Myanma Digital Cinema Dreams

The serial articles from "Popular Journal" published in 2013.

Author- Wunna Kyaw (Miracle Post)

Beginning the Beginning

Myanmar films have long been plagued by the (ever shrinking to) non-existent market and the stiff competition from the artistically and technologically more advanced foreign films. With the changing time and political climate, along with an unprecedented opportunity to make a difference within the system, The Myanmar Motion Picture Organization under the bold new leadership of renowned actor U Zin Wine, has set out to firstly recover the local film market, secondly to have a share in South East Asian film market and, thirdly to be a part of the international market. With the reemergence of the long-dormant transparency in policy and decision-making levels, with the help of each other in the industry, and with the gradual arrivals of international film industries’ aids in film education, technology, expertise, and finance (either with or without the financial motives) Myanmar film industry is now beginning the attempt to revolutionize itself to catch up with the digital cinema system that is shaping the film industries all over the world.

A noticeable good sign in the beginning is that everyone in every level of the industry is getting involved. From the highest paid actors in the industry to the lowest paid crew members, they all share their experiences and opinions in the workshops, meetings and even during the shooting breaks. They debate on Facebook. And most importantly, they dream.

They (including the writer of this article, the film buffs in and out of the country) dream of re-experiencing high quality local films. Although they may argue in the meetings, they embrace and socialize outside. Now, the task at hand is to unite and make these dreams come true.

Production vs. Exhibition

What brought all of them on the path to the digital cinema in the first place? Most of the cinemas that showed celluloid film stocks folded, especially in the countryside, due to bad economy. In the few remaining cinemas, films have to line up for a long time, losing the contemporary appeals by the time they hit the theaters. The country also lacks facilities to duplicate show reels in order to show a film simultaneously all over the country. These are the main driving factors to covert to digital systems.

On the other hand, the viewership is steadily declining. The home video market is producing about 400 films per year and they can be rented for mere 200 kyats per title, enabling the whole household to watch it multiple times. The private TV channels are also airing films non-stop. The maintenance cost for the theaters is rising. Instead of splitting it with the distributors, some theaters prefer showing the newly released foreign films. There are so many opinions on the reasons for the declining trend of the theatrical film that some say it is like “ chicken or egg first? ” question and just sit aside. Some who claim to have international outlook place the blame on the industry’s tendency to cut corner, its unprofessionalism conducts and other personal vendettas. While everyone is arguing with one another, the director of the famous film “Thway” that was shot here but never had a chance to show here, recently pointed out that Myanmar is now at a very crucial crossroad and it is important for Myanmar film industry not to make the mistakes of its Japanese counterpart. He said that Japan, during the reconstruction period after the war, built more cinemas than the local film industry could produce. So, they ended up having to import foreign films for the 80% of the cinemas. After a few decades, there had been a marked decline of interest in the local films. The international community also had forgotten the Japanese cinema that enjoyed a grand tradition. Nowadays, the Japanese films have lost much of its international market share and the internationally recognized Japanese actors have become very rare.

In Myanmar, there are about 440 townships. The grand aim is that, in each township, a mini-theater proportionately designed in accordance with its community’s population or a cinema complex that is able to show different movies at the same time should be built. A distribution system and exhibition system that enable to show the movies simultaneously are in need. The Digital Cinema Package and the Master Format are supposed to be delivered to the theaters in a timely manner. To combat videotaping in the theaters, secret codes will be encoded in the Distribution Master that if that pirated version appears in the market, the regional codes can be revealed using the decoder. However, delivering such soft copy DCPs to the theaters in a timely manner would be challenging. Delivering in person maybe cheap but unpredictable. Delivering via satellites and fiber networks as OTT Contents is efficient and safe but Myanmar will need good communication systems and reliable electricity supply.

Because DCP’s file sizes are so large, they may prove to be immense difficulty for erratic Myanmar internet connections and electricity supplies.

Digital Cinema Technologies

Digital Cinema System is a projection system that uses, instead of the traditional celluloid films, electronic copy (aka soft copy) film files, saved in the hard drives, and projected film files via digital light processing (DLP) onto the silver screen, bypassing the necessity for film strips to be exposed onto the projector’s light. DLP technology already existed since 1987 and is widely used in classroom’s and office’s projectors. Barco, Christie, and NEC projectors use DLP technology and take up 85% of the film projection market. Its rival is LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) technology and it can be found in Sony SXRD Projectors. The quality of a digital cinema display is decided on the quantities of the pixels. Celluloid film’s quality is deemed as closest to 2K (2048x1080, 2.2 mega pixel) by the professionals.

