Looking back on the year past - and ahead

Much like the Japanese man who survived 24 days in a mountain forest, Deluxe goes into a state of semi-hibernation over the holidays. Cinemas will still be showing Deluxe mastered and distributed digital films, not just in US but across the world, throughout Christmas and New Year. A small dedicated team of Santa's Little Helpers will still be manning their posts at Deluxe's Hollywood HQ. The call-centre will still be operating 24/7. But there will be well deserved rest too for my colleagues who have worked so hard this year.

Modesty prevents me from crowing about the achievements of my US colleagues. But having started from practically nothing in March, they have now surpassed everyone else in the
digital cinema mastering and distribution field. Hopefully the statistics will be published next year to show by just how much, but hats off to them for now anyway. This had little to do with technology and everything to do with all the terrific people that Deluxe has assembled. All of them deserve a special mention, but I will just single out Jim Whittlesey, the Isambard Kingdom Brunel of digital cinema.

Our achievements in UK/Europe have been more modest by comparison, but achievements they are nonetheless. We distributed the first Hollywood feature in JPEG2000 i Europe (Ice Age 2 in Denmark in April) and the DCP of 'Casino Royale' playing in Japan right now was made here in London, in the very room that I'm typing this from. We have even distributed films to the UK Film Council's DSN ('Life & Lyrics'). But for most of the year we have been gearing up for the big launch next year, when we expect the DSN to open up and for significant digital cinema installations to appear all over Europe.

I look forward to seeing you all and working together with many of you in 2007. Digital cinema is and remains a team effort, not just within Deluxe but for all of us.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and a Great New Year to all of you.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - European consultants roll out D-Cinema proposals

I was unable to attend the recent Europa Cinemas conference in Paris, where I was due to talk about the NORDIC project, due to family reasons. This is a shame, as it turned out to be a very interesting conference with a lot of important things said. Mike Gubbins did a terrific job of summarising the even in Screen International's November 24th issue, though sadly, Screen Daily does not appear to have that article available in electronic format. For one thing, the conference seems to have decided once and for all that different European digital cinema standards would not be a good idea and that the DCI specs/SMPTE standards are our best hope of having a unifying standard.

As the UK Film Council's Peter Buckingham was quoted in the article:

"For the smaller players [multiple standards] would be a nightmare and I cannot see how on God's earth that would benefit diversity."

Well put. Sadly, not everything else that got said and presented there was equally well informed or level headed. Two consultants reports dominated discussions; the previosuly published Daniel Goudineau's "FAREWELL TO FILM? What is at Stake in Digital Projection? and a specially commissioned report by Thomas Pintzke and Kim Ludolf Koch of Rinke Medien Consult. From what I can tell these overshadowed a presentation from the European Investment Bank by Patrick van Houdt.

The first of these (Goudineau) accepts DCI/SMPTE but wants additional capabilities for digital cinema systems (i.e. MPEG-2) and proposes that vulnerable cinemas be helped by nationalising the KDM (security key) handling, making it the responsibility (nay, exclusive legal obligation) of a government body, at least in France. If these are the 'ugly' years for digital cinema, then this proposal would in my personal opinion make it the downright unwatchable digital cinema years. Litterally. Because the screen would all too often be black.

The second is written in very bad English and I'm not convinced by the thinking behind it. On page 18 it assumes a fixed VPF of €800 per DCP. That's just over $1,047 at today's exchange rate. The author's are obviously assuming that the Hollywood distributors are goin to be exceptionally generous when it comes to help fund digital cinema in Europe. I'm also not convinced about their thinkingg about how digital cinema equipment will wear out.

This just leaves the EIB report. Whoever works it out (and it's not rocket science) has the best chance of dominating digital cinema deployment in Europe. It won't be Deluxe, because we've always said that we will not get involved in deployment. It makes life easier for us and means that we have no hidden agenda or gate keeper aspirations. Lastly, David Hancock of Screen Digesr did his usual brilliant job of providing the best overview of the digital cinema situation out there in the market today. Why didn't they hire him to write a report, I wonder. Though like I said, I wasn't there, so all I have is the Screen Adrticle and the reports on-line.

Is Australia copying UK Film Council's DSN?

