TheatreWorld

contentsTWTheatreWorld

MMindshareTW ED ITOR IAL

Sandeep MittalEditor / Publisher

DIGITAL 3D IN ASIA – NOW HERE!

CIN

EMA

SY

ST

EMS

entertainworld

F U T U R ER E L E S E SA

This issue of TW has two sets of page numbers - International

pages TW-1 to TW-64 for TW, and India pages TM-1 to

TM-36 for TM. TM is inserted between pages TW-50 and

TW-51 of TW.

TW-8

TW-17

Making A Majestic Glow

TW-34

Review - ShowEastPreview - CineAsiaPreview - Cinema Today

TW-41

TW-51

TW-56

Products...Check Them Out!

TECHNOLOGY

It's 3D 'Film,' Again!

Selling Movie Tickets Like Airlines

Look: Designer Eyewear in 3D!

TW-26

TW-22

TW-29TW-31

CINEMA SYSTEMS

Extra Large Audio for XL Cinema

Projection Series - XXVII

Keeping within the law

TW-36

TW-38

TW-48

Digital 3d has already been in Asia for some time now sothe headline may seem redundant. But it is necessary toassess the advent of a new technologyplatform not from the industry buzz attailored or hyped media events but fromthe buzz on the street. Glancing atmainstream newspapers in India one cansee not just advertisements frommultiplex circuits but articles fromjournalists on what digital 3d as a theatrical experienceis all about.

In a country and by extension in the developing regionsof Asia where d-cinema of the 2k and 4k variety is yet tobe adopted in numbers that would constitute critical massthe initial signs of a digital 3d rollout augurs well forleapfrogging the technology divide. The penetration of d-cinema and e-cinema in India is less than ten per centand this too after a decade of struggle! Digital 3d shouldadd to the momentum such that the next ten per centshould take just three years, which would have otherwisetaken five.

In this respect JamesCameroon’s ‘Avatar’ can be a game changer. His earlier

‘Titanic’ helped increase Hollywood’spie in the Asian exhibition cakereinforcing the viewpoint that greatsoftware can propel technologyadoption. If ‘Avatar’ and the slew offorthcoming Hollywood releases, andas importantly, local releases in

regional languages, can crest the buzz such that the digitaldivide is won forever. What was dreamt in industry meetssince 2000 would finally come true, albeit ten year later!

If destination cinema is ahead can home entertainment befar behind? Television kept pace by releasing 21:9 formatsand is now working hard on 3d which should debut soon.Over to cinema to take us to the next frontier … 6d?

Value - INR 150 (US$ 15)

TEAM SANDY(in alphabetical order)

Bhavanashi Ramakrishna

Bobby Chetia

Mohanraj P

Raghavendra T

Yashodhara S

Issue # 44 / January-March 2010

PrintingRamya Reprographic, Bengaluru

TWTheatreWorld

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtfulcommitted people can change the world.Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Theatre World is a quarterly publication, on the motion picture exhibition industry,for private circulation. It reaches out to subscribers, mainly theatre owners and tradeprofessionals in India, also subscribers in select Asian cities. Additional copies arebeing promoted at major international industry events. Theatre World seeks thehealthy promotion of the theatre industry through dissemination of usefulinformation. Some of the information is compiled from industry sources, tradejournals, company brochures for the benefit of readers, especially, theatre owners.Theatre World acknowledges with thanks the authors and publishers of these printedmaterials. Views expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not necessarilyof Theatre World. Theatre World is a trademark under registration. The contents ofTheatre World are under copyright registration. All rights reserved. Reproductionby any means in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Unsolicitedprinted material is welcome but no responsibility is undertaken for the same andwill not be returned. Theatre World does not take responsibility for the absoluteaccuracy of information published.

Layout & Graphic DesignRaghavendra T

It’s been eleven years now since TW (TheatreWorld), began showcasingthe Show Business in its own inimitable style. Evidently, it’s been akaleidoscope of the global motion picture exhibition industry, as well as aneffective interactive platform between the industry and the wide spectrumof professionals associated with it: architects, acousticians, interiordesigners, technocrats of sound and projection, ticketing, concessionsconsultants, and, of course, the cinema builders! Due to the kind of contentit has been churning out issue after issue, there had been a persistentdemand from discerning readers that the magazine should have a letterscolumn through which they could express their views and share information.Admittedly, we did not realise that our effort would be valued so high, whichwas why we did not contemplate having a letters column so far. It’s been afulfilling factor too for us. On completion of a decade of striving existence,we are pleased to commence a Cinemascope column under which ourdiscerning readers can share their views. We invite all our readers to sendtheir opinions as well as suggestions relating to the industry and our effortin making it better. It may kindly be noted that for convenience of lucidity,the letters may be edited suitably, and Cinemascope retains the right toaccept or reject any letter depending on the merit of the subject discussed.So, please do send in your views to Cinemascope.

Mail your feedback to [email protected]

CINEMASCOPE

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EDITORIALBhavanashi Ramakrishna (Ram)

[email protected] Mobile +9198 4587 2794

ADVERTISINGBobby Chetia

[email protected] Mobile +9198 9250 4871

CIRCULATIONYashodhara [email protected]

Published by Sandeep Mittalon behalf of

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Contributing WritersJ. Sperling Reich

January-March 2010TW-6

Guangzhou Jinyi: Leading Chinese CinemaEstablished in 2004, Jinyi owns a total

of 19 multiplexes with an aggregate

of 150 screens in Guangzhou, Beijing,

Tianjin, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Wuhan,

Suzhou, Shenzhen and Chongqing.

This screen count is outside the number

of other affiliated cinemas, which makes

the company as the country's largest

exhibitor. The company has a backlog of

over 20 cinemas contracted (not

including affiliated cinemas), which are

located in Shanghai, Shenyang, Jinan,

Nanjing, Hangzhou and Xi'an. Jinyi's

strategy is to develop the cinema

business throughout China.

IMAX is making a big pitch for its big picture in Asia. Continuing the dynamic strides it

had been making for few years now, particularly in China, the large format movie major

has not only signed major theatre deals but also broke new grounds of moviemaking,

enabling the Chinese movies look 'larger' than ever.

IMAX Makes Another Big Pitch in Asia

IMAX Corporation, and Guangzhou

Jinyi Film & Television Group, Co. Ltd.,

a leading entertainment developer

and exhibitor in China, announced an

agreement to open four IMAX theatres

in China. The first three installations

are scheduled to be completed during

the second half of 2011 in the cities of

Chongqing, Tianjin and Shenyang.

The fourth installation is scheduled for

2012 in a yet-to-be determined

location. Each IMAX theatre will be

part of a newly constructed multiplex,

and each will utilize IMAX's digital

projection technology.

There are currently 81 IMAX theatres

scheduled to be operating in Asia by

2014, including over 40 scheduled to

be open in China by 2012. To date,

IMAX has signed contracts for over 220

IMAX digital projection systems

worldwide, with more than 100

currently in operation.

"Including IMAX theatres in these new

locations will provide our customers

with the most immersive premium

moviegoing experience on the planet,

which is becoming increasingly

important as the technologies in regular

movie theatres and in the home

continue to improve," said Shirely Ye,

General Manager, Guangzhou Jinyi Film

and Television Investment Group, Co.

Ltd. "With mainstream Chinese movies

now being added to IMAX's usual slate

of Hollywood blockbusters, the decision

to enter the IMAX business was easy to

make. We're very excited to enter the

IMAX business during such a pivotal

time."

"We believe our network growth in

Asia is gaining momentum thanks to

the appeal of our new digital

projection system and our expanded

film programming for the region,"

said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond.

"Entering into partnerships with well-

known, experienced entertainment

companies such as Guangzhou Jinyi

Film & Television Group, helps us

expand our audience base, strengthen

the IMAX brand and drive interest

from other exhibitors in Asia who

want to remain competitive in the

market."

"China is the fastest growing

exhibition market in the world, and

Guangzhou Jinyi Film & Television

Group's experience in the exhibition

business with both Hollywood movies

and mainstream Chinese films makes

them an ideal partner as we continue

to build our presence in the region,"

added Don Savant, IMAX's Senior

Vice-President and Managing Director,

Asia Pacific.

The four-theatre deal is the second

multi-theatre announcement between

IMAX and a Greater China area

exhibition company in three months,

following the June agreement

between IMAX and Chinese film studio

Huayi Bros. to release mainstream

Chinese films to IMAX theatres in

China and other parts of Asia.

IMAX, Huayi Bros. into ChineseEvent Movies: IMAX and Huayi Bros.

Media Corporation Ltd., China's


Huayi Bros. of ChinaHuayi was established by brothers

Wang Zhongjun (Dennis Wang)

and Wang Zhonglei (James Wang)

in 1994. The Wang brothers hold a

combined stake in Huayi of over 50

percent. Other major investors

include Tom Group Ltd., Focus

Media Holding Ltd., and Yahoo

China.

The company has solely or jointly

produced over 50 movies since

1998, including award-winning A

World Without Thieves (2005),

starring Hong Kong actor Andy

Lau. The movie raked in USD$13.8

million from Chinese box office. It was

followed by The Banquet (2006) - by

the famous Chinese director Feng

Xiaogang - which accumulated

USD$17.6 million at the Chinese box

office and Assembly (2007) by the

same director, netting USD$38.2

million in China BO. The company's

last movie If You are the One (2008)

earned USD$43.8 million from Chinese

BO alone. Huayi has also worked with

Sony Pictures in the past to jointly

invest in or produce Chinese movies,

some of which target overseas

audience markets. Due to the rapid

growth of new cinemas in China,

Huayi has significantly grown its

China BO and has made a name for

itself internationally as a producer

of quality foreign movies.

Huayi also runs a variety of other

businesses including music recording

and agent services for artists. Huayi

has begun to build a theatre

network in China with plans for 150

to 200 screens within five years.

largest privately owned media group,

have entered into a deal to release up

to three movies, beginning with the

release of the highly-anticipated

upcoming Chinese film Aftershock to

IMAX Theatres in China, other parts of

Asia and key North American markets

in July 2010. Directed by renowned

director, Feng Xiaogang, Aftershock

will be the first mainstream Chinese

movie and the first mainstream

commercial movie outside the US to

be digitally re-mastered into the

unparalleled image and sound quality

of IMAX's format.

The multi-picture agreement between

IMAX and Huayi Bros. Media will

capitalize on the growing size and

scope of the IMAX theatre presence in

China and throughout Asia. In

addition, the agreement will allow

both companies to bring outstanding

Chinese movies, enjoyed by millions of

Chinese audiences including those

outside China, to mainstream global

audiences in a new immersive way.

IMAX anticipates that Aftershock will

play in 25-30 IMAX theatres in Greater

China and other parts of Asia when it

opens next summer.

"It's our great honor to be working

with Huayi Brothers, China's

undisputed leader in the movie

industry and acclaimed director Feng

Xiaogang. This new arrangement

enables the IMAX theatre network to

expand beyond its role as a key

distribution platform for Hollywood

blockbusters and introduce a global

audience to major movie studios

outside of North America through

IMAX's immersive format," said Imax

chief Gelfond. "Our growing presence

and new investments in China not

only underscore our commitment to

building the IMAX brand, but also

demonstrate our support of the

Chinese film industry."

Huayi Brothers Group Ltd. is one of

China's largest film studios. Described

as 'China's Warner Bros of tomorrow,'

because of its potential in the

booming market, Huayi holds about a

30-40 percent market share in

domestic movie production (top 20

movies) and 30 percent in movie

distribution.

"Working with IMAX to present

China's most talked about and

anticipated 2010 Chinese movie

Aftershock in IMAX's format is not just

a significant development for Huayi

on the international film stage, it is

also a milestone step for the

mainstream Chinese film industry,"

added Dennis Wang, Chairman and

CEO, Huayi Bros. Media. "The

globally-recognized IMAX brand has

become synonymous with

Hollywood's biggest movie events,

and we strongly believe that cache will

escalate the visibility of Chinese films

on the world's stage. Working with

IMAX will give us a competitive

advantage in the marketing and

distribution of Aftershock and future

Chinese films."

Echoing strong confidence in this new

partnership is Tong Gang, Director-

General of the State Administration of

Radio, Film and Television's (SARFT)

Motion Picture Bureau. "This

agreement between two industry

leaders today further demonstrates the

recognition of Chinese films by the

international film industry, which is

already winning some of the most

prestigious awards in film festivals

around the world. I firmly believe that

films are one of the best ways to

showcase our Chinese culture, and I

am excited that this partnership will

expose cinema-goers all over the

world to more and more of the best

Chinese movies, and in the process,

help bridge China's geographical and

cultural divide with the world."

Aftershock will be released in China on

July 28, 2010 and, as with all of

Director Feng Xiaogang's movies, it is

anticipated to be among the biggest

blockbusters of the year. The movie

centers on the life-changing moments

and psychological dimensions of a

seven year-old girl who survived the

1976 Tangshan earthquake, which

killed over 200,000 people.

"IMAX is a well-respected international

brand that represents an advanced

immersive movie experience, coupled

with unparalleled image and sound

quality," added Director Feng

Xiaogang. "It will be the ideal

theatrical format to present the

devastation of the Tangshan

earthquake and the Chinese people's

resistance and camaraderie in times of

adversity that is depicted in my latest

movie."


'Digital 14000': TI's Latest Milestone

Texas Instruments' DLP Cinema

announced reaching the milestone of

over 14,000 global theatre installations

with over half of them being powered

by DLP Cinema 3D projection

technology. As the growing

availability of digital 3D movies

continues to serve as a catalyst for the

adoption of digital cinema

installations, with multiple 3D releases

coming to theatres at the same time,

demand among exhibitors for 3D

installations is only likely to increase,

claims the company. Hailing 3D as one

of the most important technical

innovations since the advent of colour

to the movie exhibition medium, the

D-Cinema major hopes to see more

and more deployments in the coming

months as the market begins to open

up from the recession.

This winter, DLP Cinema honours its

heritage of providing the ultimate

viewing experience with DLP Cinema

projection solutions enabling theatres

to showcase the highly anticipated

motion picture epic Avatar, from

Twentieth Century Fox, and Titanic

creator James Cameron.

"DLP's cutting edge technology will

play an important role in bringing

Avatar to life for moviegoers around

the world," said Bruce Snyder, Fox's

president of domestic distribution.

"The much-anticipated release of

'Avatar' will continue to bring

attention to the contributions DLP

Cinema has provided to the industry."

During the filming of Avatar, DLP

projectors were used for real time

viewing of the footage being shot.

Additionally, Cameron and his

production company, Lightstorm

Entertainment, used DLP Cinema

projectors during the post-production

to provide superior contrast ratios,

colour calibration and sharp 3D

imagery. DLP technology will be

counted on again when Avatar movie

premieres in December 2009; it will be

shown on DLP Cinema projectors in

movie theatres worldwide.

"Eight years ago Lightstorm and DLP

Cinema started working together to

QubeMasterXpress ChosenBy AMC

Qube Cinema announced that AMC

Entertainment Inc. (AMC), a leading

theatrical exhibition and entertainment

company, has chosen the QubeMaster

Xpress (QMX) to encode content for

system tests and pre-show spots at

several locations in Canada.

After extensive and rigorous testing of

the QubeMaster Xpress, Dan Huerta,

Vice-President of Technology & Systems

at AMC said, "AMC gets a lot of

content that is not in a Digital Cinema

Package (DCP) format. We needed an

easy to use tool that would get that

content encoded into a JPEG2000 DCP

so we could play them on any of our

Digital Cinema screens. QubeMaster

Xpress surpassed our expectations with

its simple and intuitive user interface."

Built on the platform of the world

leading QubeMaster Pro, QMX is an

encoding and packaging system

aimed at theatres that need to encode

short, non-feature content like

advertising, alternative content and

pre-show clips. Its 3-step User Interface

is designed to be used by anyone and

requires no special digital cinema

knowledge whatsoever. The system

can quickly convert AVI, Quicktime,

Flash and still images into high quality,

standards compliant Digital Cinema

Packages (DCPs) that are compatible

with any digital cinema server.

"We are very proud to have AMC as a

QubeMaster Xpress customer. AMC's

adoption of QubeMaster Xpress

demonstrates that it has a place in

every Digital Cinema environment.

QubeMaster Xpress enables any

exhibitor, large or small, to encode

and manage most any content." said

Rajesh Ramachandran, President and

CTO of Qube Cinema Inc.

bring 3D imagery to life," said,

Geoffrey Burdick, vice-president for

production service and technology for

Lightstorm Entertainment. "Thanks to

this collaboration, audiences can now

experience in the theatres 3D like they

never have before."

Exhibition houses utilizing projectors

from DLP Cinema's three OEM

licensees (Barco, Christie Digital and

NEC) provide the capability to light up

theatre screens as big as 100 feet and

3D screens as big as 75 feet, which has

typically been a challenge for

competing technologies. Furthermore,

that DLP Cinema recently announced

plans to incorporate enhanced 4K

technology as an extension of the

next generation electronics platform

for DLP Cinema projectors which

integrates multiple 3D platforms for

live 3D broadcasting, the digital

entertainment is only expected to

scale new highs.

