Digital Cinema 101

Kay Beck and William EvansDigital Arts and Entertainment Laboratory

Georgia State University

W. Edward PriceInteractive Media Technology Center

Georgia Tech

Project OverviewThe film classroom of the future

Digital distribution of video sequences

Selected to support classroom instruction in film Also supports research regarding viewer

responses to image capture formats and projection systems

Project Overview, continuedDigital projectionTo provide large, extraordinarily high-

quality images

Video annotation tools for instructors “John Madden in the film classroom”

Digital Arts and Entertainment Laboratory

Georgia State University

Moving image production and research

Richest image capture formatsDigital video35mm filmHDTV

Digital projection

Interactive Media Technology Center

Research center at Georgia Tech

Focusing on digital media processing in arts, technology, and culture.

What Brings us TogetherInternet2, literally

The Georgia Research AllianceDigital Content Cluster

Rationale for Digital Cinema 101

Many film programs and courses at Internet2 universitiesGrowing in popularityBoth general education and discipline-

specific courses

Film is a rich mediumBut classroom instruction is visually impoverished

Current Instructional Materials

Visually impoverished

Example: Bordwell and Thompson’s Film ArtMcGraw-HillBest-selling film textbook of all time

Current Instructional Systems

Expensive, non-networked

Example: PreView systemKodak and Panavision

Content to be Served: “Film 101”

Sequences tied to Film Art textbookColorDepth of fieldLightingOther cinematography issues

Content to be Served: Film/Video and Digital Imaging Production

Sequences to demonstrate image capture formats and projection systemsHD vs. 35mm filmAspect ratiosArtifacts

Content to be Served: Research Stimuli

Sequences designed to test audience responses to image capture formats and projection devices

Use Internet2 to share data and subjects for moving image studies “Co-laboratory network”

Digital Cinema Today

Disney, Lucas, Technicolor, Texas Instruments - Field Tests31 screens in 10 countriesOver 1,000,000 viewers have seen a digital

movieSystems are somewhat “hacked” together,

prototype equipment

Digital Cinema Today

Source 1920x1080 pixels, 10 bits per pixel

24 progressive scanned or 60 interlaced frames/second

Projected at 1280x1024 pixels

6 Channel Digital Audio

Wavelet compressed

Technology Needs

Storage

Distribution

Projection

Storage

Storage requirements are enormous135 minute movie uncompressed – 1.5 TBStar Wars Episode One was 330 GB as

presented in theatersCurrent compression scheme is ~50

GB/movie

Storage Challenges

Lower data rate without lowering the quality

Better compression schemes designed for film, not video

Distribution

Star Wars 1 – Technicians hand carried disk drives for drive arrays

Now – Ship 7-10 DVD-ROM’s with movie loaded, copy to drive array

Hollywood’s Vision of Distribution

Maybe satellite multicast?

Maybe continue to ship DVD-ROM

Biggest issue to Hollywood – Security

Our Vision of distribution

Secure distribution via IP networks

ChallengesQoSEncryptionAuthenticationCopyright protectionBandwidth

Projection

Currently theatres are using JVC or TI projectors (most using TI DLP). Silicon Light Machines has new technology of interest alsoVery expensiveThis will be a concern for classroom use, but SXGA projectors have adequate resolution (perhaps)

Research Uses over I2

Medical Video

Arts and Humanities

??? Let us know

Digital Cinema 101

Kay Beck and William EvansDigital Arts and Entertainment Laboratory

Georgia State University

W. Edward PriceInteractive Media Technology Center

Georgia Tech