mobiles
the big screen experience as accessible
away, and encouraging cinema staff to be on the look-out for
as possible for disabled customers,
those using phones in the cinema. Second, everyone is aware
making continuous improvements to its
of the annoyance caused to other audience members when
physical infrastructure as well as adjustments for those with
someone uses their phone to text, browse (or sometimes
sensory impairments and, more recently, those on the autism
to take a call!) during a screening. And thirdly, anything
spectrum or with degenerative conditions like dementia. The
which adds further to the complex workflows observed by
general approach in the UK has been one driven not solely by
distribution colleagues is unlikely to be warmly welcomed.
the relevant legislation, but also by a desire to share and build on a growing body of best practice across the industry. While
that
approach
has
undoubtedly
The UK Cinema Association is currently working through these security and operational implications with its members
delivered
and distribution colleagues, and is hopeful that an agreed
significant progress across the sector, accessibility still remains
way forward can be brokered. But these things can take time.
an area where ever-increasing audience expectations present
And it was time which prompted the association last
an ongoing challenge. But it is also one area where the latest technologies can offer innovative — and often elegant —
October to launch its Technology Challenge Fund.
solutions for cinema operators. To take one example, in recent
Stirring the crucible of innovation
years audio description (AD) for blind and visually-impaired
Having waited a considerable while for the market to offer an
audiences has been delivered through the provision by each
acceptable solution for the delivery of ‘closed captions’ for
cinema of specially adapted headphones and receivers.
deaf and hearing-impaired audience members — subtitles
While this has undoubtedly made the cinema a more
visible only to those who need them — the association
accessible experience for many, several years on and much of
decided to step in and stimulate innovation in this area. Doing
the kit is approaching the point of replacement, this at a time
so acknowledged the business opportunity that this audience
when many disabled customers are more keen than ever to
represents — currently one in six of the UK public identifies as
take control of the solutions offered to address their needs.
having some form of hearing difficulty, a number which it is
In response, a number of app-based solutions have been
estimated will rise to one in five by 2025. But it also recognised
developed, where the customer typically pre-downloads the
that approaches to date — based as they are on the provision
AD track onto their own mobile device, ready to ‘sync’ with
of ‘open captions’, visible to all audience members — are
the film soundtrack on arrival. Although arguably a more
perhaps unlikely ever to deliver the number and range of
elegant way of delivering this solution, these approaches do
subtitled screenings necessary to meet demand. For the
present a number of issues. First and foremost, mindful of the
plain truth — hard though it may be — is that the general
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audience does not ordinarily like films projected with open captions, with audiences for such screenings being typically a fraction of those for the same film in the same auditorium at the same time, albeit without subtitles.
A dilemma to resolve So most cinema operators face the dilemma of wanting to do more, but knowing that the greater provision of subtitled screenings, particularly at busy times, will result in them taking a box office ‘hit’. The desire to find a closed caption solution which would make all screenings potentially accessible to
deaf
and
hearing-impaired
audiences without asking those audiences to choose between subtitled and non-subtitled
current operational practices, or came at significant cost (in
screenings is not a new one. Over a number of years, several
terms of changes to the projection room or user equipment)
solutions have emerged on the market, mostly relying either
was in general subjected to particular scrutiny. The latter
on a secondary screen or more sophisticated subtitling
group was clear about what it wanted to see from any
glasses devices. But to date, issues of user experience,
solution, specifically something which was inclusive, not
operational ease and cost have meant that none has gained
singling out audience members as a result of disability and
widespread traction.
applicable across the widest possible range of film releases.
Conscious of increasing pressure on its members to
Support for the fund was divided into specific tranches.
deliver more in terms of subtitling (and of the potential
As we enter phase two of that process, a significant amount
economic impacts of doing so under the current approach),
has been allocated to each of three short-listed solutions, the
the UKCA sought through the fund to open the conversation
aim being (where relevant) to develop a prototype ready for
up to a wider array of potential partners than had been the
further ‘field testing’.
case before, with an offer of development funding to the best
Two of those solutions – from the German company Great
or most promising solutions. In the end, almost 20 proposals
& Starks and from the National Theatre, rely on a subtitling
were received, some from existing players in the ‘cinema
glasses solution (albeit in slightly different ways). The latter is
space’ but many more from individuals or organisations new
already active in the theatre sector. The remaining solution,
to these issues. Accordingly, the solutions proposed varied
from the UK company Screen Language working with the
widely in terms of approach and feasibility.