While I have some big news about the UK Film Council's Digital Screen Network (DSN), I cannot reveal them just yet to protect my sources. So instead I'll share with you some news that has reached me from the other side of the world. From Australia, to be precise.

The Australians are setting up something called the Regional Digital Screen Network (RDSN), where digita projectors around the country (continenet?) will be used to promote the greater access to and distribution of Australian films. Here is a snippet from the article I heard about it from (thewest.com.au - Albany to get digital movies):

Albany will be one of eight towns around Australia to get a digital cinema in a bid to bring more Australian content to country audiences.

Among other benefits, the Regional Digital Screen Network will allow country audiences to watch films they would have previously had to wait several months to see.

The Australian Film Commission will oversee Australian programming for the network, including first-release movies, festival programs, documentaries, shorts, programs for schools and other local works from a digital content database.

The scheme will install digital cinema systems by early next year in eight independent venues in Albany, Port Augusta in South Australia, Yarram in Victoria, Katherine in the Northern Territory, Devonport in Tasmania, Hervey Bay in Queensland and Wagga Wagga and Singleton in New South Wales.

Does this remind you of something? It's a lot like the UK Film Council's Digital Screen Network, isn't it? Here is the original press release setting out the project: AFC’s Regional Digital Screen Network takes Australian films to more Australians. No word on whether this is set at a DCI level or even 2K (if you have insights - leave comment, or even crack a joke about Crocodile Dundee in digital).

Had I still been at Screen Digest, I would most likely have spotted this months ago, as indeed my colleagues have done already: Australia establishes regional digital centres, where they also note the "echoes" of the UKFC's DSN. Well done Charlotte and David.

Hollywood d-cinema titles for China dry up

There was great hope for digital cinema in China for many years. The country topped the Asia-Pacific league of digital installations; digital cinema was seen as a way of both beating piracy and showing more Hollywood films than the foreign film quote would otherwise allow and rolling out digital is always easier when you can write it into a Five Year Plan, as I joked. But based on the first day of CineAsia, things are apparently no longer going so well.

At least, that seems to be the message of this article from Screen Daily (China’s digital loop stymied by lack of US product):

The Chinese government started to develop the country’s first digital cinema circuit in 2002 with an initial investment of $25m. Local cinema owners then began to lease equipment - mostly from state-owned China Film Digital - which has been sourced from global digital cinema service suppliers such as Barco, Christie and Panasonic.
...
However, few digital cinemas in China are compliant with the Digital Cinema Initiative’s 2K technical standard announced in July 2005. Therefore the US studios have stopped distributing digital versions of their films in China even though such films bypass the country’s import quotas.
...
Barco and GDC Technology are business partners with Guangdong Dadi Cinemas and have supplied its six cinemas and 14 screens with 2K - 4K resolution equipment.

But as the US studios say there are not enough screens to make it worthwhile releasing any digital versions.

It appears that no major Hollywood film has been released since Dreamwork's Shark Tale in April 2005. That's over a year without a digital titles from Hollywood! And that's not the only bad news:

Separately from d-cinema expansion in China’s major cities, China’s Film Bureau is rolling out cheaper, lower-resolution e-cinema in smaller cities and rural villages.

Good news for small villages, as long as they don't want to watch Eragon or Bond, but not good if you want a global digital market based on one standard.

CineAsia 2007 moving to City of Sin and Vice

I did not make it to CineAsia this year, nor have I ever been to one, but if ever there was a time to go it, it will be next year. It was nothing to do with cinema or digital and everything to do with the location. Of the three major Sunshine conventions, spot the odd one out for locations: Las Vegas, Amsterdam and Beijing. That's right, Las Vegas has gambling and prostitution (though latter only outside Clarke County city limits), Amsterdam has drugs and prostitution, while in Beijing, such things are verboten even in the Forbidden City.

But as of next year CineAsia is moving to Macau, according to this article in the Hollywood Reporter ( CineAsia could move to South China resort ). Macau is well known for gambling, there might be prostitution, though I doubt that they are the sort of 'coffee shops' that you would find in Amsterdam. The official reason is that it will make travel for exhibitors from Taiwan easier, as well as impose less restrictions on the organisers than holding it in Beijing does. This year, apparently, a digital trailer that was supposed to be shown on the opening night was held up. But a contact also told me that mainland Chinese exhibitors aren't interested in going to Beijing, but want to get away from home for this type of convention. To quote from the article,

"For networking, we must go where the exhibitors want to go and I would bet that when they're making their December plans in October, they'd rather go to Macau than Beijing. It's more fun," said Rieder, CineAsia's Distributor of the Year."

