Farewell To Film: Digital Projection Indicative Of New Digital Theatrical EraBy Gary Reber

At a press conference yesterday, there was no doubt in any attendeeís mind that digital projectors are here, and movie distribution will never be the same. The occasion was a preview of Lucasfilm Ltd.ís ""Star Wars: Episode I ñ The Phantom Menace"" digital demonstration, which signals the public debut of Texas Instruments DLP Cinema and Hughes-JVCís ILA Projection Technologies presented by CineComm Digital Cinema, a joint venture of Hughes-JVC and Qualcomm.DLP means Digital Light Processor. It is also known as DMD or Digital Micromirror Device (originally called ""Deformable Mirror Device""). The technology was developed by Texas Instruments and numerous prestigious audio-visual industry awards have been bestowed its projector licensees of since 1997. Texas Instruments supplies DLP subsystems to more than 25 of the worldís top projector manufacturers, who then design, manufacture and market DLP-based projectors, of which there are currently over 50 DLP-based products in the marketplace. A Runco DLP projector was used by Lucasfilm throughout the making-of and post-production of ""Phantom Menace"" to monitor. The DLP Cinema technology uses three DMD chips, each made up of an array of 1,310,000 (SXGA 1280x1024 pixels) mirrors, and memory cells. These tiny mirrors operate as optical switches within Texas Instrumentsí prototype DLP Cinema projector to create a high resolution, full color image. A digital image is stored in the memory, and then projected when light is reflected onto the mirrors. The technology requires a progressive scanned image. In a motion picture application, each of the 24 frames per second images is resolved separately. The projected resolution of the DLP Cinema system is the CRT equivalent of 1024 real lines progressive. Texas Instruments is positioning its DLP technology as a replacement for the 100-year old CRT technology.ILA means Image Light Amplifier. The ILA is a liquid crystal technology developed by Hughes-JVC. ILA is not to be confused with LCD that uses low-intensity images to modulate high-intensity light through a liquid crystal layer. ILA is a single liquid crystal for the entire image. The ILA relies on another imaging device to create the picture. It is a light amplifier for that image. In most cases, the imager for the ILA is a CRT. The CRT, not the ILA, often limits the resolution of the picture. This makes this type of technology important when it comes to picture resolution. The CRT projector behind the ILA can be a limiting factor in the ILAís performance.The picture shown at the AMC Burbank 14 in Burbank, California was limited to the Texas Instrumentsí DLP projection technology. Hughes-JVCís projection technology is being showcased at Pacific Theatresí Winnetka Theatre in Chatsworth, California. In New Jersey, the Sony Loewsí Meadows 6 in Secaucus will showcase Texas Instrumentsí DLP digital projection, while Sony Loewsí Route 4 Paramus will feature the Hughes-JVC ILA digital projection. All four venues open today, June 18, for scheduled screenings of ""The Phantom Menace,"" and will run through July 16, 1999.This is an extraordinary experience. So extraordinary that I urge every filmmaker - director, cinematographer, production designer, make-up stylist, actor and every single person associated with making movies ñ and exhibitor-theatre owners to attend both digital projection technology demonstrations. Studio executives and movie distributors also should attend to evaluate the potentials. I also urge film students to attend for a sneak preview of their future as filmmakers delivering pristine images to moviegoers and what that will mean for how movies are made.What will first impress you are the absolute focus, clarity and resolution of the images being projected, exhibiting all the qualities of image brightness that is all too often lacking in most movie theatre presentations. I have never seen projected in a movie theatre such pristine and realistic textures - that includes years of experience viewing showcase prints struck directly from the camera negative in real time. The Taurus Compound Curved Screen measured 42 feet wide with a 2.40:1 aspect ratio. Details were exquisite and color fidelity was absolutely stunning with rich hues and warm colors that I have never seen bolder. Textures were realistically rendered with incredible depth perception that I have never before experienced in film projection except for Cinerama. Images were crisp and extremely detailed. Shadow detail was exceptional. There was a better sense as well of smooth and natural motion. This presentation is certain to excite