ITV

Category: Post Production

  • PFL reports growth in operating revenue

    PFL reports growth in operating revenue

    BENGALURU: Integrated media services player Prime Focus Ltd (PFL) reported 20 per cent year-on-year (yoy) growth in operating revenue at Rs 609.61 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2017 (Q3 2018, quarter, the quarter under review) as compared with Rs 508.03 crore for the corresponding year ago quarter (Q3 2017). Total income increased by 20.3 per cent yoy in Q3 2018 to Rs 612.21 crore from Rs 508.84 crore. The company, however, reported a net loss of Rs 7.03 crore for the quarter under review as compared with profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 28.18 crore in Q3 2017. The company says finance charges considered for Q3 2018 were higher by Rs 5.5 crore on account of change in accounting treatment towards redemption premium on Standard Chartered PE NCDs–expensed as against capitalised in the balance sheet in earlier quarters.

    Adjusted operating EBITDA for the quarter at Rs 157.34 crore (25.8 per cent of operating revenue) grew by 27.8 per cent yoy from Rs 123.16 crore (24.2 per cent of operating revenue). Adjusted EBIDTA of Rs 157.34 crore for Q3 2018 includes ESOP costs of Rs 4.21 crore, foreign exchange (forex) losses of Rs 2.51 crore and Rs 10 crore of non-operating non-cash forex charges on account of balance sheet translation exposure and approximately Rs 20 crore for certain one-time Montreal setup costs and conservative provisions at PFW/DNEG.

    Total expenditure in Q3 2018 increased by 25.9 per cent to Rs 610.09 crore from Rs 484.43 crore in Q3 2017. Employee benefits expense in Q3 2018 rose by 25.9 per cent to Rs 332.61 crore from Rs 268.74 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Technician fees more than doubled (2.08 times) to Rs 15.12 crore from Rs 7.27 crore in Q3 2017. Technical services cost in the quarter under review increased by 72.4 per cent to Rs 28.45 crore from Rs 16.50 crore in Q3 2017. Finance cost in Q3 2018 increased 97.6 per cent yoy to Rs 45.32 crore from Rs 22.94 crore in Q3 2017. Other expenditure in the quarter increased 14.9 per cent yoy to Rs 106.08 crore as compared to Rs 92.36 crore in the corresponding quarter of fiscal 2017.

    Commenting on the results, PFL founder, executive chairman and global CEO Namit Malhotra said, “We are pleased to report a strong quarter with continued momentum across businesses. Ourcreative services continued to deliver marquee projects such as recent Hollywood blockbusters – Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League which have grossed over $800 million and $600 million, respectively. Our order book includes good projects like Venom, which is the next movie in the Spiderman franchise. In tech/tech enabled business, we added new clients and invested in new talent to strengthen our reach in North America while India FMS continues to deliver robust profitability in line with our expectations.

    “Given the significant growth we have witnessed in our creative services business and continued momentum visible going forward, the board has decided that Vikas should focus all his energies toward helping manage this growth and maximise the potential at PFW/DNEG. Vikas has relocated to London and will now be fully focused on his role as the CFO of PFW/DNEG. Nishant Fadia has now been re-appointed as the CFO of PFL. As you may know, Nishant has been with Prime Focus for the last 18 years and was the CFO of PFL till 2014 and since then has been the COO for the Group. I wish them both the very best as we look to take the Prime Focus Group to greater heights in the years ahead.

    “We are happy to continue to deliver performance ahead of plans and look forward to ending FY18 on a higher note.”

    Also Read:

    Prime Focus reports flat results for first quarter

    Hotstar tech partner Prime Focus signs deals with Turner & sports broadcasters

  • ‘Porus’ launched as ‘Digvijaya’ in Sri Lanka

    ‘Porus’ launched as ‘Digvijaya’ in Sri Lanka

    MUMBAI: Siddharth Kumar Tewary’s  gambit to own the IP for the historical drama  Porus which is currently airing on Sony appears to be paying dividends. The show has, according to sources, successfully travelled to Sri Lanka. The buyer for the 260-episode series is Maharaja Television (MTV). Swastik Productions, the production house driving the show, also owns the intellectual property (IP) rights for the series.

    A source close to the development said that Porus has been renamed as Digvijaya in the Sinhala-dubbed version and has been launched on channel Sirasa TV in January 2018. The show was launched with a big screen premiere with industry leaders and advertisers, two days prior to its first telecast on the channel. Through the channel’s online platform, Digvijaya would be also reaching out to the Sinhalese diaspora worldwide. According to another source, Maharaja TV has paid USD 5000 to Swastik Productions for an hour-long episode of Porus.

