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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Katzenberg: Digital Cinema a Must

"The enthusiastic DreamWorks chief... said that with all the big-name filmmakers backing 3-D technology, his studio will be using it to make all its movies from 2009."

Wow. ALL Dreamworks movies will be 3D? I guess it's happening even faster than we all thought. Hmm, time for RED TWO?
 
or two red two's, since I doubt that everything will go 3D by then...
 
Yeah I am very excited about the potential of 3-D cinema like Lucas has been talking about with the Star Wars films, using technology that In-Three developed to turn the films into a 3-D viewing experience using digital cinema projectors. There is a lot of potential in the future, James Cameron has also talked about filming a bunch of movies this way. Lucas was right to suggest that theaters need to go in a direction where audiences really have a reason to pay for the ticket prices, something they can't get at home, because until they do the theatrical viewing market will struggle, but if people can get an experience at theaters they can't get at home, they will want to be part of that.
 
What this stuff about 3D stuff being pirate proof. Can't you just throw a orthogonal polarizing filter on the front of a camcorder. You'll still get one side of the two images which is obviously good enough pirating purposes.

And you could bring in two cameras strapped together and through the filters on.

I just wish people on the business end of movie making would realize that the best defense against pirating is producing a product that people actually want to buy.
 
Eh, it depends on the person, I know people who pirate everything no matter what, they just seem to think the rules don't apply to them and that it's their right to have anything they want for free because they "can't afford" to pay for everything.

For me, it's always been a no brainer not to pirate anything film-related because I've always been interested in the business and thought people who make products deserve to be paid money for them. Then again, I also used Napster a lot back in the day and downloaded every song I wanted for free, but so did 99% of everyone else. Once an alternative arose that I liked, iTunes, I buy everything now. It's not like 99 cents per song is some huge hardship. To me it's actually much better because I'd rather pay 99 cents for a crisp, clean quality version of a song I like than search around forever trying to find a version of it for free that doesn't suck. I remember that used to be a big issue.
 
3D cinemas? There's something better. Let me show you the future!!

It's 2036. People have gathered at a stadium in Tokyo, Japan to watch the Football World Cup final between Brazil and Jamaica (cough). Only, the final is taking place in Rio de Janeiro.

Multiple 3D cameras are beaming signals from Rio to a satellite with multiple receptors. Every part of the football field in Rio is being covered by a camera which corresponds to the same part of the football field in the Tokyo stadium. So the Tokyo stadium acts as a giant screen for the action taking place in Rio.

Spectators in the Tokyo stadium actually see the whole football action in front of their eyes in 3D as if they were actually in Rio, e.g., a spectator sitting behind the goal post in Tokyo will see the action as if he was seated behind the goal post of the Rio statdium.

I don't know if I have explained well but I hope you get the picture..
 
David Mullen ASC said:
Aren't those high-demand products the ones most likely to be pirated?
Click to expand...

Indeed, however:
- you can´t film from the screen oder telecine it (which is a good 30% of the pirates sources)
- you can´t use the 3D at Home, while HD and surround can be pirated, neither HDMI nor DVI in their current incarnations have 3D playback norms (which gives back something unique to the cinemas)

I think especially kids will love it.
 
David Mullen ASC said:
Aren't those high-demand products the ones most likely to be pirated?
Click to expand...

right, non enthusiasts or non film geeks could care less about the theatrical experience. Especially young people these days who grew up on instant-gratifying, on demand experience. They simply dont care for it. It's not going to be the same ever again. Unless you could actually get reported and physically arrested everytime you tap into illegal material, it's gonna keep on happening- TRANSFORMERS or not, if I could download it, I'll stay home and watch it.
But no one is stopping anyone from trying harder to get to that next level.
 
rameshjai said:
3D cinemas? There's something better. Let me show you the future!!

It's 2036. People have gathered at a stadium in Tokyo, Japan to watch the Football World Cup final between Brazil and Jamaica (cough). Only, the final is taking place in Rio de Janeiro.

