Category Archives: Exhibitor News

The feet hitting the street. This is where it all plays out.

UNIC Cinema Days…and the Newsletter

Melange of EU Cinema Exhibition InterestsIn Brussels on the 15th and 16th of October the UNIC Cinema Days will attract the exhibition industry with a non-tradefair set of discussions. There is a lot of subtlety in the reasons why last years growth in attendance (2.5%) and revenues (1.7%). Behind the discussions – last year given with the assistance of 150 industry members – the ingredients for maintaining this level of growth when the US performed dismally and the Chinese market showed cracks (fraudulent reporting of sales amid a number of other growing pains). 

The current issue of the UNIC Newsletter (link) will have further information as available, including their take on the recent EU Parliamentary Vote on New rules for audiovisual media services which importantly describes a 30% EU content rule for Video on Demand, 2 x 20% rules for advertising and enhanced protection for children and minors from violence, hatred, terrorism and harmful advertising (so, no US news allowed?)  

UNIC and Theatrical Exclusivity…Post French Culture Change

“Respect for the life-cycle of a film not only supports a model that has proven successful in terms of cultural diversity…”

On the heels of the French Minister of Culture announcing a deal that will change the distribution structure for films released in cinemas, so they can get to broadcast and streaming sooner in many situations, UNIC, the Union Internationale des Cinémas trade body comes to the defense of theatrical exclusivity in a public statement. 

Du cinéma à la télévision ou les plateformes en ligne : vers un délai réduit pour les films?

FULL THEATRICAL RELEASE VITAL FOR AUDIENCES SAYS EUROPEAN CINEMA TRADE BODY
BRUSSELS, 17 SEPTEMBER 2018: The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), representing cinema associations and key operators across 37 territories in Europe, has today added its own voice to those seeking to ensure that films selected for competition at leading film festivals receive a full theatrical release.
Following recent discussions around the selection of films at a number of major film festivals and the decision from the Venice International Film Festival jury to award Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma its Golden Lion prize, the association released the following statement:
“UNIC wishes to express its support for Italian cinema exhibition colleagues and others in encouraging festival competitions only to consider for inclusion those films intended for theatrical release.
Central to the film business is the shared experience of watching a feature film on the big screen, something which creates a strong sense of identity and community. Cinemas offer their audience unique cultural and social experiences, at the same time allowing films truly to do justice to their director’s vision and, through their exclusive nature, create unparalleled excitement around their release.
This is a proven strategy that ultimately benefits the entire film value-chain. The theatrical success of each film helps drive its performance and audience awareness on other platforms. Growth in subsequent markets – including Video on Demand – develops best on these strong foundations. It should not come at the expense of theatrical exclusivity.
The cinema industry can exist alongside streaming providers, but believes that their – and the audience’s – best interests are served by a film receiving a proper cinema release, including a clear and distinct window.
Respect for the life-cycle of a film not only supports a model that has proven successful in terms of cultural diversity, but also offers the opportunity for the widest possible audience to discover and enjoy as broad a range of film content as possible. Leading film festivals should encourage practices that benefit the audience as a whole, through the inclusion of films in their official selection that are within everyone’s reach and not just that of streaming platform subscribers. Should films be available solely on these platforms  or receive only a “technical” release in another window – yet still benefit from festival selection as a marketing tool in addition to their considerable resources – the vast majority of their potential audience would be denied access to great content.
Films belong on the big screen and we therefore encourage leading international film festivals to take a lead from the Cannes Film Festival and celebrate the social, cultural and economic relevance of cinemas when designing their future selection policies.”
The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC)
The Union Internationale des Cinémas/International Union of Cinemas (UNIC) represents the interests of cinema trade associations and cinema operators covering 37 countries in Europe and neighbouring regions.

UNIC and Theatrical Exclusivity…Post French Culture Change

“Respect for the life-cycle of a film not only supports a model that has proven successful in terms of cultural diversity…”

On the heels of the French Minister of Culture announcing a deal that will change the distribution structure for films released in cinemas, so they can get to broadcast and streaming sooner in many situations, UNIC, the Union Internationale des Cinémas trade body comes to the defense of theatrical exclusivity in a public statement. 

Du cinéma à la télévision ou les plateformes en ligne : vers un délai réduit pour les films?

