State of the Film Industry with Michael Bain of Ilford

[David Brown]

This is the video of a presentation Michael Bain (North American Ilford rep) gave in Dallas early in December.

https://youtu.be/ag0lTUiSZqk

 

[Sirius Glass]

Thank you

 

[RattyMouse]

2 people in the audience???? What the......???

 

[pbromaghin]

"More film is being shot now overall than was 5 years ago, and it keeps going up. So what we've seen at Ilford is sheet film has really gone up over the last 5 or 6 years. 35mm skates right along, a little bit of growth here, nothing dramatic, but roll film, and especially sheet film, we're seeing bigger growth in that. The decline stopped a long time ago, that's the good news."

"The interesting thing is that 2/3, or over 2/3, that answered they'd bee using it (film) less than 5 years were under 34 years old. And a big chunk of them were under 29 years old."

Now that really sense of the Pemberstone purchase and their stated desire to more effectively market to a younger generation.

 

[pbromaghin]

2 people in the audience???? What the......???

That was the people working the store. The audience is off-camera right.

 

[Sirius Glass]

So my using Ilford paper almost exclusively the last 6 or 7 years has helped build their business! Well, using a word tossed around APUG recently, I am chuffed.

 

[Sirius Glass]

He said that if Kodak stopped making film, it would badly hurt them. The same thing that Simon Galley said.

 

[chromacomaphoto]

So my using Ilford paper almost exclusively the last 6 or 7 years has helped build their business! Well, using a word tossed around APUG recently, I am chuffed.

There you go, you're really starting to get the hang of it!

 

[RattyMouse]

He said that if Kodak stopped making film, it would badly hurt them. The same thing that Simon Galley said.

Well I hope that they are preparing for this eventuality.

 

[chromacomaphoto]

He said that if Kodak stopped making film, it would badly hurt them. The same thing that Simon Galley said.

Okay, I'm going to watch the whole thing this morning but in the meantime, by 'them' in the above sentence, do you mean hurt Kodak or hurt Ilford? It could be read either way.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Loosely quoted: If Kodak goes out of business, the people in the US would think that film is no longer available and it would hurt Ilford badly.

 

[Ian Grant]

His history is not very correct and he's making an awful lot up on the fly.

I doubt he has any real links with Ilford, listen he says he's a hairdresser.

Ian

 

[chromacomaphoto]

Loosely quoted: If Kodak goes out of business, the people in the US would think that film is no longer available and it would hurt Ilford badly.

Ok, got it, thanks for the clarification.

 

[pbromaghin]

His history is not very correct and he's making an awful lot up on the fly.

I doubt he has any real links with Ilford, listen he says he's a hairdresser.

Ian

What the hell are you talking about? He is a corporate VP.

 

[Ian Grant]

What the hell are you talking about? He is a corporate VP.

That doesn't make his historical facts right, and corporate VP is a very over blown title for a sales rep.

Ian

 

[miha]

What are the right facts then?

 

[Ian Grant]

What are the right facts then?

Most of the information here has come from ex Ilford employees plus historic and current Press Releases etc and is fairly accurate. Most of what Michael Bain was saying about the current state of the industry was exactly what's been posted here and many of have heard on factory tours. I just picked up a rather muddled history in the video.

Ian

 

[Xmas]

The facts are Ian has used a pejorative colloquial word for a functionary.

'Hairdresser'

 

[miha]

Most of the information here has come from ex Ilford employees plus historic and current Press Releases etc and is fairly accurate. Most of what Michael Bain was saying about the current state of the industry was exactly what's been posted here and many of have heard on factory tours. I just picked up a rather muddled history in the video.

Ian

A familiar site to many I guess. Still, his facts seem right.

 

[Chris Livsey]

"More film is being shot now overall than was 5 years ago, and it keeps going up. So what we've seen at Ilford is sheet film has really gone up over the last 5 or 6 years. 35mm skates right along, a little bit of growth here, nothing dramatic, but roll film, and especially sheet film, we're seeing bigger growth in that. The decline stopped a long time ago, that's the good news."

Fuji seems to be in a different market then:
Fujifilm’s justification for the increase is that “demand for film products is continuously decreasing and the cost of production…stays at a high level.”

 

[RobC]

That was the people working the store. The audience is off-camera right.

the first couple of seconds of the film shows 4 or 5 people and a lot of empty chairs.

Interessting that roll and sheet film are on the rise and also the FB paper is selling well too.

 

[MattKing]

According to Blue Moon Camera: "Mike Bain is the US Marketing and Business Development Manager for Harman Technology / Ilford Photo. He has been with Ilford for 26 years and he has been working in the photo industry for over 35 years."

From a 2014 interview, not posted until 2015: http://codex.bluemooncamera.com/2015/06/08/drinking-with-jake-round-four-mike-bain-2/

As he appears to be US based, Ian might be treating him with some suspicion :devil:.

EDIT: I note that Ilford's USA regional office is based in Dallas Texas.

 

[Bob Carnie]

Mike Bain indeed is an Ilford spokesman, I have had many discussions with him over my career.

 

[Ian Grant]

According to Blue Moon Camera: "Mike Bain is the US Marketing and Business Development Manager for Harman Technology / Ilford Photo. He has been with Ilford for 26 years and he has been working in the photo industry for over 35 years."

From a 2014 interview, not posted until 2015: http://codex.bluemooncamera.com/2015/06/08/drinking-with-jake-round-four-mike-bain-2/

As he appears to be US based, Ian might be treating him with some suspicion :devil:.

EDIT: I note that Ilford's USA regional office is based in Dallas Texas.

My comments were based on viewing the early part of that video, mainly because his take on Ilford's history was rather wacky and inaccurate.

It's like saying that Kodak only really became the major player they did after they bought Wratten and Wainright, which is probably far more truthful because Mees and his research staff from W & W were the key staff in the formation of the two major Kodak Research establishments in Rochester and Harrow.

It's not an official video, it's a very loose general talk that happens to have been recorded, it's interesting and as I said before echoes all Ilford have said on this forum. On watching again I think Mike Bain explains the new ownership well, particularly the difference in approach between UK compared to US investment/ownership.

It's not generally realised that Ilford suffered very badly from being under the control of the British Government through the Air Ministry in WWII, they stopped all research into colour films, broke the links later with Dupont who supplied film base and helped fund research, Dupont's first Variagram was actually Ilford Multigrade, it was released first because the Air Ministry held Multigrade back. After WWII the Government made Ilford set up its own plant to make film base, Ilford also had to find a new partner for the dyes for colour films and when they began to sell their colour films the Monopolies Commission made a ruling against them. I have the report somewhere.

Ian

 

[cmacd123]

It's not generally realised that Ilford suffered very badly from being under the control of the British Government through the Air Ministry in WWII, they stopped all research into colour films, broke the links later with Dupont who supplied film base and helped fund research,
Ian

That was proably a legitamate militry decison. If you read "silver by the ton" they had previously been depending on AGFA for film base, (not a great idea when England and Germany were at war) so if they were getting stuff from Dupont, the supply might be rationed if the US war effort needed Dupont base or finished film. If I remember the book correctly, the Government had them work with ICL to create a British source. (now it probably is back to coming from Germany)