    Swastik Productions founder Rahul Kumar Tewary confirmed the development. “The content has been dubbed in Tamil and Sinhalese for broadcast in Sri Lanka,” he said. 

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, a source revealed that the Tamil version of the show is not yet launched and it will take three to four months for the Tamil dub to go on air. The prime time for Sri Lanka’s market is 7-11 pm. Presently, the channel has only Sinhalese dubbed content telecast during the weekend at 8-9 pm time slots. The broadcaster is combining two episodes thereby giving the show a one-hour slot.

    In its 10-year existence, Swastik has produced over fifteen television shows, which include Mahabharat, Razia Sultan, Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo, Mata Ki Chowki, Amber Dhara and Begusarai. It recently launched a light-hearted emotional drama on Sony Sab, Shankar Jay Kishan.

    The production house is free to sub-license Porus to a digital or international player, to air the episodes after three hours of original airing on Sony.  Will such deals be viable for Indian producers who have been used to grabbing up front commissioning fees rather than owning the IP in exchange for lower budgets? The jury is out, but observers say it will vary from deal to deal. Broadcasters, sources say are open to discussions about sharing or assigning rights  to producers if they are willing to bear the risk with them, by picking up a part of the production tab. Historically broadcasters have been bearing all the cost.

    The 30-minute show airs  at 8.30 pm from Monday to Friday on Sony, depicts the untold story of the greatest conqueror of the world, Alexander and the most spirited defender of India, Porus. Set in 350 BC, the story traces its roots to a time when India was at its glorious best and Porus resisted the first attack on Indian soil by the Macedonian legend. The chronological narrative will trace the journey from birth to the epic battle between these two warriors born on the same day but raised with completely different upbringings.

    Also Read :

    ‘Porus’ will alter the economics of the ecosystem, says SET’s Danish Khan

    Thai broadcaster Workpoint acquires TV rights for Porus

  • Can’t force film & TV producers to hire people from trade unions: CCI

    Can’t force film & TV producers to hire people from trade unions: CCI

    NEW DELHI: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has struck down relevant sections in the agreements that various workers’ associations have with producers to only engage their members for projects. It called such a demand as anti-competitive and a violation of the Competition Act 2002.

    This allows producers to freely hire workers, technicians, dancers, junior artists, from within or outside associations.

    CCI chairperson Devendra Kumar Sikri and members S L Bunker, U C Nahta and Justice G P Mittal said: “The associations have used their position to disrupt competition and fair-play in the market through their anti-competitive conduct. Through the provisions of clause 6 and 18 of the MOU, the opposite parties (OPs) have indulged in anti-competitive conduct such as issuing non-cooperative directives, prohibiting hiring of specialised non-member, artists, conducting vigilance checks, stalling shoots for hiring non-members and levying of penalty. All this amounts to limiting and controlling the services in the western Indian film and television industry. Even after the expiry of the said MOU on 28 February 2015, the OPs have continued to enforce the anti-competitive clauses.”

    The CCI has ordered the associations, which are the opposing parties, to cease and desist from continuing any unlawful practice such as visiting producer sets for vigilance. During inquiry by the director general of CCI, it was found that the shooting of various films and television serials had been stalled or delayed because of the ruckus created by the associations.

    This long-awaited order arose from a complaint filed by film producer Vipul A Shah in 2014 against Federation of Western India Cine Employees and 24 other associations representing different categories of workers such as musicians, singers, cinematographers, lyricists, etc. He was supported by several film bodies such as the Film and Television Producers Guild of India, the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association, and Indian Film and TV Producers Council, Eastern India Motion Pictures Association, South India Film Chamber of Commerce, and Northern India Motion Pictures Association.

    Shah is an independent film producer and director. As a director, he has directed various films like Aankhen (2002), Waqt (2005), Namastey London (2007) and London Dreams (2009), and as a film producer, he has produced several films like Singh is King (2008), Force (2011), Commando (2013) and Holiday (2014).

  • Prime Focus reports flat results for first quarter

    BENGALURU: After the sale of certain investments and restructuring and integration costs in the previous fiscal (FY-17), including in the quarter ended 30 June 2016 (Q1-17), Prime Focus Limited (PFL) had reported healthy numbers for FY-17. The company has now reported almost flat revenue and EBIDTA numbers for the quarter ended 30 June 2017 (Q1-18, current quarter) as compared to Q1-17. Revenue Income from operations was 2.41 percent lower in the current quarter at Rs 5,135.22 million as compared to Rs 5,262.13 million in Q1-17. Total Income in Q1-18 was 0.82 percent lower year-over-year (y-o-y) at Rs 5,241.89 million as compared to Rs 5,285.09 million in Q1-17.

