Big. Very big. That is what the third edition of the annual global convention on the business of entertainment, Ficci Frames 2002, promises to be.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) convention, which has been growing in stature every year since its inception in 2000, will be held on 15 and 16 March, 2002 at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Centre, Powai, in Mumbai.

According to the organisers, Frames 2002 will witness the largest ever gathering in India of some of the best national and international minds in the business - media and entertainment barons, movie moguls, stars, producers, directors, broadcasters, musicians, studio bosses and other global leaders in the business of film finance and insurance, a well media gathering was informed today.

There are 24 sessions scheduled with more than 25 overseas speakers from countries such as US, UK, France Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, UAE having confirmed their participation. Some prominent names are James Murdoch, chairman & CEO, Star Group; Dr Patrick Cross, MD, BBC Worldwide; Yoshinori Imai, director-general, NHK, Japan; William Sinrich, president & COO, IMG; Jon Kirchner, president & COO, DTS, USA; Michael Connors, Sr. V-P (Asia Pacific), Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA).

Ficci's "knowledge partner" -Arthur Andersen will be presenting the third edition of its report on the entertainment industry. The report will rank the states in terms of their investor friendliness and also focus on convergence. The other knowledge partner, solicitors Amarchand Mangaldas, will present a report on legal issues affecting all segments of the entertainment industry. This report proposes to deal with four key issues:

i) Rationalization of entertainment tax - legal issues and way forward.
ii) Corporatisation models for the film industry and other television and radio content producers.
iii) Model guidelines for banks/financial institutions for facilitating lending to this sector.
iv) Model guidelines for executive orders for protection of IPR & structured anti-piracy campaign by the government.

For the first time in India, in conjunction with Frames 2002, Ficci is also organizing a Digital Cinema screening of a feature film.

The session on marketing will have some very eminent speakers from India and abroad including William Sinrich, president & COO, IMG, Jane Gorard, director, marketing, BBC Worldwide, Sanjiv Gupta from Coca Cola, Sameer Nair from Star and Brian Tellis from Fountainhead. The session will be chaired by Sunil Alagh, MD, Britannia Industries Ltd. The session will focus on the key marketing trends in the entertainment sector and how entertainment products can be leveraged for value creation.

Finance and legal issues once again assume significance in view of the focus of Ficci and Frames on corporatisation of the Indian entertainment industry. The entire gamut of financing, valuations, insurance, legal framework, governing entertainment industry will be discussed by eminent experts both from India and abroad.

The Technology session of Frames 2002 includes many distinguished speakers such as John Kirchner of Digital Theater Systems, USA who will discuss the advances in the technology of multichannel sound for film and television and how this enhances the audience's involvement in a program.

James Butler of Ideal Broadcasting will discuss the design aspects of television studios and Avinash Fotedar of SGI India will discuss some of the advancements in the tools available to film-makers today including powerful 3D modelling, editing, compositing and special effects hardware and software that allows the creation of virtually any environment that one can imagine.

Stephane Jauroyou of SeaChange International will make a presentation on the technology of video and audio servers that can open new markets in video on demand, selective advertising, broadcast playout and internet streaming. Other speakers will discuss the latest developments in the film, video and audio technology and the coming advances of the digital future. The Technology session will be chaired by AK Das of Snell and Wilcox; a manufacturer of high quality digital video processing equipment.

Frames 2002 will have a trading hub at the convention venue on 15 & 16 March 2002. The trading hub is seen as a networking opportunity where several professionals would be able establish contacts, gather information concerning new technologies and development of markets, establish international co-production and possibly lay the foundation for new partnerships.