Cinedigm Digital Cinema says it installed 1 427 screens in the company’s last fiscal quarter marking the biggest quarter in the company’s history for digital cinema installations. The next highest quarter was the preceding quarter with 642 screens. In total the company has signed 9 667 digital screens for deployment and has installed nearly 8 000 total digital screens with 154 exhibitors nationwide. Close to 100 Cinema Buying Group members are included in these numbers with nearly half of the companies that Cinedigm has signed deals with being exhibitors that have 10 or fewer screens. Cinedigm is responsible for the conversion of the vast majority of exhibitors that are converting to digital and many vendor partners contributed to this accomplishment especially NEC and Ballantyne Strong that combined to install over 600 systems for Marcus Theatres in the quarter.
“With just under 12 months remaining before the end of our rollout we are seeing an extraordinary increase in the number of exhibitors coming to us to sign deployment agreements ” says Chuck Goldwater president Media Services Group. “As we have done with so many exhibitors already both large and small in size Cinedigm will continue to do everything we can to help everyone we can with signing agreements getting financing ordering equipment and lining up installation and service resources. Together with our invaluable equipment vendor partners and our many local dealer and service partners across the country we will continue to give as many exhibitors as possible the opportunity to be included in the digital future of our industry.”
Theatres across the nation are fully realizing the benefits of digital cinema and Cinedigm is the trusted partner of NATO's Cinema Buying Group ” says John Fithian president of the National Association of Theatre Owners. “These momentous milestones reinforce to our members that the time to go digital is now.” Cinedigm www.cinedigm.com ,2799
Cinedigm Technicolor Sign Acquisition Agreement,2011-10-15, Cinedigm Digital Cinema has signed its agreement to have Technicolor to acquire certain assets of Cinedigm’s physical and electronic distribution business as well as global software license agreements related to Cinedigm’s digital theatrical movie and trailer distribution business.
Initially announced in July the deal is expected to close in November and is subject to customary and limited closing conditions. During the next month the companies plan to work together to ensure a smooth transition for customers and employees. ,2800
Cineplex Group Germany Signs with Ymagis for Digital Conversion,2011-10-15, The majority of the exhibitors forming the Cineplex Group in Germany representing roughly 420 screens have concluded a contract with Ymagis for digital conversion. Pursuant to this agreement Cineplex will achieve its digital deployment in the coming six months. Ymagis will provide Cineplex with various services from virtual print fee management and financing solutions to technical services. Each of the 73 cinemas that are part of this agreement will be equipped with DCI-compliant digital projection equipment from various manufacturers and with the new Ymagis Theatre Central Server to enable Cineplex to manage a secure infrastructure between all connected screens. The cinemas will be serviced by German Service Partners such as Cineproject FTT Rüttgers and Kinoton and by Ymagis’ subsidiary specialized in technical services Ymagis Engineering Services.
Thanks to this agreement Cineplex will be able to provide its patrons a better cinema experience taking advantage of the most recent developments in the digital cinema technology. Once again the Cineplex group confirms its strong ability to innovate and to move towards improved operating efficiency. Ymagis has signed more than 550 screens signed in Germany of which the majority will be deployed before the end of 2011. Ymagis claims a leadership position of leader in the three largest cinema markets in Europe: France (more than 1000 screens signed of which 900 are deployed) Germany and Spain (close to 500 screens signed). Kim Ludolf Koch managing director of Cineplex Holdings says “With Ymagis we have found a partner who has been able to find adequate solutions to the diverse situations and requirements of our members. In addition to the 160 systems that have been recently installed our service partners will install another 260 systems in the coming months all these systems being covered by Ymagis’ financing model. This agreement will help us maintain in the future the existing business relationships with our technical service partners.”
