Film is dead at least according to a survey of film festival organizers that Quvis Technologies CEO Kenbe Goertzen discussed recently at the International Film Festival Summit in Austin Texas. As a whole film festival organizers say that they do most of the judging in digital formats and believe that digital formats specifically a Digital Cinema Package offers the best viewing experience for their audience. “Film festivals across the world are undergoing the digital conversion and there is a lot of concern amongst the film festival community about how digital cinema will affect submission and exhibition processes ” said Goertzen. “The conversion to digital will offer huge benefits for indie filmmakers and festival directors alike and the International Film Festival Summit is the best place to learn more about how to take advantage of these new digital technologies. “The mission of the Summit is to provide festivals and by extension filmmakers with access to the latest technology trends and developments in our industry ” said Laurie Kirby executive director of the International Film Festival Summit. “The International Film Festival Summit is the only event entirely devoted to professional development of executives who work in the film festival community.” With all cinemas expected to convert to digital projectors by 2015 Quvis set out to gain insight from film festival organizers – both large and small – into their preferred viewing format of film submissions. The survey which was conducted by Quvis and co-sponsored by the IFFS shed light on the film festival submission and exhibition processes particularly which digital format is preferred and why. Highlights of the survey results include: Film festivals prefer digital quality submissions. When asked to rank the most common to least common method for submitting films for display film reel was selected as the least common. When choosing between digital streaming DVD Blu-Ray Disc or film reel film festival organizers voted DCP as the format offering the best viewing experience. With the costs of making films on the decline and more avenues to distribute work more filmmakers are self-distributing films further supporting the hypothesis that film festivals are alive and well. While traditional theatrical distribution is still the most common way for filmmakers to distribute their films after a film festival paid digital and self-distribution are emerging as two popular distribution formats. A summary of the Survey findings can be found on the Quvis website http://www.quvis.com/news/. ,3773
Managing Tight Locations for Captain Phillips,2012-12-14,Captain Philips directed by Paul Greengrass (Bourne Ultimatum Green Zone United 93) is based on the true-life story of Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) who was taken hostage by Somali pirates on board of the famous freight ship Maersk Alabama. The production required shooting on ships and other tight locations around the world and made choosing the right gear a necessity. Barry Ackroyd BAFTA winner and Oscar nominated cinematographer for Hurt Locker (2008) chose ten Rotolight RL48’s for use on the feature. Ackroyd says he chose Rotolight the RL48’s for their portability and versatility on set. Chief lighting gaffer Harry Wiggins (The Iron Lady Green Zone) says “We shot Captain Phillips on different ships all over the world and there was one light we always took with us – the Rotolight. Perfectly-sized and with a built-in gel kit it was my get-out-of jail card and always right there on my belt.” “It was neat punchy and saved time by the bucket load: small enough to hide behind an existing fitting to boost it powerful enough to key on it's own ” says Wiggins. “When we wanted that little bit extra wherever we wanted it and at whatever temperature we wanted it - clunk! Rotolight.” ,3774
Siren Digital Upgrades Digital Intermediates Capabilities,2012-12-14, Siren Digital a film TV and new media production group in Hollywood has chosen a Digital Vision’s Nucoda color grading system with DVO toolset and Precision control panel for their digital intermediates and technological operations. Continuing a long-standing collaborative relationship the team at Siren has worked with Digital Vision over many years beginning with installations of Nucoda in Santa Monica and extending overseas to large-scale facility build-outs in Korea and China. Over the course of many projects the companies have found new ways to produce and manage the creation and delivery of entertainment content. Kyle Jackson co-founder of Siren Digital said “We have a significant comfort level and familiarity with Digital Vision’s outstanding toolset support and R&D group built upon years of experience at another facility we designed and operated in Los Angeles and global projects we’ve managed. Over the past five years Digital Vision has been the backbone of many of our endeavors. Their software proves time and again to be able to handle the real-world challenges of changing post production workflows.” Digital Vision’s Nucoda grading and mastering systems support ACES all the major digital camera formats on the market and provides robust features for creative flexibility. The Precision panel adds a high level of control for colorists with its unique industry-leading combination of tactile controls and integrated touch-sensitive panels.
