Press Releases

Cinema India Expo

29 Jul 2011

Cinema India Expo branches out as a stand-alone conference and exhibition

New format, new venue and new technology

July 06, 2011 (Mumbai, India): After 10 successful editions of Cinema India Expo in association with the pro audio and lighting industry’s PALM Expo, 2011 saw a completely new show at a new five-star venue. Cinema India Expo has grown significantly and was presented separately from 24 – 25 June, 2011 at the Renaissance Convention Centre Hotel, Powai, Mumbai. As a stand-alone conference and exhibition, the focus of the show was on digital cinema and 3D Technology.

This first Hollywood Bollywood conference of its kind in the world was a great success with the seminars addressing key issues and offering insights from the cinema industry stalwarts and early screenings of Hollywood and Bollywood movies being previewed by enthusiastic audiences. The show recorded a total of 937 attendees which included Theatre Owners, Cinematographers, Film Buyers, Distributors, Manufacturers, Technical Experts, Directors, Photographers, Cinema Content Creators, Studio Executives, Production Executives, and Theatre Operation Executives. 34 companies adorned the exhibit floor with their latest offerings and products across 3D Cinema & Production Technologies, Digital Cinema Equipment, Booth / Projection Equipment, Lighting / Signage / Displays, Distribution Technology, Sound / Speakers / Amplifiers, Walls / Panels / Screens, and Digital Cameras.

Scrabble Entertainment, India's first 2K DCI Compliant Cinema deployment entity, was the presenting sponsor of Cinema India Expo 2011. Createasphere, headquartered in California, managed international sales for Cinema India Expo and contributed tothe programming of the conference. Anil Chopra, Managing Director, Diversified Communications India, the organizer of Cinema India Expo, noted, “We have hosted this convention for the cinema industry since 2001, with the aim of providing a neutral and independent conference platform to confront the challenges faced in cinema production, distribution, and screening by Indian cinema. It was an exciting event in 2001, when Texas Instruments presented the DLP chip to the amazement of theatre owners, artdeco theatre owners discussed and showed anxiety against the multiplex model and the incentives provided to multiplexes. Since then at every successive Cinema India convention, the digital cinema technology presented has changed the dynamics of Indian cinema industry.”

The tightly-programmed conference and seminars disseminated valuable lessons to the knowledge seekers. The panels across wide subjects comprised of some eminent leaders of the industry including Ranjit Thakur of Scrabble Entertainment, Sai Prasad of Prasad Group, Senthil Kumar of Real Image, Vishnu Patel of UFO Moviez, Kristin Petrovich Kennedy of Createasphere, Don Shaw of Christie, Tony Adamson of Texas Instruments, Subhendu Dutta of Sony, Patrick Frater of Film Business Asia, Amitabh Vardhan of My Cinemas, Prakash Chaphalkar of City Pride, Amit Gowda of Urvashi Cinemas, Deepak Kudale of Arun Talkies, Mohammed Ahmadi of Xpand, Dan Zheng of Master Image, Prem Tiwari of Cinepolis, Merzin Tavaria of Prime Focus, Kireet Khurana of Climb Media, Sandeep Mittal of Sandy Media, Vikram Joglekar of Dolby, T. S. Sriram of Harman India, and Mike B. Smith of Datasat.

Digital Cinema
Today, the cinema exhibitors and producers are witnessing the most dynamic change in the cinema exhibition industry in the form of a revolutionary digital cinema transition. The distinguished panelists discussed the challenges and opportunities for smooth digital transition in India and the methods to be adapted by the cinema exhibitors and content holders to prepare for the digital transition. Though many cinema exhibitors are increasingly installing digital cinema equipments like screens and projectors in the metros, the growth in the popularity in the interiors of India is slow on account of expensive installations. Another major aspect of the digital cinema transition is the gradual shift from 2K to 4K projection technology. The global acceptance of 4K technology attributes to factors like better quality, low maintenance and better cinema experience that can be achieved through 4K projection.