Jean Mizrahi founder and CEO of the Ymagis group says “Ymagis is proud to have been chosen by Cineplex to assist its conversion to digital cinema. This agreement awards Ymagis’ approach to the cinema market: respect of each country’s specific cinematographic culture and specificities equitable approach to all players in the industry search for the highest quality for our services. We intend to stick to this philosophy in the future and we will do our best efforts to offer Cineplex and other German exhibitors the best possible services for their digital operations.”
Michael Krauth Ymagis Deutschland deployment director says ”The signature of this agreement is a milestone for Ymagis’ development in Germany. We are extremely honored to be working with Cineplex a major group of exhibitors managing from Multiplexes to traditional Cinemas. After two years of intensive efforts our company has now become a major player in Germany. We will from now on focus on delivering the best services to all our clients and on offering solutions to all exhibitors who need to convert to digital. The time window for the conversion is now getting short as hybrid management of digital and 35mm will soon become very difficult for distributors and exhibitors. All exhibitors must have a chance to convert in the best possible conditions without being left on the side; we look forward to offering them adequate solutions to make this transition as smooth as possible.” ,2801
Dashwood Releases Stereo3D CAT Alignment System ,2011-10-15,By Valentina I. Valentini Whether you’re just starting out with stereoscopic 3D projects or you’re experienced in 3D technology Dashwood Cinema Solutions has introduced a technology to aid in on-set 3D calibrations and configurations. The system Stereo3D CAT addresses what is often one of the most difficult aspects of shooting in 3D: aligning the separate images. “They need to be aligned perfectly on the X Y and Z axis for each camera and the lens’ focal lengths need to match ” says DCS’s founder Tim Dashwood. “Stereo3D CAT helps speed up that process.” According to Dashwood it also helps monitor the setting of the cameras and records those settings showing everyone on set that they’re within whatever parallax budget has been calculated for whatever size screen they’re eventually showing the footage on. In more technical terms Stereo3D CAT implements unique patent-pending technology to power systems for accurately aligning the geometry and colorimetry of stereoscopic setups calculating proper interaxial separation for any given parallax depth budget monitoring parallax and convergence in the scene compensating for disparities in the image and logging all settings for future reference in production or post-production. The system – which was in beta testing over the last few months on Imax’s Flight of the Butterflies and Cobu 3D and was just recently released for commercial sales – has built into it a view of parallax in your image and aids you to keep you within those limits. “For a typical parallax budget for a 30-foot widescreen feature you wouldn’t want anymore positive parallax than .7 percent ” says Dashwood “and negative parallax of about 1 to 1.5 percent.” According to Dashwood Stereo3D CAT doesn’t require any proprietary hardware. It will run on any Mac system and with any capture device. He says “We’re at a good pricing level for entry-level 3D camera crews: $12 500.” DSC Labs has also produced the Dashwood 3D Chart priced at $2500 for manual rig alignment or heightened calibration when working with Stereo3D CAT. “You don’t need the chart ” Dashwood says “but without it you won’t get the precise alignment tool. We’re actually using markers on the chart instead of trying to analyze the image we’re taking the known value of these positional markers and we’re capturing them analyzing them all live and sending them to the iPad with our free app. It becomes so easy for a camera crews because they can make physical adjustments on the rig and see them right away and exactly what is happening on the chart.” As much as 200 minutes of demo time is available for download at www.dashwood3d.com. DCS will have hands-on workshops in New York Los Angeles and Toronto. Details are available on the company’s website. ,2804
GoPro Goes Underwater for Rip Curl,2011-10-15, GoPro was used to create a new video for international surf brand Rip Curl that uses the first ever mobile waterproof 48-camera array to capture never-before-seen perspectives of two-time world champion surfer Mick Fanning doing what he does best in the warm waters of the South Pacific. The video was used for Rip Curl’s upcoming marketing campaign for its Mirage Boardshort. Additional videos for the Rip Curl campaign featuring this new GoPro Array technology will showcase Rip Curl surfers Owen Wright Matt Wilkinson Dillon Perillo and Dean Brady. “At GoPro we’re always looking for new ways to use our cameras new ways to leverage them to do something that’s never been done before in digital imaging ” says Nicholas Woodman founder and CEO of GoPro. “As an example GoPro is the first consumer camera company to enable people to combine multiple like-cameras together to form a new type of camera. We first did it with our 3D Hero System which allows you to combine two GoPro cameras together to form a 3D camera and now we’re experimenting with combining 48 cameras into a unique multi-camera array that enables entirely new forms of content capture. The results are stunning and it’s another great example of how the HD Hero truly is the world’s most versatile HD camera.” After GoPro's release of its 3D system in April GoPro teamed up with Tim and Callum Macmillan known as The Brothers Slice to create a handheld underwater camera array system for the Mirage campaign launch.
