Category: Ficci Frames

MUMBAI: Cloud-based technology will empower consumers and has the potential to change the way content is consumed. This was the underlying theme of the panel discussion on the ‘Digital Entertainment with Connected Devices and Cloud Based Services‘ at Ficci Frames 2012.

For starters, Cloud Computing is a web-based service which allows users to access content from anywhere by tapping into the vast resources of the Internet.

Reliance Entertainment Digital Business COO Manish Agarwal said the company’s subscription-based video-on-demand service Bigflix is run completely on cloud technology which allows consumers to watch video seamlessly from any device, anywhere.

UTV Interactive Sr. VP Sameer Pitalwalla said UTV, which produces a lot of movies every year in addition to the content that it produces for its various channels, is among the few companies to digitise its content.
Pitalwalla further stated that the content produced by the company is gradually uploaded on its YouTube channels besides Facebook, which has become the defacto destination to access and exchange content.

Adobe Systems South Asia Regions MD Umang Bedi said the company has transitioned to cloud technology as the consumers are asking for it. The company has created Adobe Creative Cloud, a creative hub, which allows users to explore, create, publish, and share work using Adobe services.

Tata Communications Head- Sales, Media & Entertainment Richard Craig Mcfeely said the cloud service will help Indian content owners in a big way to monetise their content well in international markets that have sizeable NRI population.

One sentiment that the panellists echoed was that the cloud technology will help content providers understand their consumer preferences as cloud stores data about user which allows them to provide content that is relevant to their tastes.

“In simple terms, cloud knows the person and will help to dissect what the consumer wants. From consumers perspective it’s about the content that they want,” Bedi said.

According to a study conducted by research firm IDC for Microsoft, the cloud technology is projected to create two million jobs in India by 2015 and will generate nearly 14 million new jobs worldwide in the same period. The study also estimates revenues from cloud innovation to reach $1.1 trillion per year by 2015.

MUMBAI: Filmmakers in India have begun to realise that low-budget films do well within the country as well as outside, if the content is good and relevant.

This was one of the views expressed in a rare meet of film directors who gathered at the Ficci Frames to talk about other directors, and not just business – something that producers do.

Noted directors Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Imtiaz Ali, Bruce Beresford (director of ‘Driving Miss Daisy’) and award winning Australian filmmaker Robyn Kershaw were giving their view of ‘The Art of Movie-Making: Director’s Cut’ at a session moderated by Amol Gupte.

Kashyap said, “The year 2012 is set to be a landmark year in the annals of the Indian film industry that is to celebrate its 100 years next year. This has been proved by two low budget films ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ and ‘Kahaani’ becoming hits.”

Compared to blockbusters like ‘Bodyguard’, ‘Ready’ and ‘Singham’ and some others, films that also brought in good returns during 2011 were ‘Rockstar’, ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ and ‘The Dirty Picture’.

The participants also mentioned that low-cost films have been doing exceedingly well internationally too. To prove this, Gupte said the South Korean distributor of his film ‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ had ordered as many as 102 prints of the film which was released in India with 200 prints.

But the directors also agreed that small budget films are not a cup of tea for big time producers who always bank on big stars to fetch them good business at the box office.

“But both these films – ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ and ‘Kahaani’ – have proved that even without a Khan, a film can fetch superlative returns if there is good content. After a long time we have set to underline that content is indeed the king,” added Kashyap.

Kashyap went on to add that there was a need for a creative producer who could look at the creative part of the film besides the financer who was equally important.

Agreeing with him, Akhtar said Excel Entertainment had just the right combination in Ritesh Sidhwani sourcing the funds for a project, while co-producer Farhan Akhtar looked after the creative aspects of the film besides directing it. “Hence it was a wholesome Entertainment company,” she observed.