Multiple 3D cameras are beaming signals from Rio to a satellite with multiple receptors. Every part of the football field in Rio is being covered by a camera which corresponds to the same part of the football field in the Tokyo stadium. So the Tokyo stadium acts as a giant screen for the action taking place in Rio.

Spectators in the Tokyo stadium actually see the whole football action in front of their eyes in 3D as if they were actually in Rio, e.g., a spectator sitting behind the goal post in Tokyo will see the action as if he was seated behind the goal post of the Rio statdium.

I don't know if I have explained well but I hope you get the picture..
Click to expand...

this kind of broadcast is probably what's next to happen. It's already being done for conferences, like in churches, where one room can't accommodate enough people so they make another room with a STAGE size screen so it appears as if you are looking at a stage.... but this is not cinema. It's just another way to utilize the video as a tool.
 
David Mullen ASC said:
Aren't those high-demand products the ones most likely to be pirated?
Click to expand...

Yes and that's why they make all the money. "Pirates Of The Caribbean" may get pirated (pardon the pun) but the box office income outweighs the damage. It's is the throw away films that also get pirated but then nobody wants to pay for them so they lose money.
 
laguun said:
Indeed, however:
- you can´t film from the screen oder telecine it (which is a good 30% of the pirates sources)
- you can´t use the 3D at Home, while HD and surround can be pirated, neither HDMI nor DVI in their current incarnations have 3D playback norms (which gives back something unique to the cinemas)

I think especially kids will love it.
Click to expand...

Well if we are talking telecine sources or academy sources then its even easier because you have source info. If you want you can strip out one of the channels and have a mono feed from the stereoscopic.

And 3d monitors are becoming cheaper and cheaper to buy.

http://www.business-sites.philips.com/3dsolutions/news/article-14704.html
http://www.stereo3d.com/displays.htm
 
dvpixl@gmail.com said:
this kind of broadcast is probably what's next to happen. It's already being done for conferences, like in churches, where one room can't accommodate enough people so they make another room with a STAGE size screen so it appears as if you are looking at a stage.... but this is not cinema. It's just another way to utilize the video as a tool.
Click to expand...
I think you are talking about a flat screen. I am talking about images that surround you in a way that you are there!

It's like taking a virtual tour of a house but instead of you seeing the house on your flat tv or computer screen, you are surrounded by 3D images of the house - you look up you see the ceiling, you look down you see the floor...
 
Well if Dreamworks expects to be making all of its movies in 3D, I guess that leaves all the good movies for us with RED to make.

3D may be the next generation of exhibition experiences because most audiences today are SFX junkies who need a greater fix to keep coming back.

I doubt if the "Astronaut Farmer" will be made in 3D, or movies like it. At least I hope not.

BTW, David I just saw it and loved it. You really had a wide range of cinematography that was handled very artistically. I felt the look was every bit a part of the story. It completly sold the story in a way that made it very real and believable. Thank you for sharing your mana'o (knowledge) with us.

aloha,

Keith
 
I saw it our rinky-dink movie-plex. Not the greatest projection but I'm on the Big Island, not Honolulu, so we have to trade off paradise for technology.

It must have been a fun movie to do. How many days principal photography did you have?

How did you divide up the work between you and your BC&D camera teams?

Why didn't Bruce take any credit?

I could go on forever asking you about shots because you seem to have a tremendous variety of conditions that all blended together seamlessly.

I will probably watch it many more times on DVD just to study it.

thanks,

aloha,

Keith
 
rameshjai said:
3D cinemas? There's something better. Let me show you the future!!

It's 2036. People have gathered at a stadium in Tokyo, Japan to watch the Football World Cup final between Brazil and Jamaica (cough). Only, the final is taking place in Rio de Janeiro.

Spectators in the Tokyo stadium actually see the whole football action in front of their eyes in 3D as if they were actually in Rio.
Click to expand...

