The Software Making Cinema More Sustainable

‘efficiency’ (ef-fi-cien-cy)

noun

The quality of achieving the largest amount of useful work using as little time, energy and money as possible.

Like many industries, cinema has relied on technological advancements to develop its operations and supply chain to become more efficient in practice; a notion made evident from the digital switchover in the early 2000s. During this time, 35mm was expensive and time-consuming to manage, while digital presented clear monetary advantages, besides its high quality, consistent image, which later set the foundation for cinematic technology to grow exponentially.

Today, the need to build efficiency remains a high priority. Since the reset button was pressed on 17th May 2021 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the impetus to become more sustainable has grown within exhibition as the subsequent cost savings of operational reform becomes apparent.

With tools widely available to help exhibitors automate and centralise their workflows, we explore how cinemas can use software to build efficiency, saving time, energy and money, to positively transform their long-term operations.

Screenwriter

Connected to over 42,000 screens worldwide, our versatile Screenwriter Theatre Management System (TMS) is renowned for managing and scheduling a theatre’s content, however, as a solution designed to increase operational efficiency, Screenwriter also presents several energy-efficient features that can help cinemas act more sustainably.

Auto-Show Cancel [Screenwriter]

Considering each device’s electricity usage and life expectancy, a switched off cinema screen will save more energy and operational costs than one that’s switched on.

Therefore, in instances where a screening has not sold a single ticket, exhibitors risk wasting energy and money if that show continues as planned. To combat this without Screenwriter, the Cinema Manager will need to physically check either the auditorium and power down their devices, or the NOC Operator will manually check the number of admissions before consequently shutting down that screening; a process usually carried around approximately 20 minutes into the feature, if at all.

However, Screenwriter prevents this scenario completely. Using Auto-Show Cancel, or ‘Auto-Shutdown’, the Screenwriter user can create a set of shutdown commands for each screen that will trigger up to 30 minutes into the movie if no tickets are purchased. Once triggered, Screenwriter will interrogate the POS system before activating the shutdown commands and cancelling the screening. Not only will exhibitors reduce their energy bill, but they’ll extend the life of their assets.

Bookends [Screenwriter]

In a similar vein, having all systems powered up and idle at the start and of the day can also produce a futile use of energy which ultimately costs money.

When the Cinema Manager first arrives at the theatre, a working day can begin by powering up all systems for each auditorium; an action which may seem proactive but is discreetly wasteful. If the Cinema Manager arrives two hours before the first screening and leaves one hour after the final screening, there’s a period of up to three hours where systems are powered up and idle.

By harnessing Bookends, the Screenwriter user can prepare ‘Start of Day’ and ‘End of Night’ playlists which can be automatically scheduled before and after the first and last show in each screen. This eliminates the need to power systems up upon arrival or keep the running idly at night by allowing each screen to automatically power down at its earliest possible point.

E-Delivery [Screenwriter]

After Arts Alliance Media facilitated the cinema industry’s digital switchover, content delivery instantly became easier, faster, and more eco-friendly as hard drives replaced the expensive, resource-taxing 35mm film to offer a far cheaper alternative for both studios and distributors.

Now, exhibitors will typically receive content from a specialised courier service who, after physically travelling to the cinema with a hard case, will transfer the DCP from the hard drive inside onto the exhibitor’s LMS which could take approximately 60-90 minutes. Despite presenting a more environmentally friendly solution to the distribution of 35mm, the transportation of hard drives still requires vehicles on the road. Screenwriter, however, enables a modern, carbon-neutral form of delivery.

By harnessing e-Delivery, or electronic delivery, vendors can integrate with the AAM Cloud API to deliver content straight to Screenwriter, a process which provides vendors and exhibitors with an accurate delivery status for end-to-end visibility. With this delivery method, a courier is not required to personally deliver content or be on-hand to transfer files from the hard drive to the LMS, removing variables such as traffic delays, poor weather conditions, and reliability, while saving money and carbon emissions.