Soon after, the images projected with Sony SXHD Projectors are known to have 4K (4096x2160, 8.8 Mega Pixel). The advantage of the digital cinema is that it would not experience color fading like its celluloid counterpart, it would not ‘jump’ due to the problems with the reels, it would not suffer from scratching and dirt accumulation. It may be shown ad infinitum and it will still remain in its original optimal condition. After Star Wars Episode II was shown with DLP system in New York and LA in 1999, SMPTE (Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers) set up an organization to farther develop the digital cinema system in January of 2000.

In Europe, the first film to show digitally is Toy Story 2 in Paris in February, 2000. In 2002, famous global film companies got together and came up with Digital Cinema Initiates (DCI) in 2002. DCI teamed up with American Society of Cinematographers in 2004 and, after much discussions and experimentations, made JPEG2000 Compression the basic standard for DCI. During that time, China also came up with its own system called dMs (E-Cinema) and used that system since 2005 all over China. By 2009, there were over 40,000 cinemas in thirty provinces of China. Then the Ministry of Information wanted to use this system and the authorities from Myanmar Motion Picture Enterprise even went to China. Since 2006, the number of cinemas that use 2K digital projectors increased with the rate of 400 cinemas per month. In August of 2006, India made history by exhibiting Moonnamathoral, a digital film, via satellites in Asia.

Digital Cinema Standards

The reason for coming up with DCI is to eliminate unconformities in exhibiting the digital films globally. In March of 2002, MGM, Paramount, Sony, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Walt Disney, and Warner Bros jointly came up with these and their aim is to develop details and technological capabilities, guarantees, and quality control in every aspect of the digital cinema worldwide. Only then, the communications with the international markets will be smooth.

According to the newly added standards for DCI, there are 31 points consisting of the characteristics relating to image and sound, captions, subtitles, and other requirements for digital film files. These points concern with the technological details and it is imperative for the professionals of any areas are careful with what they do in their respective areas. For example, regarding the size of the projected image, four varieties are allowed. (Note that such sizes are for DCDM and are not concerned with the quality of the cameras.) For 2K projection, it is Scope (2.39:1) presentation 2048x858 pixels, Flat (1.85:1) presentation 1998x1080 pixels and for 4K, Scope (2.39:1) presentation 4096x1716, Flat (1.85:1) presentation 3996x2160. What it means is that only a DCP tested to possess such pixel amounts is deemed to meet DCI standards. Those who will embark upon the digital cinema journey must be prepared in accordance with his or her capabilities and undertakings. Just because a camera has a 4K resolution, it does not necessarily mean it is the best. For example, the world famous ARRIALEXA digital camera that costs $70000 is only 3.2K in resolution. On the other hand, the $600 POV camera GoPro Hero 3 has 4K resolution. Hero3’s rental cost is only half of that of ALEXA and its size is merely the 1/6 of ALEXA’s battery. But Hero3 is famous and useful in its own right as well.

2K and 4K Exhibitions

The early digital projectors were only able to project 1.3K and were not commercially viable. Most digital cinemas now are outfitted with 2K projectors and Sony was the first one to manufacture 4K projectors. In July of 2007, they were outfitted in Singapore’s Vivocity Cinema’s theater 11, Suntec Eng Wah’s theater 3, Bugis Shaw Cinema’s theaters 1, 3, and Cathay Cineplex theater 7. In USA, in September 2007, 4K projectors were installed in 18 cinemas of Rosemont, Illinois. 4K projectors’ pixel quality is 4096x2160 and the original Sony products are distributed under Cinealta SXRD brand and the 4K one’s bear SXHD brand.

Changes in Myanmar Films and Video Productions

Since the quality of the moving images is called ‘resolution’ and that resolution matter provides the Myanmar film industry people much to learn throughout the evolution to the digital system. Up until 1995, S-VHS was still commercially used. But some entities began to use Non-Linear Editing, an editing process done on computers using softwares. These pioneers captured images and sound files in the computer files and the characteristics of these files can be plainly seen. These files usually have horizontal 720 pixels and vertical 480 pixels. Another word, based on the amount of color values on its surface, they gave a pixel a color value. (That is just a generalized explanation, there are other factors regarding qualities as well) This new digital system has rendered the analog system that has existed for over 30 years as SD (standard definition). Myanmar video productions distributed their products with tape formats from 1980 to 2000. From 2000 to today, the direct-to-video films are still being distributed in a VCD (video CD) format. VCD’s quality is only a quarter of the SD’s with 352x240 pixels and the rest of the world has already abandoned that format since seven years ago. The attempt to stop the VCD format and replace it with DVD format faces stiff resistance from the buyers and the rental shops. Therefore, only a handful of direct-to-video films were amazingly released on DVD.

