ShoWest Technology Demonstrations Show Digital Projection Picture QualityGeorge Lucasí Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace To Be Projected Digitally

The 1999 ShoWest convention in Las Vegas hosted technology demonstrations comparing film-based projection to high-definition digital video projection. The demonstrations took place on March 10. Editor Gary Reber attended the demonstrations which were startling to say the least. Prior and during the demonstrations, there has been much speculation about the demonstrations comparing digital projection to film projection. The film projection part of the demonstration was standard test footage prepared by Kodak on 35mm film in early 1997, not specifically developed or shot for ShoWest. These tests are prepared routinely by Kodak to demonstrate the emotional impact of reaching into the highlights and shadows of scenes, not merely displaying pretty pictures. The film contained scenes that are typical of those recorded by filmmakers. The print projected was made from an internegative identical to the one supplied to Texas Instruments and Hughes-JVC. TI and HJT (Hughes-JVC Technology) employed a high-definition telecine to convert the film internegative to a digital video master, which was sourced for the digital video projection comparison using separate Texas Instruments Micromirrorô DLPô or Digital Light Valueô Projection technology and JVC ILAô or Image Light Amplifierô projection technology.The cinematographer who shot the Kodak test footage was Chris Hart, an employee of Kodakís Professional Motion Imaging. Hart explained that motion picture laboratories around the world have used the test footage. He said that in shooting the tests, he tries to cover the gamut in fleshes, in shadow and in highlight areas typical in filmmaking. Hart said that some 50 labs around the world receive a duplicate negative made from the test reel. The lab negative roll is used to test the fidelity of print films. In one shot, a young female is leaning against a white wall. It looks like an exterior scene, but it was shot on a stage. There is a hard, raking light on the wall behind her. The light behind her is over-exposed by about three stops, and it is blowing out. There is a rim light effect on the back of her head. The audience can perceive individual strands of hair. There is an emotional quality in every part of each frame. In another shot, a young female is in a dark interior of an old car. She is wearing a silky black satin dress. The test for the lab is to make prints that retain the richness of the blacks. There is a third scene staged in a library, featuring an Afro-American gentleman and a Caucasian woman. Another test scene features a young woman. There are vegetables on tables, which provide dashes of color. Hart said that the test is normally repeated every other year, and occasionally annually. Editor Gary Reber had this to say about the demonstrations: ""In a side-by-side direct comparison of a Kodak Vision print projected under Kodakís ScreenCheck optimum brightness criteria onto one-half of an approximately 70-foot wide theatrical screen, the digital video projection was superior in overall resolution, color accuracy, black level, shadow detail and depth. The difference in picture quality, particularly resolution and color fidelity, was shocking. Of the two digital projection technologies competing I favored the overall picture quality, particularly color resolution, delivered by Hughes-JVCís Image Light Amplifier. ""These demonstrations made it clear to me that high-definition digital video projection for theatrical exhibition has arrived. Based on previous demonstrations the progress has been phenomenal and over time the picture quality of digital video projected images is certain to get even better. Of course, all this will impact home theatre as over time the costs for such comparable quality picture resolution will become affordable, thus raising the bar once again and challenging the motion picture industry to deliver an even higher quality picture experience to theatre audiences.""The capability for extremely good pictures is there given the fact that a 35mm film negative was the picture source. While the Kodak Vision print was of poor quality, the resolution is there on the negative as was proven from the digital video projectionsí picture that was sourced from the same negative. But the purpose of this demonstration was to show that digital projection is capable of surpassing the picture quality of film prints presently being distributed to theatres. One wonders what the picture quality would have been with a premiere showcase film print.""George Lucas is embracing digital imaging technology. At ShoWest he noted that Star Wars: Episode 1 ñ The Phantom Menace itself is ""100 percent digital ñ it went into the computer and came out of the computer,"" and added that the next Star Wars film, which is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2002, will be entirely shot digitally. Lucas is reportedly scheduling special showings of Star Wars: Episode 1 ñ The Phantom Menace, projected in digital, at three venues beginning June 18. Lucas Digital, Ltd and LucasArts Entertainment Co. board member Douglas Ferguson, is a company director and legal counsel for CineComm Digital Cinema, a joint venture of QUALCOMM and Hughes-JVC Technology (HJT), which is providing the equipment. ""There is no doubt that digital projection is the future of motion pictures, both in movie theatres and home theatres. The technology is defining a new era of picture quality that will bring stunning high-resolution images to audiences both theatrically and at home never before experienced.""