Not that any of us at Deluxe go to ShoWest or CinemaExpo for 'fun'. It's hard work and lots of it, I will have you know. And before someone leaves a comment about ShowEast disproving my theory that these conferences are only located in areas of major vices, I have one word for you: golf.

In another article about shooting Chinese films in digital, we are told that:

Digital shoots may be increasingly, popular but digital distribution is still underperforming. The country's rush to a digital cinema future has slowed over the past year or so; there are fewer than 200 digital screens, and compliance with international standards is still a major issue.

Don't expect China's two-tier system of having a digital equivalent of 16mm projectors to go away any time soon.

Deja Vu all over again as Kinepolis rolls out digital opening night red carpet

It's been a while since I heard from my friends at Kinepolis, maybe because they are still trying to resolve with Technicolor and Dolby how to manage to circuit-wide switch-over to digital.

In the meatime, Kinepolis is hosting a real-time screening of celebrities walking down the red carpet for the opening of the Tony Scott thriller Deja Vu to cinemas in belgium and France. This is what the Hollywood Reporter article French filmgoers to get taste of red carpet had to say about it:

Footage of cast members arriving at the Kinepolis Le Chateau du Cinema in Lomme next Wednesday, will be beamed to more than 5,000 filmgoers in Mulhouse, Thionville, Metz, Nancy, Nimes, Brussels, Liege and Antwerp.
...
Next Wednesday's gala event will be introduced by a journalist from popular Gallic cinema magazine STUDIO and a bilingual hostess will interview the stars in English with a concurrent French broadcast via direct video transmission on Kinepolis' various screens, the company said.

It will only cost you eight euro to see this event in France and Belgium. For those of you getting a feeling of deja vu about it, yes, this has been done before.

Four years and two days earlier to the day (8 December 2002 to be precise) Regal CineMedia hosted a red carpet digital projection of the opening of Maid in Mahattan. You can cast your mind back with this article Regal CineMedia to feature 'Maid' premiere and this letter from Kurt Hall to someone complaining about adverts in cinemas.

For those of you looking for a more refined experience, the unstoppable Marc John has secured the live transmission of the Magic Flute from the New York Metropolitan Opera House to City Screens all across the UK. Read about it in the newsletter from the York Picturehouse.

The event was made possible bacuase Met Reaches Groundbreaking Agreements with Unions and Develops Range of Media Partnerships, a press release tells us. Would you know, National CineMedia (nee Regal CineMedia)and its Canadian partner, Cineplex Entertainmen, are also doing it (“Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD” Now Playing at a Theater Near You”). Tickets went on sale on Nov 18th in the States and I'm sure your local City Screen is also touting them now.

I know it will be great because not only has Julie Taymore directed it, but the wizard in the control booth is my friend the great Mark Schubin, who is now also available as a podcast. I look forward to his take on this.

Sweden falls for Unique's digital charms

My old colleagues at Unique Digital have done good, very good in fact, to have won the contract to digitise Swedish cinemas in what amounts to the largest digital screen advertising network in the world outside of the US. You can read the full press release on DCinemaToday.com (Unique Digital selected to digitise Swedish cinemas for advertising network):

Unique Digital Ltd. has won the contract to build and operate the digital screen advertising network for Sweden's SF Media, the largest cinema advertising company in the Nordic region. The deal was announced after an 18-month long evaluation of different digital advertising solution systems and providers, which was aimed at selecting the most advanced technical solution available. Unique's system will replace 35mm advertising in the cinemas that are part of SF Media's country-wide exhibitor partnership, with the entire digital network in operation by early 2007. Unique Digital is installing digital advertising in a total of 426 cinema screens. Together with its other installations across Europe the new deployment will make Unique Digital the world's largest independent digital screen advertising operator.