“We are always looking to lead the way when it comes to camera array effects and identifying new ways to push the limits for creativity and to acquire unique shots ” says Tim Macmillan of Time-Slice Films. “We’ve been waiting for the ideal camera technology to come along to do the video array. It’s like waiting for a wave. You see the wave coming you start paddling before everyone else and then it hits you and it is GoPro.” The result was the GoPro Array the world’s first video array which can be submerged underwater operated by one man and withstand the enormous waves at Cloudbreak Fiji. “The results and footage compiled from this campaign shoot is unlike anything anyone in surfing has ever seen before ” says James Taylor Rip Curl’s global creative director. “We had the best surfers in the world surfing one of the best waves in the world in the ultimate performance boardshort and all captured by the most versatile water cameras in the business. It was an unbelievable experience.” No other camera could have enabled this shoot says Tim Macmillan. What makes the GoPro Array revolutionary is shooting actual video not still pictures arranged sequentially. Multiple cameras shooting 720p at 60 frames per second all synched together opens up a multitude of possibilities. GoPro http://gopro.com ,2806
Drabinsky to Receive HPA Lifetime Achievemant Award,2011-10-15, Cyril Drabinsky president and CEO of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group is the recipient of the HPA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be given to Drabinsky at the HPA Awards gala on November 10th at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles California. The Lifetime Achievement Award pays tribute to those respected individuals who have made a significant contribution to the post-production industry. In announcing the award HPA president Leon Silverman said “We are honored to present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Cyril Drabinsky. As our industry evolves during this time of significant transition Cyril is one of those rare executives who understand how relationships talent and people truly make a difference and how the impact of changing technology enables new opportunities and ways to serve filmmakers and studios. Cyril brings an uncommon depth of perspective and historical insight from the photochemical process to the file-based methods that are defining our new digital industry. It is this insight and his ability to anticipate the future that has helped Cyril to build one of the largest and most significant post production operations in the world.” Drabinsky is at the helm of one of the most important companies in the entertainment industry leading a global team of executives that manage Deluxe’s services and operations. Those companies encompass the end-to-end pipeline of services for features television programs commercials and home entertainment for production post-production digital distribution multi-platform development marketing services and asset management. His oversight includes companies and operations in North America Europe Australia and India. Drabinsky entered the motion picture business in Canada when he was named senior vice president of distribution and affairs at Cineplex Odeon Corporation after receiving a Bachelor’s of Law degree from the University of Windsor. In 1987 he became president of Film House laboratories in Toronto then a wholly owned subsidiary of Cineplex Odeon Corporation. In 1990 the Rank Organization purchased Film House and Deluxe Laboratories in Hollywood formerly a division of 20th Century Fox and Drabinsky segued into operations of Deluxe Laboratories. He was named president of Deluxe Laboratories North America in 1995. Deluxe rebranded the Rank Laboratory in London to Deluxe and began the build out of a new Toronto film laboratory and a lab in Rome. In 2001 Drabinsky was named president of Deluxe Laboratories Worldwide. Drabinsky was named president and CEO of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group after Deluxe was acquired by MacAndrews & Forbes in 2006. Since then Deluxe has acquired and developed digital services and technologies throughout the world that have allowed the company to expand well beyond its legacy film laboratory business. Silverman said “The HPA Awards were designed to honor those individuals and companies doing important work and to the artists visionaries and technical experts who are helping us move into the digital future. As the industry continues to make this evolutionary transition we look to leaders like Cyril who possess visionary insight and the personal touch to help guide our industry to greater understanding respect and impact. We are so honored to have him accept this Award.” The HPA Awards www.hpaawards.net ,2807
