What is the future of the DVD format and what is working now? I spoke to Brian Shirey, Director of Media Production at Kino International, about the DVD and where it’s headed.

INFINICINE: In the last 2 years in DVD production, have you noticed any changes? Have you had to make more DVDs to stay at the same revenue levels?

BRIAN SHIREY: There hasn’t been much change in actual DVD production, other than trying to get HD materials as our source when it comes to new films. For Blu-Ray, HD masters are a given. For DVD, if you start with an HD master and then down-convert to Standard Def, you get slightly better quality, plus a good selling point. This is something we do in DVD that in effect anticipates Blu-Ray before actually doing Blu-Ray. But once we start doing Blu-Ray on everything, it’s a moot point. The costs of making more DVDs, while low compared to Blu-Ray, still can offset the revenue, because the DVD market is currently bad. I wouldn’t say for certain that making more DVD keeps our revenue level — but our Sales Director would know better.

I: How much effort do you put into extras? Has that changed over the last few years?

BS: The effort we put into extras varies depending on how accessible they are, and on the title. Classic titles and new films that are genre are good choices for extras, but austere, artier films are often more appropriately released with minimal fuss. Then there are the most obscure titles, for which simply being on DVD is enough. We will often release films that would never see the light of day without us, and we hope that consumers will appreciate the DVD on that basis alone. Not to mention that, the more obscure the film, the less likely that extras would be available. Ultimately, we much prefer doing extras to not doing extras, and pursue adding them as much as we can. But if distribution ends up turning into a primarily VOD market, I wonder if consumers will even care about extras after a while… They’ll just click one button to see a film, then when it’s over, move on to the next one.

I: Do you have to do anything in the production process to satisfy buyers like Netflix or Amazon.com or box stores like Best Buy?

BS: Primarily, no. The more mainstream the outlet, the better it is to have extras. And if it’s a new genre film, having an eye-catching, easy-sell cover is often very helpful.

I: What is a typical range of sales for DVD- what is a small run for you and what is a hit?

BS: A small run is under 5000. A hit is over 15000.

I: What do you think are the end-user¹s favourite aspects of watching a DVD?

BS: How user-friendly and versatile they are. Being able to have the multiple subtitle options, or audio options, and the extras, all on one disc. And now, since they are less expensive to produce and buy, the possibility that more and more movies will be available on the format. As far as I’m concerned, the more films that can actually get released and seen is more important than the quality of how they are seen. This is a debate about Blu-Ray. I think Blu-Ray emphasizes sharpness and absolutely unassailable quality, but by so doing it will exclude entire eras of film (i.e. films before 1950) that might not have the greatest source material available, and hence that distributors might not be willing to transfer to HD. Despite the current dip in the market, I think DVD is the best format for both sides — consumers and distributors.

Readers: Are you still making DVDs? How much longer can you see this format lasting?

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