R. Dolby is an electrical engineer from Stanford. He established Dolby Laboratories in England in 1965. He had recorded for two years Indian classical and folk music as a UNO representative in Punjab and UP. He developed Dolby Noise Reduction system in those days. Dolby Lab introduced Dolby Stereo of four sources which was used in A Star is Born. This system invited attention of all when it was used in Star Wars ( 1977 ). First, there was monophonic speaker behind the screen. Thereafter, in stereo system the sources were Left, Centre, Right and Surround (LCRS ). The sound was more realistic. Dolby SR was introduced in 1986. SR stands for spectral recording. Dolby Digital or Dolby 5.1 with six tracks was introduced in 1991. Here there are tracks for left, centre, right and left surround ( LS ) and right surround ( RS ). There is also a low frequency effects ( LFE ) or sub-woofer track. It emits low frequency sounds such as bomb explosions, thunder and earth quakes. It adds to the effect. 5.1 or 7.1 means five or 7 tracks with an additional 0.1 or sub-woofer track. Batman Returns ( 1992 ) was the first movie to use Dolby Digital. DTS and Sony also introduced 5.1, but Doby dominated. In 1999, Dolby introduced Dolby Ex ( 7.1 ) and in 2012 Dolby Atomos ( 7.1.4 ). In Atomos, there are speakers over the heads of the viewers. 7.1.4 means seven tracks with 0.1 subwoofer and 0.4 overhead source. It gives three-dimensional effect. In Atomos, you feel as if the rain is falling right on your head. Many theatres in India now use Dolby sound system.

Films and digital both have their plus and minus points. Digital’s greatest plus point is its cost effectiveness. Filmmaking was eponymous with large canisters. These are a matter of a gone-by time. No cans with stickers are being taken from one location to another. It is a card. It is a code. It allows cinematographers to shoot in a higher definition, letting viewers take in more of the amazing work in set design. There is a shift to digital editing too. Formerly films were edited with a scissor in hand, snipping and slicing film together. Some elements of digital like 3 D are great if the film warrants it. Virtual reality has got traction in the West. If digital helps the storytelling, it must be harnessed. India is a land of emotional content and so computer graphics is widely used. Even film distribution has been impacted by digital.

Background music was played even before the recorded dialogues entered the movies. The technology to sync sound and film has not developed. Lumiere Brothers silent movie in 1895 had a live orchestra, and this system continued for several years. Owing to efforts of RCA and Warner Bros, film and sound synchronization became possible. It was since 1908 that we could have the sound and pic in sync. Many movies were produced with Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy which were without dialogues but had background music.

Background music underlines the emotions and creates mood. Cartoon movies used music and sound to create impact, but they had no dialogues.

Jazz singer ( 1927 ) in the USA and Alam Ara ( 1931 ) in India were the first talkies. The dialogues, thereafter, occupied the centrestage. The live music made way for background music.

India is the only country whose hero-heroines sing on the screen. Abroad, you hear songs in only musicals. The songs are included only as background. The characters do not lip sync a song, except the characters in a musical such as Singing in the Rain or West Side Story. Songs and dances are an integral part of Indian movies. Therefore, a music director in Indian movies is one who composes songs. Abroad, a music director is one who gives background music.

A music director must understand film making to music creatively in a film. Similarly, a director must understand music to use it strategically in the film. In the 1960s, directors were driving the films. They employed competent technicians. Directors used to value background music and sound.

In the 1970s, the film industry became glamourous and capital intensive. It attracted money bags to film making, who did not understand the art of film making. The focus shifted from the directors to the stars. The audiences too got attracted by superstars and flimsy dances. Films were commercialised. In this scenario, the background music too lost its significance. Even editing and camera work took a backseat. Background music must be done at economical rates. They started using stock music as background music. It was economical and time saving. However, it became stereotyped and monotonous.

Recently in India, Great Grand Masti  crashed at the box office as it was leaked on line 17 days before release. Even while submitting a film for certification to the censors, movie makers now submit an encrypted copy. Dishoom is the first film to use encryption while making submission  for certification.

