A..So Storage. Appendix U: Technology and Production

Transcription

1 Appendix U: Technology and Production A..So Storage The falling cost of digitalization will almost inevitably challenge the very medium that made Hollywood possible in the first place: celluloid film. Many feature film filmmakers reject digital video because it is flat in comparison to film. Documentary filmmakers more supportive Attraction is economic

2 Even though the quality of digital cameras may currently be inferior to that of conventional cameras, the advantages the new technology offers in terms of lower cost and greater speed can be expected in time to prove irresistible to studios Live action can be shot digitally much more quickly, since it can easily and seamlessly be altered in postproduction and combined with the computer-generated parts of the movie at little extra expense Change in Production Economics Desktop filmmaking & editing might enable filmmakers to operate more like other artists: first producing their works, then placing them in the marketplace. B. Display Technology and Production

3 The final step in filmless movies is digital projections in theaters Currently, all movies- even those entirely made by a computer and recorded on digital tape- have to be converted into thirty-five-millimeter celluloid negative, from which reels of ffilm are printed, sent tto film exchanges, trucked to theaters, and projected on the screen with the aid of a powerful lamp By 2003, 171 theaters had been outfitted for digital projection, and the major studios were working on a plan to turn digital delivery of their movies over to a telecommunications company, Qualcomm, which would provide satellite feeds of movies for theaters, just as television networks provide prime-time feeds for affiliated stations The six studios therefore had a print bill of more than $1 billion in

4 According to the studios current plan, each multiplex digital projector would need a studiosupplied authorization code for a particular showing, which would give the studios power over what is shown, and precisely when, on movie screens The studios, although recognizing that they would have to fully subsidize the conversion, are seeking an arrangement that would assure them that the theaters would actually use the digital projectors and that the conversion would not raise antitrust concerns by excluding independently produced non-digital movies If, and when, the studios and the major chain owners come to terms, as it seems they eventually must, the screens at the multiplexes will become another link in the digital chain that extends from the computer cyberspace where the products are created, edited, colored, and converted into different formats to the DVD players, game consoles, satellite receivers, cable boxes, video-on-demand servers, TiVo-type recorders, and other devices that serve the studios largest and most profitable consumers: the home audience. Hollywood, New York: E.J.E. Publications, Ltd., Inc., In addition to further separating actors from the reality of their work, the digitalization it ti process also makes it much more difficult for the director to retain control

5 Industrial Light & Magic created the computer-generated layers of the sequences before he had finished shooting, looping in the sound, or editing the live portions of the sequences Can extend viewing experience 6+ sound channels 3D Smell-O-Vision time-released aromas Vibration seats 1267 Digital Exhibition? Competing projection systems Texas Instruments(TI) CineComm(Hughes- JVC/Qualcomm) Real Image Technology ecinemanet /photo.htm

6 TI s system: Digital Micromirror Device(DMD). Each DMD contains ~ 8mil tiny mirrors (each are the diameter of 1/4 human hair). Mirrors receive color/light on-off. Digital Projector 1270 (Credit: The New York Times) 1271 Digital Micromirror Display Digital Projector ( e/s2 6 3e.htm) 1272 (Credit: The New York Times)

7 Hughes-JVC: CineComm 3- processor unit similar to liquidcrystal display. Light travels through and is projected 1274 CineComm Digital Cinema: endto-end digital delivery of movies to theatres. Powerful Pluto servers store data on a RAID array, aseriesof 20 hard-disk drives. Theaters do not have to buy digital projectors. CineComm charges on a pay-per-view basis Economic Barriers Digital projection system- $100,000 per projector, $200k/screen 35,000 screens in the USA, total would be ~ 7 billion. $10/hr projectionist replaced by $50/hr. video technicians 1276 CineComm owns equipment, will charge theaters fees based on showings of each movie. Such package makes the studios nervous. A gatekeeper between the distributors and exhibitors. CineComm, claims unbreakable encryption against piracy

8 Digital Distribution Will digital cinema replace film reels? Will movies be distributed ib t d from studios to theaters, worldwide,via satellite links? Productivity in Film Telecom firms have introduced a high speed extranet accessible to entire supply chain for project 1278 Jackson, Donny. Hollywood Lights. Telephony: 240(25), For hits, can distribute immediately to several screens in a multiplex. For box-office bombs, no wasted cost in making many prints, ($2000 each) But fear of easier piracy 1280 Next Step: Independent producers direct distribution to home? Theory: film makers or producers could bypass studios and distributors and transmit films directly to theaters or homes Realistic?

9 Next: Direct distribution to home screens Video-on-Demand(VOD)/ or near VOD eliminate theaters, video stores, pay-tv channels Could be operated by Hollywood distributors The Disney Server The Warner Connection 1282 Pros: Convenience; impulse; reach Con: Picture quality; diluted experience 1283 C. Enhancement of Old Content Film Restoration Film Enhancement (for HDTV)

10 Table 3.10: Film Survival Among Silent U.S. Films Year Films Made Films Surviving Percent Surviving % % % % % % % % % % % % % Table 3.10: Film Survival Among Silent U.S. Films % % % % % TOTAL % D. Interactivity Technology ogy 1288 TV Meets Internet Computer can be used as TV HDTV transforming TV signal linto computer signal Internet alternate broadcasting system Murray, Janet H., Digital TV and the Emerging Formats of Cyberdrama Creative Industries. Ed. John Hartley, Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing,

11 Virtual Internet Environment Example ER website will feature virtual space of set Visitors can browse medical records, patient files, etc. Murray, Janet H., Digital TV and the Emerging Formats of Cyberdrama Creative Industries. Ed. John Hartley, Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, Possibilities of Internet Mobile viewer movies: single visual presentation but multiple sound tracks. Virtual places and fictional neighborhoods (MUDs) Murray, Janet H., Digital TV and the Emerging Formats of Cyberdrama Creative Industries. Ed. John Hartley, Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing,