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In fact, Vidfilm has transferred almost all of the Digital Cinema releases that have been distributed to-date, including Fox’s groundbreaking delivery of a complete Digital Cinema release of Titan AE via high- speed VPN line from Los Angeles to Atlanta, GA. Why has Vidfilm launched itself so emphatically into this new and unproven technology? Is it the big, big picture?” Or is there “big picture?”
Vidfilm CEO Richard Andrews is a believer in the future of this technology and observes, “We think Digital Cinema technology presents a unique opportunity. It’s one of those rare occasions where a technology offers filmmakers a new and powerful methodology for realising their artistic vision while simultaneously providing benefits for distributors as well as theatre patrons.”
Andrews is also clear about what he sees as Vidfilm’s role in Digital Cinema. “Our objective is to create an opti- mal creative environment for filmmakers within a process set that also serves the needs of the distributors.
“The creative people who’ve worked at Vidfilm’s Digital Cinema Lab – the Directors, DPs and Art Directors – have really been intrigued by the creative possibilities this technology affords, things that are not available in the photo- chemical world of the film lab.
“For example, the speed and variety of the colour man- agement tools at their disposal in the Digital Cinema theatre gives them immediate and pow- erful control over their images. The results up on the screen are more representative of their creative intent than what they are typically able to achieve with release prints. So they’ve been very excited about that.”
In fact, the colour timing
and answer print processes of
film making are fundamentally different in the Digital Cinema world. Colourist Tim Peeler elaborates. “In traditional film processing, when the filmmakers go into the lab to view a print, they recommend changes. ‘...a point here, two points there.’
“Then another print is struck and they come back the next day to see the results of their changes, and all the time they are at the mercy of what the soup was like that day. Is it coming out magenta today or are the controls correct or was the temper- ature a little off? The labs do a very good job in get- ting what they can, but they can only go so far.”
Peeler continues, “But in the Digital Cinema suite, the creative personnel can see changes in colour and light instantaneously. They can experiment and really let the creativity flow. Once they’ve been through the Digital Cinema process and see what can be done, and how quickly it can be done, the typical reaction is that they can’t wait to come back.”
Andrews takes it a step further: “Ultimately it’s the impact on the movie ticket-buyer that may be
the most important aspect of this technology.” Digital Cinema’s picture quality is another tool that can help filmmakers transport viewers into a state of suspension of disbelief.
Andrews points out, “Audiences may not be able to articulate what happens when they see scratches, dirt and weave, but subliminally they are removed just that much more from the sensory world filmmakers are trying to create.
“A viewer may not be able to identify negative dirt, but their brain knows it doesn’t see anything like that in the physical world and they know that something’s not quite right. And whenever they see one of those ‘not-quite-rights’ it moves them away from the story. Digital Cinema eliminates that dis- traction, whether it’s the first viewing or the 100th
dirt, weave and other anomalies that are the norm in the local Cineplex.”
“The exciting thing is that Digital Cinema is just going to get better and better as we go forward,” says Andrews.
What does it mean for the studios and distribu- tors of Digital Cinema? There are numerous issues according to Andrews. “Everybody’s aware that there is the potential of enormous savings for studios on release printing.” But Andrews see other advantages for distributors, in the demanding international arena for example.
He offers this perspective. “For a variety of rea- sons, not the least of which is the fact that the Internet can so quickly make or break a movie, the studios are increasingly faced with day-and-date
viewing.” Indeed, for Andrews and the Vidfilm crew, that’s the clincher.
What does Vidfilm see as the future of Digital Cinema? For one thing, it has opened up more options for filmmakers. Shoot on film? Shoot on HD video? Animate on computers? Andrews feels it is important for Vidfilm to accommodate any and all formats coming in the door.
“It doesn’t matter whether we receive comput- er files, as we did in the case of some of the ani- mated features we’ve done, or an IP film element or videotape, D6, D5, HDCam, or whatever. We’re now going to be able to take whatever source material comes through the door and prep it for distribution to Digital Cinema theatres. However, we’re still going to take that same image and prep it to feed back out to film, because there’s going to be film for a long, long time going to theatres.”
But make no mistake, Andrews is sold on Digital Cinema. “My personal preference is to see films digi- tally projected because I’ve become so sensitive to
release schedules where films are going out to multi- ple international territories simultaneously.”
This is another reason Vidfilm is interested in the technology. “With our international facilities heavily invested in both Digital Cinema mastering, audio post production and digital distribution, we believe Vidfilm can become a key facilitator of inter- national theatrical distribution.”
Whatever evolutionary course this technology charts, one thing is for certain, Digital Cinema tech- nology will change the world of feature film produc- tion, post production and distribution.
“Not only are the pictures great and getting bet- ter,” concludes Andrews, “but ultimately it’s going to make the lives of people in film distribution a lot eas- ier. We want to be part of that process.” ■
Photo above: Digital Cinema in the making