The number of screens may have grown to more than the 426 mentioned above, due to the near collapse of Sweden's second largest exhibitor (Astoria), where SF stepped in and bought/rescued many of the at-risk cinemas.

And a little bird tells me there is yet more news to come from Unique.

Night of the Long Knives at QuVis

News reaches me that there has been a major "reorganisation" at QuVis; the euphemism for a lot of good people getting the sack, in this case. It seems like some of my oldest and dearest colleagues, such as Jim Graham and Joel Schiffman, are no longer part of the new QuVis (www.quvis.com). This is sad because QuVis was a great pioneering company that did a lot of good, particularly in the early years of digital cinema. Obviously there is no press release heralding this change, so I go on the word of people with good contacts, though I have not spoken to anyone at QuVis.

Such a change will obviously have major impact on the UK Film Council's Digital Screen Network, now more than half way through its deployment. Does this make the upgrade to USB 2.0 interface more or less likely to come soon? If anything, I would think that Fiona et al at Arts Alliance would be digging around for Patrick Zuchetta's business card to see if he would be prepared to cut them a deal for 100 Doremi units, with a possible swap out of the old QuVis units down the line. I am not saying that this is what they should do. I am simply speculating about what they might want to do.

It is too soon to write off QuVis. The company still has a strong foothold in Korea, Japan and the UK, but they lost out in the early race in the USA to Doremi when AccessIT selected the French server maker for it's Christie/AIX network. Not upgrading fast enough to USB 2.0, lateness in implamenting watermarking and other issues meant that there many of Deluxe's clients were in no rush to supply content to their servers. It was common knowledge that there were too many server makers pushing into the small digital cinema market, but I had not anticipated that QuVis would the first to stumble. I do wish both QuVis and the ex-QuVis guys good luck.

Tis the season...for not much happening

Actually, the headline is not quite true, at least not for Deluxe Digital Cinema Europe (DDCE). We are currently what I would describe as out 'swan' mode, which is that we appear to glide along slowly and effortlessly on the surface, while below, there is furious paddling going on.

Right now I'm sitting in between two stacks of boxes (hard drives from WD and casings from Addonics) and I have even screwed together a few myself. They will either be the founding cornerstone of DDCE, or the ones that fall aprt first as we realise that my strength was never electronic assembly. But I do like to get stuck in.

Congratulations to our friends at Sony Pictures Entertainment as Casino Royale has its royal gala opening tonight in London and will then be screening in hundreds of US cinemas later this week. Having seen bits of it as we've done some work on it, I strongly urge you all to see it. It looks absolutely terrific.

And if it comes down to a fight between Borat and Bond at the box office this weekend, who will win? Why, it's Deluxe, as our US colleagues distributed both. I'm looking forwards to when we will shortly be doing it too.

But now back to furious paddling.

Happy Halloween - a treat for you all

This Halloween, why not treat yourselves to some classic horror films, available to download for FREE and LEGALLY at the PublicDomainTorrents.com site.

Yes, the copyright on these films has lapsed so check out the 'Horror' section of Public Domains Torrents, where you can download and enjoy classics such as Driller Killer, Carnival Of Souls, The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, The Vampire Bat, Nosferatu, and Night of the Living Dead (the original, not the Bunny re-make below) plus many more in Divx, iPod or PSP format.

And as always, don't download copyrighted films - or the MPAA will come and get you!

Post-ShowEast news summary

No sooner is ShowEast over then a slew of news appears in both US and Europe, which I thought could be worth drawing you attention to.

My colleagues at Screen Digest have published a report that I strongly urge you to check out. This came a day after another digital cinema report from a consultancy that I can't say has ever impressed me (methodology, what methodology?). The Screen Digest report is focused on the very clever Digital Cimema Conversion Index. The Hollywood Reporter was so impressed that it devoted an entire article to it. New system advised for digital theater. In other European digital cinema news European film agencies call for speedy action on digital cinema, according to Screen International. I agree that action is called for but the article itself does not seem to clear on precisely what action should be taken.

