Cinema meets digital technology

Filmmakers have relied on film to make their movies for almost as long as the industry's been around. Digital projection does not degrade the quality of the picture Shooting on film may be expensive, but it has a special quality unrivalled by any other media, and though we are not necessarily aware of what is going on behind the scenes when we turn up at the box office, we are stepping into the world of 35mm film. The release prints of movies arrive in projection rooms as 10,000 feet of film printed as a copy of the original. So far the only sop towards digital in the analogue cinema world has been in the realm of sound. But now, finally, film itself may be facing the final curtain as cinemas find the pull of digital forces irresistible. Picture perfect Digital projection systems are the latest thing. The release copy of the movie is delivered on a hard drive, sporting 100 gigabytes of the latest Hollywood fare, a digitally scanned copy of the master film print. The industry has reached a watershed, and digital cinema is about to take off in a big way Once clipped into place the movie is simply uploaded to a server and is one button-push away from being digitally projected. The big advantage of digital projection is the picture quality. With film, every imperfection gets shown as the 35 mm print passes through the projector, including scratches, fluff, blotches and so forth; not exactly what the director intended for their creative vision. With a digital projector linked to a server there are no more stray hairs, scratches or dust - just a crystal clear picture. Goblet of Fire from Warner was released digitally in 18 countries The rest of the entertainment world embraced digital years ago, so why are the cinemas so late to the party? "It's taken so long because it's been a question of agreeing in advance," said David Hancock of Screen Digest. "It's been a consensus building process, which started in 1999 with the first commercial release of Star Wars Episode One. "Since then we've had five years of testing the technology, building a consensus and agreeing the business models and technology to be used, and this took longer than most people expected." Big savings Now the industry has reached a watershed, and digital cinema is about to take off in a big way. A couple of years ago there were only 335 digitally-equipped screens worldwide. By the end of last year, in which Hollywood finally published a common technical standard, that number had almost trebled, to 849 screens. Forecasts predict 17,000 screens in just a few years from now, concentrated in the movie world's spiritual home, the US. Digital encryption will help protect against film piracy The Hollywood studios are driving this transition because they stand to make enormous savings, which they can pass on to the cinemas themselves. The most obvious saving is in distribution costs. An average length feature film print costs around £700 ($1,300). Encoding it and delivering a hard drive to the cinema works out at a fraction of that. In future, the possibility of delivering the movie by satellite or over the net has got the bean counters salivating. One of the other great costs to the movie industry is piracy, which Hollywood claims has cost it $6bn (£3.2bn). Distributing movies digitally means they can be encrypted before they even leave the studios, and then unlocked by software at the cinemas themselves. Tinseltown's films could get more showings, too. Digital movies can be streamed from the server to different screens at the same time; or alternatively a variety of movies can be shown on the same screen throughout the course of a day. But perhaps the most exciting thing for the cinemas is that digital projection gives them a flexibility they could only have dreamt when they had to use film. "With a digital projector you can input virtually anything into it," said Steve Knibbs of Vue cinemas. "[We can screen] a DVD, a clip downloaded from YouTube, gaming from a digital projector with multiple players on the screen at the same time, a live feed from satellite, cable and whatever. "Anything we can get as an input we can put up on screen. That means we go from being a place where you can just see 35mm films to becoming a true general entertainment place providing everything from gambling to gaming, educational lessons to movies they might not have seen for 40 years, and all sort of things like that." 'Buzz about 3D' The advent of digital also means that some technologies which were a bit suspect in the past can be revived. Brace yourselves for the return of 3D. In truth 3D never really went away - it has been the staple of the big-screen Imax experience for years. Imax uses two film projectors and two reels of film to fool our brains into thinking we are seeing 3D. That process has been too expensive for regular cinemas to contemplate, but digital projectors make it affordable for the first time. "It's not proved financially viable for some time," said Richard Boyd of the National Film Theatre. "This was something that was quite big in 50s and 60s and sort of dropped out, a bit of a gimmick, a bit like smellavision. "But now a single digital projector can run at a higher frame rate and show both left eye and right eye [images] from a single projector." There is now a real buzz about 3D; there are seven new 3D movies slated for release in the coming year. With technology available to recreate old classics, as well as show sporting events, in 3D there is a real feeling that 3D is finally coming of age. Even so, places like the Hollywood entertainment museum put these developments in perspective. Technology is important, but it is just one part of a bigger picture. Digital cinema, although it is being seen as a milestone on par with colour and sound, is still at its heart just cinema. Ultimately it is the finished product, the movies themselves, which will ensure we keep coming back for more. www.bbc.co.uk

