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Tag: Ficci FRAMES 2004

  • Ficci Frames 2004: Creating opportunities and history

    Ficci Frames 2004: Creating opportunities and history

    MUMBAI: Ficci Frames 2004 saw a lot of firsts in the entertainment industry. This was the fifth successive year of Frames which began in the year 2000. As a validation of the importance of the event, Frames 2004 has seen a significant increase of 30 per cent in attendance, from 1200 last year to over 1500 this year.

    Every year it grows to a larger audience spanning different countries and the Indian Entertainment Industry reaches out and into the hearts of people across the continents. Over 250 international entertainment industry delegates participated in Frames 2004 from over 20 countries – South Africa, USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Pakistan, Germany, France, Singapore, China and Thailand being just a few of participating countries.

    As we all know, the South Asian region offers terrific potential for the development of entertainment content due to historic meetings between leaders of Indian and Pakistan entertainment industries! This will definitely give a great fillip to the art in both the countries which is so akin to each other and appreciated with a near religion-like madness. Hollywood spells big money. But one industry which is often overlooked behind the glitter of the movie Mecca is the gaming industry which is expected to reach revenues of $30 billion by the year 2005. Frames 2004 brought to India companies like Electronic Arts, Sony Playstation, etc which are tremendously excited about the prospects of Indian market for gaming industry.

    Another industry, which is not given too much importance, despite the hidden rippling muscles it has hidden under its apparently placid surface is the animation industry. Ficci took the first steps towards making the Indian Animation Industry’s presence felt in the Indian entertainment industry with Ficci BAF Awards – India’s top 25 animation companies endorse the efforts of Ficci in recognizing excellence in the animation industry. Ficci Frames, in another notable achievement, has brought together two producers from India and USA and facilitated a co-production between India based Castle Peak Pictures and US based Quixotic.

    Entertainment today is moving forward faster on the wheels powered by IT. Frames 2004 acknowledged this and highlighted the increasing importance of convergence in the entertainment industry. Some of the biggest technology giants in India and abroad from IBM to Reliance Infocom presented their vision for the coming together of the IT industry and the entertainment industry in the Indian landscape in Frames 2004. Walt Disney International, Imax Corporation, Electronic Arts were some of the important global entertainment giants that attended Frames 2004 to get a bird’s eye view of the Indian Media and Entertainment Industry.

    No entertainment industry convention in India can ever be complete without the face of Bollywood – Amitabh Bachchan. In a glowing tribute to the towering performances given by them in the movies they have starred in and in recognition of their contribution to the Indian entertainment industry, Ficci honoured Bachchan and Hema Malini with the Living Legend Award.

    And the businessmen were happy too! All the exhibitors at Frames 2004 Marketplace had only one thing to say – They will be back in Frames 2005! They attributed this to a focused audience, innovative opportunities like Screening Room, Press Conference Room and a steady flow of serious visitors in the three day event.

    Alls well with an end that is even better! The event lived up to its promise by bringing together delegates from over 20 countries and 400 companies, offering an unique opportunity to discuss business at the Frames 2004 Marketplace, building linkages between India and established entertainment regions and finally delivering its key objective of Creating Opportunities for the Indian and international entertainment industry.

  • Gen Next urged to improvise technology to revolutionise cinema

    Gen Next urged to improvise technology to revolutionise cinema

    MUMBAI: The session “Cinema: NexGen” at the Ficci FRAMES 2004, began with the host CNBC TV 18 features editor Anuradha Sen Gupta introducing the distinguish line up of panelists – IMAX Theatre Systems, North Europe, Russia and Central Asia VP sales John M Schreiner, e-City Entertainment CEO Atul Goel, Hughes Communications’ Shivaji Chatterjee, Mukta Adlabs Digital Exhibition Pvt Ltd CEO Dr Sunil Patil and Barco Digital Saurabh Malhotra.

    Thereafter, Manmohan Shetty, giving a key note address, took over for a brief while to set the tone on how India needs to revolutionise cinema like Hollywood has. Generation Next must take up the cudgels in improvising technology, he opined.

    Schreiner triggered off a long speech on how IMAX can do the trick. Since the session was sponsored by IMAX, the length of the speech did not come as a surprise. Neither did the contents which were full of praises for IMAX, which is in more than 235 theatrres in 35 nations. Schreiner further conveyed that Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azakaban will be released in June 2004.

    Goel took it up to stress upon the need of cinema going digital. He said that this would allow the advertisers to choose a particular show to pitch in their products, unlike what we have now in celluloid cinema where the advertisers have to run their commercials for all shows on a booked day.