Meanwhile back in the US there is certainty of sorts now that the Digital Cinema Lab is re-locating from the Pacific Theater. USC d-cinema initiative set for new digs, says the Hollywood Reporter. It's the end of a short but important era in the history of digital cinema and I was glad to hear that Charles Swartz was able to attend the recent 2K-4K demonstration. He , plus Thomas MacCalla and Paul made that place what it was. I wonder if Jack Warner's ghost will rest more peacefully with all the digital equipment gone. Finally, Sony feel they are on a 4K roll after the recent tests went well and the showcase in Orlando was positively received. 4K camera screened by Sony an article in Hollywood Reporter tells me that then goes into detail about how well it will look with the 4K projector which, "met or far exceeded every Digital Cinema Initiatives specification from color and contrast to resolution," the article (or Sony) claims.

Digital Fear and Loathing in Orlando

I was not able to make it to ShowEast this year as there was simply too much going on back in Europe to take time out. Things are storming ahead, I am feeling very optimistic, we got an AMAZING price on hard drives, plus there is some exciting news to come from Norway/NORDIC.

However, there has been some fireworks in Orlando and fortunatelly Variety was there to capture the moment. Apparently our friends at Technicolor got beat up pretty badly on the digital cinema panel, at least as recounted in the Hollywood Reporter article "Panel: Cooperation key to digital future" where it says:

Technicolor president of theatrical services Joe Berchtold, who is launching a beta digital program in theaters, parried with competitor Chuck Goldwater, president of digital theater provider AccessIT Media Services Group, over the failure rate of current digital projection.

"Up to 5% of digital screens have problems where you miss one or more show a day," said Berchtold, though Goldwater and others disputed that number.

20th Century Fox senior vp and general sales manager Chris Aronson said his company had a 99.5% success rate, and Rave Motion Pictures CEO Tom Stephenson cited a 1% failure rate.

Berchtold added that digital cinema needed to become less complex and that there needed to be more accountability from suppliers.

"We are accountable," Goldwater said. "We started before everyone else, which is why we are where we are today. We began with no conflicts and no legacy in the business we're seeking."

Ouch! Once again I'm glad we at Deluxe decided not to roll-out digital equipment, not least as our help line is nevertheless sorting out equipment and integrator problems in cinemas that have nothing to do with the DCPs we make and send out.

In other news, there were details on the Beowulf digital 3D screening (An epic 3-D bow for 'Beowulf' - THR; 'Beowulf' gets 3-D bigscreen bow - Variety) and news about how well Sony's SXRD performed in the test with the DLP 2K, which resulted in a both a press release (Sony SXRD 4K Technology Gains Major Studio Support Following Industry Technical Assessment) and an article (Sony 4K projector gets go-ahead from Hollywood), though no sign of Disney or Universal joining the 4K party still yet. All this AND Rocky Balboa. But like I said I did manage to get a top deal on hard drives in the meantime.

Exclusive view of DFS's Perivale centre

Feast you eyes on this! Here is a look at DFS's facility for prints out in Perivale. It reminds me of the last scene in Indiana Jones, though that was achieved with false perspective canvass scenery. This is the real thing.


This gives you a glimpse of the industrial efficiency with which new prints are handled. But like I said before, the real genius is not renting a large hangar and filling it with prints, but the quality of service, physical and electronic infrastructure that no photo will do justice.


There is a rumour that Perivale was chosen because it was a sufficient distance from central London, so that if the Luftwaffe - who knew that tons and tons of highly flamable nitrate prints were stored here - bombed it, there would not be the mother of all firestorms created as a result. It survived the war undamaged.

Turning a hangar into a digital hub - quite easy!

It's been a while since I provided an update of my digital cinema activities here at Deluxe and frankly, its the routine of it all that keeps me from doing it more regularly. Every day is a variation of the routine formula of meetings with distributors and others, working on staffing and building issues, installing and testing technology, planning future feature releases and so on. Of course, we do have 'Alcazar' keeping us extremely busy at the moment, but that is so top secret that I cannot write anything about it. Sorry. But you WILL like it.

Instead I will share with you my first trip to the Deluxe ETS distribution facility in Perivale, at the western outskirts of London, out towards Heathrow airport. I had already visited the DFS (Deluxe Film Services) facility in Van Nuys in Los Angeles that handles both 35mm and digital, so I knew roughly what to expect. I did not bring a camera, so instead make do with a photo of the famous Hoover building (now a Tesco supermarket inside), which our facility is located behind.