FULL THEATRICAL RELEASE VITAL FOR AUDIENCES SAYS EUROPEAN CINEMA TRADE BODY
BRUSSELS, 17 SEPTEMBER 2018: The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), representing cinema associations and key operators across 37 territories in Europe, has today added its own voice to those seeking to ensure that films selected for competition at leading film festivals receive a full theatrical release.
Following recent discussions around the selection of films at a number of major film festivals and the decision from the Venice International Film Festival jury to award Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma its Golden Lion prize, the association released the following statement:
“UNIC wishes to express its support for Italian cinema exhibition colleagues and others in encouraging festival competitions only to consider for inclusion those films intended for theatrical release.
Central to the film business is the shared experience of watching a feature film on the big screen, something which creates a strong sense of identity and community. Cinemas offer their audience unique cultural and social experiences, at the same time allowing films truly to do justice to their director’s vision and, through their exclusive nature, create unparalleled excitement around their release.
This is a proven strategy that ultimately benefits the entire film value-chain. The theatrical success of each film helps drive its performance and audience awareness on other platforms. Growth in subsequent markets – including Video on Demand – develops best on these strong foundations. It should not come at the expense of theatrical exclusivity.
The cinema industry can exist alongside streaming providers, but believes that their – and the audience’s – best interests are served by a film receiving a proper cinema release, including a clear and distinct window.
Respect for the life-cycle of a film not only supports a model that has proven successful in terms of cultural diversity, but also offers the opportunity for the widest possible audience to discover and enjoy as broad a range of film content as possible. Leading film festivals should encourage practices that benefit the audience as a whole, through the inclusion of films in their official selection that are within everyone’s reach and not just that of streaming platform subscribers. Should films be available solely on these platforms  or receive only a “technical” release in another window – yet still benefit from festival selection as a marketing tool in addition to their considerable resources – the vast majority of their potential audience would be denied access to great content.
Films belong on the big screen and we therefore encourage leading international film festivals to take a lead from the Cannes Film Festival and celebrate the social, cultural and economic relevance of cinemas when designing their future selection policies.”
The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC)
The Union Internationale des Cinémas/International Union of Cinemas (UNIC) represents the interests of cinema trade associations and cinema operators covering 37 countries in Europe and neighbouring regions.

Signing In Cinema

Movies at the cinema, a cultural phenomena that involves a blend of technology and groups of people, is taking one more step into Inclusiveness. The imperfect solutions for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Blind and Partially Sighted are more and more part of every cinema facility – either special glasses that present words in mid-air or equipment that places words on at the end of bendable post, and earphones that transmit either a special enhanced (mono) dialog track or a different mono track that includes a narrator who describes the action. [At right: One of two brands of Closed Caption reading devices.]Closed Caption Reading Device

Work is now nearing completion on a required new set of technologies that will help include a new group of people into the rich cultural experiences of movie-going. The tools being added are for those who use sign language to communicate. As has been common for the inclusion path, compliance with government requirements are the driving force. This time the requirement comes from Brazil, via a “Normative Instruction” that by 2018 (the time schedule has since been delayed) every commercial movie theater in Brazil must be equipped with assistive technology that guarantees the services of subtitling, descriptive subtitling, audio description and Libras.

Libras (Lingua Brasileira de Sinaisis) is the acronym for the Brazilian version of sign language for their deaf community. Libras is an official language of Brazil, used by a segment of the population estimated at 5%. The various technology tools to fulfil the sign language requirements are part of the evolving accessibility landscape. In this case, as often has happened, an entrepreneur who devised a cell phone app was first to market – by the time that the rules were formalized, cell phones belonging to the individual were not allowed to be part of the solution.

The option of using cell phones seems like a logical choice at first glance, but there are several problems with their use in a dark cinema theatre. They have never been found acceptable for other in-theatre uses, and this use case is no exception. The light that they emit is not designed to be restricted to just that one audience member (the closed caption device above does restrict the viewing angle and stray light), so it isn’t just a bother for the people in the immediate vicinity – phone light actually decreases perceived screen contrast for anyone getting a dose in their field of vision. Cell phones also don’t handle the script securely, which is a requirement of the studios which are obligated to protect the copyrights of the artists whose work they are distributing. And, of course, phones have a camera pointing at the screen – a huge problem for piracy concerns.

The fact is, there are problems with each of the various accessibility equipment offerings.

Accessibility equipment users generally don’t give 5 Stars for the choices they’ve been given, for many and varied reasons. Some of the technology – such as the device above which fits into the seat cup holder – requires the user to constantly re-focus, back-and-forth from the distant screen to the close foreground words illuminated in the special box mounted on a bendable stem. Another choice – somewhat better – is a pair of specialized glasses that present the words seemingly in mid-air with a choice of distance. While these are easier on the eyes if one holds their head in a single position, the words move around as one moves their head. Laughter causes the words to bounce. Words go sideways and in front of the action if you place your head on your neighbor’s shoulder.

[This brief review is part of a litany of credible issues, best to be reviewed in another article. It isn’t only a one-sided issue either – exhibitors point out that the equipment is expensive to buy, losses are often disproportionate to their use, and manufacturers point out that the amount of income derived doesn’t support continuous development of new ideas.)]

These (and other) technology solutions are often considered to be attempts to avoid the most simple alternative – putting the words on the screen in what is called “Open Caption”. OC is the absolute favorite of the accessibility audience. Secure, pristine, on the same focal plane, and importantly, all audience members are treated the same – no need to stand in line then be dragging around special equipment while your peers are chatting up somewhere else. But since words on screen haven’t been widely used since shortly after ‘talkies’ became common, the general audience aren’t used to them and many fear they would vehemently object. Attempts to schedule special open screening times haven’t worked in the past for various reasons.

And while open caption might be the first choice for many, it isn’t necessarily the best choice for a child, for example. Imagine the child who has been trained in sign language longer than s/he has been learning to read, who certainly can’t read as fast as those words speeding by in the new Incredibles movie. But signing? …probably better.  

Sign language has been used for years on stage, or alongside public servants during announcements, or on the TV or computer screen. So in the cinema it is the next logical step. And just in time, as the studios and manufacturing technology teams are able to jump on the project when many new enabling components are available and tested and able to be integrated into new solutions.

