A Sense of Urgency

Bookmark and Share

Mon, 12/08/2008 - 19:00 -- Nick Dager

Music Video Shoots with Three HD Cameras to Finish in a Day Rockstar Media Group a Los Angeles-based boutique media and content production company recently shot a complex music video launching new Island Def Jam Music Group rock artists The Urgency. Three HD cameras were used to shoot the more than three-minute piece entitled Fingertips.
 
 The video was conceived and directed by Rockstar Media Group director Ryan Bosworth with fellow director Jim Matlosz serving as Director of Photography. Fingertips is currently in rotation at mtvU on air and online. The video can also be seen on many online music sites ranging from VH1.com to Yahoo.music. The indie/progressive rock band’s Police-like hit Fingertips opens The Urgency’s 11-track debut album with a rhythmic rock and reggae groove.
 
 “The label asked me to create a strong performance-based music video to launch The Urgency within a matter of weeks ” says Bosworth. “The creative consisted of a fantasy world in which the band would perform while being pursued by a mysterious goddess directly below the surface of their world. This execution required the band and goddess to be shot on green screen then composited into a stylized virtual set in post.” The cameras included a Panasonic AJ-HPX3000 native 1080p P2 HD camcorder the AJ-HDC27H VariCam HD Cinema camera and the AG-HVX200 P2 HD handheld. The three-camera shoot took place over the course of a single day at Hollywood’s HIP Stages with green screen on two walls and the floor the HVX200 placed in the rafters of an 18-foot ceiling (and other locations as needed) the VariCam set on a dolly and the HPX3000 on a crane.
 
 “While Ryan and I both really like the P2 HD tapeless workflow it became obvious to us that if we wanted HD resolution with the option of overcranking we would need to go with the VariCam ” says DP Matlosz.  “It’s a solid camera that works very well for green screen and it enabled us to vary the frame rates.”
 
 Matlosz says “We did need a second HD camera to make the tight budget and schedule work as well as get all the shots we needed including dolly shots crane shots handheld shots plate shots and B-roll all in one day while lighting a green screen and talent. So we chose the HPX3000 as our ‘A’ camera. Its high-quality 1920 x 1080 capture was of great interest to Ryan and me; add to that the P2 acquisition and tapeless workflow and we were both excited to give it a go.”
 
 “From an artistic standpoint the three Panasonic cameras tonally have a similar quality ” says Bosworth. “All three cameras had plenty of dynamic range for keying and color correction. The final color correction settings were only slightly different per camera which added a significant speed increase to the post pipeline”.
  “The breakneck schedule required the edit to start the same night as the shoot ” he says. “The P2 workflow gave us a real head start. With most of the ingest complete on set we were ready to start the edit within hours after the shoot day.”
 
 Both the HPX3000 and VariCam were outfitted with Canon Cine Zoom lenses. Matlosz shot a combination of AVC-Intra (HPX3000) DVCPro HD (VariCam) and DVCPro50 (HVX200). The project was edited in Final Cut Pro Studio 2. Selects were then exported to Compressor to be converted to the 10-bit uncompressed HD codec. The 10-bit footage was composited in After Effects CS3. The final delivery was a mix of DigiBeta BetaSP and mini-DV. There was also a digital delivery of the HD master finished in 720p/24fps.
  “The VariCam is my favorite of the tape-based HD cameras ” says Matlosz.  “It’s a workhorse and I love the flexibility it gives me from variable frame rates to very easy menus. The HVX200 is an amazing piece of equipment. I’ve used it for music videos commercials industrials sports documentaries and short films. You should see the footage blown up to 35mm. “ 
  “As for the HPX3000 from my past experience with Panasonic I knew I could trust the camera sight unseen ” Matlosz says. Its true 1920 x 1080 resolution is terrific and what's also nice is that Panasonic keeps menus very user-friendly across camera lines.”
 
