Digital Cinema Report - Michael Karagosian

The Many False Starts of the Digital Cinema Revolution

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:18:16 -0400

Inventing the Movies

By Scott Kirsner

Scott Kirsner is the author of the new book “Inventing the Movies,” a technological history of Hollywood that also presents the first chronicle of the digital cinema revolution. This is an exclusive excerpt for Digital Cinema Report.

Business as Usual?

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:08:22 -0500

The Problems of Defining When a Movie Can’t Play

By Michael Karagosian

Editor’s Note: We are pleased to welcome Michael Karagosian as a regular contributor to Digital Cinema Report. Michael is founder and president of MKPE Consulting LLC, a Los Angeles-based consultancy in the entertainment industry. It’s fair to say that he is one of the most knowledgeable people in the world on the subject of digital cinema. In his first column he looks at the challenges of dealing with ever-changing specifications. The opinions Michael expresses here are his own. We hope you find his perspective useful and thought provoking.

Is 3D Here to Stay?

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:13:52 -0500

By Michael Karagosian

Is 3D here to stay? By now that should be a dated question. There are a lot of reasons why 3D has gained momentum in cinema, and not all of them have to do with motion pictures. Stereoscopic viewing dates back nearly 200 years and has a history with film nearly as old as the motion picture itself. Plenty has been written about the several fashionable periods for 3D movies. And plenty more has been said that either elevates the technology as new art for story-telling, or simply rules it out as nothing more than fuel for fads.

The Games We Play

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:37:54 -0500

By Michael Karagosian

In the last issue I reported on the wave of investment on-going in the 3D space. Fascinating developments will be appearing for some time. So will the inevitable conferences. I attended the recent 3D Entertainment Summit in Los Angles, which had such a list of speakers and panelists that it made one wonder who was left to be in the audience.

Enabling the Disabled to See Movies

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 14:15:28 -0500

By Michael Karagosian

One of the possible benefits of digital cinema is access for those with visual and auditory disabilities. Film technologies for access are proprietary and expensive. New technologies promise improved and lower cost methods for media access in public places. Digital cinema can provide the means to bring these new methods into the theatre environment, and much effort is being directed towards making this happen.

Is Now the Time to Invest in Digital Cinema?

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:24:18 -0500

By Michael Karagosian

If you were an investor, would you put your money into developing digital cinema products? It’s a question whose answer probably deserves a book. Trusting that readers have better things to do with their time, I’ll keep my thoughts to this article.

3D Meets TV Audiences in Super Bowl

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:31:47 -0500

By Michael Karagosian

You have to admire Jeffrey Katzenberg’s dedication. He made a big bet on 3D, and he continues to stand behind his commitment in creative ways. His recent dance with Intel, PepsiCo, and NBC, broadcasting 3D advertisements to televisions around the US during the Super Bowl game (that’s US-style football if you’re outside the US) was history in the making. For those not familiar, the annual Super Bowl game is the most watched television program in the US. Of course, the headliner ad was a 3D trailer of Dreamworks’ Monsters vs Aliens, the long-awaited 3D blockbuster set for release March 27.

Growing the Number of 3D Screens

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:58:54 -0400

By Michael Karagosian

With Disney’s Jonas Brothers now in theatres and Dreamworks Animation’s Monsters vs Aliens soon to follow, combined with a full slate of 3D releases throughout this year and next, the drive has been on to install 3D systems in theatres. To play 3D movies, however, digital projectors are required, and with the capital markets frozen, the adoption of digital cinema has not been moving at a snappy pace. With major circuits Regal, AMC, and Cinemark waiting to close on financing for a major rollout of digital cinema, smaller circuits see this as a once-in-lifetime opportunity to jump ahead of their larger brethren and collect the benefits of 3D.

Digital Cinema Quietly Reaches Major Milestone

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:08:27 -0400

By Michael Karagosian

With the March publication of the last in the suite of digital cinema packaging standards by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers a major milestone was quietly reached. This is an effort that has taken more seven years to fulfill. Publication of the full suite of packaging standards paves the way for studios to distribute fully compliant SMPTE distributions, eliminating the need for major equipment upgrades. Full implementation of the standards in digital cinema equipment could take place as early as 2010.

Who Specifies Digital Cinema?

Thu, 14 May 2009 17:31:13 -0400

By Michael Karagosian

The film industry has relied on the stability of the 35mm platform for over 110 years. Over this time, frame rates have been altered, picture size and (in some cases) compression varied, a variety of sound formats were introduced, but, for the most part, the dimensional width and perforation pitch of the film remained intact. We take for granted that one can thread an older film in a projector and get image and sound. This stability of technology was achieved without need for voluminous specifications and compliance testing. We will miss those days.