These include recently designed and documented synchronization tools that have gone through the SMTPE and ISO processes, which work well with the newly refined SMPTE compliant DCP (now shipping!, nearly worldwide – yet another story to be written.) These help make the security and packaging concerns of a new datastream more easily addressable within the existing standardized workflows. The question started as ‘how to get a new video stream into the package?’ After much discussion, the choice was made to include that stream as a portion of the audio stream.

There is history in using some of the 8 AES pairs for non-audio purposes (motion seat data, for example). And there are several good reasons for using an available, heretofore unused channel of a partly filled audio pair. Although the enforcement date has been moved back by the Brazilian Normalization group, the technology has progressed such that the main facilitator of movies for the studios, Deluxe, has announced their capability of handling this solution. The ISDCF has a Technical Document in development and under consideration which should help others, and smooth introduction worldwide if that should happen. [See: ISDCF Document 13 – Sign Language Video Encoding for Digital Cinema (a document under development) on the ISDCF Technical Documents web page.]

One major question remains. Where is the picture derived from? The choices are:

  1. to have a person do the signing, or
  2. to use the cute emoticon-style of a computer-derived avatar.

Choice one requires a person to record the signs as part of the post-production process, just as sub-titling or dubbing is done in a language that is different from the original. Of course, translating the final script of the edited movie can only be done at the very last stage of post, and like dubbing requires an actor with a particular set of skills who has to do the work, which then still has to be edited to perfection and approved and QC’d – all before the movie is released.

An avatar still requires that translation. But the tool picks words from the translation, matches them to a dictionary of sign avatars, and presents them on the screen that is placed in front of the user. If there is no avatar for that word or concept, then the word is spelled out, which is what is the common practice in live situations.

There has been a lot of debate within the community about whether avatars can transmit the required nuance. After presentations from stakeholders, the adjudicating party in Brazil reached the consensus that avatars are OK to use, though videos of actors doing the signing being preferred.

The degree of nuance in signing is very well explained by the artist Christine Sun Kim  in the following TED talk. She uses interesting allegories with music and other art to get her points across. In addition to explaining, she also shows how associated but slightly different ideas get conveyed using the entire body of the signer.

Embed Code from Ted Talk

<div style=”max-width:854px”><div style=”position:relative;height:0;padding-bottom:56.25%”><iframe src=”https://embed.ted.com/talks/lang/en/christine_sun_kim_the_enchanting_music_of_sign_language” width=”854″ height=”480″ style=”position:absolute;left:0;top:0;width:100%;height:100%” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div>

Link from Ted Talk

Nuance is difficult enough to transmit well in written language. Most of us don’t have experience with avatars, except perhaps if we consider our interchanges with Siri and Alexa – there we notice that avatar-style tools only transmit a limited set of tone/emphasis/inflection nuance, if any at all. Avatar based signing is a new art that needs to express a lot of detail.

The realities of post production budgets and movie release times and other delivery issues get involved in this issue and the choices available. The situation with the most obstacles is getting all the final ingredients prepared for a day and date deadline. Fortunately, some of these packages can be sent after the main package and joined at the cinema, but either way the potential points of failure increase.

In addition to issues of time, issues of budget come into play. Documentary or small movies made, often made with a country’s film commission funds are often quite limited. Independants with small budgets may run out of credit cards without being able to pay for the talent required to have human signing. Avatars may be the only reasonable choice versus nothing.

At CinemaCon we saw the first of the two technologies presented by two different companies.

Riolte Sign Language System InterfaceRiole® is a Brazilian company which developed a device that passes video from the DCP to a specialized color display that plays the video of the signing actor, as well as simultaneously presenting printed words. It uses SMPTE standard sync and security protocols and an IR emitter. Their cinema line also includes an audio description receiver/headphone system.  

Dolby Labs also showed a system that is ready for production, which uses the avatar method. What we see on the picture at the right is a specially designed/inhibited ‘phone’ that the cinema chain can purchase locally. A media player gets input from the closed caption feed from the DCP, then matches that to a library of avatars. The signal is then broadcast via wifi to the ‘phones’. Dolby has refreshed their line of assistive technology equipment, and this will fit into that groups offerings.Dolby Sign Language System Interface

Both companies state that they are working on future products/enhancements that will include the other technology, Riole working on avatars, Dolby working on videos.


There has been conjecture in the past as to whether other countries might follow with similar signing requirements. At this point that remains as conjecture. Nothing but rumors have been noted.

There are approximately 300 different sign languages in use around the world, including International Sign which is used at international gatherings. There are a lot of kids who can’t read subtitles, open or closed. Would they (and we) be better off seeing movies with their friends or waiting until the streaming release at home?