 The Urgency www.islandrecords.com Rockstar Media Group www.rockstarmediagroup.com Panasonic www.panasonic.com/hvx200 ,584
A Conversation with Robert “Bobby” Liu,2008-12-09, Winner of the ASC Career Achievement in Television Award Robert F. “Bobby” Liu has been named the recipient of the American Society of Cinematographers Career Achievement in Television Award. Liu was born in Shanghai in 1926. He began his career working with Chinese filmmaking pioneer Chuang Kuo Chuen. Liu subsequently earned a master’s degree in cinema studies from the University of Southern California. He returned to Taiwan and taught filmmaking before he immigrated to the United States in 1966. Liu’s Hollywood career started on the camera crews of such television classics as Gunsmoke The Rockford Files and Columbo where he worked with some of the industry’s top cinematographers. As a cinematographer Liu earned Emmy nominations for Lou Grant in 1982 and Family Ties in 1989. He compiled dozens of additional credits on such television series as The Nanny The Martin Short Show and Hardcastle & McCormick. “My life has been one miracle after another ” says Liu. “I’m thankful to so many of my colleagues who helped me along the way. As a boy I never thought I’d be able to work in Hollywood but a dream doesn’t cost anything. I’m proud of being born Chinese but I am deeply grateful to have been adopted by this great country the United States. I mean that from my heart. This award is another miracle.” The Career Achievement in Television Award has been presented previously to George Spiro Dibie ASC and Donald M. Morgan ASC. He spoke with Digital Cinema Report. Digital Cinema Report: Where were you born and raised? Bobby Liu: I was born and raised in Shanghai. DCR: What are some of your memories of your family and early life? BL: The YMCA sponsored sending my father to be educated in the United States. When he returned he got a job as a senior clerk at Anderson Clayton an American firm with offices in Shanghai. He worked there the rest of his career. I have six brothers and a sister. I’m the second oldest. I was born in 1926 but due to a clerical error I am legally five years older according to the records. From the time I was a baby until I finished my undergraduate studies there was not a moment that didn’t involve war. I experienced insults that are deep in my mind that I will never be able to wash away. DCR: As a boy were you interested in photography? BL: My father was well-off prior to the Communist takeover. We had a darkroom in the house and my older brother and I were good in chemistry. We tried to make things like batteries and soap. We even tried to make enlarging paper but we couldn’t make a smooth coating on the paper. We had an 8 mm Kodak camera and played with it when we were in high school. Our father used to take us to watch movies on the weekend. I was very interested in Tom Mix and other silent movies. I was fascinated with moving pictures but never thought that I would end up in this business. I was very fortunate. DCR: What did you study in college? BL: My bachelor’s degree is in political science. The film medium is so powerful. I had seen a movie in which Walter Pidgeon played a diplomat and I was very impressed. But as I earned my diploma I realized that it went against my principles. I think it was Machiavelli who said ‘An ambassador is an honest man sent abroad to tell lies.’ When I heard about that I said ‘That’s not me.’ DCR: What happened next? BL: After the Communists took over in 1949 I went to Hong Kong. A friend introduced me to a motion picture company there called Great Wall Studio. There were two cinematographers on their staff. One of them was Chuang Kuo Chuen a true pioneer filmmaker in China. He made a feature silent movie at about the same time that Americans started making silent pictures. He put up the money wrote photographed and directed it and his wife was the star. It’s something like a Tarzan type of movie a love story in the Vietnam jungle. Later he became my father-in-law. My first job there was as a boom man in the sound department. When Chuang Kuo Chuen was offered a film in Taiwan his original assistant couldn’t go and he gave me the job. I worked with him on and off for many years. DCR: How did the opportunity come about to go USC film school? BL: You won’t believe this; my whole life is miracle after miracle. The first time I came to the U.S. I was sponsored by both the Chinese and American governments. There was a large organization in Taiwan that was trying to train and further educate the people in their own field in the United States so that they would be better off when they go back home. The U.S. government paid the tuition. I was chosen to study because I was in cinematography. I spent a few months learning English and went to USC. I met Herbert Farmer a truly dedicated educator who encouraged me to do graduate work. That’s why I got my master’s degree. When I returned I had an obligation to teach for two years. The Academy of Arts & Crafts the organization that sent me owned a studio. I was teaching filmmaking as an associate professor and I was also head of the educational film studio where they had a small stage. DCR: How did you get to know Robert Wise? BL: Robert Wise lectured at USC while I was there. I met and got to know him. Later he came to Taiwan where he was trying to make a picture called The Sand Pebbles. I called him up and he asked me to come see him right away. We met and he gave me a script to read. Later he came back to make the picture and he brought a cinematographer with him to shoot some tests. He borrowed me from Central Motion Picture Corp. the government-owned film studio where I was working to work with cinematographer Ted McCord (ASC). He offered me a job as second unit cinematographer on the Taiwan scenes