not only the creative community but also everyone in the audience.Just prior to attending this premiere showing of the Texas Instrumentsí DLP digital projection of ""The Phantom Menace,"" I saw the film at one of the premier cinemas in the world located in Los Angelesí Westwood District, the Mann Village. The 35mm Kodak Premiere print was superb, a rare showcase print struck from the camera negative. While that experience was first rate, it pales in comparison to the digital projection experience I experienced with the Texas Instruments DLP technology. At the Burbank press event, about 8 minutes of side-by-side comparisons of film and digital projection of the ""The Phantom Menace"" were shown. The Kodak Premiere print was a showcase print struck from the negative, just like the one I saw the day before the end of the Mann Village run of ""The Phantom Menace."" In such a direct comparison at the AMC theatre, the digital projection was remarkably and clearly superior.Lucasfilm President Gordon Radely stated: ""We are proud that ëStar Wars: Episode I ñ The Phantom Menaceí will be the first movie digitally projected for moviegoers. We went to CineComm and Texas Instruments because we wanted to bring the reality of digital projection to the eyes of the public as soon as possible. Digital projection is a tremendous breakthrough for the motion picture industry and by choosing to use our movie to showcase this technology, we seek to escalate the wide scale introduction of digital projection for everyoneís benefit ñ the studios, the theatres, filmmakers and the public.""Rick McCallum, Producer of ""The Phantom Menace,"" states: ""This is milestone in cinematic history. Why? Because, for the first time ever, a filmmaker can be certain that the audience will see and hear the film in the way the filmmaker intended it to be seen and heard. Like the introduction of sound and color, these digital screenings represent the beginning of a new era in film presentation. Digital projection guarantees a perfect ëprintí with each and every screening for the full life of the film and for every ëcopyí that is made. All any filmmaker wants is to be able to show a film that is free of scratches and which has all the qualities of image brightness, focus and color that everyone has struggled and spent so much time and effort to create.""""This event marks an historical moment in the movie industry,"" said Bob England, Senior Vice President and Manager of Texas Instrumentsí Digital Imaging division. ""Weíre delighted to have DLP Cinema associated with what is sure to be one of the centuryís most popular movies, and to be taking part in an event which may well shape the entire future of the movie industry.""Russel Winter, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of CineComm Digital Cinema said, ""We at CineComm are quite certain that historians will one day write about the June 18th opening of the digital release of ëThe Phantom Menaceí with no less excitement than was given the opening of ëThe Jazz Singer,í motion pictureís first talking movie. We are thrilled to be a part of this historic event as we bring the world its first glimpse of Hollywood in the new millennium.""Tom Sherak, Chairman of 20th Century Fox Domestic Film Group, stated, ""It is very exciting to be part of this presentation and seeing the future today.""Sound has been mention but not yet addressed. The soundtrack accompanying the digital projection of ""The Phantom Menace"" is pure linear PCM, not data reduced as are the DolbyÆ Digital, DTSÆ Digital Sound, and Sony Dynamic Digital SoundÆ (SDDSÆ) codec compression formats. The six-point-one (6.1) channels are delivered at 44.1kHz/20-bit resolution (reduced from the printmasterís 24-bit resolution for these initial four theatre presentations). The sound was distinctively discrete sounding, though the AMC Burbank 14 Theatreís sound system cannot claim to be state-of-the-art.While Lucasfilmís THXÆ Theatre Program division was responsible for selecting the theatres for this exclusive run, it is notable that neither theatre in Southern California exhibited noticeable THX-certified signage, though a new THX digital projection trailer and a DLP Cinema trailer preceded the feature presentation. THXís involvement with digital projection is a new business for the standardís setting arm of Lucasfilm Ltd. The electronic cinema projector standard, announced in March at ShoWest, the annual exhibition industry conference in Las Vegas, was difficult to ascertain as a specific value added at the AMC theatre presentation. Given this was an entire presentation installation supervised by THX though, the projection quality was exceptional. THX