There are organisations which help the movie makers to tackle online piracy. Aiplex, Bangalore-based organisation, helps some of the largest studios in the country, e.g. Yash Raj Films and Eros International. It also works with studios such as universal, Italia Films and Sony pictures in 25 other countries.

Aiplex uses a multi-pronged approach. It set as DMCA or Digital Millennium Copyright Act notifications to infringers, protected domain providers, registrars and to the infringing website’s hosting service providers. DMCA does not apply to some countries who are not signatory to the Bern Convention. However, most traffic to such countries originate from India. It is crippled due to John Doe orders or Ashok Kumar orders. Basically theses are injunctions sought against someone whose identity is not known at the time they are issued. Aiplex has a database of 30 million infringers documented over the years. It is supported by evidence such as screenshots, notices dispatched, email addresses and contact numbers. The evidence is given to the legal team to facilitate the securing of Joe Doe or Ashok Kumar orders.

They also attempt to educate the viewers before the release of the movie. They upload thousands of decoys on popular websites with a message to illegal viewers stating  ‘piracy kills and please watch the movie in theatres.’

They partner with trusted websites to delete pirated content. They partner with hosting websites to enable a take down programme. They partner with payment gateways, advertising brokers to withdraw support to infringing websites.

ISPs do not co-operate immediately in blocking a websites since it is a non-billable process.

Film industry gets more than three fourth of its revenue from the box office ( Indian theatrical and global theatrical collections ). The other revenue streams are TV rights and other sources. India has been losing screens at an alarming rate. There are barely 10000 screens, from about 12000 some five years back. The ticket prices being high has made multiplexes the preserve of the rich. The average occupancy of the multiplexes is 30 per cent. Single screen theatres have been downing shutters. The number of Indians watching films has fallen consistently in the last five years. In 2010, we had an audience of 82 million. In 2014, we have an audience of 78  million. Here is the major crunch. There is pressure on talent costs margins. It is time to rethink the business model. OTT platforms offer opportunities to monetise better.

Revenue numbers show a rise as the ticket prices are high, but in fact footfalls have actually fallen.

Hollywood deals with business risks efficiently. It banks on franchises, special effects and creature films. It works since more than 2/3 rds of its revenues come from global markets. In India of the total revenues, 90 per cent come from the local Indian cinema.

There are techniques of MR, predictive analysis, focus groups and script testing to reduce risks.

Eros releases 65-70 films annually. It has become a Rs. 1442 crore company. It is getting deals and distribution. It has set up in 2015 an in-house production arm — Trinity. The idea is to have control over IP and in turn generate better returns. Trinity over time is expected to deliver up to six films a year. It has planned 10 films going on the floor over the next two years. Trinity is to Eros what Marvel is to Disney. Trinity has employed a team of writers. Trinity gives a go ahead to the project on the basis of three criteria: Is it franchisable? Is it an unexplored genre? Can it hit Rs. 1000 crore in revenues as a franchise?

In a franchise, characters are developed and a plot runs around them. The plot may run out, but the characters live on. For instance, Avengers, Spectre, Fast and Furious or the Hunger Games.

There are unexpected genres –Gods and Kings, mythological characters, animation and live action for kids, and supernatural themes. There are audiences but little content.

Though so far Eros was a deal maker signing cheques for acquisitions and with no understanding of production, they have decided to be a content company and wish to be associated with movies right from the scripting stage.

The process of creating a film is painful and expensive. Independent producers lose steam on the way and sell it to whichever studio is willing to buy. Eros wants to get involved all the way to distribution and marketing.

This screenwriting software developed by Final Draft Inc. is used to write and format screenplays. It was first developed in 1991. The company is now owned by Cast and Crew Entertainment Services ( 2016 ). It satisfies the submission standards set by theatre, TV and film industries. The competing softwares are Celtx, FadeIn and Magic Screenwriter. On Amazon, Final Draft 9 costs around $180.

