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http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/features/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003052423
Aug. 23, 2006
BELGIAN BELLWETHER
by Andreas Fuchs
The July 7 opening of the Kinepolis in the West Flanders city of Brugge (Bruges), Belgium, not only unveiled another 1,605 zetels to complement the pan-European circuit's existing 91,670 seats at 21 locations with 302 screens in five countries, but also marked another major step in cementing its leadership in digital projection. The highest number of digital installations under management of one entity-13 in Belgium, five in France and three in Spain-already make Kinepolis the world leader with the largest share of digital compared to total number of screens per complex.
"Kinepolis Cinema was the first European exhibitor to install a DLP Cinema projector in 2000," confirms Nancy Fares, business manager, DLP Cinema, at Texas Instruments. "We are pleased to be expanding our relationship with Kinepolis, and joining them to create Europe's first all-digital projection cinema operator." Continuing on that route, Kinepolis Group NV is now also the first European exhibitor to sign a comprehensive strategic agreement, financial terms of which were not disclosed, with Technicolor Digital Cinema. The division of Thomson will deploy DLP Cinema technology that includes Barco 2K projectors and Dolby Digital Cinema playback systems throughout all 130 Kinepolis screens in Belgium. About half, including the eight auditoria in Brugge, will have been outfitted by early 2007, with the rest scheduled for the end of that year. According to corporate communications from the circuit, for the other Kinepolis locations in Spain, France, Switzerland and Poland, "there are no concrete digital expansion plans at this moment."
Expanding upon its activities in North America (FJI February and May 2006), Thomson can confirm further "negotiations with its film studio partners to complete digital-cinema equipment usage agreements that cover digital content distribution to Technicolor Digital Cinema-operated systems in Europe. The company is also in ongoing discussions with other major European exhibitors to extend the deployment of digital-cinema installations to other European nations beginning in 2007. Thomson expects to announce definitive agreements with studio and European exhibition partners in the coming months."
As the tenth location in Belgium, building on the longstanding local success from Kinepolis Ghent (1981) to Imagibraine in Braine d'Alleud (2000), the "highly promising" Kinepolis Brugge warranted an investment of €10 million (US$12.64 mil.) for an expected 400,000 annual cinemagoers. It was built by De Coene Construct/Willy Naessens from plans devised by Este architects. With parking for 600 cars and some 100 bicycles, all-THX certification and a "number of pioneering innovations," according to corporate communications manager Myriam Dassonville, Brugge makes "a fine example of technology and a conceptual reference for the other Kinepolis complexes and the international cinema market in general."
Let's take a look at what is "sure to strike a chord in the effervescent socio-cultural atmosphere in Brugge." Following the new features developed for Nancy last year in France, Kinepolis redesigned the open foyer to become a meeting place that "welcomes everyone." No movie tickets are needed to use the facilities, which encompass a gaming corner, the CréaCafé (a restaurant and fully licensed "lounge bar") and the Kinepolis shop. In addition to a wide range of Coca-Cola drinks and snacks such as fruit salad, pizzas and popcorn, of course, retail goods on offer there include t-shirts, film posters and books.
For even more openness, the usual ticket taker has been eliminated. Admission controls happen exclusively at the auditorium, beautifully outfitted with Woutim carpeting and lighting by Clairtronics, De Maerteleire. In a very high-tech innovation, every Quinette luxury seat has a built-in sensor from manufacturer Quick Sensor that registers each place taken when customers sit down. The monitoring system then automatically compares the number of tickets sold with the number of people present in the auditorium. As a result, Dassonville says, "the ticket-checking process is conclusive, efficient and customer-friendly. What is more, the circuit encourages cinemagoers to buy tickets electronically." No wonder: The Internet-printed confirmation-indicating screen, show, film and seat/row number-provides greater convenience, and lower prices are offered on Kinepolis.com. Tickets bought at the box-office terminals onsite are also cheaper than those acquired at the cashier stations. Seating charts and available seats are displayed on the web as well as on digital screens in the foyer and at the theatre entrance.
All features of this "pilot project" were developed in-house and will be expanded "once the necessary assessments and adjustments have been made," Dassonville explains. The "extensive digitalization of film, information and communication channels" also creates "more environmentally friendly surroundings," with numerous digital signs and panel screens for advertising and film information. "The moving picture will be omnipresent," permeating a "pronounced digital look" throughout the complex, which includes two Barco DP100 2K DLP Cinema projectors. To date, that makes Kinepolis Brugge the first new cinema to have digital-cinema projectors installed from the outset. 35mm is still installed right next to digital, but Dassonville predicts, "In the near future, all auditoria will be digital." Film equipment and platters come from Cinemeccanica illuminating DemoSpec screens. On the sound front, QSC amplifiers work with Dolby DP650 processors and JBL speakers.
Praising them as "pioneering the revolution," Stephan Paridaen, president of Barco's Media and Entertainment division, says his company is "proud to be selected by Technicolor and Kinepolis as the exclusive partner...for this first, nationwide digital conversion of a complete theatre network in Europe. Selection of our projectors is also proof of confidence in the reliability of DLP Cinema technology for major rollouts." Barco promises "a unique and clear set of customer benefits" including sealed engines, liquid cooling, extreme reliability and unrivaled service records, all assuring to Kinepolis "that their own planned expansion and European growth will be sustained."
Gilbert Deley, managing director of Kinepolis Cinema, confirms the company's full commitment to "the ongoing advancement of digital cinema. Our customers have expressed interest and enthusiasm for digital-cinema presentations, and only DLP Cinema projection technology has proven reliability and superior picture quality. Our confidence in DLP Cinema and in Barco is the result of moviegoer satisfaction and a complete analysis of alternative d-cinema systems."
To that end, "the agreement specifically requires Technicolor Digital Cinema to deploy, maintain and monitor all digital-cinema systems," explains Joe Berchtold, "including Technicolor's proprietary theatre-management system." The president of newly restructured Technicolor Theatrical Services and head of its d-cinema division also gives credit to Barco and Dolby's "market-leading equipment that delivers the quality and reliability needed to make digital cinema an audience favorite."
For David Watts, senior VP and managing director at Dolby U.K., that very quality includes "reliability and user-friendly operation of the system, backed by Dolby's proven customer support and commitment to industry standards... Dolby is proud to be a part of this groundbreaking initiative" that, he predicts, "will enable Kinepolis to make a smooth transition to fully digital operation."
"By capitalizing on Kinepolis Group's insight into European cinema markets," Berchtold agrees, "and leveraging Thomson's expertise and experience in the region, we are extremely well-positioned for making European digital cinema a reality in the near future."
And that future, digital and otherwise, certainly looks bright for Kinepolis. Right after the opening of Kinepolis Brugge, another Belgian construction project began to take shape. As a preview of their latest complex, this past August Kinepolis presented a 250-car drive-in and 250-seat open-air cinema near the newest location in Oostende. Scheduled for 2007, Kinepolis promises our readers that het nieuwste bioscoopcomplex "will take another step towards the future."
