General objective: Digitalization and archiving under LTO conditions for film-based movies, increasing the distribution capacity in DCP format, thus contributing to the prevention and decrease of piracy.
Objective 1 - Increasing the competitiveness of Romanian companies in the film industry, on national, European and international markets. Voodoo Films is one of the largest private sellers of Romanian movies since 2007, both nationally and internationally (global proceeds of over 1.5 million Euro, cooperating with platforms like Netflix, IFC, CANAL+). The company digitizes and converts valuable Romanian movies, their trailers and promotional materials for exploitation in the domestic and international market, supports movie production by pre-selling and providing direct post-production services and needs to repair and archive (on LTO) n order to continue to export movies at current international standards.
Objective 2 – Updating the current production, distribution and consumption practices. Voodoo Films has been contributing substantially for over 15 years to the Romanian and foreign film distribution in Romania via screenings, festivals, caravans, as well as their sale to TV stations and streaming platforms. Current standards and current technology require a distribution of films in public screenings or on platforms in encrypted, digital DCP format, the only one that protects against piracy. In Romania, DCP screenings are currently possible only in modernized cinema halls located in major cities. The objective is to bring the movies to areas where DCP technology has not yet arrived and can be done only via screenings with a mobile DCP projector.
Objective 3 - Enhancing the capacity to respond to new consumer challenges. Consumers need recent or restored film content and required it as close to their home as possible in the form of attractive events accompanied by the participation of guests. Small towns have been neglected for years due to the disappearance of cinemas and the lack of modern DCP projectors. By law and custom, most Romanian and European content must first be exploited through public screenings for months and years before it can be marketed through streaming platforms. A DCP projector with appropriate sound facilities is indispensable for the dissemination of content distributed in disadvantaged regions in Romania.
Actions:
Staff training in order to acquire digital skills in post-production and editing for digital products. The specific employee who will acquire these digital skills has worked in the cinema environment for a considerable number of years and has chosen personal development and professional retraining by maintaining the cinematographic field as the industry in which he wants to continue to carry out the work. The main qualification will include editing audio-video material, including fitting and creating digital formats, import, export, effects, in the form of capture, telecine and import material Intercalated and Progressive (50i vs. 25p), video-audio synchronization, plugin learning, working techniques, transitions, motion graphics, chroma keying, 2D tracking, 3D, video-audio, codecs, gamma, depths (bit depth), color spaces, and specific NLE software such as Adobe Premiere, Avid Media Composer or Apple Final Cut, Adobe Premiere Pro CC, etc, made by Generics, Subtitles, Titles, Transitions, Video Effects, Working with Chroma in Adobe Premiere adapted to various file types, formats and video extensions and compression types.
At the same time, the new specialist will carry out activities of subtitling operator, designing and producing specific promotional materials, trailer, teaser and spots, as well as transfer and archiving activities. Development and distribution of digital content - Restoring, digitizing Romanian movies with proven artistic quality filmed mainly on film and storing them under sustainable and quality conditions by transferring them on LTOs. Digital public screenings in Romania, with DCP-format movies with their own equipment, including in locations where there are no cinemas or where such technical projection equipment is not available in cinemas.
Art films hardly reach the Romanian public due to the lack of projection spaces. We want to meet this need by purchasing a professional mobile DCP digital video projector, a sound system and a screen necessary for making caravan screenings. This will facilitate the presentation of high-quality digitised material and the public presentation of digitised archive films. Preparing digital audiovisual products and related promotional materials for streaming platforms such as Netflix or Criterion and presenting content to international sales agents such as SBS production, MK2 or Goodfellas.
The steps required to digitise existing content for exploitation are different depending on the material on which the content was made. In the case of movies shot on film, it involves scanning the image negative or transposing through telekinem, digitizing the analog sound, resynchronizing them, recolorizing, creating digital formats specific for the type of exploitation (TV, cinema, wide-screen, 4:3, NTSC and so on). For films already shot in digital format, creating formats for distribution and screening means prepare a 4k quality version, create a master DCP and additional screenings DCPs, encryption, conversion and reconversion of material, screenings of digitized formats.
Digital screening activities involve the transport and installation of the equipment both video and sound, the screen, and make the necessary technical connections including to connect to the mobile internet, followed by adjusting color and sound levels, all adapted to the formats and dimensions of the screening venues places, subtitling and the actual screening operations. Installing necessary screening technology is up to 6-8 hours per location. All these actions are accompanied by those pertaining the promotion required for bringing the events to the public attention.
Additional links:
- Reference
- C11-I7
- Project locations
- Romania
- Project website
- https://voodoofilms.ro/...