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MillimeterFields & Frames
Mar 1, 2005 12:00 PM, by Dan Ochiva
How many times have we heard over the last couple of years that digital cinema was on the verge of busting out; that it would soon move beyond those first tentative installs in a few big cities? ▸ But in the run up to this month's ShoWest, progress in both standards-setting and cost-containment give observers reason to believe that DC's rollout is here. According to pre-show news, there's good reason for optimism. ShoWest's annual gathering of creatives, movie studios, and theatre owners in Las Vegas will hear about the nearly complete tech standards for DC implementation, along with plans for a “beta release” of theatres that will employ these specs, developed by the studio-backed Digital Cinema Initiative. ▸ Standards allow equipment manufacturers to make long-term plans. That's important for DC's growth: Open standards will attract a growing number of players, creating a more competitive marketplace with more cost-effective gear. ▪ Such cost-cutting is key for the future growth of Indie production, too. Within the past few months, the Arts Alliance Digital Cinema (AADC) announced that it would purchase hundreds of Christie CP2000 series 2K resolution DLP projectors and QuVIS Cinema Players for a network of screens throughout the United Kingdom. ▸ The AADC's plans are a core part of the UK Film Council's strategy for improving access to and broadening the range of films available to audiences throughout the United Kingdom. The film council expects DC-enabled theatres will help foster the growth of U.K.-based Indie production, as well as introduce the public to a wider range of foreign-language films. ▪ In the United States, some filmmakers see a similar opportunity, though in a different guise. The rage for advertising-supported pre-show digital projection systems could open up multiple use applications, where Indies, business types, and others gain the latest in projection technology. ▸ At ShoWest, for example, Kodak will demo an upgraded version of its networked DC pre-show system that incorporates 720p decoding, a new HD projector, and surround sound capability. Installing HD-res-and-up projectors could also spark growth in 3D film production, because pairing two projectors would solve expensive film projection issues. ▪ Meanwhile, another twist on digital cinema distribution is being demonstrated this month at USC's ETC Digital Cinema Laboratory. T-Systems, part of the Deutsche Telekom group, will demo a secure Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network linking Los Angeles and Germany. Their idea? Connect U.S. studios with European theaters for DC distribution, as well as offer a high-speed link for productions shooting in Europe to send dailies back to the United States. The system will incorporate Texas Instruments' CineLink security management and CineCanvas image management systems. ▸ But as DPs and anyone working in DI will tell you, film isn't dead yet. This year's Sundance Film Festival saw a more likely future where film and digital were both welcome, in some cases overlapping. Of the 200-some films shown, about 110 films screened on 35mm film projectors.
