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Digital Theaters

Every year distributors spend huge amounts of money sending films to theaters. This may sound like a very basic activity: placing reels of movie film in a box and shipping them to the theaters that will use them. But although the activity is basic, it is a monetary and logistical nightmare. For every film that goes out in wide release, distributors must make more than 2,000 separate film prints. Every film must be shipped to a theater and then shipped back to the distributor. Many of the prints can be used again overseas, but the distributor must still pay shipping costs. Moreover, international releases of many films have increasingly been taking place at around the same time as North American releases, in part to take advantage of global marketing activities. That practice means even greater expense for creating prints.

One way to get around this problem is to deliver films to theaters via satellite and then project them onto a screen, thus creating digital theaters. Much of the production of movies is already carried out using digital cameras—and the final product is later transferred to film. Even if film is used during shooting of the movie, the pictures are often transferred to computers for special effects and editing. Companies already make projectors that they claim have both the clarity and resolution to match those of traditional motion picture technology. In fact, more than 600 screens in the United States are already equipped to show digital movies. Distribution executives see a time in the not-too-distant future when much of the toil involved in circulating films will be eliminated. Instead of making prints and paying delivery services, distributors may connect to a satellite delivery service that allows them to circulate one master copy of their product to theaters around the world at virtually the same time. To foil piracy attempts, they envision sending the digital copy in a code that could be deciphered only by particular theaters.

A redbox automated DVD rental kiosk in Golden, Colorado. Already facing tough competition from Netflix’s mailorder service, Blockbuster is closing a multitude of its stores. Now the brick-and-mortar company is struggling to reposition itself while fending off new competition from redbox, which rents films for $ 1 per night.

The reason digital projection hasn't spread far and wide has less to do with the technology than with the expense. Each digital projector costs over $10,000 plus substantial installation costs.8 Multiply that times the 39,000 screens in the United States alone and you can see that the cost of moving to digital exhibition will be enormous. The major movie distributors and the theater chains have been arguing about who will pay for digital projectors and how much. Despite the disagreements, observers within the industry suggest that the parties will eventually compromise and that we will see digital movie distribution as the standard within a decade or two.

CULTURE TODAY MARTIN SCORSESE AND FILM PRESERVATION

At the 2010 Golden Globe awards, Martin Scorsese received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement for his outstanding contributions to the entertainment field. Scorsese is the well-known direc­tor, screenwriter, producer, and actor. Some of his mov­ies include Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Color of Money, The Last Temptation of Christ, Good fellas, and Gangs of New York. Upon accepting his award, instead of focusing on his numerous directorial accomplishments, Scorsese took a minute to tell the crowd about an initiative that he is proud to be a part of: the Film Foundation.

Founded by ten filmmakers—including Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, and Scorsese—one of the Film Foundation’s primary goals is the preservation of historic films. The members of the Foundation’s board share “the common belief that a full understanding and respect for the history of film plays a decisive role in the advancement of the art form.” Advancements in technology have opened up new opportunities to preserve movies in various conditions.

The method that has historically been used to create movies—the film reel—has not stood the test of time. Currently, 50 percent of American films made before 1950 have disintegrated and 90 percent of those made before 1929 have perished. The Film Foundation cur­rently houses a substantial quantity of film waiting to be preserved.

Films build on their predecessors. Techniques are borrowed, storylines are adapted, and historical cultural references are buried in films awaiting discovery by avid film watchers. When Martin Scorsese founded the Film Foundation his goal was to ensure that this tradition continued. When films are lost, with them go the stories, culture, and traditions of the past. Scorsese’s goal has been to ensure that, as much as possible, these memo­ries are not lost for future generations.

Source: The Film Foundation website.