"This year, DLP Cinema celebrated its

fifth anniversary of enabling 3D

through the use of the DLP Chip," said

Nancy Fares, business manager for DLP

Cinema, Texas Instruments. "DLP

Cinema continues to be the industry

standard for digital image quality and

we remain committed to supporting

the motion picture industry to bring

onscreen stories to life through

immersive experiences."

Today there are more than 7,000

worldwide screens that offer digital 3D

with the use of every pixel array in the

frame for the brightest picture unlike

other technologies. Since last year's

introduction, IMAX digital projection

systems powered by DLP Cinema

projectors have reached a total of 88

locations worldwide.


Barco, Cine Columbia Strengthen Pact

Cine Colombia S.A., Colombia's largest

exhibitor, and Barco, Latin America's

largest digital cinema distributor, are

strengthening their partnership with

an agreement that includes Barco DP-

1500 projectors and ACS-2048 multi-

format switchers.

Barco will supply 20 Barco DP-1500

digital projection systems to multiple

theatre sites throughout Colombia.

Each projector will be 2D/3D capable,

and each will be configured with

Barco's ACS-2048 'alternate content'

switcher.

As a progressive exhibitor with over

200 screens in operation across

Colombia, Cine Colombia is not new

to the digital cinema domain - nor are

they new to Barco. Throughout the

remainder of 2009, the first new Barco

deployments will be placed in Cine

Colombia sites in the major

population centers of Bogota, Cali and

Medellin. Starting in 2010, Cine

Colombia will deploy additional Barco

projection systems in the country's

secondary markets of Cartagena,

Barranquilla, Pereira, Armenia and

Manizales.

The digital cinema package selected

by Cine Colombia is ideal for the

market. The DP-1500 is purpose-built

for screens up to 15m (49') wide, and

offers Barco quality and reliability in

an affordable and compact package.

The ACS-2048 is the perfect peripheral

for all Barco digital cinema installs.

This eight input 'universal' switcher

enables exhibitors to scale both

analog and digital inputs up to the

full digital cinema format. In this way,

Cine Colombia can expand each

theatre's revenue stream, as a versatile

presentation facility for events,

businesses, meetings and more.

"Our mandate is quality and

excellence, and Barco provides exactly

what we are looking for," said Munir

Falah, President and CEO of Cine

Colombia. "Because of their product

performance, reliability and value,

we're advancing our partnership with

Barco. We have worked with other

manufacturers, and we choose

carefully. Barco's reputation of

excellence is well-earned."

"We're honored again to be working

closely with Colombia's largest

exhibitor, and helping them expand

the magic of digital cinema

throughout the world's third largest

Spanish-speaking country," said Scott

Freidberg, Barco's Vice President of

Sales for Digital Cinema, NA. "Cine

Colombia has truly recognized both

the success and the investments that

Barco has created in Latin America,

and by their actions, it's evident that

they choose only the finest partners.

Their theatres are in the best locations,

the equipment is superb, their staff is

excellent, and each theatre provides

customers with an unsurpassed

environment in which to watch a

movie."

Qube Cinema broke new big ground

when it announced that the South

Korea-based D-Cinema Korea(DCK),

the largest digital transition firm in

Korea, has chosen the Qube XP-D as

one of the official digital cinema

servers for their 1,000 screen rollout

across Korea.

Under rigorous testing for 2D and 3D

playback at the DCK test bed since July

2008, the Qube XP-D server proved

itself repeatedly under the most

strenuous conditions. This led to the

Qube XP-D being certified and

approved by DCK, and recommended

to the Korean digital market for its

superior technical performance and

security.

DCK, a joint-venture company of CJ

CGV and Lotte Cinema, has also

announced a Virtual Print Fee (VPF)

deal with major Hollywood studios

including Paramount Pictures,

Twentieth Century Fox and Universal

Pictures. The deal will cover more than

1,000 screens all over Korea within the

next two to three years.

J.M. Kang, Engineering Operations

Director of DCK commented, "DCI-

compliant Qube XP-D cinema server's

flexible and secure device has support

for multiple formats including J2K,

MPEG-2, and VC-1. It proved to meet

the highest standards in Korean

theatres where flexibility and diversity

are key requirements."

"High quality deployment of

equipment during a digital transition

generates great benefits for both

exhibitor and distributor, and an

interesting and practical structure.

DCK welcomes this historic rollout in

the Korean movie industry with Qube.

We want Korean fans to enjoy a

superior cinematic experience reached

by digital transition." J.H. Cho, Co-

CEO of DCK added.

The Qube XP-D is fast gaining

acceptance across the world as a

powerful, versatile and flexible DCI-

compliant digital cinema server.

Already present in over 1,600 screens

across the six continents, Qube is also

the official digital partner of the

Venice Film Festival and Tribeca

Festival among others.

"It gives us great pleasure to be

working with DCK during this digital

transition. Our technical edge will be

of great benefit to cinemas during

DCK's digital rollout," said Rajesh

Ramachandran, President and CTO of

Qube Cinema, Inc.

Qube CinemaPitches Big inKorea


XDC Expands inEuropean Market

XDC,, the leading digital cinema servicecompany in Europe, has signed non-exclusive long-term agreements withtwo European distributors tocontribute to the Virtual Print Fee (VPF)roll out started in Austria and Portugal.

Polyfilm Verleih (Polyfilm) andValentim de Carvalho Multimedia(VCM) will support XDC, acting as aDeploying Entity, in order to roll outand fund digital systems for theatricalpresentations, respectively, in Austriaand Portugal. Under the terms of theagreements, Polyfilm and VCM haveindependently agreed to supplyAustrian and Portuguese exhibitorswith their feature films in digital formfor projection on the VPF digitalscreens, as well as contribute to thefinancing of XDC's VPF DCI-compliantdigital cinema projection systems.

Datasat-DC20 Sales into Six CountriesDatasat Digital Entertainment made asignificant breakthrough recently whenit sold the DC20, digital cinema serverfeaturing Qube Cinema's software, intothe United States, Canada, Mexico,South Africa, Honduras and Spain.

"We have found the DC20 to be aquality choice in servers - offering themost options and user friendlyinterface in the industry," Vince Bulterof CLACO Equipment & Service stated."In addition, Datasat continues to offerthe same fantastic customer service andreliability that DTS was famous for."

Datasat Digital Entertainment'scommitment to digital cinema and thecustomer is evident through the DC20'sapproach to screen management andthe ever-growing feature set of theproduct's offerings. The DC20 DigitalCinema Server supports multipleplayback formats, offers both digitaland analog audio outputs, and featuresa FIPS certified media block. The server'suser-friendly interface enables easycontrol, content management and tightautomation integration. The DC20 canbe used as a standalone digital cinemaplayer system for a single screen, or as anetwork player system in a multiplexconfiguration.

"The new DC20 Server is the server toinstall into 3D cinemas. The featureson the DC20 make the uploading ofcontent so much easier and faster,"Johan Van Staden, Technical Managerof Sterkinekor Theatres in South Africasaid. "The connections andinstallations go very fast, and thesoftware is very user friendly and easyto understand and use."

Additional Format Capabilities toDC20: Datasat and Qube Cinema havedeveloped additional playback formatswithin the DC20. Adding Flash andQuickTime has increased the flexibilityand usability of the digital cinema serverfor customers running pre-show content.

"The combination of Qube's softwareexpertise and Datasat's hardwareknowledge has made a significantimpact on the flexibility of the DC20,"Jason Vreeman, Vice-President of Sales,Datasat Digital Entertainment, stated."Increasing the playback options indigital cinema, ultimately increases thebottom line for our customer."

Italy's LargestDigital Cinema'Space'

Italy's leading cinema chain The SpaceCinema, and Arts Alliance Media (AAM) -Europe's leading provider of digitalcinema technology, content anddeployment - announced signing anexclusive VPF-based agreement to supplyand integrate digital cinema projectionsystems across The Space's 24 sites in Italy.

In addition, AAM will be providingsatellite systems on a non-exclusive basisfor each of the 24 cinemas, incollaboration with its partner ArqivaSatellite & Media. The first deployeddigital screens will be operational beforeChristmas, in time for the holidayreleases, so as to have at least one screeninstalled in each cinema of the circuit -with a roll out of an additional 50screens within the first quarter 2010.

The Space Cinema will be installing 3Dsystems in all its digital screens, in orderto play highly anticipated upcoming3D movies, such as James Cameron'sAvatar from Twentieth Century Fox,opening in Italy in January.

The satellite systems will allow TheSpace Cinema to show live alternativecontent events such as concerts andsports, as well as receive feature andtrailer content electronically via satelliteinstead of on hard drives physicallydistributed to cinemas. In addition todigital cinema projectors and servers,AAM will also be supplying The SpaceCinema with its recently launchedDigital Cinema Network Softwarepackage, including AAM's TheatreManagement System (TMS), allowingThe Space Cinema comprehensivecontrol and reporting of equipmentand content across the entire circuit.

Giuseppe Corrado, CEO of The SpaceCinema commented "we're excited bythe opportunities this agreement with

Offering both digital and analog audiooutput and a user-friendly interface theDC20 was designed with customersneeds in mind. The DC20 supportsJPEG2000, HD MPEG-2, and VC1(Windows Media 9) content playback.An additional upgrade pack for Flashand QuickTime is immediately available.

AAM is creating for our circuit and forthe whole industry in Italy. We see awealth of new content and newentertainment opportunities for ourcustomer coming with digitalisation."

Giovanni Canepa, COO of The SpaceCinema, said "we're extremely pleasedto take such a relevant step partneringwith AAM, Europe's leading digitalcinema technology provider. Thispartnership will allow us to deploy thisnew technology maintaining afinancially balanced approach, whilegiving additional comfort to thewhole industry in Italy that the digitalera is finally on its way."

Giovanni Dolci, AAM's Strategy andBusiness Development Executive andlead negotiator on the agreementadded "it is an honour to have beenchosen by The Space Cinema to bringdigital to their innovative cinema chain.The groundbreaking decision to createthis new company and futureproof itwith digital, satellite and 3D capability isa strong indicator of the vitality of Italy'sexhibition sector. This deal offers thewhole Italian market new opportunitiesto convert to digital cinema."

The agreement with The SpaceCinema meant for AAM that theFrench cinema solutions major nowhas its footprint across six Europeanterritories- UK, France, Norway, Spain,The Netherlands, and Italy.


The domain of cinema entertainment is as fascinating as the movies it churns out. Exciting,

often amusing, if not crazy! With technology impacting the space faster than even one's

imagination, there is a new concept, if not a product straight away, coming to the market on a

regular basis, to take the user communities by wonderment! Theatre World continues its effort

to present some exciting products that have either hit the market recently or going to hit soon.

Products...Check Them Out!

Christie's Next-Generation Digital ProjectorsChristie, the global leader in digital

cinema projection technologies,

debuted its next-generation digital

cinema solutions, the Christie Solaria

series, at ShowEast with the launch of

the Christie CP2220 digital cinema

projector. Recognized as 'the future

of digital cinema,' the projector

features Texas Instruments' next

generation DLP Cinema technology

and an optional integrated 2K/4K

media block.

The next-generation 4K digital

cinema projectors will display 4096 x

2160 pixels of resolution. While

maintaining support for 2K external

servers, these new models allow

exhibitors to easily project 2K or 4K

content, giving them the widest

choice in digital cinema options.

The Christie CP2220 is the first in the

new series of digital cinema projectors

that also includes the Christie CP2210

and the Christie CP2230. The Christie

CP4220 and the Christie CP4230, also

introduced in June, are the

Company's premium 4K projectors

and among the brightest in the world

- like the 2230, the 4230 is capable of

delivering over 30,000 lumens on the

largest screens and delivers

breathtaking 3D images. All next-

generation Christie digital cinema

projectors continue to utilize Christie

Brilliant3D™ technology, providing

the ultimate 3D experience with the

lowest cost of operation.

"Christie is committed to supporting

its customers today and in the future.

That's the primary driver behind our

2K and 4K-ready solutions," remarked

Craig Sholder, vice-president,

Entertainment Solutions at Christie.

"We've expanded our line-up of

industry-preferred digital cinema

solutions to provide the most

flexibility for exhibitors - offering

them the ultimate freedom to choose

from the widest range of 2K or 4K

resolution projectors, as well as

providing them with the choice of

either an external or integrated

media block. Unlike other proprietary

solutions, Christie technology is

designed to work with all external

cinema servers and will continue to

work with companies that offer

integrated media blocks. We

understand how important it is for

exhibitors to safeguard their long-

term technology investment. With

Christie, exhibitors are assured they

have a future-proof solution that can

meet their needs both today and

tomorrow."

"Christie's experience with the 1.2-

inch DLP Cinema Chip on our current

mid and high power products has

given us an advantage over the

competition on developing next

generation 2K and 4K technology. In

fact, the 4K DLP Cinema Chip is very

similar to the current 1.2-inch

products and not available in the

smaller chip format used by other

manufacturers in their mid power

projectors," noted Brian Claypool,

senior product manger,

Entertainment Solutions for Christie.

All the projectors in the Christie

Solaria series are designed to meet

Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI)

specifications. They feature a new

modular architecture for improved

serviceability and ease of

maintenance, with up to 25 per cent

lower cost of operation than

competing technologies.

Christie also presented at ShowEast,

the latest version of ChristieACT.

Designed to provide true integration

of theatre operations, ChristieACT

features pre-programmable

sequencing, built-in device libraries

and web-based integration. With

ChristieACT, exhibitors can now

control entire booth operations from

the palm of their hand.

January-March 2010 TW-17

Sony Unveils Next Generation 4K DigitalProjectors

Sony has

unveiling a new

4K digital cinema

projection system

that is built on its

proven

technology in use

by exhibitors

while offering

new

enhancements in

performance and

functionality.

Sony's newest

system features

the SRX-R320 4K

SXRD projector and LMT-300 Media

Block. It incorporates similar

features and design elements of its

predecessor - the widely

implemented SRX-R220 system.

However, the new system measures

approximately half the size and

weight to give exhibitors more

installation options.

"Since we introduced our first 4K

projection system five years ago,

Sony has advanced the technology

to meet the continually evolving

requirements for digital

exhibition," said Gary Johns, vice-

president of Sony Electronics'

Digital Cinema Systems Division.

"This newest version continues that

tradition and illustrates why

exhibitors of all sizes are making

Sony 4K technology their

projection choice. With extremely

high resolution, outstanding

security, and operational versatility,

this new system is ideal for creating

an immersive digital cinema

experience - in 2D or 3D - on any

screen."

The new system incorporates the

ultra-high 4096 x 2160 resolution of

its successful SXRD counterparts and

delivers a high contrast ratio of

more than 2000:1, ideal for

applications in which dynamic range

is essential. It is designed to be

compatible with the same lamps and

lenses used for the R220 model.

The system is FIPS

140-2 compliant

and its secure

enclosure design

allows the LMT-300

server to be

seamlessly

integrated into the

projector's chassis,

providing a high

level of security

that meets the

SPB-2 anti-tamper

regulations

stipulated by the

Digital Cinema

Initiatives (DCI). The projector also

produces superb images that are

compliant to DCI requirements for

image parameters such as color

fidelity, white point and contrast.

A choice of six optional automated

zoom/focus lenses and selectable 4.2

kW, 3.0 kW, and 2.0 kW Xenon

projector lamps allows for screen

coverage of up to 20 meters (65

feet) - providing a SMPTE-standard

brightness level of 14 ft-L on a wide

screen. Using an optional

anamorphic lens (LKRL-A001),

screen coverage can be extended up

to 21.4 meters (70 feet).

Using Sony's 3D dual lens adaptor,

the SRX-R320 projector can deliver

crisp 3D images on screens up to 15

meters (50 feet side-masked) in

width at 4.5 ft-L brightness.

The lenses of the SRX-R320 have the

capacity to reproduce resolutions

higher than 4K, which is necessary

to project 4K content exactly at 4K

resolution. In addition, these lenses

are designed to minimize chromatic

aberrations.

The new system offers the optional

STM-100 Theater Management

System software suite that allows

theater staff to efficiently manage

multiple auditoriums from a central

PC connected to a theater's LAN.

The TMS technology can provide

efficient centralized management

for cinema complexes.

DatasatIntroduces16-ChannelAudio Processor

Datasat Digital Entertainment will

introduce in Asia, its recently

launched AP20, a 16-channel digital

audio processor, expanding product

range and market addressing

capability from the digital

entertainment company in a big

way. The product offers one of the

most impressive collection of

features all packaged together, in

addition to featuring Dirac Live

room optimization technology.

Engineered to deliver precise

reproduction of both analog and

digital sources, the AP20's 16

channels leverage the power of six

Analog Devices 400mHz DSPs.

Key product features include 16

channels digital out / 16 channels

digital in; 16 channels analog out / 8

channels analog in; individual

channel and global delays; 3rd

octave and parametric EQ; Dirac Live

Room Optimization; and three

expansion slots for future

development.