Movies with sound were introduced in 1931. Songs since then have become an integral part of Indian movies. The western musical instruments were introduced in the movies in the 1940s, e.g. piano, violin, guitar, trumpet, double bass. However, the instrumentlists using these could not read the Indian sargam, and were able to read only the staff notation of music. Music directors thus required the services of those who could write these notations. That brought to Mumbai Frank Fernand, Chic Chocolate, Chris Perry, Sabatian D’Souza, Johny Gomes and Anthony Gonsalves. These people added music notations to the songs. They also arranged the orchestra. Gradually, these people started composing music pieces between two stanzas of the song. Gomes arranged music for Ina Meena Deeka, a 1957 song for C. Ramchandra. Even in Indian songs,  they introduced choir, string and brass section. Sabatian arranged Preetam Ann Milo in 1955 for O.P. Nayyar. He then worked for Shankar Jaikishan ( 1955-75 ). Laxmikant-Pyarelal previously were arrangers, and as music directors, their first movie was Parasmani ( 1963 ). They introduced the concept of big sound.In one song, they used to write the score for 100-120 musicians. Anthony Gonsalves arranged music for Pancham Da. The harmony in the song is decided by a dialogue between the music director and arranger. Some times, even the music director conceives interlude music  but mostly it is composed by the arranger. An arranger experiments a lot. Rahul Burman assisted Sachin Da. An arranger who is conversant with both the Indian and Western music can do wonders.

Star Wars first appeared in 1977 and though initially considered a run of the mill movie later generated many sequels, and became the most influential film. George Lucas then young (29 ), and was wondering what to do next after American Graftitti. He wanted to make a sci fi movie and prepared a film   treatment to it. He failed to obtain the rights of Flash Gordon adventure movies. He, therefore, started reworking on the script. He borrowed ideas from the films he admired — The Hidden Fortress, Lawrence of Arabia, Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz and the Dam Busters. At best, the script would have been a tribute to the great moments of cinema. In this fashion, they reached the third draft. They came across Joseph Campbell’s The Hero of a Thousand Faces. This changed the whole dimension of the script. Joseph Campbell had studied mythologies such as the Ramayana and Odyssey. He derived the concept of monomyth from this. All these mythologies have a common pattern, and human brain responds to it. That endows mythologies with huge power, universal power.

Monomyth is essentially a hero’s journey, as Campbell calls it. It is an epic journey from the known to the Unknown; and back. There are many dangers, but the hero overcomes them. He finally comes back home. He is thus redeemed . There are 12 stages in this journey. A mediocre beginning, a call to adventure, and hero’s reluctance to this call. Then here meets a mentor, crosses the threshold and passes a test; and makes allies and enemies. He approaches the innermost cave, goes through a supreme ordeal, and gets the reward by confronting his  fear. On the road back he faces challenges and there is final testing, as he is on the threshold of returning home. He makes the last sacrifice and the return is with reward. He is transformed, and has the power to transform the world.

This timeless myth has been incorparated in the Lucas Star Wars series, and that explains its box-office appeal. Lucas applied even in his next movie — Indiana Jones  the same principles of a hero’s journey.

The concept of monomyth has crossed over to other fields such asadvertising, PR and popular literature,including Dan Brown novels.

Firoz Rangoonwalla passed away on Aug 4, 2015 at the age of 82. He is the first Indian cinema historian, and a film scholar. He played an important role in setting up the National Film Archive of India ( NFAI ) in Pune. He has to his credit an array of 15 well-researched books an cinema, and a huge body of reviews of films. He created the Indian Film Index ( 1970 ) which traces the journey of Indian cinema from 1913 to 1967. He wrote Indian Filmography ( 1972 ) and Bhartiya Chalchitraka Itihas in Hindi which chronicles the history of Indian cinema. He wrote two monographs — one on Guru Dutt and the other on Bimal Roy — for the NFAI. He was passionate about both Indian and foreign cinema. He loved every aspect of film making.