 The
Finnish Film Foundation’s task is to support and develop Finnish
film production, distribution and exhibition.
The Finnish Film Foundation owns SES Auditorium Ltd which is located at
the Foundation’s headquarters, in an old brick storehouse in Helsinki.
There are 150 seats in the cinema.
SES Auditorium is not used for commercial screenings. The auditorium can
be rented and used as a meeting and congress facility. The Foundation
also holds screenings of children’s films. Cultural film weeks are
organized in co-operation with different embassies and cultural associations.
However, our most important customers are Finnish film production and
post production companies, who use the auditorium as a test screening
venue.
Our 35mm film projector is Cinemeccanica’s Victoria 5 with continuous
speed control, and film gates and optics for 1:1,37, 1:1,66, 1:1,85 and
cinemascope formats and the digital projector is JVC DLA-M2000LE. We have
DTS and SRD digital sound systems.
Our current technical film screening and audio equipment is good and up
to date but we cannot yet offer our customers sufficient digital screening
technique. We are therefore going to purchase new equipment that allows
us to provide the Finnish film industry with the best possible service.
Most future films in Finland are posted digitally but using RGB or YUV
colour space and there are notable differences in different colour spaces,
so simple preview would enable these problems to be avoided. There is
also one 3D production in development in Finland. I had the opportunity
to attend a digital 3D test screening which clearly indicated that the
digital 3D technique opens a completely new field of possibilities outside
the range of the traditional techniques. The old 35mm 3D horror and action
movies gave us merely a vague idea of what kind of an experience a digitally
made 3D can be.
I look very much forward to meeting my colleagues and hearing and seeing
the presentations of specialists in digital technique in Kuurne in March
2007. Riitta Haapiainen,
Cinema Manager,
The Finnish Film Foundation,
SES Auditorium Ltd,
Helsinki, Finland
|
 After
almost one year of research at university on the theme of digital cinema
for my thesis in 2004, I hope that this training course will allow me
to know more on the subject and more especially on the evolution during
these last 3 years. In my view, digital technology announces a revolution
in the cinema industry. Such a technological evolution will indeed have
a direct influence on all cinema professions, from directors to owners.
Belonging to latter category, it seems crucial to me to inform myself
as well as possible in order to be able to anticipate all these changes
and to find appropriate solutions to equip our cinema quickly enough.
As a consequence, I'm eager to discover from a theoretical point of
view what the latest technological developments are, to see how digital
cinema evolves in the different European countries and to learn what
impact this technology will have on the film market. From a practical
point of view, I'm also interested in seeing concretely how a cinema
is equipped with this technology, what the consequences are on the daily
work and what means can be used to finance the infrastructure changes.
Last but not least, I hope to meet professionals from all over Europe
who will each have their own point of view, experience and knowledge
on this subject. Matthieu Bakolas,
Ciné Le Parc,
Charleroi, Belgium
|
 Finnkino
is the largest theatre operator in the Nordic Region. We have theatres
in all the biggest cities in Finland and in all the Baltic states. In
Finland our market share is around 70% with 90 screens. In the Baltic
our market share is almost 90%. Overall we aim to sell up to 10 million
tickets this year.
Finnkino is still expanding and we currently have several constructions
going on in Finland and abroad.
Last October we installed Finland’s first DCI-compliant Digital
Cinema system in our flagship theatre, Tennispalatsi.
At present, Finnkino wants to study the coming digital presentation technologies,
and my role as Technical Manager, is to discover the technological practices
of the trade.
As I am based in the Tennispalatsi theatre, my work is both managing the
projection technicalities and the technical crew, and being in charge
of the direct customer service.
This year our company is trying to run a pilot project using digital projection
for alternative content.
We do have almost daily use of our e-projectors in B-to-B–type special
events for companies in addition to digital commercials, which we introduced
in Finland at the start of 2007.
In the Baltic we have had digital commercials for a few years now.
Most likely in the future I will be concentrating more on the digitalization
of our theatre network.
Ville Lampolahti,
Technical Manager,
Finnkino Tennispalatsi, Finland
|
 I'm
attending the “DigiTraining Plus” course with high expectations.
Sweden is a “small pond” when it comes to cinema exhibitors
and digital experience. Folkets Hus och Parker, where I work with Art
House Cinemas, is one of few digital exhibitors in Sweden and after more
than 6 years of experience we crave for input from others. My goal for
this training therefore is to network, challenge, listen and absorb all
the information I can from the other exhibitors and experts. What's the
European digital experience over the past few years? How do other smaller
exhibitors manage with the new 2K standard? What does the available content
look like in different countries? What experiences when it comes to alternative
content? What can we expect and demand in the future?
Monica Törnblom,
Folkets Hus och Parker,
Stockholm, Sweden
|
John
Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Cinema Exhibitors’
Association since 1990, was elected President of EDCF – European
Digital Cinema Forum – in June 2006.
I
feel my contributions to international marketing both in the international
fashion business and most recently in digital cinema exhibition have benefited
from my MA in Economics coupled with the four languages I speak.