MiB-Medienvertrieb in Buchholz – EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
“The commercialization of the first batch was a huge success!”
Shaw-Brothers-Reloaded conducted an exclusive interview with MiB Sales Director Stefan Kranke in which many urgent fan questions were processed and answered.
SBR: Mister Kranke, what is MiB’s position towards the German licence owner MCL and how does the collaboration work?
Stefan Kranke: MiB is the exclusive distribution partner for MCL fort he entire German speaking region. Our collaboration is based on partnership.
SBR: How satisfied are both partners in regard to the commercial success of the past Shaw DVD releases?
Kranke: Unfortunately the interest in regard to the genre of Asian martial arts movies has declined in recent months. Video rental companies and shop outlets generally have scrapped the special “Eastern” sections in their stores. Therefore, the last releases have not entirely met the high expectations. But overall the commercialization of the first 30 titles was a huge success.
SBR: In terms of choosing the titles for a package from Celestial Pictures in Hong Kong – does MiB have a say at all or is MiB even able to ask for specific titles?
Kranke: Celestial is prudent to disallow any „cherry picking“ at all. There is a pre-arranged list of titles from which one can make his choice but this is quite normal as each supplier is adamant to market his products as wide as possible so that weaker titles which would not sell well on their own are included and given a chance as well.
SBR: Why has MCL or MiB not insisted on getting titles which have been huge successes during their run in German speaking cinemas back in the 7oies and 80ies as they would surely sell very well?
Kranke: As I said, the whole procedure does not leave much space to fulfil special wishes.
SBR: Why did MCL and MiB not get rare titles which have not been marketed on DVD in Asia at all and which would surely be huge economic success stories internationally?
Kranke: Licence rights can only be purchased locally. A commercialization outside of the German speaking markets can only be made by partners in the respective target country. Only then the perfect success for Celestial is possible. Even major companies do not market their products in foreign countries. Each label has their own headquarters in each region or country and hence no active distribution of a German DVD with a English soundtrack or sub is allowed in a foreign country.
SBR: Is the upcoming second batch now the last and final batch for the German speaking regions or is there any hope that the fans will see further (and if so how many) batches yet to come?
Kranke: If the overall success stays like it is, a third batch is a likely possibility. But as it will take some time until this decision is due, one has to see how the market is reacting and if a commercialization is financially feasible.
SBR: Fans and customers are lamenting the missing advertisements and the weak marketing efforts of Shaw DVDs in the German speaking countries. (Note: In France companies like Wild Side Video or TF1 launched some massive marketing in all possible media channels). Until now, why has MiB kept the respective activities at such a small level?
Kranke: Unfortunately this is a problem of the German market. In no other country the prices for new products are as low as in Germany. Whilst on can ask for a price of Euro 9,99 over here, in France one can ask for prices starting at Euro 17,99 for a DVD. This price of Euro 9,99 is “market-given” and does not reflect the price a fan would shell out to get the product. Sadly, one cannot produce for fans only. The difference in terms of revenue of said French market enables the distributor over there to have much better possibilities as he can use the extra money for ads and marketing activities which exceed our possibilities by far.
SBR: Nevertheless, is MiB interested to target a wider public with the new batch of SB movies and what steps are taken to create more awareness?
Kranke: My answer to the question beforehand says it all, I guess. Of course, we now are benefiting from the exclusive exchange of information and activities with SBR to target more fans and potential customers. A concerted flow of information will impede possible false speculations and highlights in terms of special titles will rouse the interest of the media to cover them as well.
SBR: You got a new MiB logo now – will there be a new internet presence for your Shaw products and if so, who will be your partner?
Kranke: As of November 2008, a new, modern web presence will be started. In terms of possible visual changes of the second batch of Shaw Brothers movies talks are held as we speak but I cannot specify on that at the moment.
SBR: Currently, the Pay-TV channel Premiere MGM and the German Free-TV channel DAS VIERTE are showing Shaw movies. Are other television broadcasters from Germany, Austria or Switzerland interested as well?
Kranke: Talks are held as we speak, but I won’t comment on the results at this time as it could harm the negotiations which are under way.
SBR: The quality of dubs and flawed subs are mentioned by the fans in anger - will there be improvements in terms of quality in the upcoming batch?
Kranke: All parties involved are anxious to upgrade the product “Shaw Brothers” more and more. But one should also mention that our elaborate DVD menus have been raved about and that the overall quality has been deemed as good.
SBR: What do you want to do to fight the “cheap image” of Asian martial arts movies such as those by the Shaw Brothers?
Kranke: I don’t see a necessity to fight a “cheap image”. The market and the demand set the price. Of course we would like to see our product to score with higher price tags but if top cinema titles from Hollywood start at Euro 14,99 and much less nowadays, one ha no chance to ask for a higher retail price. Bonuses and additional content on DVDs are surely valued by the hardcore fans but not the general public. Possible revenues from fans alone are not enough to secure the economic survival of a product. But we will work hard to offer special fan products in future.
