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This topic comprises 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
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Topic: First hint at end of 35mm film distribution for Disney
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 07-13-2011 10:19 AM
quote: Jim Cassedy
Sure, new digital installations look great. But a few years
down the road as the equipment ages and theater owners take
the same amount of "care" they do with their present equipment,
it will only be a matter of time before digital looks just as
'bad' as some people claim 35mm looks today.
One thing that sure isn't changing is bad movie theater sound. Most theaters that go through digital projection conversions do little if anything at all to the sound system. At most a stereo optical based auditorium might get enough changes just to do 5.1 in barely good enough to get by standards. With the illusion of these digital systems needing less maintenance than film based systems I expect the theater sound systems to become even more neglected than they've already been.
To make matters worse some theater circuits are already charging premiums for sound done halfway right by installing more dynamic sound systems in premium priced big screen auditoriums and leaving the sound ordinary or shitty in the rest of the multiplex.
The combination of wimpy sound and the possibility of declining standards in digital projection system maintenance could push more people into watching movies on their TV sets at home. The high prices for tickets and concession items aren't helping things. And distractions from other audience members (cell phone use, crying babies, etc.) sure don't help either. Let's not forget the very derivative nature of so many of the movies themselves. The movie product itself is often shit.
The primary motive of pushing the conversion to digital projection has always been about cutting costs. The business people and marketing folks spoon feed the public the story about digital improving quality, but honestly it's about cutting costs. It's just like so many other trends in the entertainment industry, such as the glut of unscripted "reality" shows on TV. Less money to spend on professional writers and actors. More money for the producers and guys at corporate.
The movie studios cut their costs in numerous ways. No more prints to order and ship. Movie post production is essentially turned into a video-based work flow. The same digital intermediate video master used for the movie post production can be used directly for release onto Blu-ray, DVD, PPV/VOD, cable, broadcast, etc. This situation also allows the studios to rush things more and perhaps even lower the finish quality of the product. But it's still digital and that makes it perfect anyway.
The cost cutting situation with digital projection is very simple for movie theaters: cutting the payroll. Let the salaried manager punch the buttons (and work marathon shifts). Let the d-cinema tech visit once in awhile to change bulbs or do IT stuff -but more of that will become the job of the theater manager as service providers try to increase or protect their profit margins.
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Monte L Fullmer
Film God
Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted 07-13-2011 11:52 AM
With my "art" comment, one can compare this to driving a car and I can relate that to some semi-pro driving skills that I've learned:
Operating film machines is like driving a totally manual vehicle - no power nothing - where you 'learned' how to handle the vehicle with steering, shifting gears (when to to get the most torque per RPM range), braking and so forth. You're simply in total control and you know exactly what to do. Plus, you can take a junker that you bought for cheap and make it into a diamond and have the satisfaction that you have accomplished something.
Now, with digital, it's like driving a vehicle that does it for you: automatic tranny, power steering/brakes - all the buttons and whistles to please your fancy that are included to where in short, you sole duty is to put the thing into "D" and point the thing down the road - you have no control of the vehicle.
Plus, the danged thing has a price tag of a decent home where you have to take a 2nd mortgage out to make the payments for it if you did a contract where then, you have to lease the thing to "flush the toilet" once a month, and they only last a third as long as a good older vehicle.
Guess, I'm ranting on the user end of this spectrum since most comments are related to owners who have to do this for survival.
Oh well, and agree: it has to be - gotta make the changes if one is gonna survive.
-Monte
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