Industry Celebrates Digital Cinema At Inaugural Conference

Last week, cinema exhibitors, technology experts and other representatives from the cinema industry convened at London’s Vue Westfield for the first ever UK Digital Cinema Conference, hosted by Digital Cinema Solutions, more than 250 delegates discussed the challenges and opportunities that have come with one of the biggest transitions in media history – the move from film to digital projection in cinemas.

The team from DCM took the opportunity to catch up with a number of exhibitor partners including Kevin Markwick from The Picture House, Uckfield, Jas Kapur from the Wolverhampton Lighthouse, Dorothy Smith from Ambleside Zeffirellis and Jason Valentine from the Letchworth Broadway.

Presentations and discussion panels ran throughout the day, featuring 30 of the most knowledgeable speakers in the business of film distribution and exhibition including Rob Arthur (Digital Cinema Solutions), David Hancock (IHS Screen Digest), Jim Slater (Cinema Technology) and Richard Welsh (Technicolor).

“Cinema underwent a massive digital transformation in 2012 which has reinvigorated and opened a wealth of new opportunities for our industry,” says DCM’s CEO Simon Rees. “Amongst the presentations I have seen today and industry colleagues I have spoken to there is a real sense of anticipation that we are entering a new phase in the history of cinema and at DCM we are already working with a variety of brands in a wholly new, digitally progressive way.”

Jim Slater, editor of Cinema Technology Magazine gave an overview of immersive sound technologies for cinemas, starting with a brief introduction on the history of sound in cinema.

Technicolor’s Richard Welsh, discussed the issue of Higher Frame Rate (HFR), beginning with a discussion on the history of frame rates, including the interesting story that it was cinema sound that pushed cinema into using 24 frames per second. Until the 1920s, film had been shot, generally hand-cranked, and projected at roughly 16fps. 24fps was found to be about the lowest frame rate possible that would allow dialogue and music to be coherent.

Welsh believes HFR still has much to offer. Higher Frame Rates reduce motion blur and reveal texture much more clearly, though this is double-edged sword that makes every part of the production design process (including hair, makeup, costumes and set design) that much more closely scrutinised. Flaws or inconsistencies that would be invisible at 24fps, can become glaring at twice the frame rate. HFR also seems to enhance audience response to colour, which may be a result of the brain having to work less hard to fill in missing motion information between frames. Although the press reported that audiences came out of The Hobbit often indifferent or hostile to HFR, Welsh is convinced that it’s largely a problem of conditioning. Many high-end computer gamers are regularly playing games playing at 120fps or higher. James Cameron’s Avatar sequel will be shown at 60fps. Welsh guesses that HFR will be here to stay and that the standard when it is used may be higher than even 60fps.

Rich Phillips, CTO of Arts Alliance Media, spoke for cinema owners about the challenges of the digital transition, coming to the end of what has been a significant change in the way we do business as an industry.

The afternoon was also about big laughs on the big screen in a session dedicated to showing alternative content in cinemas. The Comedy Store’s Don Ward and Sony Digital Cinema’s John Bullen told delegates about the new collaboration with DCM to recreate the stand up comedy night experience in multiplex and independent cinemas nationwide. Ward explained how he started the Comedy Store in 1979 as an antidote to late night movies. Now 34 years later, he is taking the Comedy Store format into cinemas across the country.

At the end of the day an industry award for outstanding achievement in digital cinema was presented to Steve Perrin, chief executive of the UK Digital Fund Partnership, for his work in the digitisation of UK cinemas.

For a full round up on the Digital Cinema Solutions Conference, click here for Neal Romanek’s report on the day for Screen Daily.