Tag Archives: Peter Buckingham

Cinema Expo Thoughts: David Hancock of Screen Digest

July 20, 2010

The final entry in our series of posts presenting the comments of industry participants on last month’s Cinema Expo provides us with some valuable information.

David Hancock’s name will sound familiar to anyone having worked in motion picture exhibition or digital cinema over the past decade. He is the head of film and cinema at Screen Digest where he works as a senior analyst publishing numerous research reports on the industry.

Hancock moderated a panel discussion at Cinema Expo which reviewed the progress of digital cinema rollouts in Europe. Here are his impressions on last month’s conference:

David Hancock of Screen Digest

This was a very good Cine Expo. Thanks in great part to the efforts of Phil Clapp, the Chief Executive of UK Cinema Exhibitor Association, and Ad Weststrate, President of UNIC, who brought a strong European flavour to the seminar programming, there was much to be learned in both these formal events, as well as the more informal surroundings of the bars.

For me, there were two things that stood out at this year’s Cine Expo. The first was alternative content, which is now clearly on the map and was on most people’s lips. From almost a pariah subject a few years back, there is now strong interest from exhibitors in tracking down new content. The call for content is matched by the need for a central information point where exhibitors can view what is out there. Some exhibitors and content providers have been working in this area for many years, and it is good to finally see the rest of the market catch up with them. Their skills and experience will be in demand in the next few years. There were two panels on this, one on Monday and one on Thursday.

The second is that digital cinema is finally a mainstream movement. Left and right, people were taking deals, with integrators, projector companies, banks etc. In fact, there appears to be a projector shortage now and people are on waiting lists. It is rather strange, having spent so long talking about the future is coming, to talk about this in the present tense. It is even weirder that we are talking about projector shortages when in the past, the opposite was the case.

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Cinema Expo Thoughts: Frank de Neeve of Cineserver

By J. Sperling Reich

July 14, 2010

Frank de Neeve of Cineserver

Here is another entry in our series presenting the comments of industry participants on last month’s Cinema Expo.

Frank de Neeve is not only an experienced projectionist working in The Netherlands, but he also runs the digital cinema news website Cineserver.nl. For those whose Dutch might be a little rusty, the site can be translated by clicking on the U.K. flag in the upper right hand side of the navigation bar.

Without further ado, here is de Neeve’s thorough accounting of Cinema Expo:

Naturally this year’s Cinema Expo was the first one that was a joint production between UNIC - the European exhibitors Association and the Sunshines. I think the cooperation can work well; UNIC might not be able to manage on their own as NATO will do next year. Last year there were two conflicting shows: Cinema Expo and the week before that the European Cinema Summit in Brussels.

The European Cinema Summit was by far the worst show I have ever been to: it was badly organized, panels were boring and went on for too long, there were too many people that liked to hear themselves talk etc. No refreshments, hardly any companies on the trade show (Doremi even left after the first afternoon!). However, the topics they wanted to cover in discussions were good.

For years - although people flocked to Cinema Expo - Europeans have also been critical of the show:

It was too American, with only blockbusters, Coca Cola sponsored seminars, etc.

The trade show only being open a few hours a day as otherwise people might miss ‘important’ Hollywood films

There was not enough room for discussion that reflected the cultural diversity of Europe, with traditional discussion points like piracy and windows always popping up.

You could this year already see a shift in the panels:

Many were presented by Phil Clapp of the UK exhibitors association

There were even two instances where headphones were handed out, as one of the panelists was speaking in French. I think this has only happened once before.

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Will digitization lead to cine-carnage in UK?

By Patrick von Sychowski

October 20, 2008

Derelict Hoxton cinema

Opinion pieces and leader column in UK media have been alive with the debate about whether the imminent switch to digital cinema (imminent, once the credit crunch is over, that is) will lead to death and carnage amongst the smaller cinemas on the British Isles.

The debate was triggered by a comment by the UK Film Council’s Peter Buckingham that whilst the UKFC had funded 240+ screens conversion to digital, the UK Government will not bail out at-risk cinemas (unlike at-risk banks, one hastens to add). From the Telegraph:

Peter Buckingham of the UK Film Council warned that 300 independent cinemas – many in rural areas - are in series danger of closing because they can’t afford the transition.

“If they haven’t got digital they aren’t going to have anything to show in five years time,” he told The Times. “I don’t know what Plan B is – there is no public money available.”

The major multiplexes, which account for about 85 per cent of film takings, have so far refused to use their economies of scale to help smaller cinemas convert. The UK Film Council estimates it would cost £50 million to update all the vulnerable cinemas.

Derelict Catford cinema

Pretty grim outlook. But over in the Independent, John Walsh argues that we have been here before:

The death of the nation’s independent cinemas has been predicted so often that hearing the news of another imminent demise is like seeing another re-run of The Great Escape. Britain’s old movie palaces have been heading the way of the stegosaurus for half a century, scuppered by television, bingo parlours, dwindling visitor numbers, too many crap movies chasing too few screens, and the rise of the all-conquering DVD. But I still wipe away a tear on hearing that the switch from celluloid to digital projectors and servers may drive smaller cinemas out of business.

A very measured assesment was offered by Screen International’s always-worth-reading editor Mike Gubbins, writing in The Times (’The inability to evolve has darkened screens before’), with the first paragraph particularly worth pondering:

The switch to digital cinema has barely touched the consciousness of the public. Some may be aware of the hype surrounding 3D, while others may have seen an opera screened at the local cinema, but this is not a demand-led transformation.

The industry debate between those in favour, who hope to see greater choice, and opponents who fear more efficient domination of the Hollywood studios has rarely reached the public domain.

But the digital divide might become an ugly reality if large numbers of cinemas close. Stroll along any high street and see if you can spot the ornate frontage that was once a cinema.

For a sad reminder of previous cinemas that are now gone, visit Derelictlondon.com’s cinema page.

Posted in Theatre Closures

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