This is a link to a Statement from the WFD and WASLI on Use of Signing Avatars

 

Link for “Thank you very much” in ASL thank2.mp4

Signing In Cinema

Movies at the cinema, a cultural phenomena that involves a blend of technology and groups of people, is taking one more step into Inclusiveness. The imperfect solutions for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Blind and Partially Sighted are more and more part of every cinema facility – either special glasses that present words in mid-air or equipment that places words on at the end of bendable post, and earphones that transmit either a special enhanced (mono) dialog track or a different mono track that includes a narrator who describes the action. [At right: One of two brands of Closed Caption reading devices.]Closed Caption Reading Device

Work is now nearing completion on a required new set of technologies that will help include a new group of people into the rich cultural experiences of movie-going. The tools being added are for those who use sign language to communicate. As has been common for the inclusion path, compliance with government requirements are the driving force. This time the requirement comes from Brazil, via a “Normative Instruction” that by 2018 (the time schedule has since been delayed) every commercial movie theater in Brazil must be equipped with assistive technology that guarantees the services of subtitling, descriptive subtitling, audio description and Libras.

Libras (Lingua Brasileira de Sinaisis) is the acronym for the Brazilian version of sign language for their deaf community. Libras is an official language of Brazil, used by a segment of the population estimated at 5%. The various technology tools to fulfil the sign language requirements are part of the evolving accessibility landscape. In this case, as often has happened, an entrepreneur who devised a cell phone app was first to market – by the time that the rules were formalized, cell phones belonging to the individual were not allowed to be part of the solution.

The option of using cell phones seems like a logical choice at first glance, but there are several problems with their use in a dark cinema theatre. They have never been found acceptable for other in-theatre uses, and this use case is no exception. The light that they emit is not designed to be restricted to just that one audience member (the closed caption device above does restrict the viewing angle and stray light), so it isn’t just a bother for the people in the immediate vicinity – phone light actually decreases perceived screen contrast for anyone getting a dose in their field of vision. Cell phones also don’t handle the script securely, which is a requirement of the studios which are obligated to protect the copyrights of the artists whose work they are distributing. And, of course, phones have a camera pointing at the screen – a huge problem for piracy concerns.

The fact is, there are problems with each of the various accessibility equipment offerings.

Accessibility equipment users generally don’t give 5 Stars for the choices they’ve been given, for many and varied reasons. Some of the technology – such as the device above which fits into the seat cup holder – requires the user to constantly re-focus, back-and-forth from the distant screen to the close foreground words illuminated in the special box mounted on a bendable stem. Another choice – somewhat better – is a pair of specialized glasses that present the words seemingly in mid-air with a choice of distance. While these are easier on the eyes if one holds their head in a single position, the words move around as one moves their head. Laughter causes the words to bounce. Words go sideways and in front of the action if you place your head on your neighbor’s shoulder.

[This brief review is part of a litany of credible issues, best to be reviewed in another article. It isn’t only a one-sided issue either – exhibitors point out that the equipment is expensive to buy, losses are often disproportionate to their use, and manufacturers point out that the amount of income derived doesn’t support continuous development of new ideas.)]

These (and other) technology solutions are often considered to be attempts to avoid the most simple alternative – putting the words on the screen in what is called “Open Caption”. OC is the absolute favorite of the accessibility audience. Secure, pristine, on the same focal plane, and importantly, all audience members are treated the same – no need to stand in line then be dragging around special equipment while your peers are chatting up somewhere else. But since words on screen haven’t been widely used since shortly after ‘talkies’ became common, the general audience aren’t used to them and many fear they would vehemently object. Attempts to schedule special open screening times haven’t worked in the past for various reasons.

And while open caption might be the first choice for many, it isn’t necessarily the best choice for a child, for example. Imagine the child who has been trained in sign language longer than s/he has been learning to read, who certainly can’t read as fast as those words speeding by in the new Incredibles movie. But signing? …probably better.  

Sign language has been used for years on stage, or alongside public servants during announcements, or on the TV or computer screen. So in the cinema it is the next logical step. And just in time, as the studios and manufacturing technology teams are able to jump on the project when many new enabling components are available and tested and able to be integrated into new solutions.

These include recently designed and documented synchronization tools that have gone through the SMTPE and ISO processes, which work well with the newly refined SMPTE compliant DCP (now shipping!, nearly worldwide – yet another story to be written.) These help make the security and packaging concerns of a new datastream more easily addressable within the existing standardized workflows. The question started as ‘how to get a new video stream into the package?’ After much discussion, the choice was made to include that stream as a portion of the audio stream.

There is history in using some of the 8 AES pairs for non-audio purposes (motion seat data, for example). And there are several good reasons for using an available, heretofore unused channel of a partly filled audio pair. Although the enforcement date has been moved back by the Brazilian Normalization group, the technology has progressed such that the main facilitator of movies for the studios, Deluxe, has announced their capability of handling this solution. The ISDCF has a Technical Document in development and under consideration which should help others, and smooth introduction worldwide if that should happen. [See: ISDCF Document 13 – Sign Language Video Encoding for Digital Cinema (a document under development) on the ISDCF Technical Documents web page.]

One major question remains. Where is the picture derived from? The choices are:

  1. to have a person do the signing, or
  2. to use the cute emoticon-style of a computer-derived avatar.

Choice one requires a person to record the signs as part of the post-production process, just as sub-titling or dubbing is done in a language that is different from the original. Of course, translating the final script of the edited movie can only be done at the very last stage of post, and like dubbing requires an actor with a particular set of skills who has to do the work, which then still has to be edited to perfection and approved and QC’d – all before the movie is released.

