Milan, 30 January 2006
Dear friends,
I have great pleasure in announcing two
important initiatives about to be run by MEDIA Salles, both of which
are devoted to the new prospects and problematics opened up by digital
cinema in the field of exhibition:
the third edition of “DigiTraining
Plus: New Technologies for European Cinemas”,
to be held in Kuurne, Belgium, from 5 to 9 April 2006
and,
as a useful accompaniment to the course,
“DGT Online Informer”, a short, electronic Newsletter
that will periodically bring you up to
date with the new developments in digital screening, offering information
and brief advance interviews with the lecturers at “DigiTraining
Plus”, in order to understand what the “burning issues”
are, what steps forward have been made in the recent past and what problems
remain to be solved.
It seems only right for a project like MEDIA Salles, which sees training
and information for exhibitors as its main objectives, to be present
and make positive suggestions in a field expanding significantly like
that of digital screens, which have grown in Europe by 181% (far more
than the world average, which was 59%) in one year. Between June 2004
and June 2005, digital screens did in fact increase in number from 37
to 104, thus equalling North America and reducing the gap with Asia,
where in June 2005 there were 166 of these installations.
Digital screening is a field in which some doubts still accompany the
search for the best business solutions, yet with a growing number of
practical experiences, too.
I shall briefly outline the content of both initiatives, referring you
to the coming issues of the new “DGT Online Informer” for
a more detailed account of the topics that will be dealt with in the
course.
“DigiTraining Plus: New Technologies
for European Cinemas” (5-9 April 2006)
Novelties and continuity
The third edition of the course opens in a spirit of continuity with
its predecessors, starting with the venue for the event, highly appreciated
by the participants in past years: the headquarters of Barco, a company
world-famous for the production of equipment for digital projection
on the big screen. Another element of continuity, which had found great
favour in the past, is the alternation of theoretical session, group
work and visits to digital theatres, where it is possible to have a
close look at state-of-the-art equipment explained by experts.
The main novelties will, instead, be in the area of contents, starting
from a detailed examination of a much-discussed theme: 3-D cinema and
its potential. There will be no lack of updates on the present situation
of digital screening in Europe and the rest of the world, the most recent
experiences of European exhibitors in facing technological and commercial
problems deriving from the adoption of digital technology and an exchange
of views with representatives of some banks in order to examine possibilities
for financing the transition to digital. Amongst the lecturers are managers,
exhibitors and professional figures, all directly involved in this delicate
transition phase.
“DGT Online Informer”:
eyes wide open on digital, in anticipation of the course
Novelties and previews, interviews and brief reflections to discover,
little by little, the main themes of the course, to ask the lecturers
questions, to see where we stand at present in this sector: all in a
short Newsletter, published by the MEDIA Salles’ editorial team.
In the first issue, coming out at the beginning of February, Glenn Wastyn,
Business Development Manager of Barco Digital Cinema and among the speakers
at the next “DigiTraining Plus” course, will anticipate
some of his own reflections on the present state of digital cinema in
its two aspects: D- and E-Cinema.
The Newsletter will be published in English.
I trust that both initiatives will win
your interest and help the growth of European cinema through a better
understanding of development patterns in the digital sector.
Very best wishes to everyone for the year
that has just begun from myself and all the MEDIA Salles’ staff,
in the hope of being able to meet – or be reunited with –
many of you in Kuurne this coming April.
Domenico Dinoia
President
MEDIA Salles, a project operating within the framework of the
European Union's MEDIA Programme, with the support
of the Italian Government, fosters theatrical distribution
of European audiovisual products, both by high profile campaigns involving
Europe's cinema exhibitors and by initiatives to raise the visibility
of European productions with industry players and potential audiences,
creating specialized information channels on a global scale. Thus the
current initiatives from MEDIA Salles dovetail in a program with a triple
focus – training, promotion and information – and maximum
combined effect.
MEDIA Salles
Via Soperga, 2 – I-20127 Milan
Tel.: +39.02.66984405 – Fax: +39.02.6691574
E-mail: infocinema@mediasalles.it
Website: www.mediasalles.it
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