The Deluxe ETS handles over 100,000 prints per year for almost every single UK & IE distributor. No wonder they are situated in an aircraft hangar size building with the equivalent of four floors of 35mm print on pallets stacked high. There's half a wall full of just one particular boy wizard's latest celluloid outing sitting in storage. The efficiency is breathtaking and anyone who thinks that simply because it is 35mm it is all analogue is wrong. They have an ingenious software Web tool for cataloguing and tracking every single film print anywhere in the UK. Pulling up an example at random, I can exclusively reveal that the 35mm copy of "Superman I" sat in storage between 2001 and 2006 and I even know which two cinemas had it in those years, the dates and more, though it's too confidential for me to reveal anything further.

This is the basis on which Deluxe Digital Cinema Europe's distribution services will be built. Why re-invent the wheel when there is a fully functioning film distribution service that nearly everyone is using already? My task is thus made that much easier thanks to the hard work and development that Nigel, Chris and everyone at ETS had already been doing for years.

Of course, substituting 35mm film prints for hard drive is not a complete one-for-one, which is where service and support (primarily the call centre) comes into play. But again, Perivale is already ready for this expansion, though I'd rather invite you over and show you around once it's all set up, rather than to bore you with the details here.

Ulimately this is the USP of DDCE. The people you have booked film copies replacation with before (Deluxe), who do the subtitles and versioning for you (Capital FX) and who make sure that it gets sent out and lets you track it in real time (Deluxe ETS) are the same people who will do it for you in digital. Not that we are complacent about it, far from it, we just want to make this a seamless transition rather than a new set of headaches.

BARCO 6th BAFTA Digital Cinema event

Doremi (sponsors of the event)

Doremi have a staggering 90 per cent market share of JPEG2000 server market, having been "first to market" in July 2005 with player and mastering system. Herve goes into technical detail. He goes into details about Mastering and I realize that my presentation will be a breeze because I will only have to summarize what all the speakers before me have said. DMS-2000 specification (read it on their website).

Over 40 films have been mastered using the Doremi, including several European films. One is Norwegian - Uro, the first in Scandinavia - which will be screened here and was also be showing in the NORDIC project's partner cinemas in Norway. Details about Paris Je T'Aime. Standard Powerpoint.

UIP - David Kerr

"A man who can trace his roots back to the projection room," we are told. What do we need? Why do we need it? What if we don't get it? Those are his three Questions. Q1A - Conformed elements, complete elements, creastive elements. Talks about problems and costs with localizing title and insert sequences. Q2A - Release dates in over 50 countries, multiple versions and making/shipping 10,000 prints. What if they don't get it - the consequences are too horrible to recount here.

So what should UIP do for digital? Set up infrastructure, get post up to speed on what's required, educate film makers. "Final question - is the bar open yet? If so, mine's a pint." Short and straightforward presentation. Raises questions and provokes thought, rathen then lecturing the audience. Good.

Fraunhofer

Talks about specifications, standardization and interoperability. Background to DCI and FFA specifications provided. Gives detailed diagram of workflow. Animated diagram of an ideal distribution workflow - a little neater than my real world one. Tools and Standards. This presentation would have worked better as a handout. Testprocedures and Interoperability test for digital cinema. DCI / Fraunhofer Compliance Test Proceedure. EDCF test project with NORDIC and CST. Also lists their developments and software tools.

Ascent

Paul talks about DI and the workflow to digital cinema. Too much graphs and text to summarize. Again, would have worked better as a hand out.

Éclair

"Paul has just said everything we need to say," Gwendal jokes. He is much to humble. They started same time as EFILM in US and were the first to create DCPs of European films - corrects himself - "continental films." 'In JPEG2000', I'm guessing he should add, unless you discount XDC's MPEG efforts. Talks about their project in Denmark. Outlines their experience, closely linked to Doremi. Talks about the experience of working on Paris Je T'Aime, which he calls the first European film to play at the Entertainment Technology Centre (hang on, didn't March of the Penguins and Harry Potter both play at the DCL? Maybe I'm nitpicking the definition of "European". Let's agree it's the first foreign language title to do so.). Time for creating 4K DCP of Paris was 10 days, same as for Da Vinci Code at Deluxe, as Gwendal quotes Jim Whittlesey on.