An avatar still requires that translation. But the tool picks words from the translation, matches them to a dictionary of sign avatars, and presents them on the screen that is placed in front of the user. If there is no avatar for that word or concept, then the word is spelled out, which is what is the common practice in live situations.

There has been a lot of debate within the community about whether avatars can transmit the required nuance. After presentations from stakeholders, the adjudicating party in Brazil reached the consensus that avatars are OK to use, though videos of actors doing the signing being preferred.

The degree of nuance in signing is very well explained by the artist Christine Sun Kim  in the following TED talk. She uses interesting allegories with music and other art to get her points across. In addition to explaining, she also shows how associated but slightly different ideas get conveyed using the entire body of the signer.

Embed Code from Ted Talk

<div style=”max-width:854px”><div style=”position:relative;height:0;padding-bottom:56.25%”><iframe src=”https://embed.ted.com/talks/lang/en/christine_sun_kim_the_enchanting_music_of_sign_language” width=”854″ height=”480″ style=”position:absolute;left:0;top:0;width:100%;height:100%” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div>

Link from Ted Talk

Nuance is difficult enough to transmit well in written language. Most of us don’t have experience with avatars, except perhaps if we consider our interchanges with Siri and Alexa – there we notice that avatar-style tools only transmit a limited set of tone/emphasis/inflection nuance, if any at all. Avatar based signing is a new art that needs to express a lot of detail.

The realities of post production budgets and movie release times and other delivery issues get involved in this issue and the choices available. The situation with the most obstacles is getting all the final ingredients prepared for a day and date deadline. Fortunately, some of these packages can be sent after the main package and joined at the cinema, but either way the potential points of failure increase.

In addition to issues of time, issues of budget come into play. Documentary or small movies made, often made with a country’s film commission funds are often quite limited. Independants with small budgets may run out of credit cards without being able to pay for the talent required to have human signing. Avatars may be the only reasonable choice versus nothing.

At CinemaCon we saw the first of the two technologies presented by two different companies.

Riolte Sign Language System InterfaceRiole® is a Brazilian company which developed a device that passes video from the DCP to a specialized color display that plays the video of the signing actor, as well as simultaneously presenting printed words. It uses SMPTE standard sync and security protocols and an IR emitter. Their cinema line also includes an audio description receiver/headphone system.  

Dolby Labs also showed a system that is ready for production, which uses the avatar method. What we see on the picture at the right is a specially designed/inhibited ‘phone’ that the cinema chain can purchase locally. A media player gets input from the closed caption feed from the DCP, then matches that to a library of avatars. The signal is then broadcast via wifi to the ‘phones’. Dolby has refreshed their line of assistive technology equipment, and this will fit into that groups offerings.Dolby Sign Language System Interface

Both companies state that they are working on future products/enhancements that will include the other technology, Riole working on avatars, Dolby working on videos.


There has been conjecture in the past as to whether other countries might follow with similar signing requirements. At this point that remains as conjecture. Nothing but rumors have been noted.

There are approximately 300 different sign languages in use around the world, including International Sign which is used at international gatherings. There are a lot of kids who can’t read subtitles, open or closed. Would they (and we) be better off seeing movies with their friends or waiting until the streaming release at home?

This is a link to a Statement from the WFD and WASLI on Use of Signing Avatars

 

Link for “Thank you very much” in ASL thank2.mp4

NATO Code of Conduct – Well Done!

The Prelude to the Policy Statement:National Association of Theater Owners, NATO Logo

It started last October when a group of women went public with their stories of sexual assault and harassment at the hands of a very powerful movie mogul. The group of women joining the outcry against that one man has grown to more than 70. Investigations and likely prosecutions are pending in Los Angeles, New York, and London. Since October, other movie and television executives, directors, and actors have been implicated in a wide range of illegal, illicit, and inappropriate sexual behavior.

Indeed, no sector of American business and culture can claim to be free of misconduct of a sexual nature. As the public outcry grew over the past five months, more and more women felt enabled to tell their stories about men in powerful positions and the abuse they levied. The movement has called out television personalities, comedians, corporate executives, politicians, religious figures, sports doctors, and more.

Picking up on a technique used previously by social activist Tarana Burke, actress Alyssa Milano used the hashtag #MeToo to encourage other women to speak out and demonstrate the breadth of the problem of sexual assault and harassment. Since then, the phrase has been tweeted and posted millions of times, as more and more women (and some men, though at much smaller numbers) have spoken up.

Although harassment has been happening in silence for years, settlements and secrecy are no longer acceptable. The dialogue that began in October was far from the first time that women have gone public with sexual harassment or assault allegations against a powerful man. However, this was the first time that there were real, public consequences. The nation, and indeed the world, has now been confronted with an ugly reality that demands action in response. Every person and every entity should ask what they can do to make things better.

The first baby step has been taken as a result of the sheer volume and intensity of the victims’ stories—simple awareness. Although many women have been sharing these stories privately for years, this mass disclosure has revealed the true extent of the issue. Positive actions cannot be developed without a better understanding of the scope and nature of the problem to be addressed. And unfortunately, this problem is ubiquitous and universal. In a 2017 poll by the Washington Post and ABC News, 54 percent of women in the United States reported receiving unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances.

