Actor Michael Caton today joined the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator the Hon Helen Coonan, in announcing a new Australian Film Commission initiative - the Regional Digital Screen Network (RDSN) - which will see eight venues in regional Australia equipped with a digital cinema system by early next year, enabling them to screen Australian films in a digital format.
Senator Coonan said the RDSN represented an important investment in new regional infrastructure, and would utilise the benefits offered by digital technology to give regional audiences the same opportunities to experience Australian films on the big screen as audiences in metropolitan areas.
"I am also delighted to announce that the 2007 Sony Tropfest short film festival will be the first program to screen across the network next February via a satellite hook-up," she said.
Kodak (Australasia) Pty Ltd will equip the eight venues in stage one of the initiative, located in Port Augusta, Yarram, Hervey Bay, Devonport, Katherine, Wagga Wagga, Singleton and Albany. The AFC will curate Australian programming for the network including festival programs, programs for schools, documentaries, shorts and other Australian work selected from a digital content database being developed by the AFC. The AFC will also facilitate the screening of first-release Australian features through the network.
John Polson, Sony Tropfest's Creative Director, said, "With the addition of the AFC's Regional Digital Screen Network, our satellite broadcast of the 16 finalists will reach regional audiences at exactly the same time as people are seeing it in the capital cities, connecting communities with each other and building the sense of excitement and involvement that can only come from participating in the event as it happens. We are hopeful that screening across the RDSN will encourage more people from regional Australia to actually enter Tropfest. There's still time for people to enter a film in this year's competition."
The General Manager of CMax Cinemas in Devonport, Katrine Elliott, said she was very proud and excited to be involved in the network. "It will broaden the range of Australian films that I can screen in our cinema and that's a big plus for audiences in Devonport."
Digital cinema allows substantial savings to be made in the way films are distributed, as the cost of making copies in digital format is much lower than producing 35mm prints, and the digital files are also easier and cheaper to transport to regional locations than reels of film. The digital format guarantees excellent cinema quality no matter how many times the film screens, unlike 35mm prints which can be degraded by the time they reach regional cinemas.
AFC Acting Chief Executive Chris Fitchett said that the idea for the RDSN had developed out of the AFC's highly successful and popular Big Screen regional travelling film festival. "After some six years on the road with Big Screen, we know regional audiences want Australian programming, and we believe that digital cinema technology can offer important new opportunities to deliver this. Our vision is to see more Australian films out there in cinemas for audiences to enjoy, no matter where they live." |