SBR: Let’s talk about the dubbing – is there a change in the cards?
Kranke: MCL is responsible fort he dubbing and simply I can’t comment on that.
SBR: Critics are lamenting the quality of the picture in some cases – can you use the original HD-Pal masters now and how are you tackling those problems?
Kranke: I can’t verify such a problem and nothing has been said to us about it so far. If one takes the age of the movies into account one has to say that the quality can only be described as good. HD materials are sold separately and are not available automatically. If the market shows a positive tendency towards HD, however we can’t rule out that next year will see a release of selected titles of the batch in the Blu-ray format.
SBR: As the two titles „Killer Clans“ and „Heroes Two“ were released, fans called the choice of design and the used visuals simply “scandalous”. Does MiB have problems to get suitable stills material and what will be done to prevent such a mistake in future?
Kranke: I deem the word „scandal“ as exaggerated. Of course true fans knew that the pictures we used did not come from those two titles, but this was an exception of the rule. At that time no contact to SBR had been made and no help could be asked. Celestial Pictures did not provide us with suitable materials and we had to resort to cope with the situation as best as we could.
SBR: By choosing German titles for movies such as „Heroes Two“ and „Mad Monkey Kung Fu“ – why did you not use the original cinema titles from yesteryear and re-named both films instead?
Kranke: It all had to do with the impact of the titles in regard to the market. A title such as “The culprit wit the monkey technique” is rather strange in the ears of the business bigwigs. If we release titles with “Shaolin” in the line repeatedly, then reactions such as “Oh my God, not another Shaolin-crap again” are uttered. For outsiders it is difficult to look behind the reasons of such decisions, I know.
SBR: The second batch of Shaw titles will start in 2009. Now fans and customers are asking questions like this one: Why don’t you start with the three movies of the “One Armed Swordsman” trilogy in a box and why do you release them in three different instalments over the course of several months instead?
Kranke: As a fan one is naturally entitled to such a question. But due to economic reasons each release batch should bear the same significance as the other. Having said so, it is surely cogitable that we will release a box with this trilogy and extensive bonus material later on.
SBR: Why has the movie “The New One Armed Swordsman” (the first Asian martial arts and Shaw movie to be shown in the cinemas of German speaking countries) not been released this year as we celebrate its 35th cinema release anniversary? Such an anniversary surely would be a marketing bonus.
Kranke: The negotiations with Celestial Pictures are not finished yet. Only after the final talks the materials are made available, the pre-productions can start and the dubs and subs can be made. As we are in the midst of the high season, the dubbing studios are fully booked and at the moment we can only make a prognosis that the start of the new batch will be as early as February 2009.
SBR: Titles will be released every two or three months – why don’t you throw two titles per month on the market?
Kranke: It is a decision of the market. As we started our first batch we released 5 titles every two months. Soon the release batches could not be placed into the shelves anymore. The rhythm of releases is a result of what the stores are prepared to carry at the respective time.
SBR: Hearsay and speculations are always ripe when the previously announced release dates change and fans are angered by the fact that this happens all the time. Why could MiB not keep their release schedule over and over again?
Kranke: There are different reasons for that. Of course one is not prone to mistakes (i.e. a dubbing script writer falls ill, a dubber loses his voice etc.). On the other hand release dates had to be scrapped due to necessities of the market. We are dependent on the capacity of the market. For example, if a Hollywood blockbuster suddenly interferes with our planned release date, we have to postpone our release because we simply do not get the necessary space in the shelves of the stores. The storage place in outlets is not extendible at will. But we will strive to optimize our planning to curb postponements as much as possible.
SBR: What do you expect from the new partnership between MiB and the global Shaw Brothers internet platform “SBR – Shaw-Brothers-Reloaded” and how did you come across SBR?
Kranke: As the sales director of MiB I was annoyed to read and hear about wild speculations. Therefore I wanted to make contact with a capable forum. After screening the possibilities only SBR was deemed to be the right partner and I made contact. To avoid future speculations, SBR will get exclusive and up-to-date information. I am sure both parties will profit from this decision and the fans will be comprehensively informed.
SBR: Our first announcement has triggered a lot of response in german speaking forums and within the communities such as “When will the 30 titles of the new Shaw batch be officially announced?”
Kranke: It all depends on the moment all the materials of the second batch are vailable. Each announcement should be accompanied by the newest cover layout and information. We are working on that as we speak. At the moment we plan to announce titles to the press in November 2008.
SBR: Why is MiB so secretive about the new batch?
Kranke: It’s not about „secrets”. Before we can announce the 30 titles we have to make sure that all materials are available in a perfect condition. We don’t want to announce titles which have to be scrapped right afterwards. As I said, SBR will be the first media to announce the 30 titles in question.
SBR: Thank you very much for your time and statements!