Siren Studios an emerging 360-degree production studio and Siren Digital together offer a broad base of services to the industry from creative to advanced production visual effects post production audio film finance and international distribution. “We are engaged in a number of traditional and emerging processes globally and it is crucial that our tools work now and evolve with the way our colleagues want to collaborate in the future ” Jackson said. “While we are involved in some very technologically advanced work we are also working daily on digital intermediates designing post workflows and delivering projects. We believe that Digital Vision is with us today and for the long run.” Jackson added “Working with Digital Vision has always been one of the most rewarding technological collaborations we have ever engaged in. Their willingness to work closely with us to devise solutions is crucial. They understand real-world demands as well as creative needs. Just as important as the toolset is their willingness to respond with flexibility ingenuity and dedication.” Kelvin Bolah president of Digital Vision said “We have known the Siren team for years and have seen them consistently do ground breaking interesting work. They think a bit differently and they think big. You must be careful with words like visionary but that’s what we consider Siren Digital. We are looking forward to the exciting projects that Kyle and his partners Jeff Brue and Matthew Treinish have in their pipeline.” ,3775
Sound City to Have Online Release in February,2012-12-14,Celebrating the confirmation of its premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters Nirvana) announced today that his documentary Sound City will be released as an HD digital download (DRM-free) and stream February 1 via www.soundcitymovie.com. Fans who pre-order the film now will receive instant exclusive rewards followed by a stream and download of the entire film on February 1. The pre-order price of the DRM-free film is $10 and is also available to send as a gift. A pre-order date from iTunes and other digital partners will be announced shortly. The film will also be released theatrically in association with Variance Films on February 1. A list of cities and theaters will be announced shortly. Sound City was conceived by Grohl after purchasing the legendary custom-built Neve 8028 recording console from Sound City Studios last year. The board built in 1972 is considered by many to be the crown jewel of analog recording equipment having recorded such artists as Neil Young Fleetwood Mac Tom Petty Cheap Trick Guns and Roses Fear Nirvana Rage Against the Machine Slipknot Nine Inch Nails Metallica and countless other musical legends over the past 40 years. Through interviews with the artists and producers that created decades of musical history at Sound City the film showcases the amazing history of the studio focuses on the albums recorded there that went on to change the world then explores the human element of music in an age of technology and features performances of new music created exclusively for the film. Grohl's personal connection to Sound City began with the 1991 recording of Nirvana's breakthrough album Nevermind. Selling more than 30 million copies worldwide Nevermind changed the entire musical landscape and forever altered the course of Grohl's life. Roswell Films a division of the Roswell Records label that releases Foo Fighters music will distribute the film. Key personnel involved with the film include producer/director Dave Grohl; editor Paul Crowder (Dogtown & Z Boys Once In a Lifetime Riding Giants); and writer Mark Monroe (The Cove Once In a Lifetime The Tillman Story). The film is also being produced in conjunction with Jim Rota John Ramsay and Therapy studios. ,3776
Technicolor Village Roadshow Announce Strategic Alliance,2012-12-14,Technicolor has announced a strategic alliance with Village Roadshow a long-standing customer and a leading entertainment company operating in film and DVD distribution cinema film production theme parks and music. The agreement is designed to strengthen Technicolor's worldwide footprint by expanding its presence in Australia where the Group is already well established as the country's largest DVD/Blu-ray disc replicator. It will also strengthen its Australian operations. Since 2000 Technicolor is Village Roadshow's exclusive DVD and Blu-ray manufacturing supplier. The Group served both Australian and internationally produced titles such as Happy Feet Red Dog Sex & the City 1 & 2 Sherlock Holmes The Hurt Locker Ocean's 11 12 & 13 I am Legend Mao's Last Dancer Underbelly and many others. Under the strategic alliance Technicolor and Village Roadshow will jointly progress the transition to digital content creation and delivery and will further extend Technicolor's existing service offerings in the Australian market including: digital cinema distribution service support DVD/BD manufacturing and distribution digital encoding content preparation transcoding and related digital media services including MediAffinity. We are delighted to be broadening our relationship with a leading entertainment company such as Village Roadshow said Frédéric Rose CEO of Technicolor. Leveraging our synergies we will be able to provide cutting-edge services to the Australian media and entertainment market.” This strategic alliance is an important milestone as Technicolor will become a key-partner in the provision of entertainment services in particular for our film DVD and digital distribution business in Australia. We look forward to expanding our close working relationship and thus further developing and distributing compelling content to consumers said Chris Chard managing director Roadshow Films.
Survey of Film Festival Organizers Brings Digital Transition into Focus