The reason why people here would buy bootlegged DVDs from China but not want to see the local films in the DVD format is that in the distribution process, people do not want the replication process that will have to be on an industrial skill, preferring the produce-as- necessary duplication process that can easily be set up as a home business. Replication process is different from the duplication in a regard that it simultaneously writes the files as the discs are being produced, making sure the data transfer rate is stable and controlling the heat level and plastic quality on the discs. Therefore, replicated discs do not skip, jump or pixilate and can be kept for a long time. (In Myanmar, replication shops had been set up but because they are more expensive than regular duplication and cannot produce only the necessary handful of discs that the market demands, they were not able to survive in the home video markets that only look to cut corner.) DVD’s quality is SD and its compression rate is 5 Mbps average. VCD, in comparison, is only 180 Kbps. The current TV stations on air such as MRTV, MRTV-4, Myawaddy, and CH7 are SD quality broadcast. Some HD lines are being aired as a test and, currently can be viewed only via HD receivers. Since Myanmar’s TV broadcasting system is aided by Japan, Myanmar’s video standard is NTSC. There are 61 countries in the world that use NTSC system including Japan and USA. 115 countries use PAL system including all the neighboring countries of Myanmar. 65 countries including most European nations use SECAM which is similar to PAL. Therefore, you will find that all the video cameras for rent in Myanmar are the types that can only shoot in NTSC. And the used televisions from Japan are also selling here briskly.

The saying ‘copies will be good only if the original is good’ is not quite right in Myanmar video productions. Although some used high quality cameras during the production, since the distribution is still done almost exclusively in VCD format, the quality of the end products suffers a great deal. So, for the TV broadcast that are still done in SD, for the direct-to-video films still being distributed in VCD format, for the documentaries, wedding receptions that are available in DVD format, last generation SD cameras such as Sony DSR-570 are still selling very well here. That also led to the production of so-called DVD films that are shown in small theaters with the DVD projectors. Because their cost would be only half of that of the films shot with celluloid combined with not needing costly film prints, not having to line up for the show date (for they are only shown in second-rate theaters and small theaters) like the real theatrical films, being able to yield a quick cash return, audience also having more than one choice, the DVD film system worked well for over a decade. Some blamed the emergence of these DVD films for the downward trends of the theatrical films while some defended and welcomed then as extra money earner for the industry. In reality, these DVD films are just simply big home theaters showing DVDs and do not give the full taste of watching a proper film. But due to the circumstances of the time, they were generally accepted as a nice substitute.

HDV

Before Standard Definition gave way to High Definition, JVC came up with something called HDV in 2003. In Myanmar, the earliest DVD film shot with a HDV camera would be ‘Moe Thingyan’. Back then, when HDV cameras came in, because they have more complex inside menus than the SD cameras, some camera operators did not welcome it very warmly. In the international film scene, there were some films shot with then-famous HDV cameras such as Sony Z1, Panasonic P2 HVX-200 and converted to film by the Reverse-Telecine technology. (An Australian camera operator named Ken Minehan shot director Nicholas Chee’s “Becoming Royston” in Singapore with a Panasonic P2 HVX-200A, which was converted to film and becoming a theatrical success. That film made history as the very first South East film shot tapeless workflow. In actuality, HDV only has 1440x1080 Pixels Resolution, slightly smaller than full HD’s 1920x1080. Among the HDV cameras, Sony FX-1 is still popular in the documentary filmmakers’ market.

Full HD

In the course of global cinematic history, the latest technological breakthrough is Full HD technology. One notable thing is that in the Full HD’s 1920x1080 pixel count is, when converted to the still photography camera’s Megapixels, only amount to 2.1 Megapixels. Even a cheap cell phone handset’s camera is capable of 3 Megapixels, creating confusion among those who compare the video quality with the photograph quality. Actually, in video, Full HD is indeed a fine quality. Nowadays the ‘Full HD’ can be seen everywhere and one cannot judge the quality of a video camera just by that word alone. The other factors such as the type of lens it is equipped with, the sensor size, the encoding format that determines what type of file is used to capture the images, and the color compression must be included in determining a camera’s quality. Let’s suppose Pixel is the main deciding factor to determine a camera’s quality. In SD, there are 350,000 pixels and in Full HD, there are nearly 2,100,000 pixels.