Talks about the problem of the fragmented European market. Good speech from Gwendal but presentation very heavy on text. I'm tempted to tell him that he is too good to need it, but going cold turkey on Powerpoint has to be an individual's choise. (Yes, I've now fully signed up to Tufte's anti-PPT movement).

HDDC

Peter Wilson talks about the business model of digital cinema mastering. Goes into issues such as active picture selection. Too technical for me, I'm afraid, and I'm also mentally running through my presentation in my head at this stage to fully focus.

Deluxe

I do my presentation as a show-and-tell, as it is Friday and also because I'm the last thing standing between the audience and the Doremi sponsored beer and nibbles. I use just one PDF image illustrating the workflow at Deluxe and the industry in general.

A look at some recent digital cinema news

As one of Lasse Svanberg's great achievements was to be founder, editor and writer for the magazine Teknik & Människa (Technology & Man), I thought that the most fitting tribute would be for me to get on with relaying news in the digital cinema world. Lasse is also remembered on the homepage of the Swedish Film Institute (in Swedish) and I'm sure the EDCF will follow soon.

I read in the Hollywood Reporter that Deluxe's sister company Panavision has just bought digital camera rental company Plus 8 Digital ("Panavision zooms in on Plus 8"). It seems like a smart move, though I don't know what if any impact or synergies it will have with Deluxe. We might have security guards employed by a MacAndrews & Forbes company (Allied Barton Security Services), but we don't get any discount on Revlon cosmetics.

There's been a few interesting developments, not least AccessIT's announcement that Christie/AIX has now installed its 1,000th digital cinema system. Congratulations and hats off to Chuck, Bud, Dave and all our other friends for this historic milestone and hope to see them rolling out in Europe as well soon, now that they are 1/4 of the way to achieving their US goal.

In-Three has been granted three new patents for their Dimensionalization(tm) process. The press release does not seem to have been put up on their website, so here is the first paragraph from it:

In-Three, Inc. is very pleased to announce that it has just been granted 3 additional patents covering its proprietary 2D to 3D conversion technology. In-Three’s unique 2D to 3D conversion process, called Dimensionalization®, can convert any full-length motion picture into high-quality 3D regardless of the age or origination of the image source. Using its Dimensionalization® process In-Three can convert any 2D image content into fully authentic and believable 3D, whether it was derived from live photographic action, cell animation, CGI animation, computer effects, in color or black & white, and is fully resolution independent.

20th Centry Fox, always one of the most new thinking studios, is setting up a distribution operation for Christian-themed films. An article called "20th Century Fox wooing faith crowd" pokes fun at the fact that this is the same studio that brought you "Temptation Island" but ends by noting that Carmike expects to have converted 2,200 of its 2,400 cinema screens by this time next year, so Deluxe might very well be supplying these films as well for Fox in digital before too long.

And finally I would end with a recomended reading from Film Journal International, where the always-readable Andreas Fuchs looks at how the World Cup played out in digital cinemas across the globe, called "The FIFA Code - Fan Celebrate World Cup at the Movies." (The fact that I and Unique Digital are mentioned in it in no way swayed me to recommend and praise this piece.)

If I get time will upload a review of the "Paris Je T'Aim" digital demonstration that I have neglected to complete for over two weeks now.

In Memoriam: Lasse Svanberg (1937-2006)

My colleague, friend and mentor Lasse Svanberg died last night after a long battle with cancer. He did more than anyone else to educate and bring digital cinema to the forefront of the Swedish film and cinema industry's mind, as well as being a major force for unifying the many voices and views of Europe when it comes to preparing for the digital future. A promised land that he helped lead us to but was destined not to enter himself. I will miss him terribly, miss arguing with him, miss sitting through his thoughtprovoking if sometimes repetitive overhead slide presentations (he never succumbed to PowerPoint), miss his raspy voice and above all miss how he combined an understanding of cinema as an art with a firm grasp of tecnology, but never let either overshadowed by his humanity and warmth.

Jag kommer att sakna dig enormt, Lasse, och jag är ledsen att jag inte fick tillfälle att ta farväl av dig och säga hur mycket du har betytt för mig.