An optional plug-in card is also

available for legacy 'A' chain film

support. The card supports two

projectors, A-type and SR-type noise

reduction and matrix decoding all

accomplished in the digital domain

for maximum flexibility and sound

quality.

"The company's vast experience in

conventional analog sound systems

combined with state-of-the art

digital signal processing technology

has resulted in our latest product,

the AP20 Audio Processor," Jason

Vreeman, Vice-President of Sales,

Datasat Digital Entertainment,

stated. "The box is designed to

provide maximum flexibility in a

single, cost-effective package."


NEC Announces Three New Digital Cinema ProjectorsNEC Display Solutions of America

announced three new digital cinema

projectors, providing three brightness

level options to match screen sizes up

to 105 feet wide. These affordable

models build on NEC's strength and

reliability in digital cinema, and give

more options to theatre owners

looking to upgrade cinema projector

capabilities to digital.

Showcased at ShowEast 2009 in

Orlando, the Digital Cinema Projector

Series models meet the DCI

requirements, and help exhibitors

capitalize on current opportunities, as

well as position themselves for future

growth. The new, optional NEC

internal MediaBlock and discreet NEC

Local Storage Server provide a

complete and compelling industry

solution for showing digital movies

and deliver many benefits.

The MediaBlock can be built into the

projector as another integrated option

available to exhibitors. NEC simplifies

the connection and delivers control of

the MediaBlock from the projector. A

cinema ad can be directly integrated

into the NEC MediaBlock/Server

solution.

In addition, NEC offers easy

maintenance to minimize downtime

through a single maintenance window

for both projectors and the

MediaBlock/Local Storage Server. The

solution is able to self-diagnose for

easy, timely trouble-shooting. NEC also

has created higher strict security and

eliminated any potential trouble

caused by the interface between the

projector and existing screen server

(sub-titles/communication problem).

Alternatively, the Digital Cinema

Projector Series works with existing

cinema servers via a legacy board.

"As exhibitors upgrade to digital

cinema, they demand high brightness

and great customer care. With NEC's

24/7/365 support, these models really

meet their needs," said Jim Reisteter,

General Manager, Digital Cinema

Division, NEC Display Solutions. "NEC

gives theater owners everything they

require to complete their digital

cinema installations - from financing

to model variety. These new NEC

projectors stand apart from their

competitors for their reliability,

elegance and ease-of-use, and

together offer the flexibility needed to

suit all screen sizes."

The new projectors include the

NC1200C at 9,000 lumens of brightness

for screen sizes of up to 46 feet wide,

the NC2000C at 17,000 lumens for

screens up to 65 feet wide, and the

ultra-bright NC3200S at 31,000 lumens

for screens up to 105 feet wide. The

advanced DLP Cinema® light engine

provides contrast ratios up to 2200:1,

which enable better reproduction of

detail in dark scenes.

Sophisticated dual-airflow design

minimizes dust, and segregates the

bulb from other internal components

for better long-term serviceability and

reliability. NEC is the only projector

manufacturer to provide this state-of-

the-art dual-airflow design for

protection from dust and oil

contaminants. The lamp-cooling

airflow is separated from the chassis-

cooling air flow, which prevents

drawing in dust and oil from enclosure

panel gaps. Only the lamp has a

blower fan.

In addition, all three models are

engineered for long-term use, with

simplified lamp and parts replacement.

These NEC projectors include new

Texas Instruments Series 2 electronics

and are designed for easy

maintenance to minimize downtime,

including quicker replacement of parts

experiencing trouble, and easy, timely

trouble-shooting by self-diagnosis.

The projectors are highly reliable,

performing admirably in harsh

operating environments found in

projector booths/rooms/theatres.

Moreover, operator convenience is

enhanced and improved with the new

NEC digital cinema projectors. A new

cosmetic design, fresh keypad layout,

and new user software design mean

fast set-up and simple fine-tuning,

making it easy for any projectionist to

operate. A soft-edged cabinet design

and brilliant colours enhance the

overall operation of the models.

The features translate into a number

of exhibitor benefits, including lower

overall maintenance costs, reduced

filter usage, and lower consumable

and operating costs.

Combining advanced DLP Cinema

projectors with reliable multiplex and

screen servers, NEC's Digital Cinema

Projector Series offers the most

comprehensive digital cinema solution

on the market today. These models

enable theaters to deliver stunning

digital images regardless of screen size,

while simplifying theater management

and reducing costs.

"These new digital cinema projectors

are part of a complete family of

offerings addressing every need that

will include 4K technology in the

future," Reisteter said.

The NC1200C, NC2000C and NC3200S

will be available in early 2010.

Joining QSC Audio's DCS Digital

Cinema Speaker family, the new SB-

15121 subwoofer offers the highest

performance available in a

dedicated cinema subwoofer

enclosure. It has been designed for

use in premiere cinemas and post-

production applications where the

ultimate in performance is required.

The massive 1500W, 21-inch low-

frequency transducer features a six-

inch diameter voice coil in a vented,

neodymium magnet structure that is

designed to dissipate extreme

Highest OutputSubwoofer fromQSC


JBL's Next Generation D-Cinema Speakers

Continuing to provide cinema

exhibition venues and post-

production facilities with

unprecedented audio performance

and advanced technology, JBL is

introducing the second generation

of its award-winning ScreenArray

digital cinema loudspeakers.

These next generation ScreenArray

systems feature the new large-

format three-inch neodymium,

titanium diaphragm, high-

frequency compression driver for

ultra high performance. This new

high-frequency driver is coupled

with the new patented high-

frequency horn featuring Screen

Spreading Compensation to correct

for high-frequency dispersion

through perforated screens.

The new low-frequency sections

feature the patented Differential

Drive, Direct Cooled, 15-inch

woofers for improved power

handling and reduced distortion. All

of the new ScreenArray series

models have new Optimized

Aperture waveguides for ultra low

distortion and extremely uniform

frequency response. Each system has

improved, patented, crossover

design using the most advanced

computer modeling.

The next generation of ScreenArray

speakers consists of the 4732, 3732

and 3731 3-way systems (available in

both triamplified and biamplified

versions) and the 4722 and 3722 2-

way speakers (available as both bi-

amplified and fully passive systems).

"The new ScreenArray loudspeaker

models build on the success of their

revolutionary predecessors, while at

the same time truly representing the

next generation in cinema

loudspeaker technology," said

Chuck Goodsell, Director of Cinema

Marketing, JBL Professional. "With

these new models, the bar has been

effectively raised for sound quality

in the most state-of-the-art theaters

around the world."

The new JBL ScreenArray series features five digital cinema loudspeaker models.

amounts of heat and allow for

excursion that is double that of

typical 18-inch transducers. This

ensures cool operation, even at high

power levels, increases driver

lifespan and decreases power

compression at high drive levels.

The large, ported enclosure ensures

response to the lowest audible

frequency for bass cannot only be

heard but also feel. In fact the

frequency range extends to below

25Hz without the need for B6 EQ

filters.

States Barry Ferrell, QSC senior

director, Cinema Solutions, "The SB-

15121 is a unique product with no

direct competitive equivalent. It

was designed with the most

advanced measurement tools

available to produce a rugged and

nearly unbreakable transducer that

is also capable of incredibly low

distortion. Strength and finesse are

combined in a truly state of the art

component.

"As a result, premium cinemas can

offer increased subwoofer

performance to go along with

enhanced seating and upscale

concession items - and achieve a

distinctive level of performance

compared to their competitors."

The enclosure is constructed of high

quality, heavily braced MDF panels,

while large, fully radiused ports

ensure smooth airflow, especially at

higher drive levels - thus preventing

potentially audible port turbulence

noise. Both internal and external

port openings are flared.

With symmetrical port loading, the

bass ports are evenly spaced around

the transducer, making internal

pressure more uniform across the

back surface of the woofer. This

prevents the cone from being

displaced to one side or another by

unbalanced air pressure, reducing

the chance of driving the voice coil

out of the centre of the gap at high

drive levels.

Also optionally available with the

system are QSC's DCP, DCM and SF-3

signal processors.


QSC's 4-way, Flyable Speakers for Large, Dome Cinemas

QSC Audio announced the new

purpose-designed DCS SC-424-8F

flyable, four-way, tri-amplified

speaker system for Dome and Large

Format cinemas that require

suspended mounting of screen

channels, or point source surround

channels. Making another

significant breakthrough in the D-

Cinema market, the DCS SC-424-8F

joins QSC Audio's popular cinema

product lines and follows the success

of their award-winning DCP 300

Digital Cinema Processor.

Both the Mid/High and LF enclosures

are built with common dimensions to

facilitate easy installation in vertical

or horizontal arrays and are

constructed of heavily braced, 15mm

concert tour-grade plywood. In

addition, 16 M10 attachment points-

per-enclosure are provided for safe

and easy suspension. The DCS SC-

424-8F also features a unique coax

HF/VHF diaphragm, which has less

mass than traditional diaphragms,

resulting in exceptional dynamic

range, extended high frequency

response and lower distortion.

"This system has been developed

specifically for the unique

requirements of Multi-Purpose, Large

Format and Dome motion picture

playback," states Francois Godfrey,

QSC Director of Sales, Cinema. "The

two main units comprise the MHV-

1090F mid-high / very-high-

frequency system, and the LF-4215-

8F low-frequency system aimed

purposely at applications where a

point-source surround channel or

screen channel must be suspended or

flown rather than mounted on a

platform or floor."

The MHV-1090F mid-high / very-

high-frequency system features a

high output, horn loaded 10"

midrange cone driver and a coaxial

neodymium high-frequency / very

high-frequency compression driver.

The MHV-1090F includes a driver

protection network and a passive

crossover for tri-amp operation. A

high power 10" cone driver allows

operation as low as 250

Hz and up to 1800 Hz to

ensure that most of the

dialogue range is

reproduced by a single

element, for unmatched

intelligibility.

The coaxial neodymium

high-frequency / very-

high-frequency

compression driver

provides a dramatic

improvement in

dynamic response, clarity and

transparency, while the annular

diaphragms eliminate the break-up

of conventional dome drivers that

cause a harsh, metallic sound.

The LF-4215-8F dual 15(381 mm)

low-frequency enclosure is designed

for safe and easy suspension via M10

fly points. The heavily braced, tour

grade construction cabinet provides

great strength while keeping weight

to a minimum. The SC-424-8F is

designed for ease of installation. The

MHV-1090F and LF-4215-8F

components come pre-assembled to

reduce field assembly time, and both

enclosures have the same dimensions

to allow stacked or side-by-side

arrays. Each enclosure is fitted with

16 x M10 fly points for safe and

secure suspension via installer-

provided mounting hardware.

Also available is the companion DCS

SC-424-8 system, which provides

identical acoustical performance in a

standard, non-suspended version.

Outboard digital processing, such as

the QSC DCP 300, DCM 30D or Basis is

required to provide the active

crossover between the low, mid, and

high-very high frequency drivers.

Separate amplifiers are required for

the low, mid and high-very high

frequency channels. The QSC DCA

1644 4-channel amplifier is the ideal

choice for the SC-424-8F. Channels 1

and 2 in bridge mode deliver over

800w to the LF enclosure and

channels 3 and 4 provide 250w to

each of the highly efficient Mid and

High frequency horns.

QSC provides a full range of

complementary loudspeaker

products to meet all of your Large

Format cinema speaker needs. From

18 and 21 subwoofers for

earthshaking bass to the smallest

ceiling speakers for your lobby PA,

QSC is the one place to go for

loudspeakers, amplifiers, DSP and

network remote control. One brand,

one call - it couldn't be easier to get

great sound.


Barco, Cinedigm to 'Deliver Digital' Programmepartners. We look forward to bringing

more circuits into the Cinedigm/Barco

family."

Barco clearly understands that theatre

owners have to make tough decisions

in this new digital environment. Once

they've elected to go digital, Barco

can make those plans a reality:

• Through flexible financing, theatre

owners can structure deals to

deploy their entire digital cinema

platform to fit their financial

strategies. For qualified theatre

chains, financing can be made

available with zero percent down.

• Through valued partnerships with

Doremi, GDC and Dolby, the

solution providers take the

guesswork out of the exhibitor's

key technology decisions.

The focus will be on reliability and

cost-of-ownership.

Barco, Doremi Unveil 2K/4K Media BlockDigital cinema pioneer Barco and

server technology leader Doremi have

made yet another industry first - an

integrated 2K/4K media block

designed for Barco Series-II

projectors. Barco and Doremi

showcased this industry leading

technology on the show floor at

ShowEast.

In June of this year, Barco, Cinemark

and Doremi announced an exclusive

agreement for the delivery and

installation of over 3,000 projectors in

over 300 US theatres. This agreement

was the first-ever to include Texas

Instruments' Enhanced DLP Cinema 4K

technology and Doremi's integrated

media block (IMB). Now, Barco and

Doremi are extending this advanced

technology to all exhibitors.

With the IMB installed in a Barco

Series-II 4K-ready projector along

with Doremi's external ShowVault,

Barco customers can now choose the

most future-proof digital projection

solution in the industry. If the

customer elects to project in 2K, the

integrated media block keeps content

secure by moving the digital video

decryption from outside of the

projector - to inside the projector.

When Texas Instruments' Enhanced

DLP Cinema 4K technology is made

available, if the customer elects to

project in 4K, the integrated media

block can deliver 4K with a simple

software upgrade.

"We are thrilled to continue our

technical development and

partnership with Barco, and to offer

the digital cinema industry the first-

ever 2K and 4K solution with an

integrated media block" said Michael

Archer, Vice President of Digital

Cinema at Doremi. "In addition to

providing the highest level of content

security, our IMB product offers a

future-proof configuration, based on

the system's ability to support both

2K and 4K resolutions."

The Barco/Doremi integrated 2K/4K

media block provides a total of 4096 x

2160 pixels of resolution, and requires

just one server rather than the four

synchronized HD video servers

needed until now. The solution offers

exhibitors the opportunity to utilize a

single server manufacturer across a

digital cinema multiplex, with the

ability to freely mix and match 2K

and 4K technology while maintaining

the same server hardware.

"Barco and Doremi have been

leading innovation and setting digital

cinema milestones for almost a

decade," said Todd Hoddick, Vice-

President of Digital Cinema for Barco,

North America. "By combining our

talents, we're taking a huge step

forward in the evolution of digital

cinema. Together, we are making

digital cinema simpler, more secure,

and more profitable for our

customers."

Barco and Cinedigm have come

together to announce 'Deliver Digital'

- a new programme geared towards

regional theatre circuits looking to

convert to digital. The Deliver Digital

program allows independent chains to

compete with national circuits, with

access to the same benefits, such as

preferred financing terms, VPFs, and

the highest quality images in the

industry.

"Barco already delivers the industry's

best technology, and now we've

created the fastest and simplest means

for our exhibition partners to convert

to digital," said Todd Hoddick, Vice-

President of Digital Cinema for Barco,

NA. "With this remarkable

programme, we're delivering on a

commitment to provide our customers

the solutions they need - technology,

financing and services. This, in turn,

enables them to focus on providing

their audiences with great viewing

experiences."

Not only is the Deliver Digital

programme a turnkey solution, it's

also simple, fast and confidential.

Barco expedites a 21-day turnaround

for qualifications, enabling

prospective exhibitors to know rapidly

if they qualify for funding and VPFs.

To optimize our exhibition partners'

conversion experience, Barco's

programme provides "quick strike"

financing, a full Digital Cinema

platform, and both installation and

warranty services. To facilitate VPFs

that will contribute towards the cost of

digital systems, Barco has partnered

with Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp., a

global leader in fulfilling the promise

of Digital Cinema.

"Cinedigm is committed to helping

theatre chains achieve their digital

strategies," said Chuck Goldwater,

President of Cinedigm's Media Services

Group. "We are very pleased to

expand our partnership with Barco,

and we feel that their turnkey Deliver

Digital program is a very important

and effective step for our exhibitor


NEC Selects intoPIX for DLP SystemsNEC Solutions, one of the three DLP

licensees to manufacture 2K and 4K

digital projections from Texas

Instruments, announced its choosing

of intoPIX, the leading JPEG 2000

solutions provider, to integrate the

latter's imaging technology into

their projection systems.

Based on intoPIX JPEG 2000 and AES

Core components, NEC Display

Solutions now offers the first

integrated Media Block for DLP

Cinema projector. Using this DCI-

compliant JPEG 2000 Mediablock into

the projector enclosure drastically

improves the security and reliability

of the system while reducing the

complexity of the installation and

the maintenance.

"We have selected intoPIX because

of their know-how in the JPEG 2000

compression technology field, their

smart single chip FPGA

implementation and their

integration support." commented

Atsushi Kuroda, General Manager of

NEC Display Solutions, Projector

Development Division. "This gives us

the opportunity to provide a fully

integrated Cinema projection

solution and therefore brings us a

competitive advantage in the Digital

Cinema deployment."

"I'm delighted to announce the

selection of intoPIX solutions by NEC

Display Solutions" added Jean

Francois Nivart, CEO of intoPIX. "Our

ability to provide NEC Display

Solutions with a strong and

complete solution was a key success

factor for this collaboration. Through

a seamless collaboration between the

technical teams of both companies,

we managed to incorporate the

advanced specifications of the NEC

projectors product line in the

customized solution. We are happy

to contribute to the excellence of

NEC Display Solutions Cinema

product line."