Referring to the negative aspects of a producer, Gupte said: “Since my film ‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ had school-going children including my son Partho comprising the cast. I shot only on Saturdays so that the studies of the children should not be hampered. I approached Fox Star Studios only after I finished the film. If I had approached them earlier, they would have come to know that I was shooting only on Saturdays and they would have shown me the door. This is because the studios and big-time producers are very particular about the schedules and want to complete a particular film on time. They account everything financially and not with creativity,” he added.

Agreeing with Gupte, Ali said, “When I started to make my first film ‘Jab We Met’, there was some problem or the other cropping up from the producer’s end. But I was determined that I would go ahead with my conviction of making a good film and I succeeded. But it took me three years to complete the film, though I had planned to complete the filming in three months. However when I undertook to helm ‘Rockstar’, both the production people and I were in unison in our thoughts. In my view, the system needs an immediate change,” he added.

He felt that directors turning producers will not help to change the scenario. “Of late I turned producer, but since then I have been able to direct only one film for I am too much glued in my production activities,” observed Kashyap.

It now remains to be seen whether producers heed the directors’ call to involve a creative producer. Such a step will not only turn fruitful but will also cut costs dramatically. All said and done, the star system is on the wane with good content coming to the fore.

MUMBAI: The world is going online and Indian businesses and consumers are not far behind in accepting the notion of online purchases and e-commerce sites.

‘The Building Essential Relationships in the Online World: emerging Business Models and more’ session at Ficci Frames 2012 explored the possibilities that are open to this trend and how the success stories from India came into being. The moderator MEF Americas chairman Ralph Simon and the panelists Nielsen MD Farshad Family, Hungama Digital and bollywoodhungama.com CEO Albert Almeida and Flipkart digital distribution head Sameer Nigam lent their own perspectives to this.

Simon coined the term ‘Screenagers’ for the population that alternates between the online, mobile and television medium for entertainment or communication.

Family provided some statistics about how the population in India is increasingly accessing the digital space on a daily basis.

According to the latest Nielsen report, smartphone users on an average spend two to two and a half hours on their phones out of which 20 to 25 per cent is spent for communication while the rest is spent surfing the applications.

In the age group of 18 to 24 years, the time spent is more than three hours a day on smartphones. “This indicates a impact on the media consumption on the whole, but doesn’t necessarily mean that time spent watching TV is affected as many houses now have one TV set while the children have smartphones. So the number of people watching the TV together may decrease, but both the screens are used in any case,” Family concluded.

Following this pattern, one can see that the digital medium is gaining acceptability and it is now easier for businesses to attract online purchases. “The trigger points for an online purchase are convenience, value and trust in that order,” explained Family. Considering that the digital space is a novel medium, the players have more wriggle room and space for experiment in the process of discerning the taste of the ‘Screenagers’.

Taking the session forward, Nigam explained how Flipkart is focused on generating trust amongst its patrons and providing convenience. “For this, we are in the process of making online shopping as convenient and trustworthy as possible through features like cash on delivery. In a market that still believes in assuring the quality of the product after a touch and feel experience, cash on helps in inculcating trust of the buyers.” Additionally, the online dealer is also developing its own logistics chain in order to deliver efficiently and safely.

Almeida offered that the key for any online business to thrive is to offer value. The QUE or the Quality User Experience is what really sells one’s online business and to gain the loyalty of customers in an age where choice is ample, providing value can make a big difference.

“Brands have begun to realise that mere advertising or pushing the communication towards the consumer is no longer going to work. They have to be involved in the conversation that their consumers are engaging. Take for example the automobile brands. They realised that Indians love to discuss automobiles online and to make themselves noticed, they just need to be a part of these conversations. Hence you see auto brands are becoming increasingly active on the social media platform.”

Nigam concluded that the Indian consumer is communicative and thus engaging him in a two way interaction is a good way of knowing what the brand is doing wrong or more importantly what it can do to make the experience better.

Mobile, according to the panel, is the medium of the future with the penetration being deep. Smartphones, though finding a lot of takers in the urban areas, will lag behind features phones and, thus, IVR services will find takers for the time being.