The digitization of the 2012 film 'digital year' brings new expectations

In the newly revised 'Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries' in 2012, an additional item of 'film machinery manufacturing' was added to encourage foreign investors to invest in 2K and 4K digital movie projectors, digital movie cameras, and digital image production and editing equipment. The Ministry of Finance announcement also announced that since January 1, 2012, the import of digital cinema projectors will be included in the list of lower provisional tax rates. At present, there are more than 730 kinds of goods enjoying this preferential treatment, with an average tax rate of 4.4%, which is more than 50% lower than the most-favored-nation tax rate. These seemingly inconspicuous changes reflect from one aspect the country's determination to promote the digitalization of the film industry. Globally, to exaggerate, 2012 can be called the 'Year of Digital Cinema'. Not only has the number of digital cinemas and digital movies increased substantially, but mainstream theaters in Europe and the United States have even announced the deadline for film screenings. Mainstream theaters in the United States stated that they will no longer show film movies after the end of 2013, while mainstream theaters in Western Europe have relaxed this period until the end of 2014. According to statistics, more than 90% of the newly added screens in my country last year were digital screens. At present, half of the national digital screens have been added, and the transition from film to digital in the film industry is underway. What can this change bring to us? What are the hidden worries worthy of attention?　　 It is recognized in the industry that the acceleration of global film digitization in 2011 is inseparable from the previous movie 'Avatar'. 'Avatar' does not support traditional projectors, and its strong box office appeal makes quite a few theaters prefer to purchase digital projection equipment for this film. The excellent box office performance of 'Avatar' also attracted a large number of latecomers to join the digital shooting camp. However, some people in the industry expressed concern about this, believing that the advantage of digital film lies in the convenience of producing special effects, while film shooting is more delicate and full. Just as people who are accustomed to film cameras switch to digital cameras, rapid transformation is a big challenge for the film production team. In fact, many directors still miss the special texture of film shooting. It is foreseeable that even if film movies do not die, they will face a niche market in the future. During the transition period, how to avoid risks and maintain and improve the quality of film products in the mass market remains to be tested.　　 Another concern is the issue of standards. Digital content and digital equipment in the domestic market have always had the problem of non-uniform standards, and digital movies and related equipment are no exception. Different projectors and different cameras are incompatible with each other from time to time. When the scale of the industry is small, this problem is still not prominent; as the digitalization process accelerates, more and more links are involved in the industry chain, and further corrections may incur greater costs.　　 However, for the majority of movie audiences, the most important thing is to get benefits. Perhaps digital film production is not necessarily better than film film production, but it is definitely convenient and economical in the screening process. In the film projection era, a considerable part of the cost of each film is the cost of film copying. The more theaters and the number of shows, the greater the cost of this part. These copies will wear out during the screening, and will be useless after the screening. Digital projection completely solves these problems. The projection process is almost 'zero lossNow that this part of the cost has been saved, can the fare be reduced? In some places, this idea has been realized, and some overdue digital movies have become the main source of low-cost cinemas and grassroots projection teams. While increasing the income of the film crew, it also gives the people more choices for viewing.