Frank Theatres Commits to Sony 4KFrank Theatres has decided to

convert its cinema exhibition

operations to Sony's 4K digital

cinema projection technology. The

exhibitor intends to complete the

rollout through the end of 2009,

covering a total of 231 screens.

"We're always open to exploring

new technology that can enhance

our customers' experience while

they are in our theatres," said Bruce

Frank, President and CEO of Frank

Theatres. "The Sony 4K projectors

are a perfect match for where we

want to take the future direction of

our circuit, delivering highest levels

of resolution, image quality and

flexibility for displaying motion

pictures or alternative content, in 2D

or 3D."

Frank Theatres operates 18 locations

across New Jersey, Pennsylvania,

Florida, South Carolina, North

Carolina, and West Virginia. Sony's

Digital Cinema Solutions and

Services Group will work with Frank

Theatres to provide installation and

complete integration services. The

circuit's adoption of Sony's 4K

projection systems is part of its

ongoing evaluation of state-of-the-

art technology throughout all its

theatres, from the auditoriums to

lobbies to concession stands.

In addition, 50 of the 231 screens are

planned to be outfitted for 3D using

a combination of Sony's 3D dual

lens adaptor with RealD's 3D

technology.

"Frank Theatres is a perfect example

of a modern exhibitor taking the

right steps to equip its operations

for the future," said Mike Fidler,

senior vice-president of Sony's

Digital Cinema Solutions and

Services Group. "We're excited to be

working with them as they begin

their 4K digital conversion."

Kinepolis DeploysSmartJog CentralLibrary Solution

SmartJog, the French leader in

managed digital delivery workflows

worldwide, announced that

European exhibitor Kinepolis Group,

has selected SmartJog's Digital

Cinema Central Library Servers to use

in all of its 23 theatres. Kinepolis will

purchase and install the Digital

Cinema Central Library Servers which

are capable of storing large amount

of content as well as receiving Digital

Cinema Packages (DCPs) via satellite

and fiber.

"Kinepolis has been using the

SmartJog system for a few years now

to receive advertising content from

Médiavision, as well as cinema

trailers which are digitally sent via

the SmartJog network to our

Cinemas in France," says Bob Claeys,

Research and Development Director

for Kinepolis Group. "Since we are

actively rolling-out digital

equipment in all of our Cinemas in

France, Belgium and Spain, it was

essential for us to find a solution

capable of scalability in terms of

storage and digital delivery."

Claeys continues, "therefore, we

have opted for the SmartJog "all-in-

one" solution of high-end storage

and digital delivery solution. Since

it's already compatible with the

equipment in our cinemas such as

our Dolby servers, the SmartJog

Central Library allows us to store

content received in our multiplexes

without the need to add multiple

reception and storage equipment.

The flexibility of the SmartJog

solution also lets us manage the

delivery of our own promotional

content to all of our cinemas in

Europe seamlessly."

By the beginning of 2010, all of

Kinepolis Group Cinemas will be

equipped with the SmartJog 12 or 8

terabyte Central Library servers and

will benefit from SmartJog's fully

managed digital delivery service.

With this announcement, SmartJog is

proud to announce that it has now

connected 537 screens in Europe.


Larger Than Life... in 3DCinedigm Digital Cinema Corp.

announced that the Dave

Matthews Band, Ben Harper and

Relentless7, and Gogol Bordello

will perform in a 3D feature

movie, Larger Than Life ... in 3D,

on digital cinema screens

nationwide. The 3D movie will run

for one week only, from December

11-17, 2009.

Larger Than Life ... in 3D was

produced by Action 3D and AEG

Network Live and will be

distributed by Cinedigm, the

leading digital cinema company

that helps exhibitors transition

from film to digital cinema. Once

movie screens become digital,

they cease to be movie screens in

the traditional sense; they can

show entirely new forms of

content, from 3D movies and

concerts to live sports, children's

shows, operas, video games and

more. This past summer, for

example, the Michael Jackson

memorial service was shown on

digital screens throughout Los

Angeles.

Music concerts have become an

increasingly popular cinema

option. Cinedigm has delivered

concerts to digital screens dating

back to 2007, when the company

debuted an in-theater digital concert

series that presented the best

performances from the South by

Southwest Music Festival. In early

2008, Cinedigm delivered the Tom

Petty and the Heartbreakers

documentary, Runnin' Down a

Dream, to sold-out audiences,

followed by a one-night-only

concert from Grammy Award-

winning Christian rapper TobyMac in

May.

In June 2008, Cinedigm brought

John Mayer's Where the Light Is:

John Mayer Live in Los Angeles to

the big screen. Three Days Grace:

Live at the Palace 2008 performed on

digital cinema screens in August

2008. David Gilmour, the voice and

guitar of Pink Floyd, performed live

to 50,000 fans in Poland. Thousands

more thrilled to a repeat

performance on digital cinema

screens, delivered by Cinedigm.

Earlier this year, Cinedigm delivered

Fall Out Boy LIVE - Folie à Deux NYC

to LA Presented by Nokia to

approximately 80 theaters.

"Digital technology has dramatically

transformed the cinema experience,"

said Bud Mayo, Chairman and CEO

of Cinedigm. "The ability to see

Dave Matthews in 3D, on a big

screen at your local theater, for far

less than the cost of a concert

ticket is an exciting option for

music fans. This is the future of

modern cinema: movies, music,

sports ... the options are limitless."

The performances in Larger Than

Life ... in 3D were filmed at

critically acclaimed music festivals

this summer, including the Austin

City Limits Music Festival in Texas,

the Mile High Music Festival in

Colorado and at All Points West

Music & Arts Festival in New

Jersey. Cinedigm will also

distribute 3D concert events

including the Best of Lollapalooza

and the Best of Austin City Limits

in the first and second quarters of

2010.

The specific theatres showing

Larger Than Life ... in 3D as well

as future 3D concerts, will be

announced closer to each show's

opening date.

Hollywood Theaters' 4K Across-the-Circuit

Hollywood Theaters has decided to

install Sony Electronics' 4K digital

cinema technology across its circuit.

The Portland, Oregon-based

exhibitor will begin its digital

conversion by equipping 13 of its US

locations aggregating to 167 screens

with Sony projectors over the next

few months.

Sony's Digital Cinema Solutions and

Services group will work with

Hollywood Theaters on the

integration, installation,

maintenance and service support for

its 4K conversion, providing the

exhibitor with a complete turn-key

solution for converting to digital

technology.

"Sony's 4K technology gives our

patrons the opportunity to view

motion pictures as never before,

combining the highest levels of

resolution, contrast and image

quality to produce precise, life-like

images in vibrant colors," said Clyde

Cornell, chief operating officer for

Hollywood Theaters. "We are also

excited to be a part of Sony's DCSS

alternative content program and

plan to fully exploit their broad

range of media and entertainment

divisions such as sports, music, and

gaming to bring fresh, innovative

entertainment options to the big

screen and create new streams of

ancillary revenues for Hollywood

Theaters."

Sony 4K projectors claim to offer the

highest image resolution of all

commercial projection technologies,

producing 8.8 million pixels. 4K

technology provides image

resolution four times greater than 2K

projection systems and slightly more

than four times greater than

consumer high-definition televisions.

"Our 4K technology gives Hollywood

Theaters the most reliable and


Premium RealD 3D Eyewear from Look3DLook3D, a leading 3D vision

company, and RealD, the world's

leading 3D cinema technology

company, announced that they have

reached a licensing agreement for

Look3D to design, manufacture and

distribute RealD 3D certified

premium eyewear. Look3D eyewear

will offer the same crisp, clear RealD

3D experience as eyewear currently

distributed at RealD equipped

theatres and will be compatible with

all RealD theatres worldwide.

"Moviegoers will be able to pick from

a full line-up of premium RealD 3D

glasses in cool designs with shapes

and styles that hug the face like

regular glasses," said Rhett Adam,

director of Look3D. "3D movies are

booming and we're excited for the

millions of fans of RealD 3D around

the world to experience the next film

in Look3D style."

"Moviegoers are flocking to theatres

in record numbers to experience

RealD 3D movies and now they'll be

able to have their own pair of

premium RealD 3D glasses in a style

that's all their own," said Joseph

Peixoto, RealD president of

worldwide cinema.

"Like people having a pair of

sunglasses, movie fans will have a

pair of RealD 3D glasses personalized

in style and fit, and certified by

RealD to assure a fantastic movie

experience. We look forward to

additional announcements about the

introduction of designer 3D glasses

from top fashion brands and

prescription RealD 3D eyewear in the

near future."

flexible foundation for ultimately

converting its entire operations to

digital projection technology," said

Mike Fidler, Senior Vice-President of

Sony Electronics' Digital Cinema

Solutions and Services group. "It

elevates the cinematic experience for

their consumers, offering movie-

goers a much more dynamic,

engaging and immersive

entertainment experience. The

opportunity for alternative content

not only presents potential new

business; it also allows them to

provide exciting additional

programming that perfectly

complements their current

offerings."

100 RealD 3D Screens: Hollywood

Theaters has also partnered with

RealD to equip a minimum of 100

screens across the country and

overseas with RealD 3D technology.

The rollout, which has already

begun, will see 64 RealD 3D

installations by mid-December, and

the additional RealD 3D screens will

be added in early 2010.

"Moviegoers are seeking out the

premium, fully immersive 3D

experience only available with

Look3D will create multiple RealD

compatible eyewear collections for

adults and children, including a

premium collection of glasses of the

highest quality with styles matching

today's most popular eyewear

designs. Look3D will also offer a

themed collection of glasses with

colors, shapes and other design

elements matching a variety of

upcoming 3D major motion picture

releases.

Look3D RealD eyewear will be

available for purchase beginning in

December with sales through

Look3D, at movie theatres and

online retail sites. Check out

Look3D's website at

www.look3d.com for a sneak peak of

what is to come in 2010.

RealD's digital 3D technology," said

Joseph Peixoto, president of

worldwide cinema for RealD. "It's

exciting to partner with Hollywood

Theaters on this large number of

screens so their nationwide audience

can experience 'Avatar' and other

upcoming releases in crystal clear

RealD 3D."


Even as the digital cinema and its advocates continue to be on their high, buoyed by the

undeterred deployment programmes by the exhibitors, there has begun a counter

development to quickly gain the vast expanses of the global cinematic ground that the digital

domain has apparently been "inadequate" to cover, even in three-dimensional format. The

hoopla of 3D movie excitement made a déjà vu- harping back onto the film medium. Yes, the

industry, led by the film majors, is now, suddenly, talking about filmy 3D. An entertaining

filmy story is in the making. Read on.

Who said film will be extinct very soon

from the cinema medium? Who

prophesied film will confine itself only

to the archives of cinematic history?

History is actually being sought to be

made with the global filmy majors

coming together to 'reinvent' what

they had redefined the cinema

entertainment with, a few decades

ago. Three-D on film!

Thomson, through its Technicolor

Business Group, has aligned

with entertainment industry

leaders Deluxe Entertainment

Services Group, Eastman

Kodak Company, and Fujifilm

to provide financial assistance

to exhibitors seeking an

immediate 3D solution. The

four film majors have, in fact,

created a Silver Screen Fund

towards funding the

exhibitors worldwide for

deploying 3D film projection

systems. The Silver Screen

Fund defers costs associated

with the purchase and

installation of silver screens by

providing financial assistance

to exhibitors who deploy the

Technicolor 3D solution. The

fund will be managed by

Technicolor, which last week

announced broad studio

support for the Technicolor 3D

solution.

The Silver Screen Fund will finance

up to 500 silver screens to be

installed at theatres in the United

States, Canada and the United

Kingdom. Funding is available

immediately for qualified exhibitors.

When exhibitors complete the terms

of the Silver Screen Fund agreement,

they will own the silver screen, a

necessary component for future

digital 3D projection.

"Technicolor is committed to

delivering high-quality, affordable

3D solutions, and the creation of the

Silver Screen Fund accelerates our

promise to our exhibition partners

by helping them defer upfront costs

associated with the purchase and

installation of silver screens," said

Lanny Raimondo, head of

Technicolor. "Thanks to

overwhelming studio and industry

support, we expect to sign up these

first 500 screens in the

coming weeks, keeping us on

track to reach our target of

more than 1,000 Technicolor

3D screens by mid-2010."

(Read a separate story in TW

Technology: 'Technicolor' 3D

on Film!)

"Deluxe is proud to have a

long history of supporting

our customers by providing

whatever format they choose

for their content. This

technology bridge for 3D

exhibition is a cost effective

way to help our customers

maximize their theatrical

release schedules," said Cyril

Drabinsky, President and CEO

of Deluxe.

"Right now, there are not

enough 3D screens to

accommodate major releases

and the screen shortage

It's 3D'Film,' Again!



TECHNOLOGY


'Technicolor' 3D on Film!Back in September

when Technicolor

announced that they

would be offering a

film-based 3D system

there were a lot of

skeptics over whether

such a system would

offer moviegoers the

same quality

presentation that

digital 3D affords.

Many industry insiders complained

that such a solution would only

drag out the rollout of digital

cinema in the marketplace. As

digital cinema ate into the motion

picture lab's profits it was felt that

Technicolor was grasping at straws.

Appearing on a panel at the 3D

Entertainment Summit that month,

Ahmad Ouri, Technicolor's Head of

Strategy, Technology & Marketing,

looked well equipped to field

queries from a probing audience.

On the immediate outing at the

ShowEast 2009 in Orlando, Florida,

the film major sought to

consolidate what it was advocating

for: a 3D presentation on film! In

an effort to quiet the skeptics and

explain the reasoning behind

offering a film-based 3D system,

Technicolor demonstrated the

technology for exhibitors at the

cinema convention. Joe Berchtold,

Technicolor's Head of Creative

Services, addressed the crowd that

had gathered to see footage from

"The Final Destination," and

answer any questions exhibitors

might have. J. Sperling Reich

tries to find what is on the anvil, if

not the film spool as it is:

TW - What was the reason

Technicolor put this solution

together? Don't you think it

will delay digital cinema?

JB - There aren't enough digital 3D

screens right now. From

Technicolor's standpoint, we want

to help solve that for a period of

time until digital happens. Digital

is going to happen for a variety of

Joe BerchtoldHead of Creative Services,

Technicolor

reasons but we think in the

interim we can't maximize the

real estate that we have

because the rollout is not

moving as fast as a lot of

people expected.

TW - How can your

Technicolor's film-based

system help an exhibitor?

JB - Audiences like 3D. They

like 3D movies. Attendance is

probably twice or more for a 3D screen

versus a 2D screen which means your

box office collections are closer to

three times with a 3D screen than a 2D

screen. Money is effectively being left

on the table by a market that hasn't

been able to come up with an ability

to get the number of 3D screens out

there that we'd like to have for a lot of

movies. Right now, we're at about

7,000 digital screens in North America

and 3,000 of those are 3D screens. A

major Hollywood movie can easily

open on two to three times that

number of screens. The fact that we

have that limit the release means

there's a lot being put on 2D film. To

be very clear what we are suggesting

here is not 3D on film as an alternative

to going out and replacing digital.

What we are suggesting is as long as

you're putting this on film, couldn't it

be 3D film, not 2D film? In our mind if

it can be a high quality customer

experience, we believe the answer to

that is yes.

TW - Why wait until now to release

such a product?

JB - The reality is next year even more

than this year, the number of 3D

movies will continue to grow,

seventeen plus already confirmed and

a number of studios working to

convert 2D films to 3D films that

haven't yet been announced. We

expect this number will only go up.

What we're going to see more of, I

believe, is what we've seen already a

few times this year wherein you've got

multiple 3D movies out at the same

time and you don't have enough

screens. When you have to spend

$100,000 for the digital system for

every incremental screen you are

having to make tradeoffs between

which movies you are showing and

pulling things faster than you'd like.

TW - What about the notion that

Technicolor's system will delay

the rollout of digital cinema?

JB - The reality is because of the

current economic environment

digital rollout continues to take time.

I've certainly been predicting for

almost ten years now how long it's

going to take for digital. I was wrong

every year. With the current market

conditions, it continues to be very

difficult. Financing probably will

happen for some of the major

circuits that have strong connections

on Wall Street and elsewhere. My

guess is that most circuits don't have

that clear of a view as to how in the

near term somebody else is going to

give them $100,000 per screen to go

and convert. My guess is that most

people also don't have that kind of

money readily available to be

putting in all these screens. You may

be able to rationalize an investment

in a larger complex in some of your

larger towns but that leaves a large

part of every main street of every

town around the country that has a

harder time justifying the investment

of a $100,000 to put in a digital

system. So what are they going to

do? Our suggestion is that for an

interim period, the film 3D offers a

very high quality comparable

solution without requiring that up

front investment in digital.

TW - What would you say to

those who feel digital 3D offers

a superior viewing experience to

3D on film?