but it didn’t work out. Instead I was assistant director handling Chinese cast and 5 000 extras the first two days. That was a good education for me. DCR: What other projects were you working on around this time? BL: The American organization that sent me to USC contracted with me to make a documentary film for them. They wrote the script and I did the rest with a newsreel cinematographer who shot most of it. I directed and edited it and the organization sent it to the Asian Film Festival where it won an award. That film was called Industry: A Free China. I didn’t pay a lot of attention at the time but that film helped me immigrate to the United States. I also showed it to James Wong Howe (ASC). DCR: Tell us that story. BL: I never worked with James Wong Howe but through a camera teacher at USC a classmate and I were invited to Christmas dinner at his house. I showed him some of my school projects. Later we had dinner at a restaurant in Chinatown owned by an old friend of his. A few years later he invited us again and I showed him the documentary film I had made. He seemed to like me very much and complimented the editing. This was how James Wong Howe and I became friends. DCR: How did that film help you immigrate? BL: I was on third preference quota which meant I didn’t need a sponsor in the United States. It meant that I needed three things: an advanced degree at a well established university in the U.S. five years of experience and special achievement in my field. The award I had won for the film fulfilled the third requirement. I was approved to immigrate with my family. I wrote a letter to Herb Farmer and he offered me a job managing and running the motion picture laboratory of USC Cinema department. How do you like that? It was another miracle. I couldn’t believe it. Before I even arrived I knew I would have a job waiting for me. That was in 1966. DCR: How long did you work at USC? BL: Two-and-a-half years. Then another student at USC a client of the lab who was working on his doctorate degree suggested that I come to work at UCLA where I could be a cinematographer and the pay was a little better. I was interviewed and got the job. I worked at UCLA for three-and-a-half years as principal cinematographer at their media center. I shot various documentaries and many surgical films for various medical departments. DCR: How did you make the transition to narrative filmmaking in Hollywood? BL: There was a journalism student at UCLA who was also a body builder. He wanted to make a film for his thesis but he didn’t know how to shoot so he hired me. I shot his film and he suggested that I try to get into the minority group pool as a way into the entertainment field. I was unfamiliar with that. I tried it and at first nothing happened. He urged me to try again – this time as a second assistant rather than as a director of photography. Within two weeks I got a job. I have to thank John Flinn (ASC). The day he went out for his acting career I was hired as second assistant on Gunsmoke. John didn’t know it but he helped me get a foot in the door. DCR: What other shows do you recall from that time? BL: I have to thank another wonderful friend Edward Plante (ASC). He was the director of photography for Medical Center. I worked for him a couple of times as an extra camera assistant. When his first assistant left he moved his second to first and I took the job as his second assistant. That’s how I accumulated the hours and got into the union. I was a second assistant for him for about two and a half years. Later Gene Polito (ASC) had me work with him as second assistant on a feature called Westworld. He moved me up from second assistant to first assistant on a movie of the week. I worked with him on quite a few shows. Gene brought me to Universal Studios. Richard Glouner (ASC) was the director of photography who helped me move up to operator. I’m very grateful. Eventually they started putting me on shows where there had been problems maybe personality problems or something. I was very fortunate in that after I got on these shows they ran smoothly. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not a very easy guy to get along with. I have a bad temper and I’m stubborn-minded. DCR: After operating for a season on Lou Grant a single-camera series shot on 35 mm film you moved up to director of photography and went on to shoot four seasons of that popular award-winning show. What was your approach to that assignment? BL: When I operated on Lou Grant the major set – the newsroom set – was lit with a tremendous number of photofloods above the ceiling. It was very expensive used a lot of electricity and made for a very hot set. When I took over the first thing I did was to suggest that we switch to fluorescents which were rare at that time. Everyone wondered whether it would work. I knew from experience and from my days at the USC film lab that color temperature can be played with very easily as long as your light sources are uniform. I ordered warm white fluorescents which mingled well with our tungsten sources on stage. The second thing I did was to gradually convince the producer to shoot more on locations and less on stage. When I started we were doing about five days on the stage and two days on location for each hour-long episode. I proved that I could make the transition seamless and by the end of the last season that had switched – we were doing five days on location and two on stage. That was also rare for a television series at that time. DCR: What’s your advice for those coming up? BL: For me this job is fun. My mind is always open to figuring out a better way. I’m not trying to say I know the best way for everything – I don’t. But all the things you learn stay with you. I have no regrets about going from the bottom to the top twice. I realize that this