intends to provide the same guarantee of the very best possible theatre experience for electronic cinema that the THX Theatre Program has long provided for 35mm film presentations.""The commercial inauguration of electronic cinema is not immediately imminent, but the development of a projector specification and our ongoing research into other areas of electronic cinema make it clear that THX is committed to lead rather than follow in exploring new technologies,"" said Monica L. Dashwood, Lucasfilm THX General Manager. ""All of which underscores our pledge to ensure that the public enjoys the highest quality film presentation."" ""The technical hurdles electronic projectors once faced have been overcome, but itís a complex technology with plenty of opportunities for image quality to be compromised,"" explained Dave Schnuelle, a consultant to THX and the engineer that directed the companyís electronic cinema research. ""The overriding goal with the THX electronic cinema specification is to deliver image and sound quality that exceeds the best that 35mm film can offer, and do so consistently over a long period of time and form one theatre to the next.""The movie was transferred to a digital master under the supervision of Lucasfilmís THX Group, drawing upon its years of experience with high quality film transfers and film presentation, including the LaserDisc and DVD THX Digital Mastering Programs. THX oversaw that the digital masters were downloaded into a hard disk digital storage system at the theatres. The digital storage system feeds the digital master of the movie to the projector, and Texas Instrumentsí DLP Cinema projection technology delivers all-digital images to the screen. As a security measure, the masters at each of the four theatres are being guarded by Brinkís Security during the entire run.This history-making event introducing digital projection to movies has been compared to the showing of ""The Jazz Singer"" which introduced ""talkies"" to movies in 1927. To highlight the significance of this historic occasion, Texas Instruments will provide commemorative tickets to all attendees at the AMC Burbank and Loews Meadows 6, with the first 10,000 attendees receiving a special ticket jacket. ""TI is delighted to be working with George Lucas, Lucasfilm, Twentieth Century Fox, AMC, and Loews to give movie audiences a chance to see the future of movies while that future is still being created,"" said TIí England. ""Itís time for audiences to be part of the collaborative team creating the future of cinema.""One of the promises of digital projection is that digitally projected images wonít suffer from the same deterioration over time that film-projected images do. Enthusiasts have an excellent opportunity to determine if this is true by attending an early presentation of ""The Phantom Menace"" followed by the last day showing after the four weeksí digital run. For movie theatre owners, digital technology brings numerous benefits including the ability to provide a more memorable audience experience, the ability to react more quickly to changing demand and the opportunity to derive new income streams from, for example, live broadcasts of major sporting or musical events. In addition, it was pointed out that the DLP Cinema prototype projectors are designed to easily integrate into existing theatre environments, using industry standard lamps and lamp houses. In the AMC Burbank and Loewsí Secaucus theatres, the Strong Ultra 80 film projector from Ballantyne is part of the prototype system being used to digitally project ""The Phantom Menace.""For movie distributors, the all-digital approach provides solutions to their recurring concerns about the physical distribution of film - the high cost of film prints, the number of film prints needed, reduction of piracy and cost effective management of distribution.Wow! Thinking back over the years, the digital projection experience of ""The Phantom Menace"" is likely to be similar to the experiences audiences had in 1927 when people first flocked to movie houses to see the ""talkies,"" or in 1935 when color film brightened the silver screen. Or of more recent memory, in 1990, when the first Cinema Digital System gave moviegoers a glimpse of the digital future with multichannel discrete digital surround sound. And now today, on the eve of the new millennium, the thrill is back for lovers of movies with the first all digital cinema presentation ñ replacing traditional film projection with digital projection.Look to future Widescreen Reviewís print editions and to daily news coverage and editorís commentaries on WSRís Webzine site to learn more about digital cinemaís exciting developments.