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Dear All, Sorry for cross-posting. best, Saer Ba TALK 24 February 2009 5:15 pm. Centre for Film Studies Lecture Theatre, Ground floor, Arts Building, University of St. Andrews J Ron Inglis, Director, Regional Screen Scotland /Will pixels save the soul of cinema as we once knew it?/ */ /* The practice of cinema as a public art form has evolved ever since its birth over a century ago. However over the past 20 years social, technological and commercial developments have radically changed cinema going. Studio films are released in a broadcast-style of distribution. The number of films released theatrically has risen dramatically. Audiences are increasingly fragmented. Digital technologies allow films to be copied – and even remade – without any payment to the creators. Within this challenging environment there are audiences in both rural and urban settings who are asking for a different kind of cinema experience. Public policy frequently supports these complementary or alternative cinema worlds, from film festivals to arts centres to rural touring cinemas. But can they really thrive in the face of fragmented, private viewing of films and official unwillingness to treat cinema as ‘culture’ rather than as ‘commerce’? Bio: Ron Inglis is a cinema and arts consultant based in Peebles. A graduate of St Andrews University, he ran the popular Union film society (600+ members) and worked during the summer vacations with the Edinburgh International Film Festival. In the 1970s he developed the part-time regional film theatre in Lancaster and in 1981 joined Edinburgh’s Filmhouse as Deputy Director in charge of cinema programming. In 1988 he changed direction and worked as a computer trainer but after gaining an MBA in Edinburgh, he returned to cinema and the arts as an independent consultant. His work covers options appraisals, feasibility studies, capital project developments, digital cinema implementation, strategic development, marketing and audience development, and artform-specific audits in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland. He is an assessor on funding programmes for Scottish Screen, the UK Film Council, and the Arts Council of Ireland. Since October 2008, Ron has been working as Director of the new development agency Regional Screen Scotland which has responsibility for the operation of the Screen Machine mobile cinema in north Scotland, as well as the development of sustainable cinema activities throughout Scotland outwith the four major cities