is all worthwhile. If you enjoy it it doesn’t matter. The catch is whatever job you are assigned do that job well. That’s my goal. Whatever my job is I do that job the best I can do. Don’t try to overstep even though you may know the answer. I don’t need credit and I don’t strive for it. I never expected this award. It’s very fulfilling and rewarding for me to receive this acknowledgement from the people I worked with. DCR: How does being from another culture affect you? BL: To tell you the truth I am very proud of being born Chinese but I am deeply grateful to be adopted by this great country the United States. I love America. This is from my heart. I feel being Chinese is my roots. When I came to America in 1959 I saw what a great country this is. I had lived in Taiwan which called itself Free China for 12 years before I came here. I had only heard and read about the U.S. When I got here I realized what freedom actually is. That’s why I dreamed that maybe someday I could immigrate to the United States. A dream doesn’t cost anything. DCR: What does membership in the ASC mean to you? BL: It’s such an honor to be in this prestigious society. The members are not only loyal to each other but very thoughtful about future generations in cinematography. I think this is a very important objective to care about those coming up as the founders did. We should give as much as possible. I’m old and retired but my heart is always with the ASC. As far as this award goes it’s another miracle to me. ASC www.theasc.com ,589
Marcus Opens 70-Foot UltraScreen,2008-12-10,Brings the Chain’s Total of Large Screens to a Dozen Marcus Theatres opened its new 70-foot-wide UltraScreen at the Orland Park Cinema last month in time for the holiday season. The Orland Park UltraScreen is a completely new 400-seat auditorium designed and built from the ground up as a state-of-the-art showcase for moviegoers in the Chicago suburb of Orland Park and the surrounding areas. This is the company's twelfth UltraScreen. Imagine watching the romantic action adventure film Australia or enjoying the remake of the classic sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still on a dramatic 70-foot-wide screen. Now Orland Park moviegoers will be able to experience their favorite holiday films in an entirely new way says Bruce J. Olson president of Marcus Theatres. Audiences will see the latest Hollywood blockbusters in vivid color on a wall-to-wall sized screen with unbelievably cutting-edge crystal clear sharp images. The UltraScreen experience takes moviegoing to a totally new level of excitement and entertainment and is one of the most dynamic experiences in the industry today. A remarkable state-of-the-art digital sound system will be an impressive feature of the new UltraScreen providing the most incredibly lifelike and dynamic digital sound possible. The new sound system features Crown International's innovative Digital B-Chain and JBL Professional's Academy Award winning ScreenArray cinema system. Marcus Theatres has brought these systems together to create a cinema audio experience that is the first of its kind at any theatre in North America says Olson. The Orland Park UltraScreen is our second UltraScreen in Illinois and we are excited to bring this engaging experience to our guests. Moviegoers throughout the southern Chicago area will now be able to experience incredible lifelike images on a huge screen and discover the magical moviegoing experience provided by our UltraScreen just in time for the holiday season says Olson. Marcus is the seventh largest theatre circuit in the United States and with the addition of the new UltraScreen currently owns or operates 679 screens at 56 locations in Wisconsin Illinois Iowa Minnesota Nebraska North Dakota and Ohio and one family entertainment center in Wisconsin. For more information please visit Marcus Theatres www.marcustheatres.com The Marcus Corporation www.marcuscorp.com ,591
An Exhibitor Responds,2008-12-10, The Owner of an Independent Theatre Offers his Thoughts on 3D Jim Kayton is the owner and operator of the Callicoon Theatre in Callicoon New York a single screen venue in a small rural town. He offers his perspective on the present and future of 3D movies and the impact it is having on theatres like his. The slowdown in the headlong pursuit of digital and 3D cinema is encouraging. The transition is a complex issue as you have fairly and emphatically pointed out. I see 3D as at best no more than the off-and-on distorted novelty that is has been since what? the 1950s and at worst a gimmick foisted on exhibitors by distributors PR types and lobbying groups desperate to keep the film industry relevant and a short-sighted heavy-handed effort to gain market share. The cost of 3D and digital equipment would permanently darken many screens depriving a significant number of people the unique movie theater experience while eliminating an important source of income for small independent exhibitors at a critical economic juncture.
 Quality films with good scripts directors acting and other relevant components will keep the industry stronger than will more cheesy special effects. So will reasonable admission prices and production cost-containment. Exhibitors and the public see gimmicks for what they are; perhaps that's why only some five percent of our nation's screens are equipped with 3D presentations.
 ,592
Format Friendly,2008-12-10, Panasonic Introduces P2 Portable Recorder/Player Panasonic has introduced the solid-state AG-HPG20 P2 Portable recorder/player with AVC-Intra recording capabilities. Supporting the 10-bit AVC-Intra codec as well as formats ranging from DVCPro HD to DV the P2 Portable will serve as a master quality deck for fast file-based recording bridging content to and from older tape based systems and HD-SDI infrastructures.
 