JB - We clearly don't suggest in any

way, shape or form that the quality of

the customer be compromised. We

recognize that it is of paramount

importance to maintain the integrity

of 3D and the enthusiasm of the

customers that come. Frankly, from a

Technicolor standpoint, we're not

going to put our brand on something

that we don't have the highest

TECHNOLOGY


Oculus3D: The New EntrantOn the ShowEast technology

forum, even as Technicolor was

consciously parrying queries about

any competing film 3D solution

providers, a new entrant was

making its way rather quietly, but

convincingly. However, it did create

the required buzz as the whole

debate turned explorative about

the ‘emerging opportunities.’

Oculus3D’s system relies on linear

polarization and a special lens

attachment – the OcculR – which,

unlike Technicolor’s system, is

simply attached to the existing

projector lens. Rather than using

an over/under format, Oculus3D places

the images side-by-side on standard 35-

mm film stock, which the company says

produces a high quality, and brighter

image.

The company does not plan on leasing

the equipment or charging a per ticket

fee. Instead, it will sell the system to

exhibitors outright at a price point.

This will allow the theatre owner to

outfit numerous auditoriums, says the

company.

The technology which is claimed to

make the company’s system workable

was developed by Lenny Lipton, the

inventor of the ZScreen, which

presently drives RealD’s digital 3D

system, as well as Academy Award

and Emmy winner Al Mayer, Jr.,

who spent as many as 26 years

designing Panavision’s motion

picture cameras.

As part of its efforts to push its

systems, and more importantly, the

concept as such, Oculus3D is

planning demonstrations of their

system in Los Angeles towards the

end of 2009.

It is to be seen, how this film will

roll on 3D!

confidence is going to deliver a very

high quality experience. The input

that we've gotten from audiences is

that the quality of this image is

consistent with the quality of digital

3D. We ran 'The Final Destination' at

the AMC in Burbank with the help

of our friends at Warner Bros. for

two weeks when it opened back in

August. The AMC in Burbank is a

high grossing, high profile theatre.

We ran it in both film 3D and digital 3D

simultaneously in auditoriums right

next to each other. We did exit polling.

Three hundred people saw it on film,

three hundred people saw it in digital.

We got the exact same results. Quality

of image, quality of 3D and overall

viewing experience-absolutely no

difference! Again, there are lots of

reasons to have digital beyond this, but

in terms of what the customer

experience has been as articulated

by the customer is fully consistent

with digital 3D. Very important as

well, there was not a single issue

raised by customers who saw it on

film at the AMC. No issues from an

operational perspective from an

exhibition perspective in terms of

audiences having any issues with

what they saw relative to what they

expected to see.

becomes compounded when you

consider issues of overlapping 3D

releases," said Kim Snyder, President,

Entertainment Imaging, and Vice

President, Eastman Kodak Company.

"The industry desperately needs

additional screens to satisfy demands

by studios and movie fans, who

consistently vote for 3D with their

box-office dollar. The Silver Screen

Fund levels the playing field so all

exhibitors can realize the benefits of

3D presentations."

"With the Digital 3D roll-out slowed

significantly by the economy, and

because of the prohibitive cost

associated with digital cinema

conversion, we believe Technicolor's

film-based 3D innovation is the right

solution," said Graeme Parcher, Group

Vice President, FUJIFILM North

American Motion Picture Group. "We

are excited to partner with our industry

colleagues to introduce this significant

advance in film 3D technology."

Production-to-ProjectionSolution

The Technicolor 3D Solution employs a

propriety 'production-to-projection'

system that leverages 35mm (i.e. film-

based) projectors already in use by the

majority of U.S. and international

theatres today to deliver high-quality

3D content to moviegoers. A patent-

pending lens system assembles the left

and right eye images as the film runs

through the projector and delivers a 3D

ready image onto a silver screen. The

solution works with circular polarized

glasses-identical to the ones used for

existing digital 3D cinema-to 'translate'

the film's content into an image that is

perceived by the viewer as being three

dimensional. The silver screen can be

used for the projection of both

Technicolor 3D as well as digital 3D

content. The Technicolor 3D Solution

can be installed nearly immediately. No

build-out or significant modifications of

the projection booth are required.

Hollywood Majors PledgeSupport

Interestingly, even as they continue to

release their movies in digital and 3D

digital media, the major Hollywood

studios have pledged support to the

Technicolor filmy 3D solution.

DreamWorks Animation, Lionsgate,

Paramount, Overture, Universal Pictures,

Warner Bros., and The Weinstein

Company are working with Technicolor

to deliver content for presentation in

Technicolor 3D. What's more, as many as

17 3D titles have already been

announced for 2010 outing, while more

of them expected from several

distributors simultaneously. The studios

noted above account for the majority of

these titles, including How to Train Your

Dragon, Piranha 3D, Shrek Forever

After, Despicable Me, Cats & Dogs: The

Revenge of Kitty Galore, Friday the

13th: Part 2; Guardians of Ga'Hoole,

Alpha and Omega, Burst, Oobermind,

and Yogi Bear.

(TW thanks J Sperling Reich for his assistence. He can be reached at [email protected])

TECHNOLOGY


Thanks to the onset of technology and digital sophistication, you have seen selling or buying

tickets through SMS, online, kiosks, or PDAs. However, have you ever wondered selling or

buying movie tickets like an air ticket? Movie ticketing is going places, now in the style of an

airline ticketing. Here is how it is (sought to be done)!

Movie ticketing, an important

component of cinema exhibition

business, has been part of its history

as much as the movie itself, and has

seen equal, if not more, number of

transitions since the beginning of the

entertainment format. Cinema

exhibitors and their patrons

worldwide had seen movie ticketing

evolving from the traditional, age-old

over-the-counter tickets to modern

day SMS and Kiosk-based tickets-

transitioning in between through

tele-ticketing, online ticketing and

waist-mounted or handheld PDA-

ticketing.

There have been sporadic

experiments like photographing and

printing the images of the patrons on

the tickets as a means to avoid grey-

market ticketing (a known practice in

some parts of India)! The other

significant and recent change has

been the method of what is called the

'flexi-pricing' themed around the age

of the patron or the timing of the

movie screening.

However, here is the latest take. Sell

movie tickets like an airline does.

ZhetaPricing, a software company

based out of the South American

nation Chile, hopes to change the

homogenous pricing model most

cinemas use. Its primary focus has

been on developing a technology to

help theatre owners maximize and

manage their revenue- by using

SellingMovie TicketsLike Airlines

methods that have been employed by

airlines and hotels.

ZhetaPricing's revenue management

solutions help optimize seating

capacity, or as they like to call it,

inventory availability. By predicting

demand for a given release the

software will allocate inventory across

a time span at different price points.

By responding to realtime sales

analytics the system balances the

availability of seats for VIP customers

while filling seats that would

otherwise go empty.

Most people familiar with air travel or

at least frequent stays in hotels will

have come across this type of price

differentiation while purchasing air

tickets or booking hotel

accommodation. When purchasing

tickets or booking accommodation

far in advance of a trip the cost is

significantly less than when one

shows up at the airport a few hours

before a flight or a hotel straight

away.

Introduced to international exhibitors

in October at the ShowEast

convention in Orlando,

ZhetaPricing apparently got people

buzzing and thinking about box

office ticket sales from a completely

different angle.

The idea of airline-like movie

ticketing is both fascinating and

intriguing. It was not like a strike of a

thought in a dream, it was rather out

of an experience.

"The idea was from one of my

former partners," discloses Tomás

Bercovich C., ZhetaPricing's CEO. "He

went one day to a cinema and there

were just four people in an

auditorium that had space for 200.

He realized that was not logical," he

explains. "There are high fixed costs

with negative marginal costs,

meaning if you give somebody a

ticket for a seat that otherwise would

have gone empty, probably that

person would buy something from

concessions."

It was a perfect scenario for revenue

management which, Berocvich says,

he learned through his industrial

engineering background. That he had

also worked at the revenue

management department at LAN - a

Chilean airline which is actually one

of the few profitable airlines around

the world - added up to his

assumptions, towards formulating to

a concept.

Enthused with the idea, Bercovich

formed ZhetaPricinig, in association

with two of his friends with similar

professional background. Came into

being roughly three years ago, the

company started working in the right

earnest and the first version of the ZP

Cinemas software was released about

a year-and-a-half ago. It followed up

with a second, latest version six

– J Sperling Reich

TECHNOLOGY


months ago, which is reportedly

finding good takers.

When asked how could he

substantiate about his finding takers,

the ZP chief points out to

Hoyts Cinemas and Cinemark in Chile

who have implemented revenue

management powered by

ZhetaPricing. "Our implementation

has helped them increase attendance,

revenue and profits from both ticket

and concession sales," claims

Bercovich. "It has raised customer

loyalty, increased frequency of

attendance and attracted new

customers. Also it has been a powerful

weapon to fight piracy because

instead of buying a cheap pirated

movie, people have been going to the

cinema for an affordable price."

According to him, moviegoers

worldwide - as they have been in in

Chile - will be very happy with

ZhetaPricing's system since they can

go to movies choosing which price to

pay instead of getting forced into

paying an arbitrary price. This way

each one pays what he/she can

afford. More people will be able to

go to the movies and people that

love attending will be able to go

even more!

Allaying concerns that the software

may not work with all the ERP systems

since different exhibition chains or

independent cinemas have different

ERP setups, ZP Cinemas CEO claims the

software as agnostic and user-friendly

too. To make it more easy, ZP

implements the software and trains

people at all company levels to focus

on revenue maximizing, consult for

marketing issues necessary for

introducing the system into a new

market and take care of maximizing

revenues from each show.

According to him, the main concern

exhibitors have is the support from

distributors. Towards addressing this

concern, he met most major

distributors too, and all of them are

said to have understood the logic

behind ZhetaPricing.

"Historical data plus mathematical

models that help predict customer

demand and optimally allocate

inventory to maximize revenues," says

the ZP Cinemas chief. "They saw our

results in the implementations we've

been running and are backing up

ZhetaPricing for future applications in

other countries," he says and adds,

"the main challenge now is to have

the will to increase attendance,

revenues and profits, and to contact

ZhetaPricing!"

Visibly excited about the response he

found from the ShowEast visitors to

ZP's demo, Bercovich is actively

contemplating taking his solution

beyond Chile.

"It was our first international test and

we're pretty confident we have a nice

opportunity ahead," he declares,

"we're planning to market our

solutions in countries like the US,

Mexico, Brazil and Argentina at this

stage."

It will surely take sometime before it

touches the European or the large

Asian shores. However, even before it

attempts to do so, the big question

on everyone's mind, however, is how

theatre owners can change the

purchasing behaviour of moviegoers

which has been enforced over a

lifetime.

(TW thanks J Sperling Reich for his

assistance. He can be reached at

[email protected])

Tomos Bercovich

Prediction for the day for the movie ‘Inglorious Bastards’

TECHNOLOGY


Technology makes many things. It's been bringing many things up since the new age cinema

was born- ticketing, seating, interior lighting, digital signage, and now 'designer-3D eyewear.'

The increasing popularity of digital and 3D cinema has brought forth many never-seen-before

concepts and products. The designer-3D eyewear is one such a thing. TW, always in chase of

cinematic happenings, this time presents a gadget that's a story in itself.

Digital cinema and 3D is all over the

place. Along with them, a new genre

of concepts and product solutions is

also coming to hog the cinematic

limelight. When RealD, the market

leading 3D technology provider

showed up with a handful of

announcements at ShowEast recently

about new deals and partnerships, one

was most 'eye-catching' than the

whole lot- not only from the 3D major

but also those from the others.

RealD struck a deal with a goggle

manufacturer Look3D to make

designer 3D eyewear for its

forthcoming 3D digital movie releases.

The Melbourne, Australia-based

eyewear manufacturer actually had a

suite set up at the convention to kick

off a new convention of designer 3D

glasses which in fact grabbed too

many eye balls. Not just because they

were giving away pairs of hip, aviator

style 3D glasses but also because they

had dozens of different style frames

on display and demonstrated them to

those who stopped by with the help

of a 3D television monitor.

It might be

intriguing to

many that what

the designer 3D

glasses are all

about. Simply

put they are the

new genre,

stylish and posh

eyewear in

incredibly

diverse models

but with 3D

content

watching

capability. More,

the units need

Look: Designer Eyewear in 3D!

not be disposed as is being done by

the industry currently- which means

they can be kept by their owner/users;

they can be used for both movie and

television content that is presented in

3D in cinemas and homes respectively.

Look3D has been manufacturing 3D

glasses for the last two-and-half years,

and has already made its place in the

market. "We've sold 100,000 units

already into Greater Union, which is

Australia's largest cinema chain and an

early adopter of digital cinema,"

discloses Rhett Adam, the company's

brand development director.

Adam, who had around five years of

professional background in the

manufacture of Polaroid eyewear,

jumped into manufacture of 3D

glasses for entertainment industry

looking at the exciting opportunities

in the field. "I thought every movie

was going to be 3D so my

expectations were a little higher," he

laughs it away, but hastens to add

"still with 4,500 cinemas prepped for

Avatar and growing it's an industry

with potential growth over the next

10 years."

Understandably for Adams, and his

Look3D, from two-and-a-half years

ago the outfit has worked swiftly to

ensure that they became market

leaders in 3D eyewear: first, by

being the first premium eyewear

company to be certified by RealD;

secondly, by part-purchasing

manufacturing plants in the Far East so

that the latter will help them expand

their 3D vision globally. They were

primarily making sunglasses and

Look3D converted them to making 3D

frames specifically. "There are some

technical elements that we wanted our

staff and workforce to be experts in

rather than them being a sunglass

factory trying to be a 3D glasses

factory we are a solely 3D glasses

factory," explains the Look3D director.

Having developed the critical space for

the specific business case, Look3D

claims now capable of manufacturing

glasses to brand a particular exhibitor.

According to Adam, they can develop

any product in

line with any

requirements

needed as long

as the users are

willing to work

within the

technical

specifications set

down by RealD.

Since the 3D

eyewear

manufacturing is

done under the

licence from

RealD, the US

major must

certify all the

Rhett Adam, Look3D's brand development director, first got theidea to start making designer 3D eyewear when he was workingas a brand manager and product development manager atPolaroid Eyewear. While travelling from Switzerland to Londonon a flight he happened to sit next to someone working in themotion picture industry who casually mentioned that many ofthe major movie releases were going to be in 3D. Adamimmediately wondered if his understanding of polarizationtechnology would be useful during such a transition. Uponreturning to Australia, he left Polaroid and started Look3Dcompany with partners Kris Lacey and Warwick Purves, whoalso run a successful interactive marketing firm.

– J Sperling Reich

TECHNOLOGY


Though the concept of designer

3D eyewear looks fascinating, it

does come with its own set of

challenges, if not concerns from

the exhibitor as well as the

moviewatcher's point of view. Here

is a tete-e-tete with the Look3D

chief, seeking to address them:

The designer 3D glasses arestylish, but they can't be wornas sun glasses…

It has been thrown about in

various media reports that 3D

glasses can be used as sun glasses

from an Australian standards point

of view which is the highest

eyewear standard set in the world.

Because of the opposing axis of

the lens material, most 3D glasses

models fail to meet current

Australian standards. Now, this may

vary in Europe and America but

the major reason why all 3D

sunglass frames will fail is that the

lens material is placed in opposing

axis rather than horizontally and

this can cause what is known as the

Pulfrich effect. The Pulfrich effect is

a psychophysical phenomenon

created where the lateral motion

of an object in the field of view is

interpreted by the visual cortex as

having a depth component, due to

a relative difference in signal

timings between the two eyes.

The widely accepted explanation

of the apparent depth is that a

reduction in retinal illumination

relative to the

fellow eye yields a

corresponding

delay in signal

transmission, which

causes

instantaneous

spatial disparity in

moving objects. This

seems to occur

because visual

system latencies are

generally shorter for

bright targets as

compared to dim

Looking Through the 3D Glassestargets. This motion with depth is the

visual system's solution to a moving

target when a difference in retinal

luminance, and hence a difference in

signal latencies, exists between the

two eyes. So for instance, it's unsafe

to drive with 3D glasses on because of

the movement involved.

Any example of a customer whohas had some success with theglasses?

Greater Union are currently offering

presale tickets for Avatar and what

they're offering is an initial buy-in

with presale tickets and owning your

own glasses. Presale tickets went on

sale three weeks ago and they've

already sold just under 10,000

glasses. That's $25 on top of the

ticket price.

How do exhibitors sell theglasses…

With Greater Union, we got display

stands at the box office; we also

have where they can touch feel, try

on, look in a mirror and see what

they look like. We also suggest

exhibitors put in 3D monitors in the

candy bar which show 3D content so

that when customers put on the

glasses they see the effect

immediately. We are placing the

product next to the candy on hand

sale bags so they can just be selected

and purchased at the candy cashier.

And there's the online presale ticket

portion of that as well.

Challenges before theexhibitors in selling theglasses…

I think the biggest challenge is

themselves in terms moving outside

their current model of selling candy

and being able to explore how to

integrate the sale of 3D glasses into

their programme. I always point

out to them it's not a cap, it's not a

t-shirt, it's not a mug that you're

selling, the 3D glasses are an

integrated piece of the story telling.