    EBIDTA including other income in the current quarter was flat (down 0.01 percent) at Rs 1,033.16 million (19.71 percent of Total Income) as compared to Rs 1,033.30 million (19.55 percent of Total Income) in Q1-17. The company says that adjusted EBIDTA was up 9 percent at Rs. 1,118mn (Q1-17: Rs. 1,023 million), with margin at 21.4 percent (Q1-17: 19.4 percent), with significant work being delivered on projects from India. The company reported foreign exchange gain for the period at Rs. 22 million.

    Total Expenditure in Q1-18 declined fractionally by 0.11 percent to Rs 5,239.58 million from Rs 5,245.19 million in Q1-17. Employee benefits expense in Q1-18 reduced 6.18 percent to Rs 2,966.46 million from Rs 3,161.77 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Technician fees in Q1-18 reduced 1.30 percent to Rs 90.51 million from Rs 91.70 million in Q1-17. Technical Services cost in the current quarter fell by 18.86 percent to Rs 134.35 million from Rs 165.59 million in Q1-17. Finance cost in Q1-18 increased 24.08 percent to Rs 376.38 million from Rs 303.32 million in Q1-17. PFL says that Finance costs in the current quarter includes non-operating charges of Rs. 85 millon on account of amortizations of debt like items Other Expenditure in the current quarter increased 9.41 percent to Rs 911.06 million as compared to Rs 832.73 million in corresponding quarter of fiscal 2017.

    In its investor presentation, PFL says that its creative services revenue in Q1-18 was Rs 4,042 million, while in Q1-17 it was Rs 4,052 million. Adjusted EBIDTA for creative services increased in Q1-18 to Rs 804 million (19.9 percent margin) from Rs 682 million (16.8 percent margin) in Q1-17. The company says that EBITDA margin increased as India integration proceeded at a steady pace; significant work continued to be delivered on projects from India, and steps were being taken to upsize and upskill the Indian workforce. PFL launched PFAMES (Prime Focus Academy of Media & Entertainment Studies) for training entry level personnel in India. It claims that it has delivered movies like Transformers: The Last Knight, Wonder Woman, The Mummy, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword among others. PFL says that it has an order book at in excess of $250 million with projects like M:I 6 – Mission Impossible, Godzilla Sequel, Pacific Rim: Uprising, American Assassin, Justice League, Geostorm, Avengers, Alpha, Blade Runner 2049, Thor Ragnarok and other major unannounced projects.

    PFL’s Tech/Tech Enabled services revenue in Q1-18 was slightly lower at Rs 822 million as compared to Rs 841 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. EBIDTA for Tech/Tech Enabled services increased to Rs 223 million (27.1 percent margin) from Rs 220 million (26.1 percent margin). Its order book for Tech/Tech Enabled services was at $200 million to be executed over next 3 to 5 years.

    ALSO READ :

    Prime Focus reports profit for third quarter of 2017

    Q2-2016: Prime Focus revenue up 47% ;EBIDTA doubles

    Reliance MediaWorks acquires 30 per cent stake in Prime Focus

  • Mukta div partners Mobikwik, offers 15% cashback on tickets

    MUMBAI: Mukta A2 Cinema, the cinema exhibition arm of Mukta Arts Ltd. – one of India’s esteemed film banners, has announced its association with a digital wallet company, Mobikwik. The cinema chain recently expanded their presence and now has 48 screens in their network.

    Cinema patrons can avail a cash back offer of 15 per cent when they use the Mobikwik Wallet to make payments at any Mukta A2 cinema theater. Following the digital payments route, the cinema chain has associated with the digital wallet company to offer patrons multiple payment choices and various offers when they book tickets across the popular cinema chain.

    Mukta Arts MD Rahul Puri said, “We hope to offer our patrons an additional benefit when they visit our cinemas. Following the digital payments push implemented by the government, we are glad to create these associations and provide our patrons alternate methods for payments.”

    Mukta A2 Cinemas is operating in 14 cities making a pan-India presence to cater to the myriad needs of movie buffs across the country. The company also operates a property in the Middle East at Juffair Mall, Manama, Bahrain with six screens and a seating capacity of 960 people.

  • Tata Elxsi VFX creates Mt. Everest’s vastness for Bose’s ‘Poorna’

    MUMBAI: Tata Elxsi, a leading design company, has collaborated with filmmaker Rahul Bose, to provide world-class VFX for Poorna – a biographical adventure film based on Poorna Malavath, the youngest girl to climb Mount Everest at the age of 13 years 11 months.