In Myanmar, even with a 32 inch Full HDTV that should only cost around $300, the full quality of that TV set cannot be enjoyed for the broadcasting is still done in Standard Resolution of 720x480. The worse still are the Myanmar VCD with their 352x240 resolution. Another word, we are watching only about 85,000 information pieces on a surface that can fit 2,100,000 pieces of information. What a pupil of mine experienced was that his boss watched the DVD of a documentary film shot in Full HD on his 40-inch HDTV and blamed his people for being technologically inept when he saw the blurry images. There is an answer to that but that boss needs to have a certain level of technological knowledge in order to understand that answer. Even among the Full HD cameras, a Full HD handy Cam costs around $500 and Sony’s famous professional digital camera PMW-F3 costs around $15,000,000. It can be said that in Myanmar camera rental market, the most popular Full HD camera is Sony PMW EX-3, which is widely used in the television programs as well. There were also a handful of international films shot with that camera and converted to film for theatrical exhibition. (Michael Mann’s Public Enemy starring Johnny Depp shot some scenes with EX-3’s prototype EX-1. In 2009, the writer of this article himself shot a pilgrimage travelogue with an EX-3, had it converted to film with ARRILASER in Augustus Color lab in Rome and showed the final product in Naypyitaw and Shwe Mann cinemas. Some are worried that if Full HD format is good enough for the digital cinema.

Actually, Full HD is a widely-used format in the digitally shot films. For celluloid film is an analog system, it is difficult to measure its quality in pixel amounts. But a general standard is that celluloid film’s quality is almost equivalent to the pixel counts of 3 to 12 million, depending on the film’s quality, the lens used, and the lighting condition. Some prefer to use slightly more visible Line system to the pixel system invisible to the naked eyes. Using Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), the fine detailed sharpness of a printed film is measured and the Answer Print yielded 1400 lines, a release print with 1000 lines and the highest MTF for a theatrical print is 875 lines (but in reality, most theaters can only show the average or 750 lines). The Full HD, according to MTF, has 1080 lines and SMPTD and other professionals agreed that it is comparable quality to that of celluloid films. For those who will invest in digital cinema, Sony PMW-F3, Sony PMW-500, and Sony NEX-FS700 are they types of cameras with right cost and good qualities. But the systematic technology proficiency is still essential at all levels.

The Mainstream Films and DSLR Cameras

Shooting Full HD videos with Canon 5DMarkII cameras took the world in surprise. In reality, Canon 5DMarkII is designed to be a photography camera but it's requisite function that allows shooting Full HD video images attracted the independent filmmakers worldwide.

Although the rival companies produced their own versions of DSLR cameras, Canon still dominates the market with its high-end 5DMarkIII, C-300, C-500, and 1DC. The third-party companies that produced accessories for the DSLR also did fine. 5DMarkII was used as a unit camera for the famous films such as Black Swan (2010), Iron Man II (2010), Captain America (2011) and The Avengers (2011). In the technological standpoint, DSLRs are cheap compared to other professional digital cameras, light-weight, capable of delivering Full HD, have full frame sensor, have high color saturation, and compatible with any lens that the world’s top DPs readily accept them. The independent filmmakers also have a chance to realize their dream films using DSLRs and many indie films even the mainstreamers have to give the acknowledgement emerged. Among them, director Zal Batmangli’s Sound of My Voice is a notable one. Shot with two Canon EOS-7D cameras using Zeiss CP2 and Canon L-series lens, “Sound” garnered awards in film festivals worldwide, made a round at cinemas worldwide for over a year, and is an artistic and commercial success. Also in Myanmar, at the Wathann Film Festival and Art of Freedom Film Festival, there are many short films done with DSLRs that for the indies with DSLR proficiency, it is now possible to realize their dreams of making digital films. Since young directors who study art and technology are gradually emerging, they are the torch bearers of the future Myanmar film industry.

Cinema is an art form. Its quality is the offspring of a marriage between art and technology. A film is also a big project. The unity of those involved in this project directly influences a film’s duration, success and financial return. The financial return is a test for the know-hows of producers, distributors and the director’s artistic level. The strife for improvement of the film industry is a national movement. As a technical observer of the nascent Myanmar digital film movement, I took note of the current conditions of Gear Head and Baan Rig, two film studios in neighboring Thailand.