Kinoton Service Tool Offers Online Monitoring of Projection Booths,2011-10-15,Kinoton GmbH has introduced the Kinoton Remote Service an online device that enables exhibitors to view the status of the connected digital cinema devices in their projection rooms. The new MyCinemas monitoring tool lets authorized users monitor the most important parameters of their units over the Internet such as lamp operating hours the temperature of critical components of the digital cinema projector and the status of the digital cinema server’s hard drives. Even basic device information such as the latest firmware and software versions of the devices is displayed. To get their personal password for accessing this information data online all that cinema owners have to do is register at the MyKinoton online portal to obtain their personal password. The KRS boxes at the respective theatres also have to be reconfigured once by a Kinoton service engineer. The users can then decide which of their auditoriums they want to be displayed online and who should have access privileges for this status information. The customers can change these access rights for projectionists or the theatre's technical staff whenever they like. MyCinemas periodically checks the values of all connected units and transmits almost in realtime to the Kinoton Remote Service server for display on MyKinoton. The connected devices also report any potential technical problems to the monitoring tool. In the event of a failure the cinema operator can then immediately alert the local Kinoton service partner who also initiates troubleshooting via the KRS box. The new online service lets Kinoton customers detect and nip budding problems such as an aging lamp or a soiled fan that is causing an excessive rise in temperature. MyCinemas users can access the monitoring tool via a standard web browser on virtually any Web-enabled device and additionally via the Web interface of the KRS box in the local theatre network. MyCinemas supports projectors of the DCP and DP series as well as many established digital cinema server models such as those from Dolby and Doremi. Kinoton is constantly extending the range of devices that can be checked via the online monitoring tool. On request the new service can even be adapted to include client-specific devices in the projection booth. Kinoton is also planning to launch an automatic warning message service that reports possible problems to a technical service contact. ,2809
Louis Lumiere Installs a Marquise Rain Color Grading System ,2011-10-15,The French film school Louis Lumiere has installed a Rain Marquise Technologies color grading system. The ever-changing technological environment and the new challenges the post-production industry is facing are reflected in the Masters course that ENS Louis Lumière is offering to students. The school was in the need of an up-to-date flexible and easy to grasp system to answer two purposes: first a platform for theoretical teaching able to easily demonstrate the fundamentals of color grading for both the cinema and the broadcast world and second a realistic tool the students can use for their production and research projects. The new technological and artistic challenges for film and post-production have led the school to strengthen its teachings concerning the color grading in HD and 2K as well as the workflows mastery including stereoscopy projects. For this very reason we are now equipped with a system that meets these requirements. The choice fell on
Rain from Marquise Technologies a solution that includes technical efficiency and artistic capabilities at an affordable cost says Michel Coteret director of education at ENS Louis Lumière. Laurence Stoll CEO of Marquise Technologies says Louis Lumière wishes to provide its students with a rock-solid background that will allow them to embrace the challenges of this industry with ease. Film students do not longer face traditional workflows but are used to work with high-resolution digital cinema cameras mixed formats and of course they have a very high passion for digitally color corrected pictures. In this fast-moving and challenging environment Rain brings them the toolset and the horsepower they need. Thanks to its up-to-date backbone technology and its clear and easy to work user interface it is a perfect instrument for teaching color grading. ,2810
