[LINK] Digital 3D Theatres

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

3-D movies taking cinemas by storm in digital age

".. the 3D title that has most movie geeks salivating is the science
fiction drama "Avatar," director James Cameron's first feature 
since "Titanic" .. 

By Sean P. Means   The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 03/25/2008 11:53:54 AM MDT
<http://www.sltrib.com/healthscience/ci_8686814>

LAS VEGAS - Now is the time to put on your glasses. 

    Once known as a headache-inducing screen gimmick of the 1950s, 3D is 
roaring back into movie theaters - thanks to new digital-cinema technology 
and Hollywood studios eager to exploit the format. 

    "It's a force that cannot be ignored," actor Brendan Fraser told 
reporters during ShoWest, the convention of movie-theater operators 
earlier this month in Las Vegas. 

    Fraser was promoting his summer movie, "Journey to the Center of the 
Earth 3D," an update of the Jules Verne story that bills itself as the 
first-ever live-action film shot in digital 3D. 

    Fraser said his movie is "really kind of a beta of where cinema is 
headed." 

    The new interest in 3D mirrors what prompted the first 3D boom in the 
1950s, said Michael Lewis, chairman and CEO of Real D, one of the leading 
makers of 3D theater technology. 

    "It's a way to bring people back to the cinema," Lewis said. "With all 
the other offerings out there in the entertainment area, to have something 
unique is really important." 

    The 3D wave is only possible because more theaters nationwide are 
installing digital projectors. 

    Back in the '50s, 3D images were difficult to see "because the film 
would rattle and shake and it wasn't a rock-steady image," said Joshua 
Gershman, spokesman for Dolby Laboratories, which makes a rival 3D 
projection system to Real D. 

    "Today, with digital cinema, you can do that through one projector, 
and you can align them exactly so that you get a better picture quality 
for 3D," Gershman said. "Really, digital cinema is the emerging platform 
that's allowing for 3D to become relevant again." 

    About one out of nine theaters in America - 4,600 out of 38,794 
theaters - are equipped with digital projectors, according to the National 
Association of Theater Owners. Efforts are under way, though, to start 
digital conversion on another 22,000 screens by the end of this year. 

    And 3D is "certainly kick-starting" the digital-cinema conversion, 
said Dorina Belu, a spokeswoman for the projector manufacturer Christie. 

    "We feel that 3D technology is an impetus to bringing digital 
technology to theaters," Belu said. "There's that much more reason to buy 
digital." 

    Hollywood studios "love digital cinema because it's cheap," said 
Hannah Cash, account manager for Qube Cinema, which makes software and 
hardware for digital projectors. Creating a movie's "digital cinema 
master" (the computer equivalent of a master print) and downloading an 
encrypted file to thousands of theaters, Cash said, can be done for around 
$20,000 - or the cost of striking three prints of a movie on film. 

    Most of those savings go back to the studios, Real D's Lewis said. 
With 3D, theaters can charge a premium ticket price - in some cases, $2 
per ticket for the plastic glasses, though tickets for the 
successful "Hannah Montana" concert movie went for $15 apiece - and make 
more money for themselves. 

    Hollywood is signing on for more 3D projects. At ShoWest, DreamWorks 
Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg unveiled a preview of "Monsters vs. 
Aliens," a 3D computer-animated adventure due in theaters in 2009. Fraser 
was in Las Vegas to debut "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D," which 
opens nationwide July 11. And Summit Entertainment gave ShoWest attendees 
a glimpse of its computer-animated film "Fly Me to the Moon," which will 
hit theaters August 8. 

    Disney will release the 3D computer-animated "Bolt" this fall. In 
2009, Fox has the third "Ice Age" movie, Disney will be releasing Robert 
Zemeckis' version of "A Christmas Carol" and a reworked 3D version of 
Pixar's "Toy Story." But the 3D title that has most movie geeks salivating 
is the science-fiction drama "Avatar," director James Cameron's first 
feature since "Titanic." 

    And the 3D possibilities don't stop with movies. Mark Cuban, owner of 
the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and the Landmark theater chain, announced that 
tonight's Mavericks/Clippers game will be broadcast in high-definition 3D 
to an invited audience at one of Landmark's theaters in Dallas. Exhibitors 
at ShoWest talked about the possibilities of using the digital format, and 
possibly 3D, to broadcast satellite feeds of live events. 

    "As opposed to a place where you go and watch movies, a theater is 
really becoming a place where you can experience entertainment," Lewis 
said. "Sporting events, concerts - it's really quite broad what you can 
do." 
    --- 
    * SEAN P. MEANS can be reached at movies at sltrib.com or 801-257-8602. 
Send comments about this article to livingeditor at sltrib.com. 
    
    Two giants of illusion 

    A projected 3-D image is two images, moving back and forth on the 
screen six times per frame. When you put on your 3-D glasses, the lenses 
allow each eye to see just one image - and creating the illusion of three 
dimensions. 

    Two major 3-D systems, now battling in the marketplace, use that 
technology in different ways. 

 Here's a comparison: 

    * BRAND: Dolby 3D Digital Cinema. 
    * HOW THE GLASSES WORK: Color interference, an update of the classic 
red/blue glasses. 
    * WHAT'S IN THE PROJECTOR: A glass disc - half-red, half-blue - that 
spins six times per frame, to alternate images to each eye. 
    * WHERE IN UTAH: Megaplex 20 at the District (South Jordan). 
    
  
  * BRAND: Real D. 
    * HOW THE GLASSES WORK: Circular polarized lenses. 
    * WHAT'S IN THE PROJECTOR: A "Z Screen," moving in front of the 
projector lens six times per frame, to alternate images to each eye. 
    * WHERE IN UTAH: Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons, Carmike Ritz 15 (West 
Valley), Carmike 12 (West Jordan), Cinemark 24 at Jordan Landing, Cinemark 
16 (Provo) 
    
    Source: Real D, Dolby Laboratories 
    
    Coming soon in 3-D... 
    "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D" - July 11 
    "Bolt" - November 26 
    "Monsters vs. Aliens" - March 27, 2009 
--

Cheers people
Stephen Loosley
Victoria, Australia