Cinema meets digital technology

Filmmakers have relied on film to make their movies for almost as long as the industry's been around. Digital projection does not degrade the quality of the picture Shooting on film may be expensive, but it has a special quality unrivalled by any other media, and though we are not necessarily aware of what is going on behind the scenes when we turn up at the box office, we are stepping into the world of 35mm film. The release prints of movies arrive in projection rooms as 10,000 feet of film printed as a copy of the original. So far the only sop towards digital in the analogue cinema world has been in the realm of sound. But now, finally, film itself may be facing the final curtain as cinemas find the pull of digital forces irresistible. Picture perfect Digital projection systems are the latest thing. The release copy of the movie is delivered on a hard drive, sporting 100 gigabytes of the latest Hollywood fare, a digitally scanned copy of the master film print. The industry has reached a watershed, and digital cinema is about to take off in a big way Once clipped into place the movie is simply uploaded to a server and is one button-push away from being digitally projected. The big advantage of digital projection is the picture quality. With film, every imperfection gets shown as the 35 mm print passes through the projector, including scratches, fluff, blotches and so forth; not exactly what the director intended for their creative vision. With a digital projector linked to a server there are no more stray hairs, scratches or dust - just a crystal clear picture. Goblet of Fire from Warner was released digitally in 18 countries The rest of the entertainment world embraced digital years ago, so why are the cinemas so late to the party? "It's taken so long because it's been a question of agreeing in advance," said David Hancock of Screen Digest. "It's been a consensus building process, which started in 1999 with the first commercial release of Star Wars Episode One. "Since then we've had five years of testing the technology, building a consensus and agreeing the business models and technology to be used, and this took longer than most people expected." Big savings Now the industry has reached a watershed, and digital cinema is about to take off in a big way. A couple of years ago there were only 335 digitally-equipped screens worldwide. By the end of last year, in which Hollywood finally published a common technical standard, that number had almost trebled, to 849 screens. Forecasts predict 17,000 screens in just a few years from now, concentrated in the movie world's spiritual home, the US. Digital encryption will help protect against film piracy The Hollywood studios are driving this transition because they stand to make enormous savings, which they can pass on to the cinemas themselves. The most obvious saving is in distribution costs. An average length feature film print costs around £700 ($1,300). Encoding it and delivering a hard drive to the cinema works out at a fraction of that. In future, the possibility of delivering the movie by satellite or over the net has got the bean counters salivating. One of the other great costs to the movie industry is piracy, which Hollywood claims has cost it $6bn (£3.2bn). Distributing movies digitally means they can be encrypted before they even leave the studios, and then unlocked by software at the cinemas themselves. Tinseltown's films could get more showings, too. Digital movies can be streamed from the server to different screens at the same time; or alternatively a variety of movies can be shown on the same screen throughout the course of a day. But perhaps the most exciting thing for the cinemas is that digital projection gives them a flexibility they could only have dreamt when they had to use film. "With a digital projector you can input virtually anything into it," said Steve Knibbs of Vue cinemas. "[We can screen] a DVD, a clip downloaded from YouTube, gaming from a digital projector with multiple players on the screen at the same time, a live feed from satellite, cable and whatever. "Anything we can get as an input we can put up on screen. That means we go from being a place where you can just see 35mm films to becoming a true general entertainment place providing everything from gambling to gaming, educational lessons to movies they might not have seen for 40 years, and all sort of things like that." 'Buzz about 3D' The advent of digital also means that some technologies which were a bit suspect in the past can be revived. Brace yourselves for the return of 3D. In truth 3D never really went away - it has been the staple of the big-screen Imax experience for years. Imax uses two film projectors and two reels of film to fool our brains into thinking we are seeing 3D. That process has been too expensive for regular cinemas to contemplate, but digital projectors make it affordable for the first time. "It's not proved financially viable for some time," said Richard Boyd of the National Film Theatre. "This was something that was quite big in 50s and 60s and sort of dropped out, a bit of a gimmick, a bit like smellavision. "But now a single digital projector can run at a higher frame rate and show both left eye and right eye [images] from a single projector." There is now a real buzz about 3D; there are seven new 3D movies slated for release in the coming year. With technology available to recreate old classics, as well as show sporting events, in 3D there is a real feeling that 3D is finally coming of age. Even so, places like the Hollywood entertainment museum put these developments in perspective. Technology is important, but it is just one part of a bigger picture. Digital cinema, although it is being seen as a milestone on par with colour and sound, is still at its heart just cinema. Ultimately it is the finished product, the movies themselves, which will ensure we keep coming back for more. www.bbc.co.uk

