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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 :)

Where to test a DCP.

aemilia scott

aemilia scott

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Hi everybody!

Is this the right thread? It's anybody's guess.

I've mastered a DCP (well, actually two, using two different color paths) and I would like to test them ASAP.

Can anyone recommend a person or place for such a thing? I live in Los Angeles and Chicago. Presently I'm in LA.

I only need about 30 seconds of viewing, just to check color.

Thank you kindly,
Aemilia
 
I just went through the same process here in Austin, and our solution was to contact the local theaters directly. We ended up testing at 9am in the middle of the week so they would charge us less. The amount we payed varied amongst the theater owners.

On a technical note, the test was arranged by our sound mixer (Chris Keyland) who took the opportunity to bring his sound meter and test the rooms themselves. This led us to two theaters that are well calibrated and give the most accurate representation we could find (Alamo Drafthouse Slaughter Lane and South Lamar).

Julio
 
Yep, I went through local theatre too, and they ended up not charging us (though a screening was scheduled there later in the week, so that might have something to do with it). I'd try in Chicago to see if you can get in when the tech is there uploading the new movies to their server (like Julio said, mid-week morning some time).

Conversely, you'll likely go with the one that is green looking... that's XYZ/P3 and will be projected properly off of the DCP server.
 
These are both great suggestions. I'd imagine this would be a tougher sell in Los Angeles, but I'll try a few of the smaller houses here and then try Chicago next week. I personally go to the AERO theater in Santa Monica for all of their classic movie runs, so perhaps there is a kind soul there. If you ever visit los angeles, I recommend that theater highly.
 
You could probably get one of the many post facilities that have DI theaters to do it for a very nominal fee, or an understanding of consideration for future work. Many, if not most of them have the ability to project a completed DCP, but you'll need to ask them what kind of storage to supply it on (the same is true for a regular theater). I would suggest talking to companies like Local Hero (in Santa Monica), Chainsaw (in Hollywood), or perhaps Modern Videofilm (Burbank and Santa Monica) or Technicolor, but my guess is you'll get a better reception for this sort of thing from the smaller houses.
 
Also, just as a warning. My movie is playing in theaters right now and I've been having lots of DCP nightmares. My movie played fine at 4 theaters and would not work in one in Denver. Deluxe rejected it because I didn't fill out the name properly in one of the fields and chose the more current SMPTE standard. Don't think DCP's are a modern playback format. They should be but are not. I'm guessing it keeps the DCP guys in business. I'm actually being forced to have Deluxe make a DCP to their standard and certification to quiet the noise.
 
Chris Henze -- first of all, congratulations that your film is playing in theaters! What is it called?

I also mastered mine SMPTE, so that is troubling that you had problems with that. What else threw off the Deluxe screener? Just the name formatting and SMTPE? That's relatively scary. The last time I screened a DCP, I had no problem at festivals with SMTPE, but I haven't yet had the fortune to have a wider release. My sense is that some of the appeal of DCP is that the format is so relentlessly stable and old. The process of mastering and ingesting at real time makes me feel like I'm using a large, digital, wax press for a record.
 
Aemilia:

The movie's called 40 Weeks here's the trailer http://youtu.be/NldBnUBETpo. Here are the items from Deluxe

Flagged issues:

1.The DCP is SMPTE format, but currently, we only work with interop.

2.The issuer field was left blank, so if a server loaded the DCP by either PKL or CPL, it will likely say “OpenDCP” on the load

screen for this content.

3. For the audio, the audio format 0. The audio should be audio format 4 (WTF – Wild Track Format).

Mind you this is a DCP which is playing in theaters around the country no problem but as far as Deluxe is concerned doesn't work. Not fun. I think that Deluxe is the lowest common denominator here and has a standard that will play in every theater around the world. Which for me is a bit more than I need. However there are theater chains in the US that will only play Deluxe certified DCPs.
 
There are no Deluxe standards, there are DCI standards, be they InterOp or SMPTE, that's all. Only these standards will work worldwide. The InterOp norm is deprecated, nowadays people mastering DCP's are encouraged to use the SMPTE standard, which allows more frame rates for example.

If Deluxe is only using InterOp, well, they should update one of these days ;-)

Kristin
 
I also go through my local theater and their 2k Christie projector. It's really the best way to test the DCP.

Cheers,
battistella
 
Kristin Stewart said:
There are no Deluxe standards, there are DCI standards, be they InterOp or SMPTE, that's all. Only these standards will work worldwide. The InterOp norm is deprecated, nowadays people mastering DCP's are encouraged to use the SMPTE standard, which allows more frame rates for example.

If Deluxe is only using InterOp, well, they should update one of these days ;-)

Kristin
Click to expand...

Kristin, you are right that Deluxe doesn't set the standard, however there's a major theater chain here in the U.S. that won't play your movie unless the DCP comes from Deluxe and adheres to their protocol. So for me who wants my movie to play in this chain I have no choice but to use the older InterOp along with the Deluxe system.
 
That sounds preposterous; what chain is it (And does Deluxe own it)?

Seems like a straight money grab to me.
 
I'm not going to say which chain, Deluxe doesn't own it. Are you surprised that there's an old boy network in the film industry that controls access so that they make more money? I'm not, just annoyed that it only reveals itself when you try to go against it. Wait isn't there now a camera company that pissed off all the old guard because it made the best camera technology more accessible?
 
Hah, true, but I still don't understand why you wouldn't tell us, if it's 'matter-of-fact' knowledge... Telling us doesn't *undo* the old-boy network; if anything it merely gives everyone else a heads up... Actually, why don't you wait a couple years, and the chain will likely be out of business, replaced by Netflix or something similar.
 
Chris Henze said:
Mind you this is a DCP which is playing in theaters around the country no problem but as far as Deluxe is concerned doesn't work. Not fun.
Click to expand...
Why not just redo the DCP by the same people who did it originally, and fix the three things that Deluxe complained about? I guarantee you that they have a complete list of delivery specs available. If you check every one of them, the DCP will sail through. I've generally found audio​ to be the hardest thing to get approved.
 
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