German Fraunhofer Institute, while a little further away from
In identifying the most promising ‘runners and riders’, the
development, offers an interesting take on the secondary
association was able to call on input not just from an expert
screen approach, albeit without it is anticipated any
panel of colleagues from across the cinema industry, but also
significant need for investment by the cinema operator.
a user group, convened by Action on Hearing Loss — in
We look forward to providing further updates on the
partnership with whom the association had launched the
Technology Challenge Fund and on developing our approach
fund — and consisting of a number of deaf and hearing-
on delivery of audio-description over the coming months.
impaired cinema-goers (amongst whom were some of the most outspoken critics of the industry’s approach to date). The expert panel looked at the different proposals from a viewpoint of operational and economic feasibility — anything which required significant adjustments to be made to www.cinematech.today
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E C A
V I E W
Event Cinema: A big screen staple After her first year in the role, the ECA’s MD Grainne Peat reflects on the buoyancy of the sector.
I
N THE UK AND IRELAND, June 2019
Box Office admissions from more than 10 different territories
broke records for event cinema, taking
(including the US, Australia, Russia and France). It includes a
over £6m at the box office. CinemaLive’s
range of insight from content providers, vendors and cinemas.
“Take That – Greatest Hits Live”, returned
(For a copy, email info@eventcinemassociation.org).
to the big screen, taking over £2m. It is
currently the highest grossing event cinema of 2019 and the
Amsterdam for the annual conference
seventh biggest title ever. While overall box office across the
Collatiing and sharing data will be at the heart of our annual
industry saw a dip in the early part of the year, we’re now
conference that takes place at the EYE Film Museum in
seeing growth in all areas, especially event cinema. National
Amsterdam on Thursday 10 October. We envision a wide
Theatre is having a strong year with “All About Eve” and “All My
discussion around the need for a universal (and agreed)
Sons” (the third and fourth highest grossing titles of 2019) and
categorisation of event cinema to help get better transparency
there is still more to come.
of performance. There is no doubt that the sector has evolved
Our sector made its stage debut at CineEurope, delivering
and is mainly defined by content and/or by methodology of
a landmark presentation to a full house. The hour-long show
release — even within these categorisations, it is not always
was rich in content, with exclusive announcements and
clear what is considered to be ‘event cinema content’. This is a
personal messages from well-known stars. With a keynote
much-needed discussion that the ECA is best-placed to steer.
from the CEO of Vue Entertainment, Tim Richards, the show
In partnership with UNIC and EDCF, the ECA has launched
saw content providers take to the stage to deliver an enticing
a survey into event cinema. It’s purpose is to gain a better
range of titles for European cinemas. With presentations from
understanding on issues relating to technical delivery and
Dutch, French, Italian, American, Australian and British
marketing of our content. The survey will be shared through
entities, it showcased the diversity of event cinema.
the networks of the ECA, UNIC and EDCF, with a link available
Also in June, in partnership with Comscore, the ECA
on the ECA’s website. This will help develop understanding
launched its first Annual Report: 2018 was a successful year,
about how event cinema performs — frequency, ticket prices,
particularly in the UK, and with a refreshed globally focused
delivery methods and issues — and to understand how the
association, it is an exciting time to provide a united voice in a
ECA can support members with marketing and delivery.
fast-changing industry. Our annual report demonstrates the
The conference will present a wide range of topics for our
importance of collating and sharing data and trends. While
community, and a fantastic opportunity to network with
there is a lot that can be refined for future editions, it was a
members and colleagues across Europe. For details, visit
valuable and welcome fact-finding mission to pull together
eventcinemaassociation.org.