Blu-ray Disc

Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codecs will offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience. Blu-ray is currently supported by about 200 of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer, recording media, video game and music companies. The format also has support from all Hollywood studios and countless smaller studios as a successor to today's DVD format. Many studios have also announced that they will begin releasing new feature films on Blu-ray Disc day-and-date with DVD, as well as a continuous slate of catalogue titles every month Will Bluray replace DVDs? Yes, that's the expectation. The Blu-ray format has received broad support from the major movie studios as a successor to today's DVD format. In fact, seven of the eight major movie studios (Disney, Fox, Warner, Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate and MGM) have released titles in the Blu-ray format. Many studios have also announced that they will begin releasing new feature films on Blu-ray Disc day-and-date with DVD, as well as a continuous slate of catalogue titles every month. For more information about Blu-ray movies, check out our Blu-ray movies section which offers information about new and upcoming Blu-ray releases, as well as what movies are currently available in the Blu-ray format. However, the two formats (Blu-ray and DVD) will most likely co-exist for quite some time until HDTVs become more widespread.

3D films: the next film revolution?

They've been the next big thing for the past 50 years, but 3D films have finally come of age. Just the thing to get bums on seats, says Chris Evans There are currently 65 digital 3D screens in the UK, and more than 2,000 worldwide Cinema has already been through two major revolutions in its relatively short life. First there was the transition from silent to talkie, then from black and white to colour. Now Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, believes "3D is the next revolution in the cinema-going experience". A bold statement, and one tinged with a distinct bias as DreamWorks is one of several Hollywood studios set to release their forthcoming animation projects in the new, digitised 3D format. Titles set to hit our screens include Monsters vs Aliens (2009), A Christmas Carol (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), Shrek Goes Fourth (2010), and Avatar, due for release in December next year, which is hotly tipped to be the turning point in the 3D revolution. It is important to point out that 3D is, of course, nothing new. It was first experimented with back in the 1950s and Imax cinemas have been showing films in 3D for the past 30 years. But now, with the advent of digital 3D technology being installed in cinemas worldwide, and the fact that the choice of films in 3D is not only broader but much better, audiences need only head to a multiplex and put on the glasses to immerse themselves in what is proving to be a wholly new way to enjoy the latest studio blockbuster. "This is digital stereoscopic 3D. It is a far cry from the 3D experience of the 1950s. There is no ghosting and no headaches. It is pin-sharp, laser-sharp, crystal-clear 3D imagery," says Mark Batey, chief executive of the Film Distributors' Association. It's a view supported by Phil Clapp, chief executive of the Cinema Exhibitors' Association. "I have seen excerpts from the upcoming Monsters vs Aliens film and it is incredible. You actually feel immersed in the film, like the action is taking place around you, rather than in front of you, as it is in 2D." There are currently 65 digital 3D screens in the UK, and more than 2,000 worldwide. Industry experts predict there will be at least 10,000 by 2012. This rapid expansion and advancement in 3D technology is seen by some as a response to the decline in cinema attendance and the rise in alternative viewing platforms such as the internet, PlayStation and cable television. "Just as it was in the 1950s when the advent of television shook the cinema world to its bones, so in today's world of rapid digital communication, 3D is the cinemas' response to say we are bigger, brighter, bolder and better than anything you will experience at home," Batey says. Unlike the cumbersome, labour-intensive 3D systems of the 1950s, which required two cameras projecting on to the same screen, making synchronisation difficult, the new digital projectors, of which there are three different models – RealD, Dolby Digital Cinema and Imax 3D – require just the one projector run through a computer. "The projection element is the same in terms of the lens and the lamp, but you have a server into which you plug hard drives with the film on, and that is then unscrambled and played through to the computer on the back of the projection unit," explains Clapp. By simultaneously selecting two viewpoints, or a left eye and right eye, the technologies enable the brain to converge or fuse the images. By wearing the