Another important step depends on our governments. Elected and appointed officials should respond to their constituents by improving laws and policies. For instance, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission should release its final sexual harassment enforcement guidance, which is currently stalled at the Office of Management and Budget. A draft of this proposed update was released in January 2017. Final guidelines could not be more timely and more necessary than right now. Employers and employees alike would benefit from modern, useful guidance. In addition, some state and local governments are challenging the use of nondisclosure agreements in settlements with harassers, which silence victims and allow harassers to continue their inappropriate and dangerous behavior.

Our government can also lead by example. The existing harassment complaint system in the U.S. Congress, for example, is overly complicated with confidentiality provisions and built-in waiting periods. Legislation is now pending to hold our elected officials to a higher standard.

But industry and institutional leaders must also act. All employers have a legal and often contractual obligation to maintain a workplace free from sexual harassment. Many employers have responded to the awareness of the current times to revise and improve their policies and practices and to conduct vitally important training involving all their employees. And in some cases, representatives of the employees will be watching. The entertainment industry’s actors’ guild, SAG-AFTRA, recently issued a new code of conduct to better define what harassment is, and what employees’ rights are.

This movement is about more than just harassment. If women are to have true equality in the workplace, it is up to employers to create a culture that supports female employees. Women need to feel empowered to speak out about workplace harassment, and that requires confidence that their employers will listen and that consequences will be more than symbolic.

Here at NATO and CinemaCon, we also want to take action. At NATO, we have long espoused the importance of diversity both on screen and off as not only the right thing to do—but as good business. If we wish to promote a diverse environment, we must support that belief with actions. We believe that policies against sexual intimidation and harassment should not just apply to staff and organizers of events, but should be extended to all attendees.  So NATO and CinemaCon have adopted a new Code of Conduct that will apply to all of our events—including conventions, board and annual meetings, and educational summits. The first event subject to this policy will be CinemaCon 2018, to be held in Las Vegas from April 23 to 26. We also followed the lead of Sundance Film Festival’s new code of conduct and decided to establish a call hotline for use by anyone at CinemaCon who feels subject to intimidation or harassment.

Please review the full Code of Conduct set forth in the box adjacent to this column. NATO and CinemaCon will publicize this policy to all delegates and attendees, and it will be strictly enforced.

NATO Code of Conduct – Well Done!

The Prelude to the Policy Statement:National Association of Theater Owners, NATO Logo

It started last October when a group of women went public with their stories of sexual assault and harassment at the hands of a very powerful movie mogul. The group of women joining the outcry against that one man has grown to more than 70. Investigations and likely prosecutions are pending in Los Angeles, New York, and London. Since October, other movie and television executives, directors, and actors have been implicated in a wide range of illegal, illicit, and inappropriate sexual behavior.

Indeed, no sector of American business and culture can claim to be free of misconduct of a sexual nature. As the public outcry grew over the past five months, more and more women felt enabled to tell their stories about men in powerful positions and the abuse they levied. The movement has called out television personalities, comedians, corporate executives, politicians, religious figures, sports doctors, and more.

Picking up on a technique used previously by social activist Tarana Burke, actress Alyssa Milano used the hashtag #MeToo to encourage other women to speak out and demonstrate the breadth of the problem of sexual assault and harassment. Since then, the phrase has been tweeted and posted millions of times, as more and more women (and some men, though at much smaller numbers) have spoken up.

Although harassment has been happening in silence for years, settlements and secrecy are no longer acceptable. The dialogue that began in October was far from the first time that women have gone public with sexual harassment or assault allegations against a powerful man. However, this was the first time that there were real, public consequences. The nation, and indeed the world, has now been confronted with an ugly reality that demands action in response. Every person and every entity should ask what they can do to make things better.

The first baby step has been taken as a result of the sheer volume and intensity of the victims’ stories—simple awareness. Although many women have been sharing these stories privately for years, this mass disclosure has revealed the true extent of the issue. Positive actions cannot be developed without a better understanding of the scope and nature of the problem to be addressed. And unfortunately, this problem is ubiquitous and universal. In a 2017 poll by the Washington Post and ABC News, 54 percent of women in the United States reported receiving unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances.

Another important step depends on our governments. Elected and appointed officials should respond to their constituents by improving laws and policies. For instance, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission should release its final sexual harassment enforcement guidance, which is currently stalled at the Office of Management and Budget. A draft of this proposed update was released in January 2017. Final guidelines could not be more timely and more necessary than right now. Employers and employees alike would benefit from modern, useful guidance. In addition, some state and local governments are challenging the use of nondisclosure agreements in settlements with harassers, which silence victims and allow harassers to continue their inappropriate and dangerous behavior.

Our government can also lead by example. The existing harassment complaint system in the U.S. Congress, for example, is overly complicated with confidentiality provisions and built-in waiting periods. Legislation is now pending to hold our elected officials to a higher standard.

But industry and institutional leaders must also act. All employers have a legal and often contractual obligation to maintain a workplace free from sexual harassment. Many employers have responded to the awareness of the current times to revise and improve their policies and practices and to conduct vitally important training involving all their employees. And in some cases, representatives of the employees will be watching. The entertainment industry’s actors’ guild, SAG-AFTRA, recently issued a new code of conduct to better define what harassment is, and what employees’ rights are.

