Coping with change - View from the top

JULIAN DAY, founder and CEO of leading independent new media and authoring house DGP, in London, explains why creating a DVD requires multi-faceted staff with new sets of skills.

It is customary for any facility boss, when offered the chance to air their views in public, to have a right good whinge about all the odds stacked against them. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy this as much as the next man, but for once it seems that this course of action would be unfair right now.

I can only speak for my company, of course, but right now the DVD business seems to be on a roll. We have an established market, a lot of product still to be released, new genres coming of age, and the prospect of continued business in the years to come as we do it all again in HD.

I remember writing about the DVD market four years ago, and at the time expounding the view that the only way to really consolidate business in this sector was to ally oneself with the major studios. I still think this is the case, especially here in the UK, as to have a truly world class operation you need the volume that the studios bring. The breakdown of those supplying design and C&A services in this country splits into those few companies supplying the majors and the rest who deal exclusively with the independents.

Especially for those supplying the majors there are a number of things to think about that will affect business and profitability as we go forward, but it would be well for all players in the DVD facilities market to do the same.

Copyright Theft and Protection

This, as we all should now know is the most important task on any studios agenda. Whilst this may not affect us in pre-mastering directly (we are rarely on revenue share), left unchecked it will erode margins and therefore budgets. It is also forcing the majors to, quite rightly, review their suppliers and insist on them employing stringent levels of security, both physical and digital.

Whilst this is to be applauded it does have a cost to the facility owner: FACT membership. Watermarking and encryption technology, secure couriers, CCTV, Legal bills and PI insurance all add up, but should be seen as absolutely necessary if you are to offer services on any major project.

Digital Delivery

By this I mean no more DLTs. We are really at the stage where DLTs should no longer be going out of the door to replicators, but all files should be going ‘down the wire’. This could happen right now, as most of the replicators are already on the Wam!Net network, and some are starting to receive files by satellite as well, but the costs of fat pipes big enough to handle such data are still high, especially for the independent C&A facilities.

The replicators and the fibre and satellite operators are very keen however to work with us independent facilities to make their services cost effective, so over the next year, if the costs can really be brought down, then we will see all files being sent this way. The result will be not just a saving of time, but also a reduction in stock costs, and probably best of all – of improved security.

Strategic Partnerships

A further thought for the facility owner is strategic relationships, especially overseas. In Europe, we are seeing increased competition from all over the world, even for very local titles. With London now officially the most expensive city in the world it requires those of us that are based here to look long and hard not only at our prices, but also at our services. A USP has never been more important.

Whilst the VHS business was a local one, the DVD business is international, and to compete one must have an understanding of what this means. Subtitle creation and conforming, foreign language dubbing, censorship editing, different territorial credits to name a few all have to be dealt with in our stride. To this end the quality of staff is paramount. People that understand what it really means to create solid, creative international titles on time and on budget.

Whether this happens through formal affiliations with other companies around the world (such as that which DGP has through the GDMX affiliation) or is based on less structured relationships, it is my belief that only those companies who actively operate outside our shores that will continue to be successful.

Why? Because the studios operate internationally, and so should we if we want to be the biggest and the best. This ‘globalisation’ will not just benefit the facilities, but will also be of value to clients as well, both local and global, as they can begin to share materials across territories, learn from others experiences and benefit financially from better integration.

Next-Generation Formats

Next to the need for a global approach is the new generation of DVD product to be launched later this year. Several major motion picture companies have indicated that HD-DVD titles will be available in Japan and the USA this Christmas, and will be rolling out to the PAL territories in early 2006. Blu-ray titles will be released in 2006.

Here already is the main problem for facilities - two new formats. Having seen HD-DVD pictures I can attest to their outstanding quality, and with the increased interactivity promised for the authoring of the discs it will be a step change for the DVD format. But as a facility, I do not really want to be forced to invest in two different sets of equipment to supply product to different motion picture studios.

Sonic tells me that those European facilities that currently work with the majors are keen to know what authoring tools will be available, and when. These facilities are right to be concerned. The launch is now only a few months away and, at the time of writing, the final specification has yet to be fully rubber stamped.

However, with the format specifications coming close to being finalised, Sonic is anticipating the roll-out of their next generation HD-DVD and Blu-ray authoring tools in due course. I expect to see new product debuts at NAB 2005 but there has been no official word from Sonic as to when we can expect to get our first glimpse of these next generation authoring tools.

Authors' New Skills

This does need to happen soon as authors are going to have to learn new skills in order to programme the extra levels of interactivity that the new formats will support. With more web enablement anticipated, as well as more complex menus, authors will need to have those skills usually found with web programmers.

Knowledge of Javascript, SMIL and XML will be necessary to be an HD author. This is in addition to all the skills authors already need, so the mix of hardcore programming and creative ‘televisual’ abilities will mean facilities may need to cast their nets wider in their search for new talent.

With regard to video compression, the approved codecs are the same for Blu-ray and HD-DVD. The biggest problem facing the manufacturers is how to offer close to real time encoding across all codecs. The issue of emulation seems to be unclear as well.

With so much unresolved it seems impossible for us in Europe to make any firm decisions about our future investment in HD. With certainty, we know the next-generation HD formats are coming, but we will have to wait, and use our worldwide contacts to find out what we can do in the meantime to prepare for it. The one area we can invest in confidently is video encoding. As both formats have approved the same codecs, any investment made in this area now can be utilised in the future regardless of disc format standard.

What is clear is that the Standard Definition business is still good. Catalogue product is being released all the time, especially TV episodic, and genres such as Asian horror and children’s titles are also growing.

Music DVD is also continuing to thrive, both for new bands and older establish artists, but the space that is most exciting is the ‘interactive’ one. Whether it is family product like ‘Millionaire’ or children’s titles, the desire to have the interactive label is strong amongst those distributing Special Interest product. For C&A facilities this is a challenging area.

If your programmers are talented and your authoring kit powerful enough, you don’t necessarily have to buy bespoke tools to create your titles, as some would have you believe. And if you are using solid kit like Toshiba or Sonic then your title will be in spec.

Production Economics

However, what I think is a more important concern is pushing the boundaries of the current DVD spec economically. The amount of design and QC required, in addition to the extra authoring and production time make complex interactive discs very labour intensive, whatever the tools you are using to create them. Allowing enough time in the schedule for pre production and planning will undoubtedly mean fewer mistakes or changes further down the line when you can least afford them. Allowing for thinking time and experimentation in advance of production proper will make the difference between success and failure.

This brings me neatly on to schedules and budgets. These two only seem to get shorter and smaller, but there is no point in moaning about it. Studios want Day & Date releases, they want to beat the pirates, they want to get their catalogue out economically, they are being offered deals from all over the place.

Going forward, as the owner of a large facility I will be looking to capitalise on the value-added elements of my business, rather than compete on price. As projects get more complex, and more international, then the number of people capable of completing them reduces dramatically. There will always be those who think that anyone can produce a DVD for peanuts, but generally I am heartened that the majority of clients recognise that true quality has a price.

I believe these have the potential to be very good times, and if we manages our resources carefully, employ and motivate the best staff, keep being pro-active with new formats and new client needs, and keep up with our competitors abroad, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t enjoy them.
...

Article Comments

comments powered by Disqus