With the price of DV creeping downward and the cost of film transfer still sky high, digital video has emerged as a real democratizing force in not just Hollywood but world cinema: filmmakers who can’t afford shooting or editing on film can get a relatively cheap DV camera, and, if they’re outside of traditional distribution channels, their work can feasibly find an audience via satellite or the internet. Which is why digital projection has been a hot topic in the Walker’s film/video department. This morning Wired reports that a digital standard has been agreed upon in Hollywood, which could mean an end to film reels:
Studios spent more than $631 million in 2003 on film prints for the North American market alone, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. Subtracting reels from that equation could reduce total distribution costs by as much as 90 percent, according to U.K. digital cinema analyst Patrick von Sychowski. Add in costs for overseas distribution and exhibition, and the move from prints to digital files could mean an eventual annual savings of up to $900 million.Advocates of the shift to digital exhibition say theater owners also would benefit from new flexibility: If a movie sells out in one theater, an owner can quickly switch other screens to that feature to accommodate the unexpected demand. And if a supposed blockbuster turns out to be a bomb, it can be yanked from screens just as instantly — no new prints from the studio, no reel swaps.
Proponents say there’s something in it for moviegoers, too — digital in-theater display means no out-of-focus projection, no out-of-order reels, no scratches and pops on film that’s been played too many times on old projectors. And digital systems could make other kinds of content possible in theaters, including live, high-definition coverage of sports events, Broadway plays or group games…
Click here for a pdf of the DCI Digital Cinema System Specification.
Update: Xeni Jardin, author of the Wired piece and BoingBoing blogger, has more.
Not to mention the cost of storing the bulky prints. I once tried to get a 35mm print of THE STRAIGHT STORY (an Oscar nominated film!) for exhibition and the distribution company informed me that it was their policy to destroy prints after 1 year due to the cost of storage.
Call me an old-fashioned crank, but I love the scratches and pops, the sound of the gears running. Why go to a theater at all if it’s the same experience as watching a DVD at home? As it is, movies look too seamless these days, what with the proliferation of CGI.
Comment by Jenny Jones — 10/19/2005 @ 11:43 am
hellow my name is blake and i have a question, i completely understand that the film industry is leading away from film reals but my question is, what is the best quality that hollywood is recording in at the moment??? what is the best camera out there that has the best quality and would you say that this technology surpasses hd and blue ray disc or is it like i assume…… witch is that we do not have the technology in film captureing to fully take advantages of this quality in these formats much less the quality in tv’s to display this technology once it is recorded onto a disc???? answers are grately apreciated!!
Comment by blake — 1/24/2007 @ 4:34 am