Another cinema beneficial session covered best practices of in-theater marketing and survival of single screen theater owners in the current era of multiplexes. The panel of the top marketers discussed how theatre owners can engage their audience in new and creative ways and dig into the ROI of marketing. The panel spoke on the role of advertising, the growth of social media, and the importance of selecting relevant ad campaigns inside the theatre. In order to sustain and thrive through the cut throat competitions against multiplexes, single screen owners need to indulge in innovative in-theatre marketing campaigns and address issues such as improvement in screening facilities, upgrading to greater acoustics to deliver the greater cinema viewing experience to the audiences, etc. The concluding conference session on cinema technology addressed the key trends and the future of sound in cinemas. The sound experience along with the trends and changes in the creative process, production and exhibition are critical for the industry and mandatory for exhibitors to understand and embrace.

3D Technology
The latest buzzword, 3D, is fast gaining a foothold in the Indian marketplace, from the story creation to production to distribution and monetization. The dynamic panel of experienced 3D content creators and technical experts in India and around the world discussed the latest trends and challenges in creating 3D content and technology. A separate panel provided significant and comprehensive insights into the challenges in creating Indian 3D content for the Bollywood industry. The recent success of the Bollywood blockbuster ‘Haunted’ by ace director Vikram Bhatt is a major incentive for the mainstream Bollywood to look upto production in 3D. Kristin Petrovich Kennedy, President, Createasphere said, “Cinema India Expo 2011 brought together the global leaders in Cinema, Digital technologies and content creation. Over the two days of panels, presentations and screening, Bollywood and Hollywood have come closer in sharing of thought leadership."

Kodak Cinematography Masterclass by Vilmos Zsigmond
Continuing the legacy of hosting interesting masterclasses by world-renowned cinematographers, Cinema India Expo 2011 and Createasphere in association with Kodak India, presented another inspiring session with leading cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC. Last year, the cinematography session was a huge success with attendees enjoying intimate and educational sessions with Don McAlpine, ASC, ACS. Zsigmond is regarded one among the ten most influential cinematographers in history as per the International Cinematographers Guild survey. His honors include an Oscar (Close Encounters of the Third Kind,) and Oscar nominations for The Deer Hunter, The River, and Black Dahlia. Among his vast credits are Heavens Gate, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Deliverance, The Long Goodbye, The Sugarland Express, Obsession, The Witches of Eastwick, Life as a House, and The River in an extraordinary and prolific career. He conducted two masterclases taking the attendees behind the camera to explore story-telling and execution of vision.

Demo Suites
The Demo Suites set up by market players like Xpand, Dolby, Qube, UFO, Prasad Group, and K Sera Sera too revolved around showcasing their latest offerings in 3D technology. While Xpand showcased the 3D glasses to enhance the movie-viewing experience, Dolby and Qube demonstrated their DCI complaint technologies. UFO, the leader in e-cinema, and Prasad Group, the pioneer in 3D and e-cinema technology, enabled the audiences to experience the differences in the respective technologies. K Sera Sera, the latest entrant in the digital cinema bandwagon, launched their highly advanced digital playback, projection and content delivery technologies, thus introducing their latest offerings to the audiences.

Trade Show
The show floor was dominated by global and national digital cinema equipment players like Barco Electronic System, Christie Digital Systems, Datasat Digital Entertainment, Dolby Laboratories, Doremi Cinema, Harkness Screens, Harman International India, K Sera Sera, Kodak, Masterimage, Prasad Group, Professional Esolutions, Real Image, Sony India, Styre, Sony DADC, UFO Moviez, Vision International, Xpand, AJA Video Systems, and Big Tree Entertainment. Among the media participants were 1Takemedia.com, American Cinematographer, animationxpress.com, Box Office India, Screen World Publication, Trade Guide and Theatre World magazine.

Movie Screenings
On the lines of the previous editions, Cinema India Expo 2011 too had its own dosage of movie entertainment and product reels of forthcoming releases from Hollywood majors woven around the technical programming. Day one saw the screening of Cars 2 by Hollywood’s major studio, Walt Disney. The Bollywood audiences were treated on the second day with the exclusive screening of Double Dhamaal.

Networking over Dinner and Cocktail Parties
The lunch, dinner and cocktail parties on both the days of the show provided a plethora of networking opportunities to the delegates, exhibitors, speakers and every other attendee. The five-star ambience of the venue further served as a catalyst to the networking opportunities.

If it’s networking with peers and professionals, attending highly educative conferences and seminars, listening to internationally reputed technical experts, viewing screenings of upcoming releases, or understanding and upgrading to the latest state-of-the-art technologies, then Cinema India Expo is the place to be.

