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Author
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Topic: DIGITAL kills off 16mm in NSW
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Peter Berrett
Jedi Master Film Handler
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Posts: 602
From: Victoria, Australia
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 08-22-2002 10:01 PM
Hi allI'm sure all you DIGITAL fans out there (aren't we all) will be pleased to read about the demise of 16mm in regional cinemas in NSW. Here's the article (see Regional Cinemas Update) http://www.fto.nsw.gov.au/sysfiles/attachment/mar_02.pdf Essentially the article talks about the fact that Roadshow Non-theatrical is no longer going to be supporting 16mm releases of new films. I am sure that you will also be pleased to read that regional cinemas are likely to move towards DIGITAL formats such as video or DVD. DIGITAL is here. Happy, happy, happy joy, happy joy.... cheers Peter
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
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Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 08-26-2002 06:51 AM
This happened in the UK about 5-6 years ago. The British Film Institute was the first major distributor to announce that it was no longer striking 16mm prints of new titles. A few years before that the BFI had taken over Glenbuck, which at the time was one of the two main companies distributing 16mm titles to nontheatrical outlets. Glenbuck concentrated on arthouse titles (hence the merger with the BFI): the other company, Filmbank, distributed 16mm on behalf of the main American distributors. I don't know whether Filmbank still exists, but I do know that apart from the odd archival screening, 16mm has virtually gone even from arthouse venues and film societies.I think the main factor that was responsible for the decline of 16mm from the early 90s onwards was the growth of multiplexes. This had two effects. Firstly a much larger amount of 35mm equipment was being manufactured, installed and serviced. Therefore it was easier and cheaper for smaller venues, arts centres and non-profit film societies to purchase, operate and maintain 35mm. Secondly, because much larger numbers of 35mm prints were being made, the economies of scale changed so that it was no cheaper to strike a 16mm print of a feature than it was a 35mm. If you look at lab rate cards today, then (assuming you are starting with a 35mm interneg), it will actually be a lot more expensive to strike a 16mm print, not least because a 16mm mono track neg will need to be made first. Working for an archive which needs to have 16mm elements duped regularly for preservation, this situation is hitting us especially hard. But from the point of view of cinema presentation, I can't say I'm sorry that 16mm is history. The tiny minority of venues that for whatever reason cannot go to 35mm will probably end up showing DVDs through video projectors, and if the alternative is a heavily worn and scratched 16mm, I think I'd prefer that.
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