So I think it's going to be a much

easier sell. And also, once 3D TV

comes in, it will also be a hub

where you can see the latest 3D

glasses and can purchase to take

home and watch your 3D TV or

video game.

Traditional eyewearmanufacturers might get intothe designer 3D glassesbusiness…

I'm sure a lot of eyewear companies

are going to venture down this

programme. It is a unique

manufacturing technique which

most of them aren't set up for. I also

think some of the designer brands

won't be able to meet the price

point. They won't want to attach

their brands to the current price

point requirements. The last thing

you want to do is go to the movies

and pay for $26 worth of tickets,

you buy some candy and that's

another $20 and then you buy a

$100 pair of 3D

glasses. At the

moment I don't

think that's going to

work. The designer

companies aren't

going to reduce

their price point and

pull their brand

down, but when 3D

TV comes out and

you buy a $10,000

3D TV, sure they'll

probably sell a $100

frame.

TECHNOLOGY


glasses before Look3D is allowed to go

into mass production.

Capitalising on the initial success,

Adam and his Co. have also developed

what they call a movie collection

which is themed in line with next

year's top 3D movie releases. So, there

is a Toy Story movie frame which is

coloured similar to some of the toys

one would find in any kids room. They

have a Shrek pair too which has the

skin texture of Shrek.

"Potentially we're working on the

Friday the 13th mask which is a hockey

mask with the 3D lenses in the eyes so

the cinema goer can be drawn into

the film even further," informs Adam,

"We should have a prototype of that

in about 30 days."

Having got into the big league

through licence from RealD, Look3D is

also looking at the possibilities of

working with other 3D system solution

providers like MasterImage. However,

it wants to go a little cautious; it is

currently focused on RealD and

ensuring that they set a business

model. "We roll out a model with

RealD initially, and then later possibly

focus on the other manufacturers of

3D Systems," explains Adam. "Our

objective is to get something right first

and then grow rather than just grow."

According to him, there're a lot of

directions this product can go in.

Working with exhibitors and also the

studios in formulating a plan that

reaches out not only to the major

exhibition chains but also

independent exhibitors who want to

show a point of difference and create

a new revenue stream outside their

normal platform is going to take

significant time in perfecting before

they can look at other systems.

Obviously, RealD's licensing, and the

ability to manufacture themed 3D

glasses is one, finding the support of

the major studios that have the final,

or most influential, say in the

Hollywood-centric global cinema

industry is the other. Look3D looks

quite optimistic about finding

Hollywood's endorsement of its

product line. The studios believe that

they need to take a leading role for

two reasons, says the Look3D director.

The first being most of them have an

environmental impact programme

and they need to find solutions to

resolve the single-use lenses being

thrown away. Also, it makes

commercial sense for them to try and

pass on the current expense of

disposable glasses in the form of their

subsidies to exhibitors by having an

available option for consumers to

purchase 3D glasses.

Adam assumes that it is actually a

natural progression of where the

market is going. "Once people have

3D TV's in their home, no one will

want a disposable uncomfortable

pair," he asserts, "they'll want their

own personal, functional and

fashionable piece of Eyewear"

Though equipped with a global license

to promote their premium 3D eyewear

in every cinematic territory, Look3D is

initially rolling out the product in

countries it feels comfortable with- i.e.

Australia and North America. Their

showcasing at ShowEast did bring

them adequate interest from the South

American as well as the European

markets as well, and they are seriously

exploring the options.

So, here is a case of new

entertainment and business. Let the

exhibitors and their patrons 'look'

through the 3D and make the best out

of it.

(TW thanks J Sperling Reich for his

assistance. He can be reached at

[email protected])

TECHNOLOGY

While most cinemas worldwide have been trying to shrug off the recessive pressures, it is

rejuvenation time for some, may be as a means to beat recession. For The Majestic theatre in

Yakima, Washington - one of the oldest theatres in the US - it was one such occasion when the

grand old cinema refurbished its ambience with digital sophistication. A quick snapshot.

Yakima Theatres - regarded as one of

the oldest running theatres in the US -

has been part of the American

cinematic history since their

emergence onto the scenario in 1912.

Originally, the theatre featured stage

acts and road shows, and the company

has progressed through film's entire

history. Having been through a

significant period of slumber, it was

reopened in 2005 with total

refurbishment and renamed

after the original Majestic.

Running under the aegis of

Stephen Mercy - a fourth

generation entrepreneur

stewarding the cinema

company that now owns

three theatre locations with

24 screens in the greater

Yakima area - The Majestic

grew as a fitting tribute to

MakingA Majestic Glow

the original. Having tasted success in

the modern era, the cinema sought to

redefine its ambience in line with the

digital era. The result: A state-of-the-

art digital signage that has

transformed the theatre lobbies and

interior areas into a new fancy place

altogether.

The task of digital transformation of

'The Majestic' interiors had been

entrusted to the Texas-based digital

signage solutions leader Texas Digital

who accomplished the task just

recently, much to the fascination of

the theatre owners as well as their

patrons.

Yakima Theatres chose Texas Digital's

VitalCAST solution to showcase its

concessions, box office and

auditoriums in a more professional,

visually appealing format.

"Digital signage gives you

more options. It's easier to

change, and it's got more

'pow' to it than some of the

static signage," said

Jeneanne Siekawitch, Yakima

Theatres' marketing and

advertising director.

The Majestic's installation

included four 42-inch LCD

Established in 1972, Texas Digital is aleading provider of digital signage solutions,with over 22,000 units installed worldwide.Texas Digital's customers include leaders inthe entertainment industry from movietheatres to theme parks to sports stadiums,arenas and other entertainment venues.

C I N E M A S Y S T E M S


screens in the concessions area, two

42-inch screens in the box office, two

52-inch screens in the lobby as

directionals, and one 22-inch LCD at

the entrance of each theatre for all 10

screens. Powered by VitalCAST

software, these screens can now

feature digital menu boards, movie

posters and trailers, and movie title

and show time information

automatically relayed from their

point-of-sale ticketing system.

Additionally, all screens can be

updated on-site with no downtime.

"The biggest things that drew me to

VitalCAST are the capabilities that the

system has," said Stephen Mercy. "It

basically allows us to do whatever we

wish - take content from Texas Digital

or get it from somewhere else. We

enjoy the flexibility."

Yakima Theatres General Manager

Dale Carpenter is excited about the

implementation of digital signage.

"Obviously it looks attractive. When

people look at something that's easy

on the eyes, they tend to look at it

longer," he said. By featuring

concessions products and movie

offerings on digital screens with

eyecatching videos and imagery,

Yakima Theatres hopes to promote

interest and remind people of what

they're selling.

"VitalCAST is an excellent solution for

an independent theatre chain like

Yakima Theatres because it allows for

quick and complete control of their

theatre's total signage by their existing

in-house personnel - there is no need

for an IT staff in order to manage the

system," said Dennis Davidson,

president and CEO of Texas Digital.



The CineMec complex in Holland is a

state-of-the-art cineplex which

doubles as a conference centre.

Housed in a contemporary building

with striking architecture, the award-

winning enterprise, owned by Gerben

Kuipers, is located in Ede, just 50

minutes from Amsterdam.

Ostentatious cinema, as it is, CineMec

made its boldest statement in summer

this year when it opened a new 3D

screen - called CineMec XL - as the

largest 3D cinema auditorium in the

Dutch domain. The cinema is

characterised by, among others, an

awesome 20,000-watt (RMS) of

purpose-designed QSC cinema

surround sound.

The architectural speciality of the

cinema is that the auditorium can host

over 1,000 visitors and some seats can

be lifted to the ceiling to convert the

cinema into a multi-purpose hall for

concerts, congresses or similar events.

Dutch cinema installation specialists

FTT Filmtronics B.V. (FTT) - who were

entrusted with the task of installing

the audio system - based their

specification around a matched system

from QSC Audio, using no fewer than

44 loudspeakers.

This includes a combination of their

SR-46 4 x 6.5in two-way surround

speakers, SB-7218 dual 18in

subwoofer, SC-444 four-way (4 x 15in)

screen channel speakers. These are

powered by ten QSC DCA2422 and

four QSC DCA1222 two-channel

digital cinema amplifiers, controlled

through an advanced DCM30

processor.

This device provides signal processing

and monitor functions in a single

integrated system, optimising

loudspeaker performance and covering

cinema systems ranging from three to

five screen channels, 5.1 and 7.1

systems. DCM Digital Cinema Monitors

are also compatible with all cinema

processor formats including Dolby

Digital Surround-EX and DTS-ES.

Thomas Ruettgers, General Manager

of FTT's head office Film Ton Technik

in Germany, says: "There are quite a

number of special features that have

to be taken into account when

implementing such an extraordinary

project. QSC products are perfectly

designed to meet all these special

requirements - that is why we decided

to install their audio systems at

CineMec in Ede."

Danny Pickett, Key Accounts Manager

QSC Audio Products LLC, stated that it

had been a pleasure to work with FTT

to satisfy the client's unique needs.

Three-D cinemas are nothing new today, thanks to the emergence of new genre of

entertainment technologies. However, making a 3D digital cinema out of a convention centre

and elevating the audio ambience with awesome sound system is what differentiates the

unique from the ordinary. This time, it is the CineMec, the largest 3D screen in Holland, and

the honour of making it distinct is with QSC's new, purpose-designed audio system.

Extra Large Audiofor XL Cinema



"Working in this exciting space has

really paid off for all involved -

especially the audiences attending

shows there."

With a seating capacity for 1050

people, 160m2 (20m x 8.10m) of silver

screen and two Christie digital

projectors, CineMec XL has

immediately established itself as the

leading digital 3D cinema in Holland.

Having also been the first company in

Holland to go digital - which was

done in 2003 - CineMec today boasts

as many as eight modern digital

theatres.

The CineMec-XL is also proving to be

an important venue for hosting key

conferences for national corporations -

offering facilities ranging from live

satellite transmissions in high

definition format on the big screen to

infinite digital sound and image

potential for audio-visual

presentations. In fact, part of the

International Cinema Technology

Association (ICTA) seminar took place

there in June this year.

CineMec XL kicked off the 2009

summer with a specially-constructed

3D programme - including 'U2 3D' to

coincide with the band's concert in

Amsterdam Arena on July 20-21. It is

using its new 3D system with passive

3D glasses (each eye served by its own

projector, each equipped with a

circular polarisation system). This

means that both the left and the right

eye receive only the images provided

by its respective projector.

The demand for 3D films in Holland is

increasing rapidly they say, and spread

over a seven week period, CineMec

registered 3836 visitors to the film

'Bolt' in 2D as opposed to 5168 to the

3D version of the same film. This

developing worldwide trend was

confirmed during this year's

International Cannes Film Festival,

when the latest 3D animation film 'Up'

from Pixar opened the festival to

positive press reviews.


In Part-I of Unit-VII published in the last issue, we discussed

various aspects of the work environment that the

projectionists get engaged with as part of their job, and few

measures how it can be made better for overcoming the

periodical challenges. In this issue, as Part-II of the same Unit,

we various issues of projection job that come with legal

implications, and how projectionists need to handle them,

besides their actual job of movie projection.

Keeping withinthe law

Projection Series - XXVII

Every cinema operates within a legal

framework, and it is always a good idea

to know a bit about it. Before a cinema

prepares to open up to the public, it is

mandatory for it to obtain a licence from

the local authority. In order to get the

licence, and keep it all through the

cinema's existence, the cinema manager

has to be able to furnish evidence of the

safety and efficiency of the cinema's

operative systems in the form of

certificates issued by various authorities.

Different local authorities would have

different requirements. However, there

are certain areas of cinema operations

that are common for all the

moviehouses, irrespective of the territory:

• Lighting

• Ventilation

• Electrical installation

• Building/Structural safety

• Fire

• Boiler

Because projectionists are normally

required to carry out routine

maintenance on such systems, it is

worth knowing what the minimum

requirements are to obtain these

certificates, which have to be annually

renewed following inspections. It is

also worth noting that the licence is

held by one named person and that

either that person or some other audit

nominated by him or her "… shall be

present in the premises at all times

when the public are on the premises."

The main ways in which the need for a

licence will affect you will be in

facilitating the necessary inspections,

in helping to make sure that the

various systems are passed and in

enforcing the provisions of each film's

classification, which affects who may

or may not be admitted to a film

showing.

Most people know about the british

system of film classification, as

cinemagoers, but people who work in

cinemas have a special responsibility to

be completely iamiliar with it, as they

have to police it.

The classification system is currently

administered nationally by the british

board of film classification, which is an

independent, non-governmental

body which views all films due for

release, and classifies them according

to a set of agreed categories. It has

itself no regulatory or legislative

powers, but can only persuade. The

power to regulate what films are

shown, and to whom, resides solely in

local authorities, who grant your

cinema's licence. Having earned the

trust of local authorities, the BBFC

provides a convenient framework for

the authorities to exercise their

statutory powers.

Local authority powers are wide

ranging, including cutting films,

baning them altogether, waiving cuts

or altering the recommended

classification. They can do any of these

things against the recommendations

of the BBFC if they see fit.

Naturally, the conditions imposed by

cinema licences differ form one



Film classification notices outside the cinema

authority to another, but many adopt

model licensing conditions suggested

by the home office, which include:

• No film, other than a current

newsreel, shall be exhibited unless

it has received a certificate of the

British Board of Film classification

or is the subject of the licensing

authority's permission

• No young people shall be

admitted to any exhibition of a

film classified by the BBFC as

unsuitable for them, unless with

the local authority's permission

• No film shall be exhibited if the

licensing authority gives notice in

writing prohibiting its exhibition

on the ground that it "would

offend against good taste or

decency or would be likely to

encourage or incite crime or lead

to disorder or to be offensive to

public feeling"

• The nature of the certificate given

to any film shall be indicated in

any advertising for the film, at the

cinema entrance (together with an

explanation of its effect), and on

the screen immediately before the

film is shown

• Displays outside the cinema shall

not depict any scene or incident

not in the film as approved

• No advertising shall be displayed

at the premises if the licensing

authority gives notice in writing

objecting to it on the same

grounds as apply to the

prohibition of films

(There are extra recommendations for

cinemas in London.)

For people who work in cinemas the

practical outcomes of such principles

are fairly obvious. If your local

authority accepts the BBFC

classification (and most of the time it

does,) it is tantamount to the law, as far

as your cinema is concerned. This

means for instance that your must

enforce the exclusion of young people

as and when the classification indicates.

It means that your manager, who may

delegate to you, is responsible for the

advertising of the film in the press and

outside the cinema.

It means that you must make sure the

classification certificate appears

immediately before the film, and that

you should make sure it is the right

one.

On occasion, projectionists may be

required either to cut sections of a

film, or to splice back in sections which

have been removed previously, when

ordered by the local authority, when it

requires a different version from the

BBFC recommended version. Such

alterations must be checked by the

authority before showing.

The current classification categories

will be well know to you, but for the

record they are:

U Universal. Suitable for all.

Uc Particularly suitable for

young children

PG Parental Guidance. Some scenes

may be unsuitable for children

12 Suitable only for persons of

twelve years and over


fifteen years and over


eighteen years and over

R18 For restricted distribution only,

through specially licensed

cinemas or sex shops to which

no one under eighteen is

admitted.

As with other aspects of doing the

job, polices and provisions for

training and development vary

widely between companies. In

general, until recently, training for

projectionists has not been

considered a priority, and there are

no full time courses in colleges in

England. There is instead a long and

honorable tradition of "learning

from Nellie", and apprenticeships,

where the emphasis is on learning on

the job.

Some companies do provide off-the-

job courses, such as induction courses

and courses concerned, such as

induction courses and courses

concerned with new technology.

Equipment and system suppliers also

run courses as a serviced to the

industry, in support of their

products. This manual, sponsored by

the Cinema Exhibitors' Association

represents the first systematic

attempt to provide projectionists

with knowledge about their job on a

distance learning basis, to provide an

alternative way to learn about the

job. The BKSTS also have a very

active and successful training unit

which runs regular courses and

publishes much useful support

material. For those who wish

broaden their understanding of the

film production industry, the British

film institute have a range of

valuable publications on the history

of the cinema, and publish a guide

to public media courses.

Many manufacturers also publish free

technical literature in support of their

products, and a library of such

information can be built up over time,



BKSTS projectionists’ sound training course

just for the asking, to form a very

valuable learning and reference resource.

The industry training Organisation for

the "broadcasting, film and video

industry" is Skillset. It is not itself a

training provider, but does have

responsibilities to introduce industry-

wide quality standards and

competence-based qualifications

(NB|VQ), research training needs, raise

awareness of training and

development issues, and negotiate

funding for training in the UK.