    Chatterjee explained that digital cinema would reduce shipping delivery and assembly cost, enhance editing quality and introduce integrated billing. According to him, the key benefit would be better distribution, production per print would reduce from 50,000 to 10,000, distribution per screen would lower from $22000 to $450, and piracy would be controlled.

    Patil elaborated on how the piracy would be controlled. He stated that, bu the time, the last print reaches in the B & C centres, seven to eight days have elapsed. This sets the tone for piracy. Why not have a system where all the prints are released in all the cinemas, simultaneously?

    However when asked that why had the multiplexes not embraced digital cinema so far, the panelists had nothing more to offer than say that the rates they proposed were unaffordable to them. Thus, the million-dollar question: “How in India do you expect to reduce the ticket cost which is is the major most reason for piracy, if you are rooting for digital cinema?” remained unanswered.

     

  • India blamed for lack of good scripts with universal appeal

    India blamed for lack of good scripts with universal appeal

    MUMBAI: Indian film industry has failed to utilise strategic opportunities with the film industries of other Asian countries. There is lack of scripts which would appeal to a larger audience, unnecessary sosha is made about the look and grandeur behind a film- without any thought process going that there is a market of Indian films in other Asian countries.

    These words by Asian Movie works MD Scott Rosenberg at the Ficci Frames 2004 seminar on “Strategic Opportunities between the film industries of India and Asia” set the tone for further discussion which kept hinging on the fact that the fault lay within India itself.

    The session had eminent personalities like Quixotic president Mark Byers, Technicolor MD Les Mckenzie, C P Packaging assistant VP Pongsak Kantiratanawong and Take Aim Productions cinematographer Frank Biffone.

    The following were some of the views expressed by the panelists who advocated the need for better ties in the entertainment industry between India and other Asian countries:

    – Nobody in other Asian countries seem to know how film business is conducted in India.
    – The growing menace of piracy should be wiped out.
    – Co-production between India and other Asian countries should be encouraged and Indian filmmakers should not impose the subjects on their partners; there should be a constant dialogue between the two parties on what and why they are making.
    – Quality of films need to be aimed at the festival circuit; this would inspire other nations to come forward for tie-ups.
    – Government should give concession to all the co-productions that materialise in this regard.
    – There is no need to fear that the films be in English; films can always be dubbed, Indian stars have lots of international value.
    – Merchandising of films should be looked into.
    – Need for schools to teach script and screenplay writing in India; however there is no dearth of stories per se. As many the people in India, that many the stories.

  • Convergence, animation, gaming to receive special attention at FICCI Frames 2004

    Convergence, animation, gaming to receive special attention at FICCI Frames 2004

    MUMBAI: Convergence, animation and entertainment will receive special focus at the fourth edition of the Federation of Indian Chambers, Commerce & Industry’s (Ficci) convention for the entertainment industry – Frames 2004 – in March this year.

     
    This time, there will be 15 sessions instead of the 23 that marked last year’s event, as feedback from the attendees indicated that the proceedings were too exhaustive to absorb, according to Ficci entertainment committee chairman Yash Chopra. Addressing a media briefing here this afternoon, Chopra said that at any point of time, there will be a maximum of three sessions. Sometimes, there could be just two. Last year, there were as many as five sessions running simultaneously.

    Since convergence is a major theme, on 17 March, Reliance Industries chairman and MD, Mukesh Ambani will deliver a presentation on the entertainment opportunities and challenges in the digital age.

    Ficci entertainment committee co-chairman and SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta pointed out that convergence was increasingly becoming a reality. These days broadcasters, mobile phone operators and cable companies are all turning towards making and distributing content, he said. One session will deal with improving the return on investment (ROI) for TV channels. The catchphrase for this session is ” If programmes were brands, would Kotler need to be rewritten?’

    Turner Intl Asia Pacific president, MD Steve Marcopoto will deliver the keynote address. Other speakers include BBC World’s director Jonathan Howlett, SET’s executive VP Sunil Lulla and NDTV Media CEO Raj Nayak. Today the need for tracking viewers’ mindsets to arrive at the proper balance between content and marketing is growing. The speakers will talk about the marketing mechanisms used to push new content to entice viewers away from rivals.

    Given the continuing CAS imbroglio, an important session on 17 march will deal with the question Addressability Where Do We Go From Here? CNN’s Andrew Stevens will host the discussion which will feature Reliance Entertainment chairman Amit Khanna , SET Discovery president Shantonu Aditya among others.

