Saskia Walzel's Presentation "Cinema as the Essential Link Between Film and Audience"

1. Cinema as the Essential Link
Between Film and Audience
Saskia Walzel – Policy Manager
17th Europa Cinemas Network Conference 23 Nov 2012

2. Consumer Focus
• Consumer Focus is the statutory watchdog for consumers in
England, Wales and Scotland, and for postal consumers in
Northern Ireland
• We want to see competitive markets where copyright owners
respond to technological developments to meet consumer
demand with innovative products and services
• Consumer Focus works on copyright , and the transition of the
creative industry to digital, since early 2009, carrying on the
work of our predecessor body, the National Consumer Council

3. The state of cinema in the UK
• 89% of the UK’s engaged film audiences still think the cinema is
the best place to watch a film
• Less than a third of the UK’s engaged film audiences think that
going to the cinema represented good value for money
“The consumer is in control now of what they want and how they
want it. We need to focus a lot more on what the consumer
wants.” Film3Sixty, Chris Watts
• Indie fans were more keen to watch films on traditional platforms
(cinema, DVD); blockbuster fans embraced new platforms
(tablets, internet-connected TVs and mobile phones)
• Those who admit to infringe copyright in films regularly visit the
cinema 4.6 times more than the average consumer, and spent
more money on film than the average consumer

4. The “Indie Mainly” audience in the UK
29% - Indie Mainly
• 29% of survey — second biggest group
• 52% male
• Average age 44.5 years — younger than Indie Only
• Heaviest cinema-goers
• Heaviest consumers of film on DVD
• Most likely to online stream
• Most likely to watch a film on a laptop or PC
• Heaviest users of Twitter

5. The “Indie Only” audience in the UK
2% - Indie Only
• 2% of survey — smallest group
• 55% male
• Average age 54.2 years — oldest group
• Prefer drama and foreign-language titles
• Lightest consumers of DVDs
• Least likely to infringe copyright
• Lightest users of Facebook

6. European cinema in the digital future
• Average age of cinema goes has risen, though 16 to 24 remain
the age group that visits the cinema most frequently
• The working class audience that use to go to the cinema in the
1970s switched to TV, replaced by younger audience for
blockbusters in multiplex cinemas
• Baby-boomers with empty nest are now driving an aging cinema
audience, Hollywood has moved to meet their demand
• 63% of art house fans are over 35
“Where British production generally succeeds is in making
richer, deeper, more thought-provoking films” Alex Stolz, BFI
• Boutique cinema chains on the rise, offering gourmet food and
armchairs

7. The future of European cinema…
“… our bread-and-butter audience is the older, aging art-film
crowd from the counterculture era...” John Ewing, Cleveland
Institute of Art Cinematheque
• Across Europe, youth unemployment is rising, and under 30s in
employment are commonly in low income jobs
• Rise of Secret Cinema and Pirate Cinema: Film makers who
make indie films relevant to a young audience are going where
the young audience is:
– festivals, youth clubs, social media, YouTube, p2p
filesharing networks, pubs and clubs.
• If art house cinemas want to attract a younger audience, they
have to offer relevant films and appropriate pricing

8. Case study: What I want to see…
• People with whom I share economic, social and cultural
experiences
– Poverty, protest, a broken social contract, electronic music,
& digital communications technology
Don’ts
• Passive women and princesses
• ―god is dead, but the hair is perfect‖
• Acid flashbacks
• 1960s sex
• If your cinema is screening a film that is relevant to me, let me
know, I don’t have time to look at your website every week

9. Saskia Walzel, policy manager
saskia.walzel@consumerfocus.org.uk
Consumer Focus t +44 (0)20 7799 7900
Victoria House, f +44 (0)20 7799 7901
Southampton Row
London www.consumerfocus.org
WC1B 4AD