Another useful learning resource is the

BKSTS journal "cinema Technology",

which regularly carries all kinds of

information about issues of concern to

projectionists, often written by

professional experts. The projectionist

has two areas of interest in training. The

first is to get trained yourself, and the

second is to help others get it. In both

cases, opportunities will depend very

much on whether or not your company

encourages training, and is willing to

pay for it. Even if training is not

systematic in your company, there is

quite a lot you can do about it yourself:

• Adopt a positive attitude towards

your own learning you are never

too old to learn

• Make it clear to your management

when you have real training need

• Find out what courses are available

before you request off-the-job

training

• Make the vest use of more

experienced colleagues as prime

learning resource

• Do not pretend you know how to

do something when you don't ask

to be shown

• Learn from your mistakes

• When you are experienced, help

others by taking on a training role

yourself

• Read widely about all aspects of

your craft

• Join a professional association

It is generally agreed that assessment

of how you do your job is a good

thing, along, with training and

development, motherhood and apple

pie, but again, how much of it is one,

and how effective it is , varies from

company to company.

Experiencedprojectionists cantrain on-the-job...

...and carry out jobassessments



REVIEW

26-29 OctoberOrlando World Center Marriott,Orlando, Florida

2009

The ProgrammingThe seminars and tech sessions at

ShowEast this year were geared

mostly towards digital cinema

topics, with the odd broad industry

speech thrown in for good

measure. Traditionally, the first day

of ShowEast has always been

dedicated to International Day to

give exhibitors from around the

world an opportunity to discuss

emerging trends and to preview

product reels from major studios.

The Monday session began with a

keynote address from Tom Molter,

Warner Bros. Senior Vice- President

of International Distribution. His

slick presentation was chock full of

statistical figures about the growth

of digital cinema around the globe.

Molter focused a large percentage

of his presentation on the Latin

America region where the digital

conversion is expected to pick up

steam, especially in countries such as

Mexico and Brazil. It was thus no

surprise Warner Bros. and other

studios were keeping an eye on Latin

America. For, while the region only

contains 9 per cent of the world's

movie screens, it accounts for 16 per

cent of movie ticket sales and 13 per

cent of worldwide box office revenue.

In 2009, till end September, the

region's box office was found to be up

5 per cent, and is only behind India

and China as the fastest growing

territory. Movies such as Fox's Ice Age:

Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and Warner

Bros.' Harry Potter and the Half-Blood

Prince have been counted among the

top grossing films of all time in the

region.

"Digital growth is expected to be

particularly robust in Mexico and

Brazil," Molter noted in his address.

The 2009 edition of ShowEast was held at the Orlando Marriott in Orlando, Florida, from October 26th

through October 29. This year's conference marked the 25th anniversary of the exhibitor trade show which

is often referred to as a sister convention to ShoWest, held each spring in Las Vegas. This year's event took

place amidst one of the worst economic downturns in over 80 years. There was, indeed, a great deal of talk

about how the recession was affecting the motion picture exhibition industry.

As usual, the four-day confab gave attendees a sneak peek at some much anticipated fall movie titles some

of which are probably headed for Oscar nominations. The event, which has also become known for having a

heavy Latin American presence, this year was no different. Most, if not all, of the major Latin American

exhibitors turned up to seek information as digital cinema begins to be rolled out in earnest within the

territory. The hot subject, obviously, was none other digital 3D content, not only because of high profile

releases such as Avatar but also because the 3D is clearly driving the adoption of digital cinema technology.

Another interesting fact from

Molter's presentation was the

growing percentage of box office

revenue earned in foreign (non-

North American) territories. In 2000,

foreign box office made up 46 per

cent of worldwide grosses, and by

2008, the figure increased to 65 per

cent raking in $9.67 billion.

International Day also featured a

panel discussion titled 'Working

Together: Using New Media and

Market Best Practices to Attract

Moviegoers' where executives from

some of Latin America's biggest

circuits and largest distributors took

to the dais to talk about how the

Internet was becoming more

important in attracting moviegoers.

Laura Rama, Walt Disney

International's Vice-President of

Studio Marketing said though the

TV was still the largest medium for


introducing a new film to

audiences, the studio had shifted a

large portion of its movie

marketing budget to the Internet.

Alejandro Ramirez Magana, the

CEO of Cinepolis, says his circuit

uses Facebook to reach out to over

100,000 customers, informing them

of upcoming releases and special

promotions.

The second day's focus was on

'Financing the Move to Digital

Cinema in an Uncertain Economy.

Moderated by Michael Karagosian,

President of MKPE consulting, the

panel discussion included some big

names in the North American digital

cinema rollout, including the CEO's

from two of the continent's largest

integrators, Bud Mayo of Cinedigm

and Travis Reid of Digital Cinema

Implementation Partners (DCIP). Reid

mentioned that DCIP was very close

to getting the $525 million it needs

to commence the rollout at AMC,

Regal and Cinemark, while Mayo

pitched exhibitors on the increased

revenue that can be earned by

showing digital 3D films. "It's not just

to have cool technology up on your

screens," said Mayo. "We've seen the

incremental increase in revenue that

3D allows."

Mayo went on to mention

Cinedigm's new programme which

allows exhibitors to pay for the

equipment on their own, letting

the integrator administer a circuit's

virtual print fees.

Financial contribution toward a

digital conversion seems to be

important to lenders such as

JPMorgan. Andy Sriubas, Managing

Director of JPMorgan said that

banks want theatre owners to have

a little "skin in the game" when

converting their venues to digital.

The third day's tech session was

sponsored by Technicolor. The motion

picture lab recently announced a film-

based 3D system that would allow

exhibitors to show 3D content without

the expensive cost of converting to

digital. The programme has some

skeptics, with some claiming it will hold

up the worldwide rollout of digital

cinema equipment. However, several

major studios have pledged their

support of the system with Fox and

Disney being notably absent from the

list. To help defray the cost of the silver

screens required for Technicolor's

system, the company announced the

Silver Screen Fund, a joint-venture with

Kodak, Fuji and Deluxe set up to equip

500 auditoriums with the special screens.

Movies

The first day of ShowEast featured

Overture Films' The Men Who Stare At

Goats, starring George Clooney. The

film, which is likely headed toward

numerous award nominations was

featured on Tuesday along with

Lionsgate's vampire fest Daybreakers

starring Ethan Hawke and Willem

Dafoe. The third day presented three

titles to those attending the trade show,

including Freestyle Releasing's period

piece 'Me and Orson Welles, 'Warner

Bros. Pictures' 'The Blind Side' starring

Sandra Bullock and Sony's tent-pole

effects driven '2012' from director

Roland Emerich. Screening on the last

day of the event was the much praised

Lionsgate release 'Precious' based on

the novel 'Push' by Sapphire as well as

Apparation's historical costume drama

The Young Victoria".

Awards

ShowEast had been awarding several

executives with special prizes during

the International Day proceedings.

Over the past decade most of the

awards have gone to those working

in Latin America as was the case this

year. Jose "Pepe" Victoria, General

Manager of UIP Panama was

conferred upon with International

Distributor of the Year award, while

Caribbean Cinemas head film buyer

Mike Moraskie (formerly of

Cinepolis) was honoured with an

award for Outstanding

Achievements in International

Exhibition. The Anti-Piracy Latin

American Government Leadership

Award was handed out to Jorge

Amigo, the Director General of The

Mexican Industrial Property

Institute. He had a great laugh line

in his acceptance speech when he

joked, "The only kind of pirates we

like are 'Pirates of the Caribbean'."

Inducted into the ShowEast Hall Of

Fame during an annual luncheon

moderated by Clark Woods of

Marquee Cinemas was MaryAnn

Anderson of Anderson Consulting,

Jerry Brand of Brand Booking, Mike

Mihalich of MJR Theatres and Bill

Towey of National Amusements.

Two inductees have been entered

posthumously; Bob Capps of

Columbia/TriStar and Wayne

Lewellen, the former head of

domestic distribution for

Paramount Pictures.

The final night's award ceremony

saw Warner Bros. Pictures' Kelly

O'Connor win the Al Shapiro

Distinguished Service Award. The

evening's other big winners were

Stewart Harnell of Cinema Concepts

who was presented with the Show

"E" Award and AMC Theatres' head

film buyer Sonny Gourley who was

honoured with the Salah M.

Hassanein Humanitarian Award.


Tradeshow

The exhibit floor was filled by 190

companies from all over the world.

Conference mainstays such as

Ballantyne Strong, Barco, Christie,

Cinedigm, Cinema Concepts,

Doremi, Harkness Screens, JBL/

Crown, Mars Snackfood, NEC,

Osramp, Philips, QSC Audio, Qube

Cinema, Radiant Systems, Schneider

Optics, Sony Electronics and Vista

Entertainment Solutions were

joined by such newcomers as D-Box

Technologies, Danley Sound Labs,

Look3D and ZhetaPricing.

Notably absent from this year's

tradeshow floor were Dolby and

DTS (now Datasat Digital

Entertainment) who chose to host

customers in private suites.

New Products

Announcements of new products

started out with a bang on the very

first day with NEC launching three

new digital cinema projectors with

three brightness levels for screens up

to 105 feet wide. The NC1200C

provides 9,000 lumens of brightness

for screen sizes of up to 46 feet wide,

the NC2000C throws 17,000 lumens

for screens up to 65 feet wide, and

the NC3200S blasts out 31,000 lumens

for screens up to 105 feet wide.

Sony followed by launching a new

projector of their own, the SRX-

R320 4K SXRD projector. The 4K

projector uses the LMT-300 Media

Block and measures approximately

half the size and weight allowing

an for a range of installation

options. Not to be outdone,

Christie Digital released a new series

of projectors, the Christie Solaria

product line includes the CP2210,

CP2220 and CP2230 all of which are

2K and 4L-ready and will be

available in the first half of 2010.

Doremi announced the next

version of their digital cinema

mastering hardware, the Rapid and

Rapid-2X mastering stations with

JPEG200 support for bit rates up to

250 Mbs. Datasat Digital

Entertainment upgraded their

digital cinema server, the DC20, with

two new playback formats; Flash and

QuickTime.

Datasat Digital Entertainment also

introduced the AP20 Audio Processor.

The processor boasts the flexibility of

working with either digital or 35mm

content, has 16 channels of fully

routable audio, Dirac auto room

tuning and capability of connecting

numerous non-sync devices. Golden

Link launched IML glow in the dark

drink cups. Irwin seating announced

several new options for their VIP chair,

including a retractable foot rest, swivel

tables and drink tables. Jack Roe

brought to market a new add-on to

their Jacro Premiere cinema display

system that includes a 1080p

touchscreen trailer display. Moving

iMage Technologies introduced the IS-

303 Phase Spike Arrestor to prevent AC

power surges from destroying

valuable cinema equipment. POS

vendor Omniterm has created the

ABO6300, a new ticketing kiosk.

Osram's new XBO 4200/HPS OFR lamp

was created specifically for the Sony

SRX R220 Digital Projection System to

satisfy the high luminance levels

required by the projector. Schneider

Optics announced the DiStar HD lens

which was designed for digital cinema

projectors employing the DLP 1.2" 2K

chipset.

Titan Technology launched their

Velvet Rope application which enables

exhibitors to offer presale and VIP

tickets for upcoming events. Tivoli

introduced the new Platinum Series

Full Spectrum replaceable LED lighting

system. Vista Entertainment Solutions

is now offering an application for

Facebook which allows customers to

look up showtimes and purchase

tickets directly from the popular social

networking site.

ZhetaPricing demonstrated ZP Cinemas

2.0 and ZP Management, two software

applications that allow theatre owners

to efficiently manage prices and

auditorium capacity by predicting

demand and utilizing price

differentiation to increase box office

revenue.


PREVIEW

8-10 December 2009Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

Floor Plan

CineAsia 2009 - the 17th edition of

Asia's premier convention and

tradeshow on motion picture

exhibition industry - will be held from

8-10 December at the Hong Kong

Convention and Exhibition Centre,

Hong Kong. Hoping to beat the

recessive pressures and be in tune with

wider participants' demand, the three-

day convention has moved back to

Hong Kong, after almost a decade.

Notwithstanding the global market

pressures, this year's CineAsia promises

in-depth deliberations on digital

cinema and 3D, besides other

important subjects- but with a prime

focus on the Chinese exhibition

industry that had been one of the

biggest promises of the global

industry.

The three-day convention will open

with a focused seminar on 'A New

Dimension to China,' that will have as

its panellists Michael Archer, vice-

president-Doremi Digital Cinema;

Yang Buting, Chairman-China Film

Distribution and Exhibition

Association; Dr. Man-Nang Chong,

CEO- GDC Technology; Y.C. Chu,

Deputy General Manager, Media Asia

Group; and Dr. David Chung, Head of

Information Technology Operations-

Hong Kong Cyberport Management

Company Ltd.

The opening day will have product

presentations from United

International, Paramount Pictures, and

Universal Pictures, followed by the

post-lunch opening of the tradeshow.

The evening will have two movie

screenings- Walt Disney's 'The Princess

and the Frog,' followed later in the

night by Paramount Pictures' 'Up in

the Air.'

Day two will open with a joint seminar

by CineAsia and ICTA (International

Cinema Theatres' Association). The

technical session titled 'A Digital

Update,' will have the industry

updates brought to the forum by Tony

Adamson, manager-worldwide

customer marketing, DLP Cinema; Ray

M. C. Seok, general manager-Digital

Cinema of Korea; Ranjit Thakur, CEO,


Barco NV 301

Changzhou Yuyu Electric Light Appliance Co., Ltd. 501

CHRISTIE 201

Cinemeccanica SPA 107

Dolby Laboratories 205

Doremi Cinema 305

Ferco Seating Systems 314

First Audio Manufacturing (HK) LTD 505

GDC Technology 311

Golden Link Inc. 112

Guangdong Pearl River Cine & Video Equipment Co. 810

Harbin Cinema Equipment 415

Harkness Screens 214

International Cinema Technology Association 106

Jos. Schneider Optische Werke Gmbh 405

K.C.S. Kelonik Cinema Sound 115

Kendar Engineering 315

Kinoton GmbH 806

Monee & Company Private Limited 108

Nissin Optical 104

OSRAM Asia Pacific Limited 304

Philips Specialty Lighting 404

Preferred Popcorn 802

Qingdao Fuyi Flame Retardant Acoustical Materials 812

Qsc Audio Products 100

Quantas Popstar Int'l Co. Ltd. 511

Qube Cinema Inc. 803

Star Screen (Anhui Ma'anshan) Co.,Ltd 811

Strong International 101

Tianjin Cineprojector Factory 515

TheatreWorld

Ultra Stereo Labs 206

Ushio Inc. 804

Vista Entertainment Solutions 215

Zhang Jia Gang Century Union Audio & Visual Equip 503

ExhibitorsScrabble Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.,

India; and Naoshi Yoda, managing

director, T-Joy, Tokyo.

In the following ICTA session, Andrew

Robinson of Harkness Hall would

provide 'screen facts,' Bill Mead of

DCinema Today, and Jason Brenek of

Disney would present the 3D

dynamics, while Michael Archer of

Doremi would dwell on maintenance

of digital cinema servers.

The day-two evening would be

marked by trailer presentations from

the footages of the much anticipated

Avatar, besides Alice in Wonderland,

How to Train Your Dragon, and Shrek

Forever After on the Imax 3D digital

format.

The much sought after programme of

the event of Awards Nite this time, like

the previous editions, will have a

distinct profile. The CineAsia Exhibitor

of the Year Award for 2009 would be

conferred upon the Golden Screen

Cinemas. Irving Chee, chief general

manager of the Malaysian cinema

major would receive the award.

The most interesting award this time,

however, is the DLP Market

Achievement Award, being given to

Sathyam Cinemas of India. The

Chennai-based cinema operator had

been making big waves in Indian

exhibition business for some time now,

and has ambitious expansion plans.

Besides, Sunder Kimatrai, of 20th

Century Fox has been chosen for the

'Distributor of the Year' award, while

Media Asia Group Ltd. Chairman Peter

Lam would be honoured with the

Producer of the Year award. The 'Asia-

Pacific Copyright Educator Award'

would be presented to noted

producer Raymond Wong.

Overall, CineAsia 2009 is expected to

debate and look for some directions to

the global and the Asian industry for a

recession-proof march ahead.


EVENT CALENDER

WINTER 2009

DECEMBER 8-10

CINEASIA,HONG KONG

www.cineasia.com

SPRING 2010

FEBRUARY 12-14

CINEMA TODAY,HYDERABAD, INDIA

www.cinematoday.in

MARCH 15-18

SHOWEST,LAS VEGAS, USA

www.showest.com

MARCH 16-18

FRAMES,MUMBAI, INDIA

www.ficci-frames.com

SUMMER 2010

JUNE 21-24

CINEMA EXPOAMSTERDAM, HOLLAND

www.cinemaexpo.com

AUGUST 15-19

AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONALMOVIE CONVENTION

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIAwww.movieconvention.com.au

AUGUST

BIRTV,BEIJING, CHINAwww.birtv.com

SEPTEMBER

KINO EXPO,ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA

www.kinoexpo.ru

AUTUMN 2010

OCTOBER 11-14

SHOWEAST,FLORIDA, USA

www.showeast.com

Cinema Today 2010, the fourth

edition of convention and

tradeshow on Indian cinema

entertainment and associated

industry segments would be held in

Hyderabad from 12-14 February,

2010, at the Hyderabad

International Convention Centre,

Hyderabad. After hosting two

editions of the event in its

birthplace Chennai and the one in

Mumbai, Cinema Today is travelling

to Hyderabad for the fourth

outing.

