Yash Raj Films- Digital Growth and Success Story

As digital technologies have kept advancing and newer platforms have seen the light of the day, it has resulted in a global distribution network. YRF years and again have proved through their ventures that they are ready digitally to usher in the new age and have continued to embody new businesses and plans as a response to digital advances.

Background

Yash Raj Films was founded by the late Yash Raj Chopra in 1970. They have made big-budget and box-office hits to genre-defining movies and is known to launch fresh talents. They are known to launch compelling stories and have pioneered digital innovations as well as maintained their flagship position since their launch across all verticals.

When did they get digitized?

Yash Raj Films were the first ones in the film industry who welcome the digital age. 

Yash Raj Films was one of the earliest production companies in India that launched its own website. Their website was launched in 1997. They have successfully used the digital medium as a medium of communication. It has also been a successful revenue generator.  

As digital technologies have kept advancing and newer platforms have seen the light of the day, it has resulted in a global distribution network.

 The digital division of the YRF monitors the distribution and delivery of the content of the production house across all the important media outlets. These include feature films on VOD platforms, deployment of music on various music digital and other types of platforms, digital rights, and even the licensing of the audio-visual content of YRF.

Changes due to digitalization

Digital Defence for its Iconic Movies

Yash Raj is known to be the creator of its timeless movies such as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Dil Toh Pagal Hai, and more. Yash Raj has been able to maintain its wealth of movies using a variety of methods like servers HDDs and tape drivers.

Let’s say, for instance, if Yash Raj Films wanted to make a 3D version of Silsila today; it would be a challenge. This is because of the latest storage arrangement. However, what the executives were worried about more at Yash Raj Films was the chance that some frames of these movies would get lost. The General Manager-Digital of Yash Raj Films, Dilip Patil said that the archive of the films carried the risk of disk corruption as well as damaging of the tape.

Therefore, the solution was to go digital. Each frame of a film is a total of 15 MB. Even if a single frame is corrupted then it would amount to losing time and effort that goes into not only identifying the frame but also finally restoring it. It is not just losing the art, it is also costly. The company would have had to spend a fortune to do so. This at large affects the distributors and the audience as well. This can be avoided when the movies are preserved and processed digitally.

Innovations in Production

Production refers to the shooting stage of the movie. Recently, digital cameras have been used to shoot these movies. The trend started in Hollywood where these cameras would capture the shots or images in digital format. The industry currently is relying mostly on digital equipment for producing films, though few big-budget Bollywood movies of recent times were shot using film cameras. More than 90% of Bollywood films are shot on digital cameras today. Digital cameras reduce the cost of production. The potential that digital technology carries has opened the doors for new possibilities and opportunities for a lot of people.

Digital Editing

 Post-production editing is one of the slowest and most mundane of all tasks in the production process. The manual techniques of filming are used to shoot the rough cut of the film. In the post-production of the movies make sure to add in more visual effects and enhance the quality. Using advanced film-editing software programs, film engineers can create the effects of an imaginary world and make it look seamless.

HD Films

Due to technological innovation and advanced computer-generated and computer-altered imagery, HD films are more in demand. This has called for more storage. The media has been trying to keep up with all these digital advancements. A good IT solution is to back up the content.

YRF has a good storage solution and flexibility when it comes to access, archived catalogs of films allow them not only easily access it but also release them later on platforms of their choice like YouTube, Netflix, iTunes, among others.

This will expose old and iconic and cult films to millions of film lovers across the world through an accessible film catalog interface. The interface will come with searchable features as well as a single-frame search. This will ensure the global distribution successfully according to General Manager-Digital of Yash Raj Films, Dilip Patil.

Ahead of the Game

Yash Raj Films had embraced the digital age, long back when OTT and long-form content were not the norms. The production house had under its belt critically acclaimed TV shows that ushered in the new wave of the TV viewing experience, way back in 2010.

Rishta.com, Powder, Seven, and Khotey Sikkey were a few limited and episodic shows that were different from the norm and dared to defer from the usual. They were contemporary and reflective of the modern Indian mentality. With the digital space, Yash Raj has the goal to set the bar of OTT platforms much higher along with its production.

Success story and examples of achievements because of digitalization

Out of the Box Strategies

YRF has always used out-of-the-box strategies when it came to marketing and promoting its movies. They utilized a popular mobile application and used a reward platform that mobile users could use to view Ads and earn points for recharge minutes on an Opt-in basis. What is meant was every time a caller with this app makes a call, a pop-up will appear before the call gets connected. It will ask if the caller wants a free minute sponsored call by Mardaani or a direct call. If the caller chooses the first option, they play a promo. This is an excellent dual-purpose and win-win situation for both parties. They have used HTML5 functionality, a first by any Bollywood film for a unique combination of Multiple Interaction Points to make one unified Mobile ad unit.

The third innovation took advantage of a popular social networking platform on mobile, where users interacted with special media banners of the film. The banners played out key videos which exponentially increased the efficacy of the campaign of advertising.

YFX

 In 2016 Yash Raj Films started a division “YFX”. This was their visual effects department. A core group of experienced, award-winning, and skilled technical directors, supervisors, and artists along with state-of-the-art studios came together to become a one-stop hub of “everything creative and visual”. Their first major production was the visual effects for Salman Khan starred SULTAN. The team worked on effects like crowd multiplication, CGI sets, 3D edits, digital prosthetics and provided over 2000 VFX shots for the film. 

Legacy and future

Foray into OTT

Aditya Chopra, the CEO of YRF has invested 500 Cr for the banner to foray into the OTT world. YRF will invest in original content. As per Variety, the original series will cost the banner an approximate 100 crore INR. They may even set up their own OTT platform.

Change in Campaign

Digital has changed the ‘perception mapping’ when it comes to making content. While embracing new technologies, innovations, and platforms, each film becomes a different campaign of its own.

100-Crore Four Hero Project

The production house is shelling out a massive Rs 100 crore to make a four hero starrer, reality. YRF wants everyone to know about their digital venture by shelling out 100 crores as they aim to produce the best content. They want to become leaders who lead by example.

“They want to create a paradigm shift for content in India and this first project will be a testimony to their belief to make clutter-breaking projects”, said a source.“It will be a four-hero project, something that the digital space has never seen before!” added the source.

YRF will make sure to make this project the most anticipated and discussed future project in the nation. Talks are that this film could go on the floors approximately in early December of 2021 and it has already been cast and it is already in the stages of pre-production.

With its knack for producing interesting content and churning an unparalleled cinematic vision and high production value, Yash Raj Films has been hailed and expected to herald a new era of digital entertainment in India.