 Featuring two P2 card slots the P2 Portable’s solid-state design holds up to the demands of field operation yet it is small and light enough (2.5 pounds) for easy transportation.
 
The HPG20 supports a wide range of high definition and standard definition recording formats. For added versatility the P2 Portable supports up- down- and cross-conversion for HD or SD transmission.  Additionally it allows “confidence playback” from P2 files stored on a hard disk drive. 
  A key benefit of the P2 Portable is that it can be paired with a wide range of tape-based and solid-state cameras as well as camcorders from different manufacturers. When using two 64GB P2 cards (available in December) in the P2 Portable’s two card slots the unit can record for 128 minutes in AVC-Intra 100 or DVCPro HD 256 minutes in AVC-Intra 50 or DVCPro50 or 512 minutes in DVCPro.
 
The AG-HPG20 P2 Portable will be available early 2009 and will offer a five-year limited warranty program.
 
 Panasonic www.panasonic.com/broadcast ,594
Live Football is 3D Screened in Three U.S. Theatres,2008-12-10,Clearview Mann and National Amusements The National Football League 3ality Digital and RealD joined forces to test a three-dimensional broadcast experience that could create a new viewing standard for televised sports. The first-ever live broadcast of an NFL game in full digital 3D format featured the NFL Network's Thursday Night Football game December 4th between the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders was shot and transmitted by 3ality Digital and shown to invited guests at RealD 3D-enabled Clearview Cinemas Mann Theatres and National Amusements theatres in Boston Hollywood and New York City. Collectively all three circuits have more than 160 RealD theatre locations with major expansions planned for 2009. Technicolor Digital Cinema provided the satellite transponder time and digital downlink services to each theatre. The NFL has played an important role in the evolution of media and consumer acceptance of emerging technologies and we're pleased to work with 3ality Digital and RealD to glimpse into the future says Howard Katz the NFL's senior vice president of broadcasting and media operations. This broadcast will be an exciting test of how 3D could affect fans' experience in the future. Burbank-based 3ality Digital is overseeing production and transmission of the 3D broadcast. The company has established itself as a leading provider of digital 3D offerings by bringing to market the first live action film shot entirely in digital 3D – U2 3D – the first transatlantic 3D broadcast – Jeffrey Katzenberg interview at IBC – and the first scripted television show shot entirely in live digital 3D – NBC's Chuck. Digital 3D broadcasting provides a compelling and visceral experience for viewers one that is shaping the evolution of a new content delivery standard says 3ality Digital CEO Sandy Climan. We already have demonstrated the tremendous value digital 3D brings to mainstream movies and scripted television programs and we are looking forward to astounding the audiences who will be enjoying this unprecedented event on December fourth. As boxing fans once gathered at local theatres to see heavyweight title matches in the era before pay-per-view and plasma televisions RealD's new technology will give audiences another reason to head to the theatre says Michael Lewis chairman and CEO of RealD. The continued box office success and the strong audience response to films released on RealD's platform have shown that consumers crave a premium 3D cinematic experience. We look forward to giving fans of live events the opportunity to feel like they're in the front row without even being there. The 3D broadcast was the latest in the NFL's ongoing efforts to use technology to enhance fans' enjoyment of the sport. Decades ago the NFL was the first sports league to establish weekly sports programming on primetime television in 1970 with Monday Night Football. In the years since the league has been at the forefront of emerging media including cable and satellite television satellite radio online and mobile phones. 3ality Digital www.3alitydigital.com RealD www.reald.com ,597