    Another side to television is how the ad agencies use the medium to ensure greater ROI for their clients. CNBC India corporate editor Govindraj Ethiraj will host the session which will see speakers like O&M chairman Piyush Pandey and Group M South Asia CEO Andre Nair. The session will look at how local brands have taken advantage of television as well as what innovative media strategies global companies have done to make sure that their brands are more desirable.

    Animation as an industry is taking off in India. The question is what opportunities exist for Indian companies to move up in the value chain and avoid working as mere sweatshops. This is one of the key issues Frames will seek to address with three animation sessions. The first one looks at co-production and production values from India as well as the kind of output expected from us. The issue is whether we can develop strong local and international properties for our market and abroad while maintaining the international level.

    The speakers include Jadoo Works CEO Ashish Kulkarni, Turner Intl original programming VP Susan Simensky and Red Kite Productions MD Ken Anderson. Another session will look at the quality of work that broadcasters like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network expect from production houses. The third session titled Walk The Talk will scrutinise the relationship between animation and IT. Could the next Pixar come from an Indian IT major?

    Frames’ involvement with animation will go beyond just seminars. It has instituted the Best Animated Ficci Frames Awards (BAFF). The aim is to set new benchmarks for our animation industry.

    Gaming is an area that is expected to see a major boom in the coming years. Indian software companies are beginning to bag contracts to create games for foreign media conglomerates. Electronic Arts president Jon Niermann will deliver the keynote address. His company sees tremendous potential for growth of the gaming industry in India for MNCs.

  • Ficci Frames 2004 to undergo makeover

    MUMBAI: The annual Frames convention, in its fourth year in 2004, will have some changes in its format.
    This was announced at the third seminar in the Frames 2004 knowledge series on Saturday. The session dwelt on film finance. A session held last month had dealt with the broadcast sector.
    Ficci’s Sushil Jiwarkar said, ” As the entertainment industry grows and matures, Frames also has to shift gears to reflect changing perspectives of the business. Hence we have initiated the process of pre consultations with industry members to collate their thoughts and viewpoints well in advance.”
    “Our aim is to make Frames 2004 more businesslike and result oriented. At Frames 2004, we have decided to limit the number of sessions to 15 or 16. There will be focussed workshops, company presentations, screening opportunities and the like. The seminar held for each industry segment will be vertically integrated to reflect continuity. We are given to understand that the UK Film Council, which had a major presence in Frames 2003, is negotiating five to six projects for co-production with our industry involving a total amount of 10 million pounds.”
    “We have received suggestions to hold structured financial sessions at Frames 2004. Through this, it is hoped that more such projects will be put in place. This will help new talent to give vent to their creativity.”
    Meanwhile, the Frames 2004 Knowledge Series is aimed at providing theoretical underpinnings of entertainment to an industry which has remained largely unstructured. One point that was raised on Saturday was that India could take advantage of the BPO side of the process of filmmaking. A cameraman here would cost much less than what is available overseas. This could be worth a few billion dollars. It was also suggested that the industry work with specialised sales offices in countries like Germany and UK.
    This way, there could be some projections made about the amount of business one could expect to do in a certain market. This was a response to a complaint that was raised by an audience member who worked for a German film production and distribution company. The company has $30 million to invest in India but has so far not seen any project it feels confident enough to back because business projections are not present.
    In its presentation, KPMG said that technology would unleash a whole new load of distribution streams for content. The industry is ready for a mindset change in terms of how it conducts its business a company representative said. “Aggregation of economies of scale are a crucial driver and this must be recognised by participants for revenue enhancement and cost reduction. Money will come in and the industry must move from an unorganised mechanism to an organised one. The nature of the business needs to be demystified.”
    “When we talk of aggregation, we will see media funds or media banks kind of concept start to happen. Cash entrapment will also happen. It will become easier to see how this business catches its cash. For instance digital distribution formats will change the way films are exhibited. This will allow banks to see how the money is flowing.”
    On the television front, KPMG noted that 82 million households were connected. While there are over 300 channels in operation, the proposed implementation of addressability has the entire industry in a tizzy. Therefore, the future outlook for the industry is uncertain. The forces that are driving change in the film industry included the entry of global players, technology driven piracy, the changing regulatory environment as well as increased interest from corporate fund managers.
    KPMG also noted that the traditional sources for film finance had dried up due to the high number of flops in recent times as well as the exit of several private investors when the economic environment turned sour. The new sources of funding include debt and equity. Projects could seek venture capital as well as international private equity. One of the concerns for equity investors is the scalability of the business model as well as extent of corporatisation not just in form but also in spirit.