This movement is about more than just harassment. If women are to have true equality in the workplace, it is up to employers to create a culture that supports female employees. Women need to feel empowered to speak out about workplace harassment, and that requires confidence that their employers will listen and that consequences will be more than symbolic.

Here at NATO and CinemaCon, we also want to take action. At NATO, we have long espoused the importance of diversity both on screen and off as not only the right thing to do—but as good business. If we wish to promote a diverse environment, we must support that belief with actions. We believe that policies against sexual intimidation and harassment should not just apply to staff and organizers of events, but should be extended to all attendees.  So NATO and CinemaCon have adopted a new Code of Conduct that will apply to all of our events—including conventions, board and annual meetings, and educational summits. The first event subject to this policy will be CinemaCon 2018, to be held in Las Vegas from April 23 to 26. We also followed the lead of Sundance Film Festival’s new code of conduct and decided to establish a call hotline for use by anyone at CinemaCon who feels subject to intimidation or harassment.

Please review the full Code of Conduct set forth in the box adjacent to this column. NATO and CinemaCon will publicize this policy to all delegates and attendees, and it will be strictly enforced.

EU Cinema-Going Report

In Finland for example, position 2 and 4 are American studio tentpole movies (Angry Birds and Secret Life of Pets !!! Wait, this just in…Angry Birds is a “National Qualified Production” of Finland), while Poland – with a ±17% increase in box office and admissions – it was Rogue One and Ice Age in positions 3 and 5. Germany had a 12% fall from the previous excellent year, mostly because the local movies didn’t do as well, and there, 5 of the top 5 were tentpoles. The top 5 Films per Territory list is marked provisional, but it makes fun interesting reading…and it is attached to this article.

We have a question into UNIC as to whether the status is generally the same as the US, which is: Pick any set of ten years since the 60s and the trend is always rising, with logical ups and downs within that time. 

Another question: This year has been notable in that Chinese and Korean movies are showing up at the top of the International Box Office figures, and showing up, along with more movies from India in the local US multiplexes. Are movies from those countries showing up regularly in the EU?

The attachments follow this press release:

UNIC: EUROPEAN CINEMA INDUSTRY SEES FURTHER GROWTH IN 2016

Brussels: 9 February 2017 – The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), the body representing European cinema trade associations and key operators hastoday released its provisional update on admissions and box office revenues across Europe for 2016.

While some data remains to be collated and figures for certain territories are based only on initial estimates, the overview provided by UNIC represents the first wide-ranging assessment of the performance of the European cinema sector last year. More detailed final data on the performance of each territory will be released inSpring 2017.

European cinema-going in 2016

2016 has been a positive year for cinema operators in most European territories.Total admissions for EU Member States (where data was available) increasedby1.6 per centcompared to 2015, while total admissions for all UNIC territories* increased by2.6 per cent,totalling more than1.26 billionvisits to the cinema.

While the increase was also the result of a wide range of highly successful local films across Europe, box office was again dominated by strong international titles,including, but not limited to,Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Zootopia, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Secret Life of PetsandIce Age: CollisionCourse.

Once final box office figures for all UNIC territories are available, total box office revenues will be shared.

Increase in France, Russia and Southern Europe; stable results in UK and Turkey

France saw admissions increase by 3.6 per cent compared to 2015 and achieved its second-best performance for the past 50 years. Similarly, Russia enjoyed verypositive results (box office +9.6 per cent / admissions +10.1 per cent), asserting itself as the second biggest UNIC territory with over 190 million admissions.

The Spanish cinema industry reached the symbolic mark of 100 million admissions, bolstered by popular local co-productionA Monster Callsand despite a continuinghigh VAT rate on cinema tickets. In Italy, the local filmsQuo Vado?andPerfetti Sconosciutihelped the industry reach positive results in 2016 (box office +3.9 per cent /admissions +6.1 per cent). Following a highly successful 2015, Portugal again enjoyed a further increase in results (box office +2.2 per cent / admissions +2.2 percent).

While the UK box office increased by 0.5 per cent in 2016 – beating a record set in 2015 – admissions slightly decreased by 2.1 per cent. This was primarily due to theunprecedented success of SPECTRE and Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the previous year. A similar trend was observed in Turkey (box office +2.2 per cent /admissions -3.0 per cent), where the box office was once again dominated by local productions.

Decrease in Germany; varying fortunes in Scandinavia

The German cinema sector suffered a 12.4 per cent decrease in box office and 13 per cent decrease in admissions in 2016, as primarily local films found it hard toreproduce record-breaking performances of 2015. A similar trend could be observed in Austria (box office -2.4 per cent / admissions -5.2 per cent) and Switzerland(box office -9.4 per cent / admissions -7.2 per cent).

Box office and admissions in Scandinavian countries were bolstered by strong local titles, such asEn man som heter Ovein Sweden (box office +6.3 per cent /admissions +4.2 per cent) andKonges neiin Norway (box office +11.7 per cent / admissions +9.0 per cent). Following record performances in 2015 and despite localproductions leading the box office in 2016, Denmark (box office -6.0 per cent / admissions -5.1 per cent) and Finland (box office -0.8 per cent / admissions -1.8 percent) did not share the same fortune.