Pushing the Wrong Button?,2008-12-10,Editor’s Note: All of us at Digital Cinema Report wish you all the best for the holiday season and a healthy and successful New Year. Our next Report will launch on January 15th 2009. How ironic that one of the first truly high-profile glitches in these still early and often turbulent days of digital cinema would happen during the screening of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The movie which was directed by David Fincher and stars Brad Pitt and Kate Blanchett tells the story of a man who lives his life backwards from old age through childhood. For film diehards the incident may have raised some deep hope that 35mm film could somehow magically reverse the aging process and have another century of life. Digital supporters surely groaned because Fincher has been one of digital cinema’s most outspoken and noteworthy proponents. Both movie industry trade dailies had large stories about it but Variety’s headline in classic Variety style – “Button undone by digital dilemma” – seemed to sum up the prevailing mood in Hollywood. According to Variety writers David S. Cohen and Anne Thompson Paramount executives “were so eager to get the movie in front of guild and Academy members and key press that they weren't willing to wait another week for release prints. In any case finicky director David Fincher preferred to showcase his technologically ambitious digital movie – which deploys complex visual effects to make Brad Pitt age backward – with a digital projector. The two trial runs during the day had gone smoothly.” Variety’s account said the movie had a “peculiar green tint” to it that gave cinematographer Claudio Miranda a bad feeling.” “But about 25 minutes into the film ” as Carolyn Giardina wrote in the Hollywood Reporter “the image froze the film stopped and the house lights went up.” The parties involved worked for a while to get the 2K projector and server operating correctly but after a time decided to cancel the screening. Fortunately neither report included the names of the manufacturers of the projector or server. I say fortunately because I don’t think the technology was necessarily the problem. And as every digital cinema manufacturer I’ve spoken with about this incident privately agreed this could have happened to any of them. Several digital screenings of the movie went off without a problem in theatres and screening rooms where the technology has been in place for some time. (More on that in a moment.) And as both newspapers suggested history is filled with high-profile screenings where the film projector or the film stock itself broke down. These things have happened without making news. So why did this incident get so much attention? There are several reasons. First this was one of Paramount’s initial efforts to promote its $150 million movie to the industry in its build up to the Academy Awards. Among other VIPs top executives the producers Fincher and the stars were all on hand. Second many people in Hollywood don’t understand digital cinema technology as well as they should.  Third that’s in part due to the fact that digital cinema technology is still relatively new and more to the point there are many people in Hollywood who wish digital would simply go quietly away. There are a number of top directors and cinematographers who will probably never shoot a movie digitally and – witness Spielberg and last summer’s Indiana Jones installment – would much rather that their work only be seen on film. A man I know has for almost three decades worked in the server division of National Cash Register a company with its own history of making the technology transition from the 20th to the 21st century. He knows nothing about digital cinema but obviously his experience has taught him a lot about computer systems. Over Thanksgiving dinner I told him about the Benjamin Button incident and he smiled and nodded his head knowingly. He said it didn’t surprise him to hear that a digital system that sophisticated didn’t perform as expected because they generally require a lengthier shake out period. Exhibitors are beginning to exploit the many alternative content options that are now available. In this issue alone we have a story about new live opera performances and live 3D NFL football games playing in movie theatres across the United States. In our next Report we’ll have the story of the NBA All Star game coming to a theatre near you. The corporate powers that be in Hollywood need to understand digital cinema technology completely. Failure to immerse themselves totally in everything that digital cinema can and can’t be is critical if the major movie industry is going to survive let alone thrive. Given the industry’s history of rejecting every major new technology development from sync sound to the VCR the odds would seem to be stacked against them. ,598