Marcus Theatres Completes Digital Transition on 673 Screens,2011-10-15,Marcus Theatres has completed the installation of digital cinema systems in 630 first-run screens at 47 company-owned locations. Marcus has installed NEC 4K digital cinema projectors in 93 of its largest auditoriums. It all adds up to the ultimate visual experience says Bruce J. Olson president of Marcus Theatres. The new projection technology is just one element of the entire Marcus Digital Xperience. The quality of the audio is as important as the image in providing moviegoers with a memorable cinema experience. When customers go to the movies they expect to be 'wowed' and enjoy powerful immersive sound they can't hear anywhere else. The experience of seeing a movie in a theatre is truly unique from the minute you enter the front doors to when you leave. We continue to update our theatres with new lobby areas self-serve concession stands and comfortable memory-foam cushioned seats to make the moviegoing experience exceptional. The excitement of seeing the latest blockbusters enhanced by state-of-the-art digital technology combined with a comfortable environment and a wide variety of delicious concession options completes the Marcus Digital Xperience says Olson. As part of our enhanced digital experience we are extremely pleased that we will now be able to offer closed-circuit captioning for our hearing-impaired patrons through the CaptiView Closed Caption Viewing System. This innovative technology from Doremi Cinema can be used from any seat in the theatre through a bendable support arm that fits into the theatre seat-cup holder. In addition Doremi's Fidelio system will allow for personal headsets to receive audio descriptions for visually impaired guests. This system will be available in January. How exciting this will be for our patrons with hearing or visual impairments says Olson. Olson said these two technological advancements will be available on most but not all motion pictures. Studios must add the captions and descriptive audio to the digital content that they provide to theatres. Marcus Theatres has been running a limited number of open caption films when made available by studios at very limited times on a weekly basis. Now major studios will provide these features on almost every film. Patrons will simply ask at the box office for either a personal headphone or Closed Caption System for any showing. Olson also noted that digital cinema technology will enable the company to offer more presentations of live and recorded alternate programming such as sporting events concerts and Broadway plays in addition to more 3D systems as needed. Marcus Theatres www.marcustheatres.com ,2811
NATO Elects New Officers,2011-10-15, The National Association of Theatre Owners has announced today the election of new officers by the executive board of directors at the association’s annual meeting October 5-6 at the Park Hyatt hotel in Washington D.C.
Elected to two-year terms were – S. David Passman III president and CEO Carmike Cinemas as chairman; Nora Dashwood chief brand officer Pacific Theatres/ArcLight Cinemas as vice-chairperson; Byron Berkley president Foothills Entertainment as treasurer; and re-elected as secretary Mark O’Meara president University Mall Theatres.
NATO president and CEO John Fithian says “On behalf of our members I want to thank our outgoing officers and our new officers for their service. An association like NATO is only as strong as its volunteer leaders and NATO is truly fortunate to have the generous service of the most talented people in our industry.”
The association’s two-day meeting came at the end of a record-breaking summer at the box office amidst a troubled economic climate. More than 100 members celebrated the robust state of the movie theatre industry while discussing issues of common importance to theatre owners such as camcorder theft digital cinema and 3D projection. Members also met with key legislators and their staffs on Capitol Hill about issues concerning exhibitors prior to the meeting. Motion Picture Association of America chairman and CEO Sen. Chris Dodd keynoted a private dinner for exhibitors.
Pictured left to right: Byron Berkley S. David Passman III Nora Dashwood Mark O’Meara. ,2812
NATO Thanks Universal for Tower Heist Decision,2011-10-15,In response to Universal’s decision to cancel its planned release of Tower Heist to the home on video on demand just three weeks after its theatrical debut National Association of Theatre Owners president and CEO John Fithian said “NATO would like to thank Universal for responding to various theater owners' concerns and cancelling the PVOD test it was contemplating.” “They have been engaged with individual exhibitors on this test and while it was something that many theater owners could not ultimately support the open and collaborative nature of the dialogue is appreciated. NATO recognizes that studios need to find new models and opportunities in the home market and looks forward to distributors and exhibitors working together for their mutual benefit.
Cinedigm Sets Own Digital Installation Record in the Past Quarter
