The Year of Living Digitally Is 2008 the breakout year for digital cinema in theaters? Industry expert Nick Dager gives us some reasons to think so. By Lee Purcell | January 2008
The industry-wide transition from analog to digital continues to transform cinema and open opportunities for filmmakers and storytellers of all stripes. As an enterprise where much of the activity takes place behind the scenes (in standards organizations, technology start-ups, collaborative affiliations among industry players, and venture capital boardrooms), the advances and revelations that are shaping digital cinema are not always openly visible to filmmakers or the public. To provide an information conduit and portal to the latest news and activities in this field, Nick Dager created the Digital Cinema Report, a subscription-based website (current articles are available to anyone, archives are subscriber-access only).
Nick Dager of the Digital Cinema Report.
Like the DVD, which took a number of years to become established even after the technology had demonstrated its advantages, digital cinema has been in the midst of a slow but steady ramp-up as cinema owners, filmmakers, and other stakeholders evaluate the pros and cons of making the transition. Chronicling the twists and turns as the burgeoning movement gains momentum, the Digital Cinema Report offers a revealing snapshot of the industry and provides indicators that speak to future developments.
As one indication of the strength of digital cinema developments, particularly digital 3D screenings, the Paramount release of Beowulf showed a gross of $23.4 million for the REAL D 3D showings as a share of the total domestic gross of $79.4 million through mid-December, according to PRNewswire. A rising number of 3D films are in production and REAL D, one of the leading platforms, forecasts that more than 4,000 of their 3-D screens will be deployed globally by 2009.
indieEdge interviewed Nick Dager, who offers insights into the prospects and promise of digital cinema.
How did you become interested in digital cinema?
I first heard the term electronic cinema in 1990 when I was writing a technology column for Variety. At that time studio and exhibition executives alike estimated that the concept would take at least a decade to develop. In 2000, I was editing a magazine that covered corporate video (where projectors play a key role), and around that time Texas Instruments introduced its first DLP chip. That development fueled two simultaneous changes: projectors became much smaller and they became more powerful. One end result is digital cinema.
I tried to convince the company where I worked to start a publication to cover digital cinema, but they declined. So I launched Digital Cinema Report in 2002. Now we are read by 40,000 people a month from all over the world and advertising sales continue to grow as the digital cinema business evolves.
I understand that many cinema owners are reluctant to convert to digital equipment right now because film attendance has been fairly flat. Do you think there will be a point at which the efficiencies of digital media distribution and presentation outweigh that reluctance?
The key hurdle to digital cinema implementation across the board is the current high cost of the technology, and developing a viable business model to pay for it. While evidence is mixed regarding whether digital cinema can boost attendance for movies, there is widespread agreement that with digital cinema technology exhibitors can attract new people to theatres to see alternative content such as concerts, sports, and other non-Hollywood fare.
Most of the reviews I have seen about digital cinema projectors have been positive. How would you compare the onscreen image quality for digital to conventional techniques? The image quality of 2K and 4K digital cinema projectors in the first screening of a movie is comparable to film projection. The real aesthetic benefits, however, come after multiple screenings. Even with a well-maintained film projector and a skilled operator, film prints begin to degrade and develop scratches and other marks over time that make viewing less than ideal. With digital projection, the fiftieth screening is as pristine as the first.
Are there any major conflicts over formats or standards in digital cinema right now that are muddying the water and slowing the transition?
No. All of the standards issues are minor, at least in North America. In 2003, the major Hollywood movie studios formed a consortium called the Digital Cinema Initiative, and that group created the so-called DCI specifications that are adhered to by all the major manufacturers.
Are there examples you can offer where a cinema owner has switched over to digital and enjoyed strong success?
Yes, there are many and more are happening every day. As far as movies are concerned, audiences have demonstrated a strong interest in 3D. Almost every theatre owner that has shown 3D movies has seen box office attendance and revenues that are an average of two-and-a-half times higher than 2D ticket sales for the same movie in the same theatre.
But the real new opportunities that digital cinema technology creates for exhibitors is alternative content. Regal Cinema has enjoyed great success with its screenings across North America of New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Those concerts in Regal Theatres are already sold out for 2008. Regal has also been successful hosting weekly sales and training meetings for Microsoft. One morning every week more than 50,000 Microsoft employees gather at a local Regal Theatre to participate in a live, interactive discussion that is broadcast in HD. NASCAR races and major league baseball games have also been very successful on the big screen.
