(Background on thread.  Debate on if digital can archive the quality of film, especially at low light..  The performance of the new Canon 5DmkII was mentioned)

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To ad to Julio’s points.

The camera he is talking about is the Canon 5DmkII.

Currently this camera is making a mess of the digital film camera industry. I know Sony, JVC etc are all running scared.
They are literately selling 5x what they expected on this product. It’s success has changed the industry completely.
This camera makes all there 50-100K kit all seem obsolete. Tho , there is more to a camera then a sensor. (But strangely many people cannot see past that. Ie form factor, the package etc.)

Now, Nikon will likely bring out a competitor at the November show for Pro still cameras. And.. the Nikon has even BETTER low light performance then the canon.

In the Stills world, Film is totally been abandoned apart for the niche areas where some aspects of film still produce desired results that digital cannot. However, this is not common, and a very expensive way forward.

This will of course happen in the motion film area too. I am a little surprised it has taken longer then it has, however, as I have said, there is more to taking a shot then the camera, its the camera man too. This is a generation thing more then anything else.

I have noticed that film-tech seems to be an ivory tower with man holding onto the romance of film. Personally I don;t care. I am a computer tech that has drifted into the doing digital side of exhibition. I just observe and based on what I see, make conclusions.

Film is simply out of date.
I like to compare it to DJing (For which I did for 10 years when I was a younger lad) evolved from vinyl records to CD’s or other forms of digital playback..

At the end of the day, the punters on the dance floor didn’t really care if it was vinyl or CD, the story that was the track was shared and they enjoyed it.

Tho the debate between DJ’s was heated and went on for years. Today, the top DJ’s basically never use vinyl any more.
WHY, well as I like to point out, what sounds better is not really the issue here. The main reason they don;t use vinyl is because vinyl has limitations. While digital has Blue sky. The DJ’s, though the use of digital, have created new playing styles and performance possibilities. Impossible with vinyl.

This holds true for Film as well. Film is dead to me as.. it simply cannot evolve anymore. But once we are digital, the sky is the limit. Night shots that are impossible using film. etc.

One of my favorite would be a new standard of 60fps for cinema. Can be easily converted down to any common distribution format in use today, and would make a film screen, using clean digital images, look like a window into the world that the film creates. Something film grain, scratches and gate movement can never do.. (60fps for film is possible, but like 70mm unrealistic anymore. too $$$$$$$)

So, to me. Film, please leave the building, its time to ignite the booster and leave orbit, and you don;t have a ticket.)

To finish of, I would like to also visit the definition of what make one better then the other.
If we want to talk about which can be better.
Many of you say, film looks better…. if your looking at an answer print compared to 2k. But then again, apple with apples, there are 8k digital systems out there. That would even arguably compare with 70mm.
If we talk about the typical image a widely distributed film presents on screen compared to 2K.
A typical 2K system will ALWAYS look better due to the massive lossy process the film has to go through.

So which is better. What is possible or what is typical??
Please take this into consideration.

James

Well in this case, its got its mind set on owning cinema exhibition and projection.

Here are a few links for consider.

• AMC Entertainment to Convert Entire Circuit to Digital Cinema Projection with Sony 4K Systems (309 theatres and 4,628 screens)
• Regal Entertainment Group to Install Sony 4K Digital Cinema Projection Systems Across Entire Circuit (.. agreement for the installation of Sony 4K digital projection systems across its entire circuit over the next 3 to 5 years … Approximately 1,500 of the Regal screens will also be outfitted for 3D digital projection, using Sony’s newly introduced dual-lens adaptor technology.)
• Sony Announces New Exhibitor Agreements as Conversion to 4K Digital Cinema Technology Continues (The new exhibitors are: Muvico Theaters at the Oaks, Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Alamo Drafthouse at the Village, Austin, Texas; The Palace Theater, Canadian, Texas; Lincoln Square Cinemas in Bellevue, Wash.; and Channelside Theaters in Tampa, Fla.)
• Sony Electronics Expands Digital Cinema Deployment Agreement with Sony Pictures to Cover Asia (… DCSS now has agreements with two major studios for Asia –Sony Pictures Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox. …)

Initially I thought this to ambitious, but the more I think of it, the more sense it makes.

But first let me explain why this was very unexpected by the industry.  In general, cinema owners did not give Sony much of a chance.  However, Sony appear more determined than anyone could guess.

Sony has a history in exhibition already.  In the distant past there was a Sony technology for cinema audio called SDDS. (See wikipedia for a details on Sony Dynamic Digital Sound). In short, it was an expensive new audio format that Sony supported for a very short period of time. Those cinema owners who adopted it where very angry with Sony.  They invested a lot of money only to be left hanging soon after.  Cinema owners are a tight group with long memories.  To them, Sony had lost all credibility.

