Overview

Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) is one of the few festivals held in India with a significant international presence. It involves well known film personalities from India as well some top bureaucrats of the Indian government.

This festival is chaired by Mr. Suresh Kalmadi and Dr Jabbar Patel, both of whom need no introduction, as they are stalwarts in their respective fields.

The Challenge

The objective was to create an international-standard venue at Pune where a film festival of such a stature could be inaugurated and conducted annually.

The goal was to get film enthusiasts experience technology at its best, as well as get exposure to world cinema at an affordable cost While PIFF was a regular event at Pune, this was the first-time that such an ambitious objective was set for PIFF.

Shri Ganesh Kala Krida Rangmanch was short-listed as one of the main venues for this festival.

Analysis

Converting Ganesh Kala Krida Kendra to a cinema theatre was a challenging task for 2 reasons:

1. Convert a huge theatre seating 3000 people to Dolby standards
   No theatre of such size had ever been converted to a Dolby digital playback facility worldwide. Hence it was to be the largest Dolby digital theatre in the world.


2. Enable cinema screening as well as live shows at the auditorium
   The idea was to use a motorized screen in front of the stage. As soon as the live performance was over, the motorized screen would roll down for the cinema screening.

The whole thing appeared standard. Except that the motorized screen needed was one of the largest in the world, with a width of more than 53 ft.

To address this rather unusual project, PIFF had to find a technically competent partner.

PIFF chooses R&S
The decision was made based on:

• R&S's engineering background and knowledge of Dolby standards
• R&S's experience in system integration of more than 1200 Dolby playback facilities in India and abroad.
• R&S's design know-how and proven ability to implement the Dolby system for the largest theatres worldwide.

The Solution

When R&S was brought on board, we had to tackle the following challenges:

• Figure how to incorporate structural changes in the already constructed and operational auditorium
• Construct a projection room inside the auditorium
• Select a projection system that would give correct illumination of 14 Feet Lamberts on a motorized screen almost 4 building blocks away
• Install a 4-storey tall motorized screen, for the first time ever in Asia
• Design and implement a Dolby Digital Surround EX sound system to conform to Dolby standards
• Use the same Dolby system for demanding sound reinforcement applications during the inauguration and closing ceremonies of the PIFF apart from cinema screening
• Make the entire technology operation user-friendly
• Recruit and hold training programs for operators to enable them operate the system for 3 years

The Result

R&S not only overcame all these challenges but far exceeded the expectations of the people involved.

Our success was seen live in more than 16 national television channels on the 14th of January 2006 when the new system was installed and inaugurated.