Appendix U: Technology and Production A..So Storage 1250 1251 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. 1252 1253 1
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. 1254 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. 1255 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 1256 1257 2
The final step in filmless movies is digital projections in theaters. 1258 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. 1259 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. 1260 The six studios therefore had a print bill of more than $1 billion in 2003. 1261 3
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. 1262 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. 1263 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., 2005 1264 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. 1265 4
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. 1266 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. 1268 http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info- 2003/photo.htm 1269 5
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 (http://www.sharp.co.jp/sc/library/lcd e/s2 6 3e.htm) 1272 (Credit: The New York Times) 1273 6
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. 1275 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 1277 7
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), 48. 2001. 1279 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? 1281 8
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) 1284 1285 9
Table 3.10: Film Survival Among Silent U.S. Films Year Films Made Films Surviving Percent Surviving 1913 63 6 9.50% 1914 340 51 15.00% 1915 594 93 15.70% 1916 838 152 18.10% 1917 937 186 19.90% 1918 832 98 11.80% 1919 768 124 16.10% 1920 735 154 21.00% 1921 710 164 23.10% 1922 684 137 20.00% 1923 590 135 22.90% 1924 645 184 28.50% 1925 769 271 35.20% Table 3.10: Film Survival Among Silent U.S. Films 1926 727 269 37.00% 1927 681 234 34.40% 1928 641 201 31.40% 1929 272 103 37.90% 1930 35 11 31.40% TOTAL 10866 2576 23.71% http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info-2003/photo.htm 1286 http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info-2003/photo.htm 1287 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, 2005. 1289 10
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, 2005. 1290 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, 2005. 1291 1292 11