Technology




Technical Changes

It is possible and probable that technical innovations will influence the kind of exploitation of a feature film. On the one hand cinema itself through digital projection, on the other hand home entertainment through new means of distribution of a motion picture to the households. 


Technical Innovations in Cinema

Already at this stage many multiplex cinemas have the technical means to project a motion picture digitally. This means that the motion picture is delivered to the cinema on a digital carrier or via internet and is projected by a beamer with high definition.

The technics are fully developed and the quality of digital projection is equal to that of a 35-mm print. Already, nearly 40% of all cinema halls are equipped with this technology. The further development is however slowed down through the necessary investments – respectively by the question who will pay for them. Actually technical changes concerning the screening locations are a matter of the cinema operator, though the digital change-over benefits the distributor. It is to be expected that the digitalization of filmprojection has progressed and the 35-mm print virtually displaced, although this may take a few more years.

The experience of recent years shows, however, also fall in the same proportion as the cost of film prints by digitization thus increasing expenditure on advertising-mainly through the Internet as a new medium. The budget items for Internet advertising increased dramatically in recent times, without the budget to fall significantly for the traditional advertising media.

Future competitors with DVD

As security the receipts stemming from DVD-exploitation are assigned to the company, in case that a picture does not completely recoup its theatrical P&A costs. The current form of DVD will have competitors in the field of home entertainment in the future. Further kinds of exploitation already are on the market to some extent.  

  •     DVD in HD-quality and Blue Ray DVD
  •     Video-on-demand via internet or set-top-box
  •     Download-portals for feature films (digital sell-through)
  •     Pay-per-view-offers
  •     Cable-TV