Then there is the general opinions of cinema technicians and Sony competitors towards the Sony 4K technology.

Sony has not done well in many areas compared to the TI (Texas Instruments) based projection companies NEC, Christie and Barco.  Sony may have the 4K of very teir 2K resolution but in all other areas they are lacking.  These include.

1. Colour consistency across the screen outside DCI spec.  This has been put down to the implementation of the 4K system.  It is actually 4x 2K chips operating independently.  This is said to be greatly improved in the latest revision. (??)
   
2. Questionable longevity.   Sony 4K projectors is based on IDLA projection technology, which has by and large been a failure in domestic projection technology.  Makes you wonder about its commercial implementation.
3. proprietary media-block and interfaces.  The TI projectors makers can use many different media players (Dolby, DTS-Qube, Dorami, GDC) and are documented so anyone can integrate.  Sony has all home grown product.  Access to this API’s is unknown.
4. To gain FIPS (A security requirement DCI equipment need to meet) approval, the projectors are large secure refrigerator type boxes. In a comparison of a typical DCI/TI projector with the same performance and brightness of a Sony equivalent.  The Sony would typically need more equipment and technology.  As such, one would not consider they could compete on price.
5. Sony projectors have the highest running costs of all DCI compliant solutions available.  Lamp cost and longevity is said to be on the poor side compared to all other DCI projector makers.  This is an important issue as your running costs are actually one of the most important considerations.
   

If you consider all the above issues, Sony would likely be a distant last on the consideration stakes for any cinema owners.

As the announcements above indicate, this is not the case.  So how does this all stack up? Currently Sony have more slated projectors going in then anyone else.  And if it keeps going this way, they are likely to gain at least 50% of the market over NEC, Christie, Barco.

If you notice above, the Sony announcements are all done with large cinema organisations.  I have not heard of any small independent cinemas selecting Sony.

Rumour is that Sony is selling its solution for the same, if not less then the typical price the current 2k equipment is going in for.  In my opinion, they must also be guaranteeing the longevity and a level of running cost as well.  Even with the bad sentiment from the past, in large deals like above, that means little to the white collar business man and accountant making the deal.

Sony also has a big roadmap with 4K production as it focus.  They do make great (Expensive) professional gear, but they also need to keep ahead of the consumer end of the market.  4K cinema gives this hi-end of the market a reason for existence.

So what is Sony to Gain.  If one considers Sony are not likely to actually make a great deal of money out of this.  In many ways, they are buying dominance in a upcoming industry.  They are giving their tape based servicing infrastructure a new reason for living with 4K tape-less and cinema support businesses.  They are putting a Sony logo at the start of nearly all films show in all cinemas.  They are building the brand back up to its peek in respect and perceived quality.

Cinema Exhibition portion of the Sony empire is a lost leader.  It will not likely loose or make money, but will position the company so save many segments from going out of business and keep Sony the domestic leader it strives to be.

Every TV in every home..  a SONY!

P.S. Follow this link to my www.cinetechgeek.com site and videos on the Sony cinema projection technology.

My brother in recent your of attending, had come back with a suitcase full of goodies.  Free clothes, caps, DVD’s food souvenirs.  You name it.  This year…  I got one coolish but cheaply made Star Trek cap.  Otherwise, it was so low key..

DCI was of course what everyone is talking about, and how the VPF is the key. (See the recording of the Showest panel discussing this on cinetechgeek)

3D was the big push and siad to be worth it even without VPF.  Premium pricing carries that.

The bigger surprise was that Art-house and Alternative content has been a getting a lot of interest and welcomed as a new source of income.  It was interesting to see that a lot of the big studio films on preview appeared to be Art-house in nature.  A “we can make this stuff too” type feel.

Operas and retropy (Spell? New word to me. Showing Old films again) was also a topic of interest.  This has partly taken traction based on non-DCI technologies.  And to a degree this makes a lot of sense.  Why use $80K DCI kit when you can use $10K of standard Kit to archive a 90% result. (And most patrons will not even know the difference.) Especially as this is niche content that is likely to get short runs (Harder to amortise but a lot cheaper then DCI). I even hear some cinemas putting in a few non-DCI cinemas simply to play eCinema release Art-house and alternative content.  Especially now as this type of content is becoming more common.