Carmike Cinemas has also had great success with all kinds of alternative content, but my favorite Carmike story involves the local Little League baseball in its headquarters city in Columbus, Georgia. The team made it to the Little League World Series, which is played in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Carmike executives recognized that most people in the community couldn’t make the trip to see the big game so Carmike broadcast it live on one of its big screens. They didn’t charge any admission and more than 400 people watched the game there. Carmike made a little money on concessions sales and generated a lot of good will in their community.
Do you suspect that the transition to digital cinema will open new opportunities for independent filmmakers because of the lower production and distribution costs?
Nothing will ever replace a solid combination of talent, hard work and luck – and filmmakers need all three to succeed. However, again, I think the answer is yes. Most movie theatres do very little business during weekdays and on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. The problem is more critical for theatres with multiple screens. This is where they are looking for more content, often local content, to encourage people to come to their theatres.
A filmmaker in a small Northwestern city approached the owner of his local theatre because he knew the theatre was digital. They worked out a deal where he could screen his film one evening for free and they would share any ticket sales. The filmmaker agreed to do all the publicity and was able to get some local newspaper and radio coverage. A few hundred people showed up and the filmmaker and theatre owner both made a little money. I never spoke to the filmmaker, but the theatre owner was happy enough with the results to try it again sometime.
With conventional DVD players and digital projectors that can be rented for a very reasonable price, an enterprising filmmaker can turn any sizable venue into a screening room. Filmmakers need to be as creative with the marketing of their films as they are in making them. There are no easy routes to success but technology is no longer the major hurdle that it once was.
Nothing will ever change the reality that content is and always will be the most important factor in whether a movie finds an audience.
Are there any current developments that you are particularly excited about?
I believe stereoscopic 3D is going to transform the entire movie experience from top to bottom and, in fact, it will cause a greater sea change than the introduction of sound. The kinds of movies that are made, how they are made, and the intensity of the movie-going experience is about to get bigger and better than ever.
I have been leaning this way for quite some time, but what I saw two weeks ago in L.A. was a revelation: a screening of the new U2 3-D movie – a presentation of U2’s global “Vertigo” tour. Once that premieres at Sundance later this month and comes out in theaters at the end of this month, I think people will understand why I feel so strongly. While the movie is in 3-D and it does a gorgeous job of making the most out of 3-D technology, it is not the typical swords coming at you or water being sprayed on you. It is very subtle use of 3-D, but it is overpowering. I mean, it is unlike any concert experience that I have ever had. It is some of the richest filmmaking that I have ever seen.
I strongly suspect that once the public at large has a taste of this, people will start demanding more 3-D than they already are. The success of the Beowulf example wasn’t atypical. So far every digital 3-D movie that has come out has done at least a factor of 2.5 times the box office return of the same film in 2-D.
How close are we to the point where digital cinema really takes off?
The first article that I ever wrote about digital cinema was ’91, so that is 17 years ago. I think we are currently in the uptick stage – I think this is the year when it really takes off for the simple reason that National Cinemedia, which is the number one chain in the world, (and they control almost half of the screens in the country) is committing to a major digital rollout this year. There are approximately 38,000 screens in North America and National Cinemedia owns 15,000. They hope to own 20,000 soon. Once they get everything up and running, which is going to take a few years for completion, that is half our universe right there.
What other sites might be helpful to indieEdge readers looking for more information?
I highly recommend your readers learn about the Digital Cinema Society. James Mathers, a talented and successful cinematographer in Hollywood, runs the site and the association. The non-profit organization is read many of the top filmmakers in the world and has a wealth of information from a very hands-on perspective.
Lee Purcell writes about technology topics – including ray tracing, parallel computing, alternative energy, and open-source software – from the one-time capital of Vermont, Arlington. Visit his blog at http://lightspeedpub.blogspot.com for spirited insights into energy advances.
Carmike Cinemas has also had great success with all kinds of alternative content, but my favorite Carmike story involves the local Little League baseball in its headquarters city in Columbus, Georgia. The team made it to the Little League World Series, which is played in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Carmike executives recognized that most people in the community couldn’t make the trip to see the big game so Carmike broadcast it live on one of its big screens. They didn’t charge any admission and more than 400 people watched the game there. Carmike made a little money on concessions sales and generated a lot of good will in their community. 