The Regulations in the Studios

Sound proof studios are used in filming to be able to control every single element of the production and for the convenience of all that are involved, safe from the distractions from the surroundings. Thai studios are situated in the quiet suburbs and the entry is tightly controlled. In the studios and surroundings are impeccably clean with not even a cigarette stub in sight. Using central air-con system, the temperature and humidity are reduced, creating a comfortable climate. That also is helpful for delicate equipment in Thailand’s humid and dusty environment. The private rooms are set up for cameras and lights, stored in the metal boxes in the shelves. The lenses are also kept in separate lens storage units. The aisles between the stored items are clear and wide, preventing damages while on the move and enabling multiple movers going in and out. At a separate place called maintenance desk where the camera bodies, lenses, tripods, and rigs are labeled upon take out/return, repaired, cleaned, and dusted by the proficient and trained professionals of different skill levels who are also cleanly attired. The lights are categorized by their power and sizes such as HMI, Tungsten, and Florescent, etc. Cables, light stands, C-Arm, flags, cutters, and reflectors are also stored separately. The needed items are sent along with a specific list and the DPs and lighting directors just simply tell the gaffers and grips the sequence title of the light pattern for a scene about to be shot. Grips take care of taking the stuff in and out of the storage and gaffers quietly place the lights where they are supposed to be. For all varieties of lights, electric ballasts that take the functions of resistor, inductor, and capacitor are used, making the electricity voltage within the circuit reach the level necessary for each light and preventing the burnouts due to excessive wattage and changing colors due to insufficient wattage. Different ballasts are used for different kinds of light. They only move the light after turning it off and after moving, they turn it back on only after a few seconds. Each gaffer wears a tool belt with all the necessary items in it. The way they work is neat and orderly, without joking around or shouting at each other. Actors would keep their entourage only in the visitor lounge separated by a see-through glass. Director consults with DP and instructs the actors. Once the top lights, key, fill, and back lights are installed for the spots that actors are supposed to stand, the actors are asked to stand at these spots to make their make-up and light conform. The actors would willingly stand without a word of protest. For nearly 20 minutes, they would stand with their eyes closed as the strong HMI lights are being diffused with the diffusers, as the C-arms and Cutters are installed to cut out the unnecessary areas from light, as the DP places his camera to adjust color temperature, etc. They will not use a stand-in for the actors to be able to get the right light in accordance with the actors’ skin tone, colors of the clothes, and the make-up. Only then the camera operator would utilize the rigs and shoot. Compared to here, the number of labors for crane and dolly are very few. Even the heavy payload dolly would be manned by two people.

The camera is linked with the Backup and Preview Monitor Unit called Data Wrangling Station. The real footages are not reviewed with the playback. Instead, only the proxy clips that were parallel recorded by the External Recorder are played back and reviewed. That way, Data Wrangling Station is able to safely store the footages, test the Color Information using On-Set Waveform Parameter, and check the format, data rate, and compression. The people at the Wrangling Station are former editors themselves with over ten years of experience. The people working at every level in the studio are salaried people trained in their respective skill level. They have confidence and loyalty. Although all the items are insured, the respect between the employing studio and the employees ( Crew Members ) and the systematic approach in handling the equipment with care are noteworthy.

Acquiring the random and available crew just before the shooting can send the project’s objective and alignment off the course. It can also reduce the work efficiency achieved through the harmony of a familiar group of people and waste time. Even in a 30 second commercial, a unit producer is present. They can be either in-house producer or freelancers from outside. Such a practice is helpful in drawing up paper works, budget handling, and managing the production manager who takes cares of other matters. Because specific terms and conditions were already spelled out and written with the client in the first place, even if the project has to be halted or stopped, due to the Project Termination Terms & Conditions, the two parties can work out in accordance with the terms agreed upon without having to fight. It also provides a legal framework. In money matter, according to the payment terms, payment is made in installments within the agreed upon period. Thanks to the strong banking system, the proof of payment is strong and valid without even having to sign a receipt. Such systems aid in developing an orderly and safe working environment.

Partnering Organizations / Entities

Studios do not necessarily handle and manage every single aspect of filmmaking by itself. They would collaborate with their respective partner businesses. One studio would, for example, have necessary lighting equipment and the other studio would have a suitable indoor location, stunt equipment, harness and cables, practical effect related items, etc. Some studios specialize especially in stunt performers. That troupe of performers have in their payroll skilled performers of all sizes and ages. Another company would provide especially modified vehicles for the sole purpose of stunt scenes. That particular company is the jack of all trades when it comes to vehicles. They have in their inventory specially-modified cars for the purposes of rolling, slamming, crashing, flipping, etc. Not only that, they also would have vintage vehicles specific of certain eras available for rent. In film production of “Shanghai” rents out vehicle from that company to feature in the film. The drivers themselves are special-trained skilled drivers.

