Celebrating the moviegoing experience

Digital Cinema Media (DCM) joined more than 5,000 movie industry professionals from around the world in Las Vegas last week for the annual CinemaCon event. It was inspiring, energising and slightly scary to spend a week in the company of the biggest stars, producers, directors, studio executives and cinema owners, with all of us coming together to preview upcoming films and debate all facets of the motion picture and cinema industry – from exhibition, concessions, technology and distribution, to marketing, advertising and social media.

The tone was set on Day One when Paramount kicked off the event with writer and producer Damon Lindelof introducing the new Star Trek Into Darkness 3D film and its star cast members including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, John Cho and Alice Eve. The famous Caesar’s Colosseum was kitted out with the latest Dolby Atmos sound system which combined with 18 minutes of exclusive 3D footage from the upcoming film really showed off the latest cinema technology.

Brad Pitt then sauntered on stage to a solitary scream of ‘I love you’ (not me, I promise) to introduce his upcoming 3D Zombie epic World War Z. Talking to the crowd he said, “We got a little carried away…” and some of the exclusive scenes showcased were truly jaw-dropping.

Baz Luhrmann was not present at the event but sent in a video note to introduce stunning new Great Gatsby 3D footage. This included striking, bold imagery and emotive close-ups that took full advantage of the 3D format. “F.Scott Fitzgerald was a great fan of new technology,” said Luhrmann, who realised 3D’s potential when he had an opportunity to watch Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder in its original 3D format.

As well as inspiring presentations from all the major studios, there were also a number of panel discussions including award-winning directors Guillermo Del Toro, Sam Raimi and Oliver Stone highlighting the importance of the cinema experience.

Discussing the heightened emotion of film in the cinema environment, Del Toro said: “It’s a great communal experience. The real reward [for a filmmaker] comes from seeing it with an audience. The ultimate goal is to get excited yourself. Most of us are social freaks. I go to see my movies with 500 of my closest friends. It’s a beautiful thing.”

The importance of the moviegoing experience for all ages was a consistent theme with director of upcoming blockbuster reboot Man of Steel, Zack Snyder passionately stating: "Movies are my religion, movie theatres are my church." Todd Phillips, creator of The Hangover trilogy, added: “I think comedies need to be seen in theatres with groups of people who can laugh together.”

The week-long conference ended with cinema icons Morgan Freeman and Harrison Ford taking the stage to introduce clips from their upcoming films Now You See Me and Ender’s Game and accept awards for Cinema Icon and Lifetime Achievement respectively. Both shared their enduring passion for their craft and their unquenched desire to keep on making hit films with new talent.

The commitment of the stars and the studios to this event and their presentation of the great film slate we can look forward to for the rest year and beyond was truly inspiring. Being even closer to the movie world for just a week reminded me that we can showcase advertising to the same technical excellence as these movies that cost an average of $1.4m a minute to make.

According to these amazing storytellers, we provide the best platform for their stories. It’s now our challenge to ensure we continue to tell brands our story about the unique storytelling power of our medium.