Movies encoded as digital-data files - either recorded on optical disc and physically shipped or broadcast via satellite - will increasingly replace film prints as the preferred method for distributing movies to theaters by 2005, according to SRI Consulting's report.
Compared with film cinema, the digital film has the clear superiority in maintaining constant quality with use. In much the same way vinyl records degrade with use due to stylus contact with the substrate, and CDs do not degrade due to laser-light contact as the method used in decoding the digital information, the first showing of a digital movie will be identical in quality to the 1,000th. Digital movies do not get scratches or break the way regular film does. Every copy of a movie is identical to the master reference print. Normal movie film becomes slightly damaged with each showing. After enough showings, it will become too damaged for use. Digits, on the other hand, do not ever wear out.
Using digital film should be much easier than film cinema. Film is heavy, hard to work with and fragile. The process of receiving, prepping, and showing, dismantling and returning a movie requires skilled labor and resources. Digital cinema movies can be managed with the simplicity of basic computer commands and operated just like a VCR.
A satellite-based system would provide a secure process for erasing digital movies once their run at a theater is complete. This would eliminate the current need to return and destroy film prints, as well as reduce the risk of film prints falling into unauthorized hands.
Another benefit is that the new technology will allow simultaneous global release of new movies, thereby reducing the ability of pirates to copy a movie in one region and sell videos in areas where the studios haven't yet released the movie. Another point to consider is that film distributors make educated guesses when determining how many prints of a movie to make. If too few prints are made, there is the danger of not having enough screens to show the movie while it is in demand. Too many prints, and money is wasted on unneeded film. Either way, if a movie does not perform as predicted, it can waste money. Supply can conflict with demand. Using electronic distribution and localized data storage, a cinema house can adjust the schedule and number of screens at anytime. Additionally, delivering a single copy or 100 copies ends up costing exactly the same amount for the cinema. In digital cinema, movies also do not have to be physically shipped, stored or returned. Movies cannot get lost or stolen. Digital copies of movies can be released with robust copy protection and watermarking.
With digital cinema, the movie studios have the ability to modify their content whenever it is found desirable. Movies can be changed even after they are released.
Digital cinema uses solid-state projectors that are generally smaller than film projectors. Content storage and playback is accomplished with hard drives, data networks, not large platters of heavy, fragile film. Projection booth design and location can be more flexible as a result. Another aspect of the advantages is that it can lower the costs of movie distribution for studios.
By eliminating film prints, studios could eliminate the $2,000 to $3,000 cost paid for each print made of a motion picture. This translates into an expense equal to about 10 percent of a movie's production budget. A typical U.S. nationwide release of a motion picture entails more than 3,000 screens, meaning that the prints cost about $7.5 million.
Digital Film Digital Film - DTS (Digital Theater System) Digital Film - Dolby Digital Digital Film - Film and Director Digital Film - Filmmaking
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/ - includes latest news on the digital screen network
http://www.digitalcinema-europe.com/ - European Digital Cinema Forum
http://www.bksts.com/ - The Moving Image Society
UK cinema's digital dawn http://www.launchingfilms.com/hot_topics/digitalcinema.html [Accessed 28 Oct 2004]
Dancyger, Ken. (1997) The Technique of Film and Video Editing: Theory and Practice Second Edition, Focal Press, ISBN 0-240-80255-1.
S. A. Morley, K. S. Thyagarajan, and A. C. Irvine Balancing Technology in Digital Cinema Systems http://www.qualcomm.com/digitalcinema/pdf/smpte2000.pdf [Accessed 26 Oct, 2004]
--Hao Zhang 13:54, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