SI DC conference: Peter Wilson chairs panel on DCI compliance

Talks about whether DCI specifications would work in a "fair" way for Europe. He gives background to DCI, SMPTE and Fraunhofer. One bullet point reads: "Are you willing to pay for the DCI compliance police and if so, how much?". This should be an interesting panel.

Etienne: we don't want a two speed cinema in France, so CST will probably use the DCI specification.

Sven Andersen, gives overview of discussions underway in Germany. Exhibitors have hit the breaks on deployment, wanting distributors to pay for it all. German screens can't afford 'DCI screens', at least at €80,000 each. Maybe they would go for a sub-set of DCI.

Rickard Gramfors: shares the Swedish experience, ending with an impassioned plea not to let Internet piracy destroy a whole generation when it comes to forming the habit of going to the cinema.

Dave Monk: Can you afford NOT be DCI compliant. Rickard points out that there has been no leakage from their digital network. Kevin Wakeford asks "what is affordable?". Sven says €30K-40K is discussed in Germany. Rickard says that they rent from XDC, so similar price point to that. Etienne says it should be same as 35mm projector.

Conclusion: small exhibitors would like to be DCI-compliant but can't afford it.

SI DC conf: The French Connection

No, not a digitally re-mastered version of the Gene Hackman classic but the presentation from CNfilms by Etienne Traisnell on D-Cinema roll-out in France. Gives overview of cinema situation in France. Mentions Daniel goudineau's report that might or might not decide roll-out in France: stake of Universality, (ransparancy and Solidarity. Projector minimum 2K. Server JPEG2000 and MPEG2 (!!) "Recommendation: do not exclude any system but encourage polyvalance." (I am not familiar with that word, but guessing it means plurality).

Recommends that by 2009 all French films be made available for digital distribution. Outlines various strategic choises for technology. I'm still reeling from the fact that it seems France appears to be endorsing MPEG2 as an alternative to JPEG2000 for feature films. Talks about economic choices: European is leasing (XDC), public funding (UKFC) or European cinema subsidy, vs. US VPF model. "Reinforced selective support for the most vulnerable theatres."

SI DC conf: Afternoon business panel

Chuck Goldwater (AccessIT), Tom Cotton (Technicolor), Kevin Wakeford (Sony), Paul Collard (Technicolor).

Chuck reviews what Christie/AIX has been doing. Lots! LOTS! From digital roll out to faith-based movies for Fox. Discusses options for rolling out internationally. Doesn't mention any territories specifically. Paul - Ascent are global content service provider, he tells us. Doesn't give practical examples of experience in this field (or mention that Ascent have a 'For Sale' sign on its front lawn), but Paul is a nice guy and I've always had a lot of respect for him. Tom talks about three main areas: roll out, content preparation and screen advertising solution (in the US). His role is mainly in the roll out. Kevin represents manufacturing arm of Sony, he makes clear, not Sony Pictures.

Q from Mike - why is Europe lagging and what are the problems. Paul: in one word, "fragmentation". Mike semi-baited Chuck with a question about US-centric approaches to digital conversions in Europe. Chuck gives a good reply that each country needs its own approach. Tom, "we're not trying to rail road anything through." It will take more time to move in Europe, adressing specificities of the European market. Kevin: everyone is looking to economies of scale for driving prices down, hence need for a single standard.

Tom: we've been testing all the equipment since January in a controlled environment, now moving it into beta phase in the US (but says nothing about Europe or Kinepolis deal). Paul talks about small and independent cinemas being sqieezed in the digital future, citing Anders Gertsen's statistics on a small number of cinemas accounting for 90-95 per cent of box occfice revenue. Chuck talks about dealing with problems and communicating with exhibitors. Tom: our model doesn't exclude anyone. Paul: we need to reduce the unpredictability of the process. Kevin, stressing the importance of testing.

Q from GE Capital points out that financial markets have been under writing the roll out, based primarily on cash flow, which won't be the same in Europe. Tom thinks that it's still doable. Chuck: it's not an impediment but another issue in the pay-for-play model. Kevin talks about the importance of 4K, particularly in the long term.

Jason Powers (Dolby) asks about the significance of the Kinepolis announcement of converting all of its cinemas. Tom thinks that this is a good move.