    Tata Elxsi worked closely alongwith the Poorna team to bring their creative visualization and expectations to life. Be it capturing the snowflakes moving on screen, depicting the turbulence and enhancement of snow or capturing the vastness and breadth of the Mt. Everest, every detail was captured intricately to make the shots look realistic.

    Dinesh Kumar, VFX Supervisor – Tata Elxsi says, “It was tough to depict the vastness of Mount Everest. By using technology to perfection, Tata Elxsi’s VFX team broke the creative boundaries and recreated the Mount Everest for many scenes in the movie to the director’s satisfaction. We are honoured that a film such as Poorna is part of our VFX portfolio. Tata Elxsi’s team of experts delivered close to 155 shots in a short span of three months and successfully helped to bring the director’s imagination on screen.”

    Rahul Bose – Director and Producer – Poorna said, “The greatest technical challenge in making ‘Poorna’ was the VFX. If the VFX wasn’t world class we knew the film would suffer immeasurably. The team at Tata Elxsi has worked closely with us to deliver every discussed detail with great quality and precision, and I am glad that this collaboration resulted in seeing my imagination translate successfully into film. We look forward to working with Tata Elxsi on future projects.”

  • Futureworks implements HDR and ACES

    NEW DELHI: Post-production facility FutureWorks is the first in India to set up HDR (High Definition Range) grading and mastering. The post-production house recently installed Sony’s Flagship HDR Monitor BVM-X300, staying at the forefront of technology and offering the most premium.

    With the digitisation of content and with streaming channels like Amazon and Netflix implementing newer standards, FutureWorks latest offering certainly gives them an edge over their competitors.

    FutureWorks senior colorist Andreas Brueckl said, “HDR simply looks stunning and so realistic. Compared to older standards like REC709, we preserve highlights and shadow details to the maximum. Combined with our ACES pipeline on Baselight we can offer film style grading on the highest achievable level.”

    HDR in TV allows one to display images of a higher latitude, larger colour gamut and higher contrast closer to what the human eyes can see in reality. Regular TVs display a maximum brightness of 100 nits while HDR TVs can show unto 1000 nits or even 4000 nits.

    Andreas said: “ACES is a new standard for DI and file interchange, developed by the Academy of motion pictures. There are various benefits of ACES which include up to 32 stops of dynamic range and color gamut wider than the human eye. It also enables us to grade in film style with no limitation and compression.”

  • FutureWorks renews ties with Barco, acquires 4K projector

    NEW DELHI: 4K digital cinema expert Barco has renewed its partnership with post-production house FutureWorks Media which invested in a Barco 4K post-production projector at its Mumbai facility.

    The firm has relied on Barco technology since 2008, and is confident that the new investment in Barco 4K projector will bring significant value to its regional and worldwide customers in the form of critical color stability and superb color matching needed for consistent post-production monitoring.

    The company’s name indicates where its focus lies: FutureWorks is committed to providing state-of-the-art facilities that bring the future of post-production to film and TV companies from across the globe, and has numerous international and domestic titles to its name. With locations in Mumbai and Chennai and boasting some of the region’s brightest production talent, FutureWorks has a keen interest in staying at the top of its industry in every way, from expertise to technology.

    Customers of FutureWorks expect great results. Since 2008, the company has relied upon 2K Barco solutions and has been very pleased with the quality of the Barco imaging engine. However, with the debut of the world’s first 4K digital projector designed specifically with the needs of post-production houses in mind, FutureWorks went for an upgrade with Barco.

    Featuring highly customised post-production workflow software, superior contrast due to enhanced lens technology and a wide color gamut filter for pinpoint accuracy in color matching, the Barco 4K projector doesn’t hold back when it comes to meeting high-performance requirements.

    FutureWorks senior colourist Rahul Purvav said: “We were Barco India’s first customers when it comes to post-production solutions, and we’ve been extremely satisfied for almost a decade However, to stay at the top of our game, opting for the Barco 4K projector was a must. Its colour stability is top-notch, and we are already familiar with the smooth Barco modus operandi, which was a major factor in our decision-making process.”

    In terms of projection, the world of post-production is a demanding environment very different from other projection applications. Light output and distribution uniformity are key elements of the monitoring process, and therefore some of the key differentiators of the Barco 4K post production projector. Barco Communicator software is also equipped with an intuitive user interface tuned to post-production environments, saving time and streamlining workflows.

    “The implementation was quick and seamless – we were up and running within a day,” Purav added. “The Barco projector makes it easy to handle a wide range of color spaces, and alignments are simple. The projector’s colour rendition and contrast ratios are unbelievably consistent and up to every post-production standard. Add to that Barco’s proactive support team, and you have a true relationship of trust.”