Indian digital cinema market rapidly increasing
Movie theatres around the world are on the threshold of a historic transformation from film to digital projection. The conversion of the Indian cinema screens to digital technology is under way at a rapid pace, opening up a potential US$200 million equipment market in India, as per the findings of a market research conducted by Cinema India. The 4K digital projection technology enables theatre owners to enhance the quality and flexibility of their presentations to their audiences. A deployment of around 6000 e-cinema screens across India and around 700 DCI compliant projection (2K) cinema screens installation in India is expected by the end of 2011. Now this is a conservative estimate that we predict.

E-cinema market going strong and expecting to touch 1500 screens in 2011
The e-cinema deployment in 2010 in India ranged to 4300 screens. The major players in the e-cinema space are UFO Moviez, K Sera Sera, Qube Cinemas and Prasad Group. Currently, UFO Moviez has around 2000 screen installations across India and is aiming at rolling out its 3D initiative by converting 1250 3D enabled screens in the country by 2013. UFO is investing around Rs 1 billion (US$ 22 million) for this project. This in turn will open larger business prospects for the Indian film industry and give a wider range of entertainment to the audiences.

About Diversified Communications India

Diversified Communications India is a subsidiary of Diversified Communications, a global company with headquarters in the Eastern U.S. and divisions in the Western U.S., Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Diversified Business Communications, a division of Diversified Communications, brings buyers and sellers together through internationally acclaimed trade events, award-winning publications and eMedia. Diversified Communications India produces exhibitions that cater to the entertainment technology sector including PALM (Pro Audio/ Lighting /Music) Expo; Musician Expo; Cinema India Expo; the recently launched Info Communica Expo. The publishing division supports these industries with two publications: Studio Systems and Pro Sound Systems.

About Createasphere

Createasphere is a global community builder for the entertainment technology industry, building and connecting communities and advancing technology and careers through expos, conferences, education and online offerings. Createasphere was founded in 2001 as HD EXPO, and over the past decade has grown into a global company that develops and presents influential events for the content creation community, on line and face to face. Founded by Kristin Petrovich Kennedy in Los Angeles, Createasphere became part of Diversified Business Communications in 2009, now driving their entertainment strategies and properties division. Currently Createasphere is presenting the Createasphere Entertainment Technology Expos in New York and LA, The Digital Asset Management Conference, in New York and Los Angeles, The DAMMY Awards in New York, Cinema India in Mumbai, and workshops focused on 3D, Canon EOS, REDucation, and Post Production Master Classes in the US and abroad. Createasphere is headquartered in Burbank, California (www.createasphere.com).

About Scrabble

Scrabble Entertainment was formed in the year 2007. Scrabble being India’s first 2K DCI Compliant Cinema deployment Entity aims to convert every multiplex in the country to the 2 K Digital Cinema Platform. The company has already contracted with the leading Exhibitors, Producers & Distributors in India to facilitate this conversion. Scrabble will act as an intermediary between content providers including major studios and independent distributors, and the exhibitor. Under a Virtual Print Fee (VPF) business model, Scrabble will finance the exhibitors’ transition to digital by collecting a negotiated “virtual print fee” from movie distributors & producers. Company Vision: To provide a Digital Platform to Indian and Hollywood Studios that will help them maximize revenues by providing a much wider day n date release and flexibility in show placement at a reasonable cost. This Digital Platform will also help Hollywood Studios release 3 D Films in India. It will help reduce the effects of piracy on Indian Entertainment sector (estimated loss USD 4 Billions per Year) Source: US India Business Council (USIBIC)Scrabble intends to convert all the Multiplex Screens to DCI compliant Digital Screens which will   enable exhibitors to showcase alternative content and maximize revenues with a flexible advertisement model.

For further information, contact:

India

Pooja Patil
Marketing Manager
Diversified Communications India Pvt. Ltd.
Tel: +91 22 2660 6150
ppatil@divcom.in
www.divcom.in

Prachi Mujumdar
AVP - Marketing & Strategic Alliances
Scrabble Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
Tel: +91 9920383828
prachi.mujumdar@scrabbleentertainment.com
www.scrabbleentertainment.com

US and International

Christine Purse
Ignite
Tel: +1 818 508 0450
Mob: +1 323 806 9696
chris@ignite.bz