We are heading towards the end of the conversion from film to digital within the cinema industry and the end of one of the most significant changes which has happened since the introduction of sound at the end of the 1920s.
There has been lots written over the last few years about this change and the death/decline of the projectionist. And over the years I have used two main analogies to try and explain some of this change. The first was of the end of the Lighthouse-Keeper where all the lighthouses are controlled centrally by computer and a team of technicians are sent out to do maintenance on a rota. Sound familiar to the direction being taken by cinemas?
And the second analogy was around the change over from steam to diesel on our railways. There were lots of jobs that were lost as a result of this and other jobs, like the driver which changed.
Now I would like to expand this analogy a little. When the steam trains were replaced many of them ended up in the hands of enthusiasts who restored them and brought them back to life, and through their dedication and hard work these steam trains are in either museums or run on restored lines across the country, many being used as film and television locations. I can see the same happening with film projectors where a number are being kept and restored, coexisting alongside digital equipment, in enthusiasts collections or cinemas. The Projected Picture Trust, Cinema Museum and London Film Museum are just a few examples of this happening.
But I don’t think that this is the end of this analogy either. I have often looked at the changeover from film to digital as similar to the change over from steam to diesel on the railways. I was thinking about this analogy and the question around ‘professional’ and non traditional film screenings and realised that it is similar to miniature railways and full size ones. There are different size and different gauge trains, many with a mixture of steam and diesel locomotives. These are a bit like the Pop-Up and non DCI cinemas which now exist. What they do is still valid and still provides a valid and hopefully enjoyable experience keeping alive the wonders and magic of steam.
In the train world, there is an additional function/role being provided by the miniature and narrow gauge railways. These small steam and dice trains provide excitement, income and enjoyment to millions of people each year. The way they work and operate is the same as their big brothers but they are just smaller, perhaps run by amateurs. And I think this is also the same for community and pop-up cinemas which we have seen growing in popularity since the technology has got easier and cheaper to use. My argument is that these are like the miniature railways who are serving a specific purpose and requirement and are still legitimate in their own way.
I have been in a number of debates about what is now defined as ‘cinema’ in terms of whether it is just the use of DCI projectors and equipment, encouraging everyone to respect the professional standards if they are going to show a film or ‘be a cinema’ v using ‘domestic’ kit.
This bas got be thinking, because I believe that ANYONE who wishes to show a film/run a cinema has the right to do so and be actively encouraged to do so. By doing so there is a large additional income available to distributors which is not available or possible via the large commercial cinema chains.
My feeling is that from a technical and logitisical point of view people so be actively encouraged and helped to run a film in a legal way. There is no reason why incentives could not be created which means that those that upgrade their kit from domestic to professipnal benefit from the increased quality. But is there actually that mich of an improvement? Lets face it none of the manufacturers in the cinema arena are just in this one market, they are in several including other professional and domestic ones as well.
The old days of saying that something is either domestic or professional has gone – digital technology blurs that line so that it is just about the content – the story and not the delivery mechanism which matters; you only have to look at the music or photography industries to see this. Of course there is still value in the professional but it is getting smaller and smaller. The book publishing industry is also experiencing this shift. Anyone who holds back will fall behind from this.
Instead there should be an exceptance that there are now additional windows of opportunity available, especially for distributors. There is and always will be an initial theatrical release for the large chains and the great independents, but there is now also a growing space for the ameateur/domestic exhibitor too, and if possible before the DVD or ondemand release. New companies, such as Kinopto are coming along with the specific aim of helping Community Cinemas, and others to experience cinema where-ever they are; as this film explains:
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What is necessary is to support these additional venues so that they are encouraged and can easily book and screen this content because otherwise they will do it illegally instead or get fed up and revenues will be lost. These people also need the technical support to go with it.
And it is my opinion that if companies don’t adapt they will become extinct.