In terms of content for www.cinetechgeek.com, I got over 2 hours I expect.  This will take some time to get all online.  Editing, then compression etc.  This has started and content will start appearing in a day or two.  The videos will include,

• Taping of a panel talking about VPF
• USL and its cool kit
• Dolby,
• QSC
• Christie
• Sony
• NEC
• DataPort
• MiT and some interesting stuff they are up to.
• DTS and Qube

plus a few other smaller videos.

I missed Barco (No one avail to go on Camera) and many other stands.  I do plan to get some info from RealD.  I did their training while at the show, and they have definatly got some cool tech.  I hope to bring this to you later when I have time.  Based on theor power point for the training.

A recent article on Broadcast TV Faces Struggle to Stay Viable Its a great read, I recommend it.

A point to take from this is that larger productions like ER and friends are no longer viable for that industry. In reality we should consider how this will also be effecting the life blood of the cinema industry. The film makers.

Going digital is to the advantage of the distributors. That is what the VPF is all about. However, the world moves forward and new issues are surfacing. The decision to go digital is no longer a matter of the distributors saving/making more money. We need to consider some new developments.

Production viability

In the article I mention above there is an indication that the production of premium content is becoming harder for TV. This indicates that the big and popular blockbusters, the life blood of cinema exhibition, are also likely to be less viable.

Going digital, at some stage, is going to reduce film distribution costs and in the long run let film makers make better films with less money. In effect making them more viable. Feeding us good premium content that patrons will enjoy coming out to see again and again.

Going Green

Every year thousands of used polyester films are dumped into land fill. These films need large amounts of water and electricity to make while also introducing unfriendly chemicals into the environment. If the cinema industry is to move forward with the times it needs to turn over a new GREEN leaf and move to digital. The use of reusable hard drives could be a great thing to do for our planet.

No excuse

By no means do I make an excuse for the distributors to pay less on a VPF. In reality I do not think they have done enough. However, it is no longer time to sit on the fence to see what happens. If the opportunities arrives it is time to move forward and embrace digital.

P.S. This is taken from the blog www.cinetechgeek.com on the film industry.

God I love tech..

This has been a lot of work and is the main reason my personal blog has gotten less attention over the past few months.

Please do give it a look.  I still need to get it into iTunes.  Tho it is all ready and primed.  Just a few loose ends.

Also, can anyone tell me if its worth using feed burner?

I hope you enjoy these videos.  Please join my YouTube channel so you know when more videos are posted, and please do comment.

Regent Cinema Part 1

Regent Cinema Part 2

http://au.youtube.com/user/jamiegau

My recent additions are about a DCI install:

And This one about 3D:

As a DCI digital cinema expert and past owner of a Film and TV production studio and facility, unfortunately, this comment is a little miss-leading.

Let me explain why.

I am involved in the installation of DCI projectors within Australia.  As such, I am well informed of technical roadmaps and installation numbers.  Currently the DCI equipment being installed is 2k, general projecting SCOPE as 2048×858 and FLAT (1.85) as 1998×1080.  The DMD, or DLP chips are 2048×1080 in total.

At the current rate, we will not see large penetration of DCI in all cinemas, especially in non-US cinemas, for quite some time to come.  Even in the US the change over is not near 50%.

Current roadmap for 4k DLP support?  Not even being talked about yet.

Life span of a DLP projector.  Expected 10years, however, Cinemas are use to 40 years lifespan on a traditional projector, so expect them to run them into the ground, 15-20 years.

I would expect the world to be fully DCI in about 5-10 years.

If we add all these time frames up, etc.  Don’t expect to see 4K cinema for 20 years. Maybe more.

Now lets look at who can tell the difference between 2k and 4k.  From many people I have spoken to, even trained pros have a hard time telling the difference is at a reasonable distance from the screen.  Sure, if in the front row it is much easier.  In general, however, it is expected that the general cinema goer, 99% would not tell the difference.

As a cinema owner, can you justify spending hundreds of thousands of dollars just to keep 1% a little happier?

What I am trying to point out here is that 2k is pretty much it.  Doing production in more then 2k is a good way to simply spend more money on Post with no real way to get it onto a cinema screen for a very long time to come.

RED1 queasy 4K bayer as opposed to real 4k  (when you say 4k you mean 4k of resolution.  4k baye, DLPr is not 4k resolution.)  the RED1, in a 2k workflow is most likely the best bang for $$$ camera currently available.

RED cry the “Obsolescence Obsolete” tag line, but this is more hype then reality of what is involved in real production.

Cost, destination format, qualified workflow.  This is what you as a producer should be excited about.  Not how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

SideNOTE:  Over sampling or more then 2k aquisition is very useful for certain post requirements.  Mainly CGI, but in general, it has no bearking to the final result in a 2k workflow.

Please watch the video here on YouTube