Promoción de la participación ciudadana

Given the UK Film Council’s key objectives in relation to distribution and exhibition, outlined above, digital technology offers the opportunity for a ground-breaking step-change in this sector of the industry. Several factors are currently limiting or inhibiting the wide and efficient dissemination of specialized films. These include the high cost of distribution, especially of prints, and the limited number of outlets where they might play. Curtailed playing time and limited audiences in turn restrict the films’ commercial prospects, especially as they generally receive restricted coverage by the media and afterwards limited TV uptake by mainstream channels. The frag- mented co-ordination of releases across territories is also a barrier to wider public enjoyment of specialized films.

Using digital technology will lower the cost of entry into the market via lower print and physical distribution costs and also achieve wider availabil- ity of film choice. More cinemas can show ‘specialized’ films and the booking and programming of such will become more flexible. In this way the traditional distribution/exhibition model is changed and the landscape radically altered for specialized films.

In broad outline, the UK Film Council’s Digital Screen Network (DSN) Distribution and Exhibition Strategy is to digitalize up to 250 screens in approximately 150 cinemas, with UK-wide coverage. All types of cinemas, e.g. existing specialized, publicly supported, multiplex, independent, etc., will be eligible for inclusion using the highest possible level of equipment and technology (e.g. Texas Instruments’ 2K DLP Cinema projectors with the latest servers and encryption technology). Technical standards will be the highest possible at the point of entry and will be as close to DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) standards as appropriate for the initiative (see Chapter 9). In terms of the programming strategy the films will generally be booked via the normal distributor/exhibitor relationship. The UK Film Council will have a number of centrally booked programming ‘slots’ for one-off screenings of film with an emphasis on education, archive, day-and-date premières, etc. Additional programming may include local productions, shorts, film club screenings, mini film festivals, etc.

Efforts are also being made to encourage independent producers to deliver an HD digital master as part of their normal deliverables to sales agents and/or distributors. This will allow greater access of their films to a much wider audience in the UK. At present, digital mastering is often only done to DigiBeta level which is arguably not adequate for theatrical exhi- bition. The cost differential between the two levels at post-production stage is marginal when compared to the cost involved in re-mastering directly from 35 mm. An HD digital master can then also be used throughout the world as it only needs to be produced once.

As part of its overall Digital Screen Network strategy, the UK Film Council will work with the industry to ensure that front-end scanning and mastering, compression, encryption and physical delivery media services exist at affordable prices to act as an additional incentive for distributors to fully engage with the project.

The marketing strategy will be crucial and will seek to develop a brand for the Digital Screen Network itself and for specialized film as a genre and give the whole sector a more public face. This will be achieved in conjunction with major media partners (press and/or TV) via a new website, local press and radio, national press and local films clubs. All this will make a consid- erable addition to the routine activities of distributors and exhibitors in their normal publicity and advertising activities.

The UK Film Council believes its strategy will bring a number of overall benefits to the sector and principally that it will radically increase public access to specialized films and markedly increase the range of films on offer to the general public. The strategy is democratic and inclusive and would be open to the complete range of exhibitors and distributors. It is gaining overall industry acceptance because of the many benefits it will bring, quite apart from the additional advantage that it will open up possibilities also for the

feedback from the industry and other key stakeholders will lead to refine- ment of the strategy.

Funding for relevant parts of the strategy is to come on a partnership basis, at point of take-up, from the distribution, exhibition and education sectors. Importantly, the UK Film Council is already in discussions with DCMS (the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport) and ACE to plan the long term development of the Digital Screen Network.

Conclusion

Taken together, these practical and policy developments represent a considerable investment in, and commitment to, the challenges and oppor- tunities of the digital industrial and cultural environment. The UK Film Council’s interventions are designed to be strategic and long term: sup- porting the industry, promoting change, enabling the social and cultural effects of digitalization to be considered and explored alongside the tech- nological ones and backing all these initiatives with sound research and the gathering of statistical information by its Research and Statistics Unit. These measures contribute to the UK Film Council’s over-arching aim of building a competitive, vibrant UK film industry and a truly engaged and critical audience.

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