Digital Cinema - Boon or Bane
Digital Cinema –Boon or Bane!
In today’s fast paced age, with technology upgrading constantly, soon filmmakers will be opting for more digital rather than analog prints. Digitization is nothing but electronic software distribution without the use of any physical media, utilizing media like satellites & the internet.
In the beginning of the decade, if the introduction of multiplexes gave the cinema industry a huge boost, then digitization will usher in the second phase in the resurgence of Indian cinema.
But there are still some rough edges to be embellished out. Digital cinema should be helping young & new film makers. Yet it is only making the big cinemas bigger. How do we change this? How do we make it better? Like everything else, what are its strengths & shortcomings? How do we use it to our advantage?
Digitization paves the way for better cinema experience. For this, our industry needs to come together and arrive at a consensus on its implementation to take care of all the players in the industry. The main aim is to provide more people to experience better cinema.
Here are some relevant & significant points of contention.
Cost effectiveness: Digital distribution is economic while compared to the physical one. One copy of a digital print may cost between Rs. 17,500-20,000 whereas the cost of each physical print comes to around Rs. 45,000-50,000. There is a monopoly on the operator side, thus putting the exhibitor in a fix. To change this, more digital operators should come in and even out the playing field.
Larger reach: Digitization streamlines the distribution of cinema through satellite technology to even remote towns, thus increasing the reach to a larger audience on the same day of release. What used to be a gap of 4-5 weeks (sometimes even months) between a big & small city release has now come down to almost zero days. This is advantageous for the big release. But the smaller/average producers should play their game right.
In today’s fast paced age, with technology upgrading constantly, soon filmmakers will be opting for more digital rather than analog prints. Digitization is nothing but electronic software distribution without the use of any physical media, utilizing media like satellites & the internet.
In the beginning of the decade, if the introduction of multiplexes gave the cinema industry a huge boost, then digitization will usher in the second phase in the resurgence of Indian cinema.
But there are still some rough edges to be embellished out. Digital cinema should be helping young & new film makers. Yet it is only making the big cinemas bigger. How do we change this? How do we make it better? Like everything else, what are its strengths & shortcomings? How do we use it to our advantage?
Digitization paves the way for better cinema experience. For this, our industry needs to come together and arrive at a consensus on its implementation to take care of all the players in the industry. The main aim is to provide more people to experience better cinema.
Here are some relevant & significant points of contention.
Cost effectiveness: Digital distribution is economic while compared to the physical one. One copy of a digital print may cost between Rs. 17,500-20,000 whereas the cost of each physical print comes to around Rs. 45,000-50,000. There is a monopoly on the operator side, thus putting the exhibitor in a fix. To change this, more digital operators should come in and even out the playing field.
Larger reach: Digitization streamlines the distribution of cinema through satellite technology to even remote towns, thus increasing the reach to a larger audience on the same day of release. What used to be a gap of 4-5 weeks (sometimes even months) between a big & small city release has now come down to almost zero days. This is advantageous for the big release. But the smaller/average producers should play their game right.