Abstract
The chapter deals with the topical issue of cultural policies through digitalization in cinema in Turkey, discussing the appropriate frameworks that need to be put in force. In a rapidly developing society like Turkey, the problems of digitalization in cinema vis-à-vis neoliberal regulation are being debated. Three crucial areas for a digital cultural policy in cinema are identified, namely expanding public service mindset on new services and national digital platforms, creating a communications policy framework of the different parties involved as government, parliament, regulatory authorities, the public service media, and the designated third parties as civil society and market representatives, and stimulating debate to follow an anti-monopolistic progression in (digitalized) cinema.
TopThe use of digital cameras, editing technologies, webcams, video, social media, smartphones are not politically, economically and socially neutral processes in the age of the highly literate and sophisticated users/prosumers/consumers. Within a plethora of studies focused on the on-going transition of post-cinema “the reduction of almost every iota of human existence to the digital is acknowledged as one of the consequences of unfortunate passing of cinema” (Denson & Leyda, 2016: 5-6). The wide discrepancies and conflictual theoretical positioning on the basic understandings of digital cinema necessitates an academic discussion based on parameters, experiences, techniques and technologies, politics, archaeologies, ecologies and dialogues on post cinema (Denson & Leyda, 2016).
Moreover, the conceptual clarification between digitalization and digitization is important to highlight before the authors start the discussion. In the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) digitization refers to “the action or process of digitizing; the conversion of analogue data (esp. in later use images, video, and text) into digital form” (http://culturedigitally.org). In the study, the authors limit the discussion of digitalization considering this distinction, as the adoption in use of digital technology by the key market players as distributors and producers, the film practitioners and associations, cultural policy makers and politicians.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Film Distribution: Distribution refers to the process by which films are released and reached by the audience. It might refer to both a formal institutional chain that contains to release a film by distribution companies and an informal circulation of films through networks like online file sharing or pirated copies of films on DVD or Blu-ray.
Film Exhibition: Film exhibition refers to public screening of a film and involves the ownership, management, and running of movie theaters.
Digitization: Digitization refers to the process of diverse forms of analog information (such as sound, text, image) being converted into digital format, encoding it into numbers by computer systems.
Post-Production: Post-production refers to the phase that involves editing, audio and music design, the creation of special effects, color correction, and dubbing after the shooting is completed.
Digitalization: Digitalization refers to the adoption in use of digital technology by the key market players such as distributors and producers, film practitioners and associations, cultural policymakers, and politicians.
Independent Film: Independent film refers to a film made outside of the dominant modes of film production, distribution, and exhibition.