The expo, as is now known to the

industry for its programming, will

showcase the latest technology,

equipment and services of cinema,

including digital cinema, and non-

cinematic entertainment like

broadcast, pro sound and light,

besides media industry.

That the entertainment

industry had been

undeterred by the

recession pressures –

despite the economic

down turn keeping the

business spirit low in

most industry streams – is expected

to augur well for the Cinema Today

2010. With the kind of explosive

growth taking place across all the

segments of the entertainment

industry in the region, the event is

expected to live up to the

expectations of the industry.

Visitors from all over India, with a

majority from South Indian states,

and from neighbouring Sri Lanka

are expected to attend the three-

day event. The show has gained a

lot of momentum and has become

a familiar event in the industry

circles. The support of industry

related associations, media

partnerships and a focused

promotional campaign is hoped to

ensure that the target visitors do

not the miss the event.

12-14 FEBRUARY 2010HYDERABAD, INDIA

PREVIEW

Ram and Raghav at Cinema Today 2009at Sandy Media Stall


TW - What exactly Smartjog is all

about?

CD-ND SmartJog is a global leader in

secure electronic delivery services for

the entertainment industry and in

Digital Cinema distribution to cinemas

in Europe. It offers a fully managed

distribution and file transfer platform

for secure, fast and reliable digital

delivery of content. It's a technology

platform that interconnects different

content sourcing and receiving

centres. In other words, we are

connecting US Studios, international

distributors, cinemas, post-production

and mastering facilities; digital cinema

service providers as well as TV stations,

VOD platforms and we facilitate the

exchange of data from point to point

and point to multipoint between all

these facilities. We are present in as

many as 65 countries and over 800

sites.

A subsidiary of TDF, a French based

telecommunications Group, Smartjog

was created in Paris in 2002 with a

focus on electronic distribution of

Since the time digital cinema emerged onto the theatrical exhibition scene, dozens of

solutions and technology models have come to play a role in the 'big screen show.' While

each of them had their own value proposition, none was totally indispensable. However, here

is one technology player whose solution is apparently indispensable - SmartJog, the global

leader of managed network delivery services. Its unique technology platform and the value

proposition that it boasts to bring through its electronic delivery solutions to digital cinema

user communities appears to be crucial in today's technology cinema era.

TW, always an assiduous follower of technology, this time, talks to SmartJog's Sales Directors,

Christiane Ducasse (CD), Director of Sales USA and Nicolas Dussert (ND), European Theatrical

Sales Director on what makes it so crucial.

A SmartTechnology

content to entertainment venues,

particularly TV stations and post-

production centres globally. We

expanded our service offering to

digital cinema distribution to theatres

over one year ago, initially in the

French market. Leveraging our

strengths at home, we are spreading

across Europe with deployments

underway to cinemas in the

Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland,

Spain, Finland, etc.

In a nutshell, SmartJog is a content

management, delivery, and

integration company, enabling

transmission of content of any size,

any type from and to any point.

TW - How does it work?

CD-ND We enable secure transmission

of content between our gateways

servers installed at each sending and

receiving sites. The platform supports

all forms of connectivity for data

transfer. We use Intelsat network for

the delivery of content over satellite;

or we use terrestrial channel (ADSL,

fibre), through which we are able to

transmit content.

The content producer-distributor

usually asks its mastering facility to

upload DCP content to our network

using their SmartJog server. Once

uploaded, the DCPs can be sent to a

final destination or are stored into the

distributor's catalog at our data centre.

The distributor can then logon our

platform using a secure USB token and

password and initiate the transfer of

media files to distant locations. Files

are then transmitted via our mirrored

data centres to the final sites.

The user cans track in real time the

status of the delivery via our web-

based tracking application and upon

delivery, an email notification is sent

to the sender and to the cinema as a

proof of delivery.

We have permanent satellite capacity

in Europe and DCPs can be sent at any

time to cinemas.

At the theatre, it is easy for the

projectionist to ingest received DCPs

SmartJog


into the digital cinema playback

server. We are fully integrated with

most players in the market, Doremi,

Dolby, QuBe, XDC, Kodak and several

TMS.

The SmartJog Network Operations

Team manages and monitors the

network and we offer 24/7 support

service via phone and e-mail.

TW - What market geographies are

addressed by SmartJog?

CD-ND All the US Studios in

Hollywood currently use our service to

send theatrical elements to several

territories. DCPs are already being sent

between post houses across the globe

for localization. We continue to

expand our network to Digital cinema

mastering facilities in several countries

in Asia Pacific Rim, Japan, India and

other parts of Asia. So, almost all

territories across the globe can be

reached via the SmartJog network..

TW - By which time you expect to

offer digital cinema distribution to

cinemas in these markets?

CD-ND Outside Europe, our strategy is

to work with partners and we are now

offering our Digital Cinema Solutions

and technology to 3rd party digital

cinema network operators, leveraging

our systems already installed at

mirrored data centers in North

America and Europe.

SmartJog's offering combines

software licensing and a service

agreement for network monitoring,

traffic scheduling and supervision,

allowing Digital Cinema Network

Operators to keep their start-up costs

very low while benefiting from

reliable digital cinema solutions

vetted and used by the entertainment

industry.

While SmartJog provides tools and

managed network supervision and

transmission services, the Digital

Cinema Network Operator remains

responsible for providing bandwidth

to the cinema sites with the platform

of his choice (satellite and back

channel connectivity and/or

terrestrial fibre).

We are in discussion with several

players right now, particularly from

the Asian markets towards helping the

exhibitors deploying satellite delivery

solutions using our core technology

platform and applications.

TW - How many cinema sites are

operational now?

CD-ND Our installations in cinemas

are, of course, in Europe and

particularly in France, where we have

more than 100 cinema sites deployed

with access to over 500 digital screens.

And we have been adding around five

sites every week. This is primarily

because we have recently signed an

agreement with Europalaces, a theatre

circuit who operates a network of 86

sites and with Kinepolis, with 23 sites.

We also have signed locations in

Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, etc.

We have enabled over 25,000 DCP

deliveries so far in 2009 that include

movies, trailers, pre-show advertising,

alternative content like concerts.


TW - The market is crowded with

too many players. Where and how

SmartJog figures itself?

CD-ND The very fact that we already

have over 100 cinema locations with

500-plus screens running on our

network and another 500-plus lined

up for the next few months, the

competitive advantage is already

there. And in today's world,

distributors would want to be with a

service provider that has a wider

presence and is professionally

competitive. SmartJog is the best

choice for both.

TW - There are potential and

competitive players in both the US

and Europe - how does SmartJog

make its ground?

CD-ND We need to continue to be a

key player. We have a sister company

called Media Broadcast, based in

Germany, and we have been working

together. They will deploy in Germany,

Austria and other territories, and we

will focus on France, Benelux and

other European countries. Having said

that, there will be probably a co-

existence of three to four players. But

what matters here is who has the

credibility in the marketplace. We

already have won the confidence of

the Hollywood majors and leading

European Distributors and they have

been sending their content through

our platform.

What is really unique in the SmartJog

services is that we are connected with

all the major digital cinema mastering

facilities in the world today. Over 65

DCP mastering facilities and digital

cinema service providers are currently

sending DCPs to one another using

the Smartjog network. No other

service provider today has this

competency. When you want to send

your movie to be beamed over

satellite via a satellite service provider

in the US, you need to send to them a

hard drive. On the other hand, with

SmartJog, if a post-production house

or studio in Mumbai wants a movie to

be beamed to a cinema in Europe,

they only have to logon to our

platform; upload the DCP; select the

receiving site on our web based

interface; and just press the send

button. They don't need to ship the

hard drive across the seas. SmartJog

truly eliminates physical media and

enable the industry to keep a file

based workflow from the mastering

facility to the cinema.

The fact that we are connected to all

the mastering facilities is a huge

advantage that Hollywood sees as a

real value to distribute its movies to

cinemas globally. This is a big edge for

us over the competition. We also offer

unique features that enable content

providers to check the integrity of

DCPs prior sending. Distributors of

feature films and alternative content

can also store their content at our

secure data centres into a catalog for

easy media asset management and

rapid access for future deliveries.

From a technical point of view, we

know how to manage a network and

optimize transmissions; this is our core

business and we have experience in

monitoring traffic on a complex

network. We also develop our own

software and provide innovative

workflow management solutions.

We also bring to the market a cost-

effective digital cinema central library

solution for local storage at the

cinema with 3 to 12 Terabytes

available. That's another huge

advantage of SmartJog.

TW - How much an exhibitor needs

to invest to get into SmartJog

network?

CD-ND Technically speaking, nothing

for the basic installation (gateway

server and satellite dish). The exhibitor

only needs to invest in their hardware

installation cost and Internet

connectivity. We work with all the

leading installers in Europe. We do not

charge anything to the exhibitor for

movie delivery. If more storage is

needed, the exhibitor can also buy our

digital cinema library.

TW - Then who pays for your

service and system usage?

CD-ND We charge the distributor a

fixed price per DCP and per trailer.

The distributor pays us for using our

network. It is the DCP and trailer

traffic that brings our return on

investment. The pre-show

commercials that are sent over our

platform are another source of

revenue. Alternative content can be

yet another.

TW - How about the popular VPF?

CD-ND Our service is not part of the

VPF model. The studios do not

include electronic delivery as part of

the VPF model. We are just selling our

network capabilities to enable Motion

Picture Studios and distributors to

send digital content seamlessly and

securely in a cheaper and faster

format. However, the Central Library

server we propose to exhibitors for

local storage is eligible for financing

via a VPF deal.


entertainworld

That the DCI-compliant digital cinema has come to India to stay goes without saying. Indian

cinema has (finally) begun to elevate itself in sync with the global trend and demand.

However, enabling a cinema with globally acknowledged digital cinema system is one, and

creating the same with an imposingly artful design ambience is the other. While most

upcoming cinemas have been trying their best to make their latest cinematic expressions

unique than the rest, some cinemas have been able to stand apart with some truly

'distinctive' style of expression.

Two multiplex cinemas that have come onto the big screen entertainment domain in the

recent weeks have become noted for their entertaining design as well as their cinematic

technology. That both the cinemas come from the same enterprise - the Fun Cinemas of the

Mumbai-based multiplex major E-City - may be just a coincidence, but what stands out

distinctly is the design quotient that had been merged so delectably into the entertainment

package at both the venues.

Entertain World, this time, presents a pictorial fiesta of two DCI-compliant digital multiplexes,

including a 3D, that is an awesome expression of the 'art' of a modern cinema. Feast your eyes.

Digital'Fun' Art


entertainworld

Fun CinemasChembur, MumbaiWhen the K Star Mall, near the

Diamond Garden in Chemur East,

Mumbai, opened a few months

ago with a 5-screen, all digital

multiplex, including a 3D screen,

it opened also opened an

altogether new domain of

entertainment- not just for three-

dimensional movie watching

inside an auditorium but also for

a similar appreciation of the

artistic architecture that is weaved

The wonderment begins right

from the moment the visitor steps

into the lobby and moves

towards the concessions. The

designers apparently attempted

to amplify the illusions by

destabilizing a stable geometric

form of the hexagon into a

harmonious and functionally

stable design, and

accommodating all the functional

requirements.

A slide by the concessions is a

thrill of a kind as the stretching

around the whole setting.

Designed by Thane, Mumbai-

based Arris Architects, the five-

screen multiplex - with an

aggregate of 1253 seats - is a

wonderment for the design

techniques it employed. "It's a

wonderment of the extent of

disillusionment yet finding it

upfront," was the appreciation of

a connoisseur. "It's an abstract

notion. We enjoy stretching and

twisting our mind to the extents

of disillusionment."


entertainworld

and twisting forms take the

visitor to a different dimension of

space. The design exploits the 15

feet -high linear space of the

concessions lobby by

accommodating the circulation

and service spaces - such as the

entrances to the cinema,

concessions and administration

wings - within a dynamic

hexagonal form that acts as the

focal point of the whole design,

creating an ambience of a walk in

art-exhibit.

The location of the recessed

seating lobbies would provide

excellent vantage points for the

patrons to appreciate the massive

scale of the dynamic form. Well

identified niches within the form

create a dramatic entrance to the

screens. The spatial treatment of

the double height entrance lobby

is charactertised by a geometrical

relief work and travertine

cladding, respecting the

proportionate volume of the

entire space. The Fun Cinema

signage, integrated intelligently in

the mesh, compliments the overall

harmony of the space.

The design axis-like hexagonal

form is a 'fine art' of a balanced

contract between acrylic solid

surface finished shell and the stark

Belgium black flooring. It also is

finished in solid wood planks

emerging out of the white 'duco'

painted plane whereas Italian

marbles form the back drop for

the seating niches and lift lobbies.

Intelligently employed LED

lighting aids in achieving not only

low-energy consumption but also

the different moods and effects.

The auditoria simply carry the

wonderment of the design, but

with the addition of a three-

dimensional movie watching

experience. While all the five

screens are equipped with DCI-

compliant 2K digital projection

system, one of them is elevated

still higher with 3D system.

The sound and projection system

was supplied and installed by MRH

Digital Systems while the acoustics

was done by Jal Mistry.


entertainworld

Fun Cinemas JaipurThe Fun Cinemas that has come

up as part of the massive Triton

Mega Mall at Jhotwara in Jaipur,

is yet another expression of

dynamism in art and architecture

blended into cinematic

entertainment. This four-screen

multiplex has a total of 959 seats

that include Business Class

Recliner Seats- a unique feature

brought to the movie-crazy Pink

City for the first time.

Designed again by Arris

Architects, the dynamic fine art experience begins right from the

entrance to

the mall,

whose

central

atrium is

characterised

by the box

office set up in the centre of a

large space. The experience only

goes up, as the visitor moves up

the cinema area and through the

concessions- a 3500 square feet

massive recreational space. The

attempt here again is for a new

spatial experience by means of


entertainworld

visual negotiation of different

functional elements is achieved

through the use of neutral

materials, gushes of rich colour

and focal graphics. Extensive use

of red coloured back painted

glass and granites in the floor

reflects a warmth that invites the

patrons into the cinema.

The sound and projection system

was again done by MRH Digital,

while the acoustics was done by

Neville Daruwala.

some radical expressions. The

dynamism of the entire design is

made evident in the grey

coloured veneered envelope that

articulates the concessions as the

point of confluence. A sense of

motion is created by the fluid like

orange element, discreetly used

in the backdrop of the

concessions.

Use of Light

coves and

patterns

accentuates

the motion

further. A


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A glimpse of movies coming to Asia this spring or later…

F U T U R E R E L E S E SA


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GenreComedy, Family

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GenreAction, Adventure

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GenreSocial

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A D V E R T I S E R S ’ I N D E X

Company Name Page no. Product Email / Website

Amar AV TM-15 Screens [email protected]

Anutone TW-62 Interiors [email protected] / www.anutone.com

Barco TM-7 Projectors [email protected] / www.barco.com

Big Cinemas TW-3 Cinema [email protected] / www.bigcinemas.com

Blue Star TM-9 Cooling Systems [email protected] /www.bluestarindia.com

Christie Digital TW-7 Projectors [email protected] / www.christiedigital.com

Cinema Today TW-47 Tradeshow [email protected] / www.cinematoday.in

Darbari TM-21 Lighting [email protected]

Datasat Digital TW-2 Audio Processor [email protected] /www.datasatdigital.com

Dolby TW-13 3D www.dolby.com/3dcinema

Doremi TW-5,33 Digital Cinema [email protected] / www.doremicinema.com

E-City TM-36 Cinema [email protected] / www.esselgroup.com

Fun Cinemas TM-13 Cinema [email protected] /www.funcinemas.com

Galalite TM-23 Screens [email protected] / www.galalitescreens.com

Harkness TW-11 Screens [email protected] /www.harkness-screens.com

HDIL TM-3 Cinema [email protected] / www.hdilbroadway.in

Hi Tech Audio TM-5 Sound [email protected] /www.hitechaudiosystems.com

Imax TW-9 Cinema [email protected] / www.imax.com

Meyer Sound TW-37 Sound www.meyersound.com/cinema

Niranjan TM-2 Consultants [email protected]

Real Image TM-27 Digital Cinema [email protected] / www.realimage.com

Sathyam TM-11 Cinema www.sathyamcinemas.com

Scrabble TW-64 3D [email protected] /www.scrabbleentertainment.com

Shri Krishnashray TM-35 Signage [email protected] / www.shrikrishnashray.com

USL TW-15 Sound [email protected] / www.uslinc.com

The next issue of TheatreWorld is our Spring Special. It will be promoted at Showest - Las Vegas.The last date for advertising orders is 20 February 2010. Email [email protected]

This issue of TW has two sets of page numbers - International pages TW-1 to TW-64 for TW, and India pages TM-1 to TM-36 for TM.TM is inserted between pages TW-50 and TW-51 of TW.


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