IBC
As digital cinema approaches market saturation it promises to deliver new, exciting and enhanced presentation options and exhibition business models ranging from immersive audio to motion simulation, but at the cost of greater complexity in mastering the Digital Cinema Package (DCP).
Even a typical studio title demands over 100 versions of the DCP but this can rise up to 450 versions for major releases. The basic DCP will be versioned for territories and include copies for subtitles, dubbing and language titles. DCPs will also be mastered for individual projection system and theatre qualities like aspect ratio (flat or scope); resolution (2K, 4K); audio type (5.1, 7.1) and 3D (which requires its own set of 3D subtitles).
Further complexity is now being added with enhancements to presentation driven by growth in premium large format exhibition.
These include object-based audio formats (Dolby Atmos, Barco Auromax); versions for motion simulators (D-BOX, 4DX, X4D); versions with wider colour gamut and greater luminance (or brightness to showcase laser projected films).
Emerging presentation formats like Barco Escape require multiple DCPs tailored for multi-screen projection. Higher Dynamic Range (providing a wider range between the whitest whites and blackest blacks in a picture) is another creative option being promoted by Dolby. Disney/Pixar's ‘Inside Out’ and Disney's ‘Tomorrowland’ are the first titles to be mastered for Dolby Cinema, a presentation format that includes HDR and Dolby Atmos projected using Christie 6P laser projection.
Different frame rates are also open to filmmakers and distributors. Peter Jackson's ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ was the first major release made at 48 frames per second, an aesthetic choice which sharpens the picture by doubling the frames from the century-old standard 24fps. Although the two later Hobbit sequels were also available in 24fps and 48fps versions, HFR has not been widely adopted but nor has it disappeared. Director Ang Lee is reportedly shooting his next feature ‘Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk’ in 3D, 4K and either 60 or 120 fps. VFX pioneer Douglas Trumbull wowed IBC last year with presentation of a 3D, 4K, 120 fps laser projected short film.
While final distribution to cinemas is on hard drive, via fibre network or satellite, DCP administration and creation has become vastly more complicated. A facility like the new joint venture Deluxe Technicolor Digital Cinema is typically given two weeks to create all DCPs for any title including a manual quality control screening that ensures the mastering has been completed correctly.
“The margin has dropped out of distribution and the cost has shifted to producing and handling the DCP,” says Richard Welsh, CEO, Sundog Media Toolkit and SMPTE Governor for EMEA.
The problem is exacerbated by having to distribute to the bulk of theatres with older digital cinema equipment which have not kept pace with many of the new DCP enhancements.
A single venue may receive a dozen different DCPs alone, replete with a separate electronic key to unlock the encrypted film which is bespoke to individual players and projectors.
“The full cost savings anticipated by moving to digital have yet to be realised,” says Welsh.
An industry-wide shift to SMPTE-DCPs is an attempt to streamline the process. While the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) spec (first published in 2005 and better known as Interop), succeeded in getting digital cinema off the ground, the fast evolving nature of the technology makes SMPTE's proposals more suitable for incorporating new developments.
Early digital projection equipment installed in cinemas require an upgrade to playback SMPTE-DCP version movies. UNIC (International Union of Cinemas) and EDCF (European Digital Cinema Forum) are working with Dolby, Deluxe, Sony and others to ensure full conversion.
Down the line, DCPs with Augmented Reality components are possible, viewable in cinemas using a type of glasses.
The next step out from this, with prototypes already in the labs, is holographic projection, a form of 3D immersion visible without glassware.
Immerse yourselves in the latest attempts to re-invent the 120 year old cinema medium with an A-list panel of industry practitioners at the free to attend IBC Big Screen Experience conference sessions.
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