special glasses, the watcher prevents the image from bleeding over from the left to the right, or vice versa. "These projectors provide a much higher refresh rate between the two complementary eye images because it is stereo so the film producers are recording one version to the right eye and one to the left eye, and the projectors are then able to convert these into a high frame rate. So it is a really seamless effect," says Charlotte Jones, senior analyst of film and cinema at Screen Digest. Also, unlike the heavy 35mm film reels, 3D digital films are stored on a hard disk, which means it is much easier to transport them from one cinema to the next. "These digital disks are essentially the right-eye and left-eye versions of the film together, and can be taken by bike or van to another site and inserted into a server and played through the digital projector, which is normally positioned alongside a 35mm projector," Batey says. But the reason so many exhibitors are still holding back from installing the projectors is the expense. One digital projector alone for a single screen costs £40,000 to £50,000, and then to add a 3D upgrade would cost another £10,000 or even £20,000 on top of that. "In the US, the studios are helping to finance the transition to digital and 3D by subsidising the projectors through the savings they are making as a result of using the cheaper digital prints as opposed to the expensive 35mm reels," Jones says. But outside of America, production companies working on 3D films are less inclined to contribute to the enormous costs, and take-up by the cinemas of the 3D projectors has so far been slow. However, the potential revenue benefits of 3D are already being proven. The 3D release of films such as Journey to the Center of the Earth, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Fly Me to the Moon and Chicken Little have taken at least two times, and in some cases three times, as much as their 2D releases. This is partly due to the higher ticket costs of seeing the films in 3D. "To produce an animation film in 3D, you are probably looking at adding another 15 per cent on to the film budget, for a live action you are looking at another 30 per cent, which is why the studios are having to hike up the prices by as much as $5 in the US to recoup costs," Jones says. Global revenue from 3D ticket sales in 2008 amounted to $240m, approximately 70 per cent of which, or $166m, came from North America. That figure of $166m accounted for roughly 1.8 per cent of total projected North American box-office takings for 2008, and Jones expects the share to climb to approximately 15% in 2009. The realms of possibility and potential revenue with the new 3D technology are also not just limited to film. Some cinemas are experimenting with beaming live events via satellite into cinemas in 3D. Last week, RealD and 3ality Digital staged the world's first live 3D broadcast of an American football game, at the Mann Chinese 6 theatre in Hollywood. "That could be really significant. In Europe, for example, they could show the Fifa World Cup live in 3D. That would be incredible," says Jones, adding that "in the near future it will potentially be possible to beam 3D images to mobile phones and into the home. The only problem would be wearing those 3D glasses at home, where you could be playing video games for four or five hours, or watching a few films over the course of an evening." So, in actual fact, while the cinemas are hoping the new 3D experience will draw the young crowd back to their screens, it looks like it could keep them at home even longer. Big-screen action: The power of Imax * 'The Dark Knight' director Christopher Nolan filmed six of the film's major action sequences using Imax cameras. As a result, Imax box offices were inundated for weeks with filmgoers intent on seeing Batman and the Joker on the even bigger screen. The film made £360,000 with a single print on a single Imax screen in Manchester – with the aid, it should be noted, of Imax's inflated ticket prices. * The Imax system was first developed in Canada in the 1970s. Imax can screen films in a much larger format, and with much greater resolution, than a conventional cinema screen. Modern Imax theatres are also equipped with super-sophisticated sound systems. * Until now, there have been only a handful of Imax screens in the UK, and only one in London – at the BFI in Waterloo. All that will soon change, however, with the introduction of the Imax digital projection system to Europe. Far cheaper to instal and run than its predecessor, digital will allow Imax to roll out across the continent. As well as screening live sports events and concerts, theatres have a full slate of Imax Hollywood blockbusters lined up for 2009, including 'Watchmen', 'Transformers 2', 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince', and 'Avatar'. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/3d-films-the-next-film-revolution-1059197.html