For the fire arms used in the films (called movie weapons), companies have assorted types of fake fire arms that look identical to the real ones. These companies obtain necessary permits and licenses from the governmental agencies and offer services such as explosions, fire, prop weapon rentals. Government regulations also necessitate safe keeping of these props just as the real weapons would. Regulations would include, for instance, prohibition of displaying and firing these weapons out in the public without necessary shooting permits. Although they use fake bullets, the productions have to file a report to the authorities on the types of bullets and weapons used for firing in the film shoot. One notable difference between these props and the real guns is that the bullets would not have ballistic tips and nozzles are slightly narrower than the real one’s. Other than that, the should, the ejection of bullet casing, the spark emitted from the nozzle when fired look and sound as the real ones. Such a company in Thailand rents all the necessary weapons for Nicholas Cage starred “Bangkok Dangerous”. The heads of partnering companies involved in that film planned and laid out the shares and roles of responsibilities. Most of the representatives of the companies and technicians can speak English, having experience dealing with international businesses. The relation officers of the companies are Western educated.

The team practiced in studios before setting out to the real sets. In that practice studio, stunt performers practice and test out flying / jumping performances with harnesses. Even the main actors would visit that studio and practice their bits together with these performers. Only after the repeated practices are right, they would shoot the scenes in the real sets.

For the outdoor scenes, in order to minimize the delays caused by nature and other circumstances, dedicated vehicles for actors (completed with make-up desk and changing rooms) are used. There are also special trailers for the purpose of generating power and dining as well. Locations are scouted meticulously before the shoot. To deter trespassers, productions hire private securities and seal off the area 100 meter around the shooting with the permission of local authorities.

Thai governmental ministries do not practice central decision making when it comes to international productions. Rather, they relegate this task to local authorities and a committee that oversees media businesses that charge appropriate fees to the productions. That practice contributes to the significant reductions in red tape process such as needing to get a prior permission from a ministry, making payment via a government-sanctioned bank, delivering the receipt back to the ministry just to get a signature on a permit, waiting around for a signing authority to come to the office, etc. To make sure rules and regulations are being observed on the sets, officers from the committee would visit and check.

Another interesting aspect of international productions is that all the equipment and all the crew and cast members can be insured. Any mishaps that occurred on the set can be dealt with through insurance companies. There are also various freelance sub-contractors hired on the sets as well such as visual photography directors, camera operators, Steadicam operators, make-up artists, costume designers, and sound recording engineers. In Thailand, various equipment for use of underwater and in air can be rented. Latest professional cameras and light kits and accessories are also available to rent. According to a commercial foreign director working for an import company in Myanmar, most of the shoots in Yangon have to rely on Bangkok rental houses. For example, a specific camera would be available to rent in Yangon but not the lenses. Also there is a lack of skilled technicians to work with such equipment. There is only one 6K HMI light to rent in all of Myanmar. Lack of capital is not the only problem for equipment rental business in Myanmar. The lack of interest and markets, lack of skilled technicians, and lack of clear rules and regulations on set and insurance policies are also contributing factors as well.

Post Production Steps

Using the challenges the above director faced as an example, which said director has to rely on companies based in Bangkok, Singapore and India for most of the post production processes. In Thailand, most post houses are not necessarily 100% Thai-owned. They are joint ventures in partnership with renowned western companies like Technicolor. Developing the remaining film stocks, conversion of film to digital format such as Telecine and reversed process like Reverse Telecine, adjustment of color and lighting on Digital Intermediate are costly businesses and technicians are also expensive. Myanmar businesses may not yet afford such expenses. But, in the very least, standardized post production facilities should be possible for the purpose of editing and basic special effects. For a typical 30 second local commercial, just to tweak the special sequence and perform minor adaptations, the directors in Myanmar have to fly to the post houses abroad. That in itself is a huge loss to the local work forces and local markets.