The Big Game,2009-01-10, Championship Football Game Screened Live in 3D – An Industry First Sony Fox Sports 3ality Digital and Cinedigm Digital Cinema teamed up to bring the FedEx BCS National Championship Game between the University of Florida and the University of Oklahoma to theatres in 35 states on its proprietary CineLive satellite network. While private tests and select-theatre showings of live 3D sporting events have been conducted previously the BCS game on January 8th was the first time that fans could purchase tickets to see live 3D sporting events at hundreds of screens in neighborhood multiplexes in 35 states. Florida defeated Oklahoma 24-14 and was named the number one football team in the country. The game was screened at the Mann Chinese Six and the Krikorian Monrovia Cinema 12 in Los Angeles California as well as to the 80 theatres across the country. Many of the 80-plus theatres reported ticket sell-outs. The BCS Championship in 3D grossed more than four times higher than the best per screen movie gross for the same evening. The fan turnout shows the incredible level of interest in live 3-D and digital cinema. Our sincere thanks and congratulations to Sony and Fox Sports for their incredible support for this historic broadcast and to 3Ality for capturing the game for us says Bud Mayo chairman and CEO of Cinedigm. There are so many great sporting events and other kinds of entertainment that can now be brought to consumers across the country with digital cinema technology. Cinedigm is the only company that can distribute live 3-D on a national scale and we hope to see everyone back for Cinedigm’s live 3-D broadcast of the NBA All-Star Saturday Night on February 14th.” “We were delighted to have produced for Cinedigm the first ever national 3D broadcast of the BCS Championship to fans across the country ” says Sandy Climan CEO of 3ality Digital. “The uniqueness of their CineLive satellite network together with their industry leading distribution and marketing expertise made them the perfect partner for this groundbreaking event and we’re looking forward to making history with them again in the future. “ “Cinedigm’s execution was excellent ” says Michael Karagosian MKPE Consulting. “Cinedigm’s effort in bringing the BCS Championship game to theatres deserves a round of applause ” says Chuck Viane distribution president The Walt Disney Studios’ Motion Pictures. “The company’s ability to provide this event on a nationwide scale is truly unique in these pioneering days of 3D events.  As Disney is a company that is committed to the benefits of 3D movies we commend Cinedigm too for their innovation in digital cinema and now in live 3D events.” “It was evident that football fans and techies in the audience loved this event. We’re looking forward to bringing the NBA All-Star Saturday night to Rave customers as well and to future live 2D and 3D Cinedigm events ” says Tom Stephenson CEO of Rave Motion Pictures. One group a father and his two sons who attended the event shared the following: Alex Kayaian a 15 yr old high school student and member of the Mamaroneck New York high school junior varsity football team says “I thought it was awesome unlike anything I had ever seen before!” Peter Kayaian also a high school student and member of the Mamaroneck high school junior varsity football team says “It was amazing. I felt like I was really on the field!  When is the next time they are doing this?” Paul Kayaian an international media and marketing consultant says “It was fabulous!  The clarity and consistency of the picture was astounding and the 3D effects were brilliant.  All the pieces were terrific: the sound quality the camera-work the top-quality 3D visuals all in a grand movie theatre setting complete with popcorn made for a compelling and genuinely exciting experience.” The movie-going experience of the future has arrived says George Krikorian president and CEO of Krikorian Premiere Theatres. We believe that the future movie-going experiences will far exceed our greatest expectations. These 3-D presentations represent a pivotal transitional moment in film exhibition history. Live 3D Broadcast of prominent sporting events will be far more compelling and appealing to the public than live attendance at those events. We are proud and excited to participate in this historic presentation. We are extremely excited to be added to the Cinedigm CineLive network and to be able to show the upcoming BCS Tournament says Peter Dobson CEO of Mann Theatres. Cinedigm is truly the leader in digital cinema and we are pleased to be working with them. We are changing the way the public enjoys movie theatres says Bud Mayo chairman and CEO of Cinedigm. Tens of thousands of sports fans around the country now will have a chance to experience one-time sporting events live in 3D at their local multiplexes. We are delighted that major sports franchises and consumer brands are realizing the benefits of this new kind of entertainment for the public. Our growing national network of 80-plus top-quality theatres can help expand both the audience for sporting events creating new revenue opportunities for sponsors and exhibitors while giving more entertainment options to the average family. Cinedigm Digital Cinema www.Cinedigm.com