I was sort of hoping by 2036 we could just put on a pair of glasses and everybody would be in the first 2 rows. There would be a microphone in every set of glasses so that it would process the level of cheering and create a 3D proxy of yourself somewhere else in the stadium so the 'crowd' would be live.
 
Studio accounting VS simple math

Studio accounting VS simple math

Ya,

I read that article in the trades yesterday. It is of great interest to me for a number of reasons. I think it important to clarify the "all films will be 3D" statement. In my recent 3D discussions with a DreamWorks producer I understand the statement to mean all ANIMATED films coming from their studio starting in 2009. This does include Shrek 4 BTW (already in production). Clearly, the subject matter/story must lend itself to the immersive 3D RealD experience (and 3D large format).

Of keene interest from the article is the Studio/Distributor investment strategy to create the 3D venues across the EU. Now that is something to talk about. Shrek 2 did $480 million international - you do the math NO WAIT allow me to do the math since studio accounting can be somewhat confusing to say the least.

- "Julian Levin, executive vp digital exhibition at 20th Century Fox, said earlier in the day that the studio will "be losing money" in the first few years of digital conversion. Levin said exhibitors should remember that the studio will be doing everything twice, creating both old-style prints and digital prints while the adoption process gathers pace.

...Those close to the situation hinted that the distributors will pay about 70% of the costs of installation, with the remaining 30% coming from the exhibitors and potential backing from banks."

Let's ball park it for an exercise - for the Math Phobic the abstract here is that the math pencils out as a win win for studios underwriting the investment amortized over 5 - 10 tent pole releases as opposed to "losing money over several years."

READ NO FURTHER IF YOU'RE NOT A 3D PRODUCER - YOU'LL BE BORED

I must admit the financial strategy is sound. Expedite the EU upgrade in a complicated market by underwriting the 3D digital conversions in theaters across the EU so that Shrek 4, Tintin, Avatar and other 3D fare have the needed venues in place. The part that always makes me grin is the accounting, aka, Studio Math. After all it is the more challenging addition and subtraction math skills that are required rather than let's say calculus.

Conversion Hardware
Christie Digital Projector
RealD 3D screen replacement and "magic box"
Qvis server (or equivalent)
Satellite downlink for digital delivery

Software and Licensing
RealD license
Server software
IT maintenance
Digital Print Satellite delivery

All in let's round it way up to cover the distributors' inflated overhead costs and call it $250K per screen (it's probably more like $175K).

Let's assume the target is 1000 3D screens across Europe by 4th quarter '08.

1000 x 250,000 = 250,000,000 USD

Distribs pony up 70% or $175 Mil (exhibitors pay the $75K per screen difference)

Now for the creative accounting:

Distribs have $175K invested in each new 3D screen. Box Office data shows that viewers line up to pay a premium to see the 3D version when a 2D version is simultaneously released. Distribs typically negotiate 100% of Box Office for the opening weekend. Then a variety of splits after that.

Let's presume Shrek 4 performs per its historical predecessors. On 1000 EU 3D screens we'll assume a conservative 33% share of its BO averaging in the higher price of each 3D ticket.

If you've read this far here's where it gets interesting:

33% of EU BO will be $160 Mil

Distribs' profit margin after studio shares, P&A etc can be shown on the ledger as ZERO - just ask Peter Jackson. Simple math says:

Per EU 3D screen, Shrek 4 gross is $160K per screen for a 6 week run of one tent pole release. Distribs' adjusted net return on investment, remember no 35mm print costs, print shipping etc, is:

Distrib Gross - Fractionally Adjusted P&A/screen = Net profit
(160,000 x .5) - (.2 x 160,000) = $48K

Amortize that actual net profit of $48K over the 3 - 5 major 3D releases coming in 2009 and now one can understand the rush by the Katzenberg's of Hollywood to underwrite the digital upgrade in the EU.

QED
 
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