Tuesday, Jun 16, 2015

Dubai: It may no longer be the byword for photography films, but up there on the silver screen, the legacy of Eastman Kodak still shines bright. And with directors as varied in their creativity as Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel) and Christopher Nolan (Interstellar), backing the brand all the way, Kodak is scripting a turnaround story for the times.

“We are now seeing significant traction, with some big movies being captured on film,” said Lois Lebegue, Managing Director, ALMA (Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Africa) Region and Vice-President, Eastman Kodak Company. “In fact, the problem we faced until recently was a reduction in the volume of film purchased, which put profitability at stake, especially when compared to some of our other businesses.

“With the big studios standing in support of us, we can drive this business forward. Today, film represents less than 10 per cent of Kodak’s business, but it is still at the heart of what Kodak stands for. Juxtaposed against digital, the technology of film has a lot more to offer, which is why some very big studios in Hollywood made their support clear.

“I’d like to quote something Christopher Nolan once said in praise of film when comparing it to our competition: ‘Digital is plywood, film is oak.’ I think this sums it up rather nicely.”

The twists and turns that Kodak went through in recent years could make for a potboiler in itself. There was even a point when it was felt the company’s financial woes would overwhelm it fatally. But parts of the business were hived off, patents got sold yielding valuable cashflow opportunities, and a business model was built around the film imaging for the movie business.

But can the business survive only on selling film stock to studios? “We’re using different formats of film to do different things,” said Lebegue. “Some television shows are captured on film... some high-end advertisements are captured on film as well.

“But, obviously, the core image quality or the capacity for this to be controlled throughout the entire shooting is what makes film a more attractive and appealing technology to large-scale productions. [This] is not always the case when you’re looking at shorter production runs, such as with television shows or commercials.”

And Kodak is building up possibilities outside of Hollywood. “The challenge we face is while having film available in a certain part of the world is great, we also need to be able to process that film in local labs,” said Lebegue. “We’re working with companies and external suppliers to be able to provide portable labs to process films in the countries where they are used.

“In India, for example, we’ve managed to achieve this. There’s also a very vibrant film industry in Asia. We want to continue to extend the reach of film, and the life of film through that reach.

“We have no competition in the film format — Kodak is now the only company producing film. So our primary source of competition is digital technology, which has its own pros and cons.”

By Manoj Nair Associate Editor

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