If it’s 3D, it’s (Maybe) 2K

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:26:04 -0400

By Michael Karagosian

While most people are aware that the DCI Specification calls for a compatible distribution of images having either 2K or 4K resolution, there are several related issues that are worth explaining. One of these is the natural limit in resolution of 3D images.

Making the 4K Case

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:01:19 -0400

A Sony White Paper

In a summer that has been dominated by conversations about what 4K digital cinema technology can or can’t deliver, Sony makes its case.

Click here to download their white paper.

Move the Media Block?

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:42:15 -0400

By Michael Karagosian

Digital cinema’s greatest challenge is its cost. The cinema marketplace isn’t big enough to allow the scale of manufacturing needed to produce equipment inexpensively. To get the benefit of scale, components need to be off-the-shelf. In other words, they need to be useful for things other than digital cinema. Of course, the stumper is that if digital cinema were off-the-shelf, the cinema experience wouldn’t be unique. So it’s a rare and valuable opportunity when a system architecture emerges that begs for off-the-shelf components. This is precisely the direction the industry can move in with the trend to put the media block inside the projector.

Director’s Intent or Someone Else’s Intent?

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:48:39 -0400

By Michael Karagosian

The desire for tiers of digital cinema equipment has plenty of roots with film systems. Modern day film systems are the beneficiary of decades of improvements, but not all film systems have all improvements. So while high-end film systems may be fairly uniform in quality, there remain a sizable number of screens that evolved differently, having varying degrees of lesser capabilities.

Reflections on the Fate of the Independent Exhibitor

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:59:12 -0400

Reflections on the Fate of the Independent Exhibitor

By G. Kendrick Macdowell
Vice President, General Counsel
Director of Government Affairs
National Association of Theatre Owners

As the industry undergoes the most transformative revolution since the talkies, film perforations give way to binary digits. A relatively simple and competent 100-year-old technology surrenders to expensive computerized projection. There are clear benefits, to be sure, but exhibitors have been conflicted. Nowhere is the conflict more pronounced than among the small-town, few-screen operators who have anchored the movie industry in countless communities across North America. Independent theatre operators have been performing an essential and valuable service for the movie industry for generations, and they’ve been doing fine. The margins may not have been great, but these are people with a passion for showing movies, creating a culture of movie consumption, and becoming cultural bastions in their communities. That has been reward enough.

Should the DCI Open its Doors?

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:49:20 -0400

By Michael Karagosian

If you know anything about digital cinema, then no doubt you’ve heard of the Digital Cinema Initiatives, the joint venture of six major motion picture studios to establish a shared specification for digital cinema, focusing on distribution and security. DCI has been an important player throughout much of the development of digital cinema. With that importance comes a responsibility to the many entities having a stake in the outcome. It’s time to review the important work accomplished by DCI and the reasons why it's time for DCI to consider opening up its decision-making process.

Financing 101: Digital Cinema

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:21:46 -0500

By Michael Karagosian

Exhibitors today are faced with several options for acquiring digital cinema equipment. If seeking a financing plan in which studios provide financial assistance through the virtual print fee mechanism, it is worth taking time to understand the hurdles to financing such deals.

Cinemark, Imax Sue over XD

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:16:51 -0500

By James Hyder 

Cinemark USA and Imax Corporation have filed lawsuits against each other over Cinemark’s XD digital theaters. Cinemark, the third largest theater chain in the U.S., filed a suit on November 4 seeking to invalidate two patents Imax holds on “Conversion of a Cinema Theater to a Super Cinema Theater.” Imax countered on November 12 with a complaint that alleges fraud, breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, and tortious interference, and seeks an injunction to prevent Cinemark from “producing, using, and selling its XD system.”  

SMPTE DCP Compliance is On the Way

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:15:52 -0500

By Michael Karagosian

Since the release of the DCI specification in 2005, there has been no shortage of talk about compliance to the spec. While deployment agreements demand it, and manufacturers strive to achieve it, not a single manufacturer, at the end of 2009, has yet to announce one compliant product. The reasons for this are many, not the least of which are the 256 errata released for the DCI spec since first published, with more on the way.

Who Do You Trust?

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:30:53 -0500

By Michael Karagosian

Who do you trust is the most fundamental issue of security. Digital cinema was originally devised so that studios could conduct business with exhibitors without concern for theft of content in its pristine, digital form. As the number of digital cinema installations grows, the management of security keys becomes increasingly difficult to perform and the entities that supply security keys struggle to keep up with new installations.

Year 11 and We’re Still Talking About Rollout

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:48:09 -0500

By Michael Karagosian

Eleven years have passed since the first public introduction of digital cinema at ShoWest. The industry has since come a long way…and it has still a long way to go. With nearly 100 percent worldwide digital screen growth in 2009, and with the three major circuits in the US set to rollout in 2010, one might get the sense that digital cinema is on a roll. While the US is on track to convert approximately 50 percent of its screens, there is still the remaining 50 percent to think about, as well as the rest of the world.