Tuesday 29th March - Exhibition

Exhibition and all that jazz... March 2011 on Prezi

Thursday 24th March - National and Local audiences

National and local audiences - AS Media on Prezi

Technological Convergence & how it affects the following:

TC is the amalgamation of multiple devices into one object, a good example of Media Convergence the i-phone: is a phone, camera, video player & recorder, internet, i-pod, apps, calculator, etc.

Production (raising the finance, making the film)
• Edits can be ‘streamed’ (emailed/firewired) so that they can be approved by the financiers. (This can also cause Piracy problems)
• Films are now edited on a Computer called an Avid, you can edit the picture, the sound & do basic special effects. This is very sophisticated.

Distribution (Maximize the Audience that you can get to see the film)
• Cinema
• DVD & Blu-ray distributor
• TV
• Internet
• Airplane

• As a ‘gift’ in a Newspaper or Magazine – create awareness; maybe give away an old film (the original ‘St Trinians’) as the remake/Sequel is released at the Cinema.

Marketing & Media Synergy (Vertical Integration favored by Hollywood)
• Media Synergy exploits ‘Technological Convergence’ to reach a wider audience.
• Maximize the Audience that want to see the film …..
• ARG
• Web Site
• Sound Track / Album
• Stars / Director
• Book, Comic, Game Show8u

Exhibition (Where you traditionally see the films: in a Cinema)
• Internet: Where the film is being screened; cinema, time, date & trailer.
• Films are shown in Cinema Screens
• These can be on Film, on Digital, or 3D. Not all screens have all capabilities at the moment. Limits the screens a film can be seen on.
• Virgin Airplane: Have the latest Films on its planes.
• A screening in a Shopping Centre
• Film released as a download direct to the I-phone

Piracy (As TC is more advanced this encourages/enables more piracy)
• A film can be copied easily & quickly before Theatrical Release as a Preview Copy can often get into the wrong hands.
• Production Companies/Distribution Companies now limit who has access to ‘whole’ copies of the film.



Technological Convergence is the ‘actual’ physical piece of technology:
• a computer you can play your DVD on & access the internet
• a TV with a built in DVD player that you can access the internet on
• an i-phone to make a phone call, listen to music, download a film, access the internet
For your exam you need examples of how the Media use TC to their advantage, this then becomes Media Convergence.
• ARG played on the computer
• Trailer Apps on the i-phone
• A DVD they can play on their TV & their computer (on a long car journey).
• Internet to down load a film

Institution: This is any Production, Distribution & Exhibition Company.
• Slumdog Millionaire: Celedor & FilmFour; Warner Bros & Fox Searchlight, Pathe
• The Dark Knight: Lengendary Pictures, Syncopy, DC Comics; Warner Bros
• This is England: Warp Films & FilmFour; Optimum & IFC Films
• Odeon, Vue, Rio, Everyman, Screen on the Green, National Film Theatre

Audience: This is the ‘audience’ the film is aimed at. They want to make money!
• Clarify/understand the Audience that the film for each of your Case Studies is aimed at. How did they ‘widen’ the Films appeal/attract a bigger audience?
• Every film wants to reach as wide an audience as possible.
• Media Synergy is how they market the film, using media convergence they can access a wider audience through for example: the i-phone. Trailer Apps direct to all i-phone users. This uses Media Convergence to the Distributors advantage.
• What is the ‘age’ of the target audience of your Case Study Films.
• For TDK they used ARG to target some of their audience. An interactive website. To attract a much wider audience, for the DVD sales, one of the things they did was use toys in Happy Meals, pester power of children. To target a teen audience they had Stars like Heath Ledger & Christian Bale.
• TIE attracted an Art House Audience. It had a limited budget and limited appeal but it made money as it hit the target audience.
• SDM was originally aimed at a youthful audience but after it won the Oscars it broadened its appeal and was watched by a much older audience.