Post Production Processes

Post Production works also have its own pipeline for the work flow. The works include data management (storing and arranging of raw footage and audio files), editing, audio departments that mix sound, music composition, CG departments that make special effects, subtitle departments that dub and create subtitles in various languages, archive that stores the materials, mastering, duplication (making copies). Post Production houses, rather than monopolizing all the works, have successfully converted to linking the technologies to work on a single process. Cloud Storage is now increasingly popular. Digital technology’s lack of physical materials is worrying to those who need to archive. To tackle this challenge, dailies are logged right after the shoot. Daily data backup includes triple back up practice such as one copy of offline editor, one copy for the production, and another copy for the cloud storage. Post houses have costly and systematically designed server rooms, equipped with fire suppression measures, kept to a dry and cold climate.

In the editing room, RAID system, which is much safter than saving in a single hard disk, is used to storing and saving. Editors use daily logs for references and work directly on the files smaller than 4K format. 4K files and larger ones are converted to a Lossy Format as proxy clips and editors work on these proxy editing. (Nowadays, such Proxy Editing Format can now be converted to Full HD resolution.)

After completion of the 1st Offline editing, the work is watermarked, exported, and is delivered to the sound designers. After the final sound mix from the sound designers is delivered, the project is fine tuned to the point of completion. That final edit proxy sequences are then linked to original Big K Clips to conform. Only then, color grading and correction is performed sequence by sequence. Most editing platforms have their own colour applications. For example, Final Cut Pro has its own Apple Color Application that can linked with FCP project timelines and finished color graded works can be mastered in the Final Cut Pro. (Nowadays, Final Cut Pro now has a Plug-In for DCP export costing as little as $700.)

The second way is to create a XML Export of the edit timeline. That XML file is imported into a color grading application such as Davinci Resolve. Davinci link and conform the XML files into original clips and audio data. Then colors are graded sequence by sequence and exported into DCP. Colorists are the people who work on color grading / corrections and their salaries would range from $6000 to $60,000.

Some DoPs have the practice of consulting with technicians to ensure that the desired colour theme can be achieved during the shoot, shooting in a neutral setting and working with the colorists in Post. (In international productions, Digital Image Technicians would also get involve to ensure format and compression are in correct order.) Overall quality of the film is dependent on the correct post-production process. And to ensure that the post-production process is correct, camera departments in the production process need to use proper equipment and adhere to specific standards. Some Myanmar film productions still use a regular TV monitor only to find out later that colours are all off or faded. Some would demand to shoot in 50i to easily distribute in discs. Such lack of technical knowledge would make the film pay a heavy price on the big screens.

Another important matter not directly related to post production process is security. In Myanmar, some films get leaked even before getting censorship approval for distribution. Secure server and surveillance systems are essential to prevent such mishaps. Strong work ethics and pride instilled in the work of technicians must also be matched with the salaries / pay grades that they deserve. Post works professions alone should guarantee a decent livelihood. To ensure the technicians are consistently capable, they also need certification of expertise from Apple, Avid, Adobe and such. Possibly the most prestigious certification is American Cinema Editors (A.C.E) title.

Production companies should also systematically calculate the budgets and dedicate a good percentage of overall cost to post-production technicians. That practice would guarantee a disciplined and well-run production process. Large production companies invest in quality post-production houses of their own. Equipments are obtained by Hire Purchase system that comes with yearly service and maintenance contracts. In developed countries, umbrella insurance policies are mandatory and these policies protect mishaps from the work areas.

Waiting Game

Myanmar film industry now has high quality Full HD cameras and latest 4K cameras are also entering into the market. But good cameras alone do not make good films. Good quality lenses, lighting equipment, supplementary equipment, systematic post production equipment, well-built film studios, good quality cinemas and projectors, skilled workforces trained to handle such equipment, skilled technicians, organizations to represent such workforces, policies that aim to ensure qualities, etc. are also needed, as repeatedly urged by the technicians in multiple workshops. Despite such efforts, there still are vociferous arguments within the industry that only the latest and expensive cameras can elevate the quality and standards of Myanmar films. Some still come up with the excuse that the reason the film quality had gone down in the past is because of lack of knowledge and equipment, resulting in improvisational but unsystematic DYI processes. The direct result of these DYI practices is proliferation of direct-to-video distribution system (scorned by the international film community normally reserved for C-class films). In its peak, there were as many as 12,000 ‘film’ production companies with approximately 3400 tape/DVD rental venues in the city of Yangon alone. Players in this business model, ostensibly claiming to protect their livelihoods, regularly stymied and opposed any attempt at policy changes in the industry. Such cheap DIY methods with quick turnaround processes resulted in skipping and omitting standardized international workflows and processes. That, in turn, resulted in retardation of the growth of essential technical experts. Furthermore, bad practices beget more bad practices, eventually resulting in incorrect workflows, lack of contractual agreements (relying on highly risky verbal agreements), lack of clear terms and conditions between the entities, almost extinction of costly film studios and dedicated stunt forces, etc. Problems left unresolved for so long normalize the problem itself as a natural condition. Since technological upgrades and changes are costly, the long-accepted DIY methods stubbornly refuse to go away.