Consumers are Bullish on Movies

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:07:39 -0400

By Janet Eden-Harris
Chief Marketing Officer and SVP Strategy
Market Force

Even before the blockbuster success of Avatar, consumers were bullish on seeing movies this year, according to a consumer survey conducted by Market Force Information, a worldwide leader in customer intelligence solutions. Last December, when consumers were asked if they planned on going to the movie theatre in the first three months of 2010, nearly 70 percent said yes, and one third of those said they planned on seeing three or more movies by the end of March.

Nevafilm Research on Digital Cinema in Russia

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 10:49:48 -0400

By Xenia Leontyeva and Svetlana Mudrova

As of December 31, 2009, Russia has 2,102 modern screens in 792 cinema complexes (with an average of 2.7 screens per complex). There are now 353 digital complexes with 351 (99 percent) equipped to show 3D exhibitions. Digital screens are in operation at 273 cinemas in 103 Russian cities.

Filming Horses in Saudi Arabia

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:34:24 -0400

By Jo Franklin
President
SeaCastle Films

Thundering hoofbeats echo, then some of the most beautiful horses on earth emerge from the haze in the deserts of Arabia. Beduoin horsemen charge across the landscape, jockeys today break from the racing gate, cowboys gallop roping cattle, show jumpers leap six-foot hurdles. That is what you will see in the film A Gift From the Desert: The Arabian Horse. If you ever get to see it. The government of Saudi Arabia is trying to block the film's release. The obvious question is "Why in the world would they want to do that?" It is not a simple answer.

Assessing the Current State of Cameras

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 13:03:36 -0500

By James Mathers
Cinematographer and Co-Founder
The Digital Cinema Society

Use Special Care, So the Customer Returns Instead of The Product. This is the rough translation of a sign in German that hangs on the wall inside the camera manufacturing test room at the ARRI factory in Munich. It is the final quality control checkpoint at the location where all ARRI cameras have, and continue to be pretty much hand assembled. This includes their latest Digital Cinema camera, the Alexa. I had a chance to visit the ARRI factory, and several other facilities as part of a little “Tech Tour” after a recent European shoot. It included stops in Romania, Hungary, Austria, and several locations in Germany before attending IBC and then heading home to Los Angeles.

Tracking When Film Distribution Ends

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:45:53 -0400

By Michael Karagosian

Exhibitors have every reason to be concerned about when it will be no longer economical to distribute film. There are several factors that will contribute to the decision, and it is likely that no one factor will dominate. This article takes a look at some of the decision points.

Making My Soul to Take

Tue, 31 May 2011 13:17:30 -0400

By Jay Spencer
Managing Director
Supernal Entertainment

When a studio decides to convert a 2D motion picture into 3D, they have really launched into making a 2,000-shot visual effects picture. An ambitious release schedule, a project team of hundreds of people around the world, limited time availability of key decision makers and the director and producer working on another feature 2,000 miles from Hollywood all add to the challenge. This was the case with Wes Cravenʼs My Soul To Take, produced by Relativity Mediaʼs Rogue Pictures and distributed by Universal.

Remembering Harry Potter

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:53:20 -0400

By Sara Dager

“When I’m 80 years old and sitting in my rocking chair, I’ll be reading Harry Potter. And my family will say to me, ‘After all this time?’ And I will say, ‘Always’. ” – Alan Rickman

Popcorn Chronicles

Nick Dager — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:24:37 -0500

By Shelly Olesen
Vice President, Sales & Marketing
C. Cretors & Company

When you’re spread out in your chair at the megaplex, popcorn in hand and 3D glasses at the ready, watching a Hollywood blockbuster can feel like the most modern form of entertainment out there. So it might surprise you that the first feature-length film made in America was screened a full century ago. This silent, five-reel rendition of Oliver Twist had been filmed on a simple, indoor stage, more like a recording of a theatrical performance than a made-for-the-screen feature, and it ran a little over an hour. Only eight other feature-length films were released that year, including Richard III, The Count of Monte Cristo, and a Jesus Christ biography entitled From the Manger to the Cross. In contrast, more than 200 feature-length films were released in 2011, and the titles topping the box office included Harry Potter, Transformers, and The Hangover: Part II—not exactly the Shakespeare and Bible stories of 1912. Many films were nearly three hours long, and most were close to two. Filming locations included Thailand, Bavaria, and a host of California studios, but no indoor stages. The business of making movies has clearly expanded in scope and cost in the last hundred years, but what about the business of watching them?