The first annual CinemaCon North America’s largest trade event for movie theatre owners concluded in Las Vegas earlier this month and by all accounts was a great success. The show does not limit itself just to exhibitors however and includes appearances by the studio executives and filmmakers who make the movies that fill the big screen. Case in point: one luncheon during the week featured James Cameron George Lucas and Jeffrey Katzenberg and the three incredibly successful filmmakers had a wide-ranging conversation about digital production and exhibition’s past present and future. “All art is technology ” said Lucas to start things off. He used the example of charcoal on paper giving rise over time to oil painting on stretched canvas to make the point that what is happening today shares a legacy with the creative process in all ages. “All artists have pushed against the technology ceiling ” he said. Before the advent of digital technology said Lucas movies were faced with serious issues including the “quality of presentation.” Cameron agreed. “I know exactly how long movie prints last because Titanic’s prints were literally falling apart in sixteen weeks ” he said. “And they looked pretty bad that last half” before they were replaced with new prints. Digital is the equivalent of sound said Lucas and stereoscopic 3D is the equivalent of color. It’s like the early 1900s were in the film era he said. “The big change has already happened. Sound has been invented. Sound is available in most theatres.” Thanks to digital technology animators have “reinvented what animation means in the world today ” Katzenberg said. The first time he saw stereoscopic 3D was a screening of Robert Zemekis’ Polar Express. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before and as he left the theatre he told himself “If we don’t get into this we’re toast.” Cameron said that digital technology has “allowed the creation of worlds that weren’t possible. If we can imagine it we can create it. The images that we’re putting up on screens are stunning.” And in a statement that all three men would make in various ways over the course of the hour-long conversation Cameron said “We’re just in the first few years of this.” One good example of how early we are in this phase of the digital 3D era is the fact that there is not currently enough good 3D content available to meet the demand. As a result many classic films are at least being considered as candidates for a 2D-3D conversion. Regarding conversion Cameron said “There’s no magic wand. It can’t be done quickly.” Bad conversion is bad for all of us added Katzenberg. Lucas is currently in the process of converting the Star Wars series and is working with the global conversion company Prime Focus. “I’m not making a 3D movie ” Lucas said. “I’m making a movie in 3D.” Conversion is “not a technical problem ” said Lucas “it’s a creative problem. It’s a learning process. We’re actually spending more money [on conversion] than the original Star Wars.” Katzenberg said that developments in digital animation technology are happening rapidly: “In five to ten years there will be processers that will enable a creative person to animate in real time. The artists will actually see their work as they are creating it. That’s about to happen to us.” That could lower filmmaking costs said Katzenberg. And there is more positive news. “To make changes in digital is not hugely expensive ” Lucas said. During the luncheon conversation and in a demonstration the following morning Cameron advocated for higher frame rates which will enable him and other filmmakers to create better images. His producing partner Jon Landau made the same case at a Christie customer event the night before. Both men said that the next two Avatar movies would be shot at 48 or 60 frames per second. They’re currently running tests to see which works better. For the demo Cameron used Christie Solaria Series Digital Cinema projectors to project 3D content at up to 60 fps. “Our cameras can capture scenes from 48 fps to 60 fps but end up being projected at the industry-standard 24 fps resulting in blurring – what the industry refers to as ‘judder’ – which is disappointing ” he said. “Both the post-production and projection/display phases of the movie-making process need to advance to accommodate higher frame rates and deliver the thrills that these rates can deliver.” Katzenberg said there were 100 3D screens in 2005 more than 700 by 2007 and there could be as many as 35 000 worldwide by the end of 2011. Which led the three men to consider the movie theatres of the future and the impact of alternative content. Sticking to his frame rate mantra Cameron said alternative content lends itself to higher frame rates. Images shot in 3D at 60 fps and projected in 4K virtually take the viewer to the location of the movie. “You’re there ” he said. “It’s actually like you’re there.” People are social animals and want and need the kind of social experience that only a presentation on the big screen can provide Katzenberg said. Cameron agreed and said movie theatres need to become “the village gathering place.” The movie theatre is “the new community center ” said Lucas. “Your challenge is making better venues. I make my movies for the movie theatre. Movie theatres will never ever go away.”
