Frank de Neeve Europa Cinemas 24112012.pptx

‘The technical manager is your friend’ Frank de Neeve Europa Cinemas network conference November 24th 2012

The Hidden Man • Documentary Kim van Engelen (40 minutes) • Follows 2 projecHonists during the transiHon from 35mm to digital • Trailer on Vimeo (hLp://vimeo.com/48454676) • English subHtled version of film available via mail@kimopHlt.nl

Who ?!? • Technical manager Pathé DelZ • Freelance journalist • Editor d-­‐cinema website cineserver.org • All views are my own, not my employer’s • I don’t have any commercial Hes to any of the companies that I’ll menHon.

Where? • Pathé DelZ cinema, part of Pathé Gaumont group • Formerly Mustsee DelZ • 7 screens, 1346 seats • 3 digital screens since 2006, fully digital since March 2012 • Approximately 500.000 admissions per year

What? • Website Cineserver.org • Since fall 2008 • D-­‐cinema website for professionals • In English since January 2011 • InvesHgaHng merger with Manice.net

D-­‐cinema experience • 2006 Cinemeccanica – prehistoric Hmes • 2008 Sony – dark ages • 2012 Barco – modern Hmes

Present equipment • Seven Barco projectors: one 4K, two 2K B-­‐series, four 2K C-­‐series • Seven GDC SX-­‐2000 servers (IMBs), one soon to be replaced by SX-­‐3000 to be HFR ready • Four RealD-­‐XL screens • ADDE Theatre Management System • Smartjog LMS • A few KMs of network cable • Last 35mm projector will soon exit

TMS: auto pilot

TMS: flying a drone

A view from the past • Workplace: a typical secluded projecHon booth • Colleagues: about 3 FTE • I wasn’t as worried as others about digital cinema because of my knowledge about digital • Started worrying when the company was acquired by Pathé. They didn’t believe in projecHonists – managers would have to run the digital shows…

Pathe ‘social plan’ • AZer a Pathé cinema reached 100% digital cinema + TMS, the job of projecHonist in that cinema ceased to exist • ProjecHonists were given a choice: • 1) Apply for one of two newly created posiHons: ‘Technical service manager’ or a ‘jack of all trades’ job • 2) They could leave Pathé and get some money – related to the number of years that they’d worked at the company • 3) They could join an outplacement scheme

Technical service manager • Technical service manager (20 hrs/w) since this spring, plus a regular manager shiZ (10 hrs/w) • What I do: -­‐ TMS and events -­‐ Dcinema maintenance (xenon, filters) -­‐ All other technical equipment -­‐ Health and safety • Some colleagues interpret their job differently

Technical manager / projecHonist • Technical manager is less of a specialist job, more general • Technical manager skills: -­‐ CommunicaHve -­‐ Technical know how -­‐ InquisiHve • Some projecHonists that were offered other jobs sHll feel responsible for the screenings. • It’s hard for them to say goodbye to their job and difficult for them to see others ‘do their job’. • This should not be underesHmated • These are not skills that most projecHonists have… L

Views on technical staff • Employers downplay labour implicaHons of d-­‐cinema– which is in their interest • Some think managers or office staff can do technical tasks. They have a lack of interest and knowledge and are ‘busy enough with their own work’ • My view: • Cinema industry should not to outsource all knowledge to integrators • Staff should be trained. Not on a simple course, but at advanced level • Cinema industry should acHvely promote training, not leave it all to manufacturers

Example: technical training Barco • I did the great 4 day cerHfied installaHon course at ‘Barco University’ in Belgium • Get real inside knowledge of the equipment • Can now tackle most problems myself

MulHmedia box training • MulHmedia Box Training for ProjecHonists by Rex BeckeL at BFI (2007) • ConnecHng video and audio signals is something alltogether different from regular projecHonist work • Really good course, but I hear it no longer runs as not many exhibitors sent their staff

Not all are eager to learn • I wanted to organise manufacturer courses for Pathé colleagues • Wrote to all manufacturers -­‐ hard Hme gerng a response • Barco and Doremi gave a good price, had a curriculum etc • NEC and GDC were very slow to respond • My colleagues showed liLle interest in a course • In the end they opted for a course at dcinex, as it ‘would be less commercial’ (??)

Advice • 1) Two way street: • Get yourself a good integrator with excellent support • AND • Have a good technical manager • In comparison: • In architecture the best buildings were designed by good architects that had great clients to interact with. The same should be true for cinema • 2) ‘ The technical manager is your friend’: • Involve the technical manager in all apects of your cinema • Have him/her do general shiZs so he gets to know the whole operaHon and can advice on all technical maLers

Recent examples • TMS speaks via walkie-­‐talkie to ushers: ‘Start feature screen 6’, ‘Credits screen 3’… • At ‘start pre-­‐show’, the TMS checks if the cleaning lights are off. If not, it turns them off

Thank you [is there Hme for a bonus… ? ]Contact: mail@cineserver.org

Example 3: DIY DCP • Digital cinema empowers exhibitors – for the first Hme in the history of cinema they have control over their own equipment, by making DCPs • Digital labs are the sHll best way – and not expensive • Commercial suites like EasyDCP, CineAsset, QubeMaster Xpress etc • Online DCP sHlls – QuickDCP • Free programs: OpenDCP – not for everyone – and Cinemaslides

‘Inter show’ content • The audience generally sits 5-­‐10 minutes in the auditorium before the screening • Why have a white screen? Digital cinema makes it possible to inform and entertain the audience • Using this opHon to promote your own screenings and events is basically ‘free money’

Points to take into consideraHon • Program should not look like old school slides, nor like your regular pre-­‐show • Program should not interfere with your commercials or trailers – should not contain commercials from your regular adverHsers • Audience entering auditorium should not be confused – ‘Has the show already started?’ -­‐ ‘Am I in the wrong auditorium?’ • Sound or no sound?? • Light on screen? – If not, is there enough light in the auditorium for orientaHon purposes? • Level of aLenHon should be lower than for pre-­‐show • No narraHve – should be able to cut program off • Program should change regularly • In digital signage moving people require sHll images and other way round

Inter show content at Pathé • Pathe MarkeHng Toolkit designed for prinHng posters • In future managers will be able to choose between making posters and DCPs • Will have mulHple templates for Pathé concepts • User can change dates, text and posters to adjust to local situaHon • Beta phase starts in December, first in 3 cinemas

SHlls made in collaboraHon with Wilco Schoneveld Contact: schoneveld.wj@gmail.com