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A A M
V I E W
Work smarter, not harder Operating efficiently isn’t just about cutting costs, as Alessandra Skarlatos, marketing manager at Arts Alliance Media explains.
I
T CAN BE DIFFICULT to justify investing
you professional services that let you focus on your customer
in
experience instead of the technical details for your growing
something
vague
like
agility,
flexibility, or corporate culture — but financial institutions are beginning to
range of software and hardware solutions?
assign such “intangible assets” real cash
The pursuit of efficiency in the workplace
value when estimating what a business is “worth”. It isn’t as
As a workplace, a cinema is challenging, with deadlines,
easy to prove as the ROI on your latest marketing campaign
last-minute changes, and complex technology. It’s more
— but your company values, employees, and ability to weather
important than ever that exhibitors ask themselves whether
changing market conditions have a direct impact on your
they are keeping pace with changing consumer behaviour by
revenues.
choosing to work smarter, or work harder. One of these
Exhibitors, like any business, should evaluate their goals
options is sustainable, the other is only a temporary solution.
and values regularly and assess whether they reflect day-to-
Contrast these two film bookers: one spent all day chasing
day operations, and their longer term strategy. Interrogating
every site in the chain after a feature was updated mid-
priorities you communicate to employees can reveal a gap
release. The other spent a few minutes using their Circuit
between what you’re doing now and where you’d like to be.
Management System (CMS) to update the feature and
This practice should extend to analysing your relationship
publish the playlist centrally. Who worked harder?
with, and attitudes towards, the technology and services you
Operational efficiency is about more than cutting costs. It
invest in. For instance: does your business rely on employees
is about making sure your company can react to situations
with a ‘can do’ working attitude? Think about how your
quickly, unhampered by lumbering processes accumulated
technology partners empower them; do they offer training
over years. Translated into objectives for your technology,
that encourages your staff to become more self-sufficient?
exhibitors seeking efficiency should pursue software solutions
Does head office incentivise site managers with bonuses
that reinforce a culture of flexibility, deft decision-making,
based on concessions revenue? Consider what their working
and simplified process. In practice, you could engage in
day looks like; how long do they spend on back office tasks
anything from centralising your playlist-building using a CMS,
that could be automated? Does your software help prioritise
to linking your loyalty scheme data to your email marketing
revenue generating by removing repetitive admin tasks? How
campaigns. Your staff can only be in so many places at once,
do technology partners help you protect your competitive
and if weighed down by too many tasks, they won’t be able to
advantage; whether as an art house cinema, a cutting-edge
give any of them the attention they need. In the long term,
innovator, or all-in-one entertainment centre? Can they offer
that creates more problems than it solves.
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cinema_technology_Layout 1 10/05/2019 12:33 Page 1
THE GLOBAL CINEMA TECHNOLOGY NETWORK. CTC, is an independent, not-for-profit trade organisation providing valuable resources to the global cinema industry. From digital marketing and e-ticketing through to interactive lobby displays, projection and sound equipment, accessibility and experiential technology, CTC understands the importance technology and indeed the way in which it is utilized can have a profoundly positive effect on the moviegoing experience. CTC engages in a number of activities aimed at educating and improving the cinema experience. These include training courses, lectures and seminars, technical handbooks, educational visits, networking events and the industry leading Cinema Technology Magazine.
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY THE GLOBAL CINEMA TECHNOLOGY NETWORK
www.cinematechnology.com
ON AVERAGE A CINEMA POS IS INSTALLED FOR OVER 15 YEARS
“WE TRUST THEM BRENDAN LEADEN, MOVIE HOUSE CINEMAS
“THOROUGHLY RECOMMENDED” ROBERT HENDERSON,
Produced by JACRO
90
Years in Cinema
www.jacro.com sales@jacro.com
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3D
Index to Advertisers Airscreen
47
Gofilex
42
Arts Alliance Media
13
Harkness Screens
03
The Jack Roe Companies
83
Camstage 37 Cinema Tech Community
83
LTI
30
Cinionic
16
Medialease
41
DepthQ
85
MENA Cinema Forum
22
Dolby
06
Motion Picture Solutions
04
ECM19 Conference
87
Omnex
18
Cinionic
16
Pulz
47
Flexound
88
QSC Cinema
10
FilmExpos, ShowEast
84
Savoy Systems
75
Future Projections
83
Strong MDI
57
Galalite Screens
29
UniqueX
02
Gofilex
15
Veritek
09, 63, 67
Passive Polarization for 3D Digital Cinema
Fast, Bright, Reliable...