After democratization, many international efforts to aid the local film industry appeared, most notably, even from the US Embassy. But for the well-meaning foreign experts, even to fathom the ‘unique’ situation of Myanmar film market posed quite a challenge. Even as the Myanmar film industry was struggling to upgrade and multiply the screening venues, to come up with a coherent exhibition and distribution policy, the world film market was already entering a whole new phase in digital distribution of films. In the international film market, traditional theatrical distribution model has become only a part of the business. On Demand TV Channels, streaming online platforms compatible to personal electronic devices, paid premium channels have become new platforms to enjoy the films and other contents.

Many governments have started using cinema as a soft power tool in diplomacy. Many western productions entered the developing countries’ film markets, setting up co-productions and taking slices of local and regional markets. During the time when a democratizing Myanmar was a fair maiden with many suitors, many foreign companies seized the opportunity. A French company made a film in Myanmar, utilizing the beautiful landscape of Bagan. A Chinese company made a series, even using famous actors, requiring them to speak Chinese. These foreign companies came in with their own equipment, their own technicians and crews, and even most actors from their homeland. For the few local talents hired for these productions, aside from money, what exactly did they gain / obtain? In order to partner with international co-productions, we must ready and strengthen our local infrastructures and workforces. Once a certain readiness is achieved from our side, only when the local talents are strong enough, can we compete and cooperate on a fair term with the outside forces. Giving free rein to the hardened and experienced international film industry players, allowing them to do whatever they want, will result in utter and eventual elimination of skilled local work forces. We cannot be in a situation where we wholesale our products and talents for cheap, allowing them to make bigger profits internationally, hoping for the crumbs of that profit. Instead, we must strive for a situation where we can negotiate with the international players on a fair term, actively sharing profits and losses from the international markets and ventures.

So, then, what should we local film people do? In digital films, we do not have to wait for the film stocks to enter the market. Censor polices have been relaxed somewhat. But aside from gory horror flicks and sexually tantalizing flicks, have we produced any quality local films that the local audience cannot wait to watch? Cheap comedy flicks have also won local Best Picture Academy Award. In the international market, there is no longer such thing as a queue system to hit the theaters. But in Myanmar, films are still fixated on an idea that getting exhibited in Thamada Cinema is the only way to prove itself of being a decent production, fighting to get a slot there. There is still a debate going on about whether a capable ‘producer’, hired by the financing company to oversee the production, is even a necessity. Screenplays are still being written on set. Famous top-tiered actors still interfere with director’s jobs. There are still directors who crank out three films a month, adhering to superstar actors’ available schedules. Tensions between new comers who desire to make a change using systematic workflows and production companies that only care about finishing the film in a template budget are quite palpable. Punctuality is still a big problem. Audience themselves still need to be mature, still treating their favorite actors as infallible demigod idols, blindly cheering on whatever they do. Tensions and rivalries among the heads of respective entities are still going on. We are still trying to come up with a policy suitable for our situation and market.

The present situation has contributed to the collapse of the traditional distribution methods. The past Flat Line distribution methods had suppressed a robust competition and change. New types of distribution platform are needed to stimulate the market. The lack of experience dealing with international productions made us lag behind in all aspects. We must invite and attract more co-productions that deal fairly. Youths who have studied abroad have come back, trying to shake up the scene of the mainstream commercial film industry on Myanmar, figuring out a way to deal with the existing conditions while trying to make new kind of films. More and more independent films that do not normally pique the interest of superstar actors are coming out gradually. But they still await the distributions in order to exhibit their works in local cinemas. In international film festivals, youth filmmakers not from the mainstream systems are showing off their talents, winning awards.

But still elusive is our common goal, which is emergence of high-quality, well-rounded digital films accepted by local and regional audience, opening a new golden chapter in the Myanmar film history. Perhaps that is too lofty a dream. But such dreams of digital cinema are the ones that we wholeheartedly embrace and must aspire to.

Written exclusively for Popular Journal.

Wunna Kyaw

2013 Janurary

Translated By: Myat Noe