    “This project with FutureWorks demonstrates our commitment to generating momentum in India, not just in cinema, but in niche AV markets as well – it really is the land of opportunity,” asserted Barco India MD Rajiv Bhalla.

  • Prime Focus reports profit for third quarter of 2017

    BENGALURU: Prime Focus Limited (PFL) reported consolidated Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 22.68 crore (4.5 percent margin) for the period ended 31 December 2016 (Q3-17, current quarter) as compared to a loss of Rs 19.43 lakh in the corresponding year ago quarter Q3-16. The company’s consolidated simple EBIDTA without other income in Q3-17 at increased 56.7 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) to Rs 111.01 crore (21.9 percent margin) from Rs 70.86 crore (15.1 percent margin).

    PFL’s consolidated Total Income from operations (TIO) in Q3-17 increased 8.3 percent y-o-y in the current quarter to Rs 507.19 crore from Rs 468.52 crore.

    Total Expenditure in Q3-17 was almost flat (increased 0.5 percent) to Rs 461.49 crore (91 percent of TIO) from Rs 459.32 crore (98 percent of TIO) in Q2-16. Employee benefits expense in Q3-17 declined 4.9 percent to Rs 268.73 crore (53 percent of TIO) from Rs 282.64 crore (60.3 percent of TIO) in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    Finance cost in Q3-17 reduced 26.3 percent to Rs 22.94 crore (4.5 percent of TIO) from Rs 32.12 crore (6.6 percent of TIO) in Q3-16.

    Technicians fees in Q3-17 reduced by 7.7 percent to Rs 7.27 crore (1.4 percent of TIO) from Rs 7.88 crore (1.7 percent of TIO) in Q3-16. Technical Services cost in the current quarter reduced by 16.1 percent to Rs 16.50 crore (3.3 percent of TIO) from Rs 19.67 crore (4.2 percent of TIO) in Q3-16.

    Commenting on the results, PFL founder, executive chairman and global CEO Namit Malhotra said, “We are very happy to report strong financial performance this quarter as we move well ahead of set targets. We are today positioned as a leader in all three of our businesses i.e. Creative Services, Technology Services and India FMS and are witnessing accelerating growth along with increasing industry recognition and acclaim.

    We are pleased to share that our Creative Services delivered VFX on the recent Hollywood blockbuster Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them which is amongst the top 10 movies of 2016 and has grossed over $800 million at the box office. Our creative order book is robust $250 million with many upcoming prestigious projects. Our Tech/Tech Enabled business grew steadily adding new clients and orders while the India FMS business continues to do well, growing robustly with high margins, a testimony of our superior quality.

    We have established a global track record in delivering top-end, innovative and commercially successful projects. We are beginning to clearly see the benefits of working on a larger canvas.”

    Notes: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

  • Sony Pictures, Wazee Digital bolster post-production relationship

    Sony Pictures, Wazee Digital bolster post-production relationship

    MUMBAI: Wazee Digital, a leading provider of cloud-based video management and licensing services, yesterday announced that Sony Pictures Post Production Services has extended its long-standing relationship with Wazee Digital through December 2017.

    Wazee enables rights-holders to monetise and enrich their valuable content. Its scalable solutions provide complete control over content so that assets reach their rightful audience. It is the only asset management solution built from the ground up to run natively in the cloud, and the only one to make live moments available immediately for global publishing, syndication, advertising, and sponsorship.

    Under the extended contract, Sony Pictures will continue using Wazee Digital Core and its automated metadata-processing technology to store, view, and manage assets from Sony Pictures’ inventory of feature films, including stock footage, full-length features, and clip selects, with granular specificity.

    Wazee Digital Core is a cloud-native media asset management solution that powers all other Wazee Digital products and services, including Commerce, the licensing pillar of the business, as well as Live Event Services. For the past six years, Sony Pictures metadata analysts have used Core to create time-based metadata for the inventory of feature-film assets Sony Pictures uses to fulfill licensing requests. The analysts then use the solution to manage inventory, share content, and create custom clips for delivery.

    “Sony Pictures has been a loyal client of Wazee Digital’s for many years, and it’s an honor that a film studio of Sony Pictures’ stature has relied on our technology for so long to store, view, and edit content for metadata enhancement and distribution,” said Wazee Digital CEO Harris Morris. “Sony Pictures’ continued use of the tools within Wazee Digital Core to create, capture, and augment granular metadata makes its titles more easily discoverable, streamlines its licensing operations, simplifies its contractual compliance, and widens its market reach. It’s a valuable example of how Wazee Digital can help companies like Sony Pictures make the most of their high-value content.”