Quality you can Trust. Over 2,500 locations worldwide Patented in the US, EU & Canada
www.depthq.com
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20/11/2018 18:44 10:03 22/05/2019 14:42 04/08/2019
cinematech.today www.cinematech.today
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O P I N I O N 3D technology — an emerging success? RealD’s John Trafford-Owen considers the impact a new wave of 3D can have in emerging markets
F
OR THE PAST DECADE, “Avatar” alone
The wheat among the chaff
has held the coveted title of highest
From a content perspective, it is a constant battle to ensure
grossing movie. All good things come to
sufficient time and focus is given to the use of 3D as a creative
an end — “Avengers: End Game” is the
tool, and that sufficient money is spent on the conversion (if
new kid on the block. Maybe it will reign
indeed the film is converted). Each year a few movies deliver
for a decade, maybe only until jedis arrive at Christmas, or
the must-see 3D event. “Alita” and “Lion King” show what the
maybe we will have to wait for James Cameron to finish his
format is capable of, and I can’t wait to see what Ang Lee has
sequel, but let’s think back to when we first visited Pandora,
done with “Gemini Man”. We need to convince the customer
and the heralding of a new three-dimensional dawn. “Avatar”
why every film should be seen in a premium way.
was 3D’s coming of age. The modern version of the format
Filmmakers start the process, advocating the 3D format,
may have started with “Chicken Little” in 2005, but “Avatar” in
distributors continue that journey, through studio marketing
2009, was the 3D extravaganza that delivered, casting aside
messages and creation of 3D trailers. Exhibitors have a huge
memories of green-and-red glasses and nausea.
role to play. Programming at peak times, opening 3D box
Films that followed aimed to cash in on the craze and
office at the same time as 2D and playing trailers when
released hastily converted versions that didn’t stand up to the
available. Equally important are the fundamentals: the best
experience audiences had enjoyed with the Na’vi. Cinemas
auditorium, the right screen, system, glasses and projector, as
scrambled to install digital projectors and 3D systems
well as providing optimum light levels for the content — even
without considering whether the architecture of the auditoria
thinking about the porthole glass. There is much that
suited the technology. Customers won’t tolerate this kind of
contributes to the overall success of 3D’s performance in any
approach for long. If a moviegoer sees a poorly made 2D film
given market — and the responsibility falls on us all.
on a dark projector, they don’t say “I’m never watching a 2D
Emerging markets have none of the baggage inherent in
movie again”. When it comes to 3D that’s exactly the reaction.
trying to grow too quickly without full understanding of the
Emerging markets are in a great position to learn these
technology. 3D is mature, but laser projectors offer exciting
lessons. Premium experiences should be just that. They help
opportunities to give audiences the experience that “Avatar”
generate incremental revenue, increasing ticket prices and
first delivered. There is no legacy of disappointment or poor
spend per customer, but a value exchange must be present.
content, only anticipation of what the format can deliver. It is
Customers must walk out of a premium show and feel it was
one of the most accessible premium offerings in terms of
money well spent. If a consumer can’t understand why they
investment and can blow the minds of consumers. Emerging
handed over more cash to watch that movie, it’s not
markets have a huge role to play in the future success of 3D
something they are likely to do again.
and together we will make the most of this opportunity.
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www.cinematech.today
01/08/2019 15:16
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02/08/2019 10:46
YOUR CINEMA
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Powerful experience without high sound volume. No wearable accessories needed. Enhanced emotions and engagement.
Jessica W. Kärnä Business Development Manager jessica@flexound.com
FLEXOUND Augmented Audio™ is designed and engineered in Finland
02/08/2019 10:47
