International Edition No.4 - year 1 - 8
March 2006 
***
Editorial by Elisabetta Brunella,
Secretary General of MEDIA Salles
A multiplex that came into being a only few months ago in Italy, with 5 digital screens using 2K projectors, to obtain – in the words of the exhibitor – “guaranteed added value” and thus to distinguish it from its competitors.
But also the sixty Swedish theatres, almost all of them equipped with less sophisticated technology, yet still capable – and here the voice is that of the Project Manager of Digital Hus, the circuit of Swedish cinemas belonging to Folkets Hus och Parker – of allowing audiences to “experience a far better quality from watching films through 1.3K projectors than on 35mm projectors”, in the “quite small venues and on the quite small screens” where it is installed.
And then there are those
whose digital projectors have been used mainly for alternative events
up to now, making their cinema into a “multi-purpose theatre”:
this is the case of the recently opened Belgian complex, Cityscoop.be,
which those taking part in the “DigiTraining Plus” course
will have the chance to visit on the 8th April next. The Managing Director,
Miguel Devriendt, talks about it here.
And if the interview with Gianantonio Furlan, Managing Director of the
Furlan Cinecity Group, to which the Italian multiplex with its 5 digital
theatres belongs, is dense with useful ideas for grasping the possibilities,
prospects and limits that exhibitors will find themselves having to deal
with if they plan to switch to digital technology and makes practical
suggestions for making this possible and profitable at the same time,
the article by Rickard Gramfors, Project Manager of Digital Hus, represents
a different approach to the digital issue, actually eliminating the difference
between D- and E-Cinema.
And so, as promised, in this issue different approaches to digital find themselves side by side: three experiences arising from different needs and, partly because of this, ending up with three different solutions – practical elements that may help to answer real questions.
"DigiTraining Plus:
New Technologies for European Cinemas"
Visit to a digital theatre: Cityscoop.be 
Cityscoop.be: a multi-purpose
venue
by Miguel Devriendt, General Manager of Cityscoop.be, Roeselare
The Cityscoop.be complex was opened on 22 June 2005 by a family-owned business after only 9 months of building work. The seven-screen cinema, with a seating capacity of 1,250, is one of the most technologically-advanced complexes in existence, with full air conditioning, innovative seating and state-of-the-art sound and vision.
At the planning stage, it became quite clear that in order to make an impact it would be impossible to do without digital cinema.
(Click to read the whole article)
On the morning of 8 April, the participants at “DigiTraining Plus” will be offered the opportunity to experience Cityscoop.be directly during a visit to the cinema, which will include projection of film sequences in English, using the “split screen” (35mm versus digital) technique.
The digital challenge
Interview with Gianantonio Furlan, Chief Executive
Officer
of the Furlan Cinecity Group
It
opened its 14 theatres to the public in December 2005 and, with 5 digital
projectors, all Cinemeccanica 2K, the Cinecity Multiplex of Limena,
a small urban centre in the north east of Italy, only a few kilometres
from Padua, is one of the best equipped DLP CinemaTM digital complexes
in the world, the biggest in Europe. It is part of the Furlan Cinecity
Group which already has another two multi-screen cinemas in the area.
We asked the Managing Director, Gianantonio Furlan, to tell us about
the early months of this experience and to help us sum up the situation
of digital projection in Italy and in Europe. In order to hear, from
someone who has invested in it, and heavily so, what the opportunities
are at present, what can be expected from the near future, what exhibitors
should be demanding. And what they should change their ideas about.
(Read the whole
article)
The last days for enrolments
(deadline: 10 March)
"DigiTraining Plus: NewTechnologies for European
Cinemas"
Third edition
5-9 April 2006, Kuurne (Belgium),
at Barco headquarters
Special Rate at 450€
Among the lecturers, Enrico Chiesa, Cicae/Afcae, Mads Egmont Christensen, Mecano Film (moderator of the course), Tom Cotton, Technicolor, Eric Dillens, nWave Pictures; Gabriel Fehervari, Chief Executive Officer, Alfacam/Euro1080; Rickard Gramfors, Digital Houses-FHP; Denis Kelly, Cinema Operations Manager, Eastman Kodak; Steve Perrin, UK Film Council; Ben Stassen, nWave Pictures; Jan Van Dommelen, Unic; Glenn Wastyn, Business Development Manager, Barco.
Click to see the contents of the course
Click here to download the enrolment form