Producer

If you represent a circuit with Screenwriter installed in more than one location, your organisation will benefit from connecting to Producer, a cloud-based Enterprise TMS, or Circuit Management System. Designed to build operational efficiency across your entire network, Producer enables you to manage all sites, content and devices from location to centralise your workflows, eliminating mass task duplication to save time and money.

Auto Playlists [Producer]

The impact of centralising playlist management is evident. If you have one staff member at every site each creating playlists across a network of 30 cinemas, that’s 30 staff members each doing the same job every week. With Producer, this workflow can be managed by just one person at head office or a single site, saving time and resource, while allowing the remaining site-level staff to focus on their audiences.

With Auto Playlists, it’s even easier. By pulling shows from your POS and recognising their attributes, Producer will automatically create playlists based on your pre-defined parameters. You can segment your pre-show content using Splits to target different screens and audiences based on criteria such as site groups, days, time, POS show attributes and more, all from within one playlist. From using recommended feature content for shows and utilising automation cues, to selecting the best features for show types and screen capabilities, Producer’s extensive range of automation makes managing your circuit fast and efficient.

Tasks Feed [Producer]

Unexpected site issues or missing content can lead to missed shows and lost revenue. That’s why, exhibitors can now monitor circuit-wide issues within one central dashboard.

Producer’s easy-to-view Tasks feed details critical and disruptive tasks in a practical timeline view, providing live visibility to allow the user to prioritise urgent matters. By highlighting missing keys and content and identifying playlist and site issues, you can take instant recovery against show-stopping issues before it’s too late, saving time and revenue loss.

Lifeguard

Offering exhibitors the tools to proactively prevent issues or provide detailed information to integrators in the event of a problem, the Lifeguard Hardware Management System delivers critical business intelligence to help optimise devices, reduce costs, and ensure smooth, error-free operations, enabling more efficient operations.

Lamp and Device Management [Lifeguard]

Managing consumables efficiently is critical to successful operations, none more so than projector lamps. They’re expensive to purchase, demand high energy output and, if not managed correctly, can result in lost shows which bring their own consequences.

To avoid any unexpected failures or lost shows, Lifeguard will deliver automated lamp alerts which include information on the site, auditorium and playlist name and time that your lamp might affect, providing clarity over potential issues and essential details for a possible technician call-out. Once fixed, you’ll also receive a notification detailing the rescue result. Understanding their full lifecycle is also made simple. By tracking lamp installations, preparing replacement forecasts, and calculating the average consumption per auditorium per year, you can optimise the life of your consumables to reduce the cost of parts or failures.

Like lamps, staying on top of your hardware can be difficult without a structured maintenance plan. That’s why, while viewing all devices in one central dashboard, you can pre-program maintenance checks in accordance with manufacturers’ best practices, notifying you when devices should be tested, and prioritise past due checks. By facilitating proactive equipment maintenance, you can reduce the chance of unforeseen breakdowns and expensive repairs to ensure more seamless operations.

Reporting and Performance Analysis [Lifeguard]

With over 40 intelligence reports available, Lifeguard’s extensive reporting ensures you’re never without the information you need to understand the assets and performance of your organisation.

In addition to receiving detailed lamp reports, Lifeguard takes the time out of collating the essential data required for business reports and advertising compliance. From creating playback logs on advertising, features, trailers, short films, and public service announcements, to exporting content summaries, future playback schedules, and movie trend analysis’, all in an easy and timely fashion. With a range of valuable data at your disposal, you can differentiate your sites with maximum speed and accuracy.

Discover more

Whether you represent a global network or an independent theatre, every organisation can build efficiency providing they have the tools to automate and centralise; the essential formula powering sustainable cinema operations. Needless to say, the value is almost infinite. Savings in time, energy and money is integral to business growth and can help to enhance brand perception, afford investment into new technologies, and create a point of difference between you and your competitors, each contributing towards delivering the ultimate moviegoing experience.

At Arts Alliance Media, our software is designed to help you build efficiency and beyond.

Gregory Davies, Marketing Manager