Significant growth in Central and Eastern Europe

Reaching over 50 million admissions, the Polish sector recorded its best year ever (box office +17.6 per cent / admissions +16.5 per cent), bolstered by three localfilms ranked in the box office top five. Similarly, Slovakia (box office +23.5 per cent / admissions +23.8 per cent) and the Czech Republic (box office +20.5 per cent /admissions 20.6 per cent) enjoyed the most significant growth across UNIC territories in 2016. Several other Central and Eastern European countries experiencedsimilarly positive developments in 2016, notably Bulgaria (box office +5.5 per cent / admissions +3.7 per cent), Hungary (box office +13.1 per cent / admissions +12.1per cent) and Romania (box office +10.2 per cent / admissions +7.5 per cent). Positive results could also be observed in Estonia (box office +13.5 per cent /admissions +6.1 per cent), Latvia (box office +10.7 per cent / admissions +5.5 per cent) and Lithuania (box office +14.9 per cent / admissions +9.8 per cent).

Admissions per capita, European film share, outlook for 2017

Admissions per capita for all UNIC territories (where data was available) came in at 1.6 visits per year, a slight 0.1 point increase from 2015. France and Ireland (bothat 3.3) experienced the highest rates of cinema-going.

Due to incomplete figures for several countries, it is too early to assess the total market share for European films in 2016.

The industry looks forward to a busy and exciting release schedule in 2017, one full of promising European as well as international titles.

Attachments

Table with tentative market performance indicators for 2016 (where available). Chart of top 5 films for selected territories.

Notes for editors

UNIC is the European trade grouping representing cinema exhibitors and their national trade associations across 36 European territories. More information availableonunic-cinemas.org

* Including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel, Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey.

 

Europe Report and Conference from UNIC

UNIC – Union Internationale des Cinémas – has presented a new report titled Innovation and the Big Screen. With as many useful graphics as words, with concise summaries of the many various elements that are made possible by the rollout of digital cinema, the presentation offers an overview of the potential for, and need of, cinema(s) in the future.

UNIC Report 2017After stating that digital technology has both established unparalleled and diverse film availability to consumers at more than 38,000 member cinema screens, digital technology has also been key to the strength of VOD [among other distractions for the cinema audience], the report points out:

The role of cinemas in raising awareness around and providing access to a diverse European film offer is therefore ever more important to maintain competitiveness and diversity inEuropean cinema. UNIC data for a number of territories shows that the level of local and Europeanfilms enjoyed in cinemas has continuously increased over the past years if one takes alonger-term perspective. In this context, sup- port networks such as Europa Cinemas help maintain audience demand for non-national European titles and are the best way to promote apan-Europeean market for local films.

There are other reports available for more in-depth detail of the many interesting segments of cinemas place in the social and financial fabric. UNIC has a few, and Media Sales has kept an ongoing record of the industry.

On the other hand, this report is meant to give a full overview of the current and future well-being of cinema now that the roll-out of digital is complete. It highlights most of the many different enterprises available to commercializing that have been or shall be available to exhibition by means of digital cinema. Many have been successful, but never well integrated or well scaled. This is true throughout the world and the reasons range from corporate miscalculation to technology and standards not being quite ready…and just plain bad luck.   

The report seems to be a highlight piece for an upcoming European Parliament Conference on 8 February titled “INNOVATION AND THE BIG SCREEN – The Future of Cinema in Digital Europe“. This 3 hour panel in Bruxelles will review many of these topics, keying on growth and strategies for fostering innovation in cinema. Innovation and the Big Screen conference at the European Parliament on 8 February 2017 | UNIC

It is probably no coincidence that this report is also well timed for the Event Cinema Association event that begins tomorrow in London – ECACon 2017. The growing strengths of that organization will perhaps bring momentum through to CinemaCon and throughout the world.

Celluloid Junkie has an interview article with the principles of UNIC at: CJ + UNIC Cinema Innovation – Interview with VP European Commission Andrus Ansip and UKCA/UNIC’s Phil Clapp – Celluloid Junkie

Cinema Stats 2017

DCP Training Tutorials

Or how about a Festival Runners guide? Well, at least that is a good way started with autoDCP’s Festival Runner’s Guide to DCP’s – AutoDCP Easy automated tool to make a DCP.

AutoDCP LogoThere are many other excellently written lessons for the movie or doc maker, among them: 

Common mistakes when making a DCP, a must read. – AutoDCP Easy automated tool to make a DCP, or 

How to get your trailer DCP to pass Deluxe QC – AutoDCP Easy automated tool to make a DCP, and many others.

DCPs are easy to make now. It takes a few nights figuring out the mistakes and options, then sure enough, it is on your disk. Then a few nights figuring out how to make a drive that can be checked at the theater, and a couple nights figuring out how to straighten out the problems. 

And now, the option of uploading your .mov file and getting back a folder full of DCP.

CinemaCon/NAB Split

For a number of years one could land in Vegas and within a two week period see CinemaCon and NAB …sometimes one was immediately after, sometimes the other.

The best years where when there was enough time that the European Digital Cinema Forum – the EDF – could put together a bus tour with members and friends to various manufacturers, studios, post and cinema facilities and…studios. Great people talking on a bus. Alas, the schedule in 2016 was too close. One fears that the schedule in 2017 might be too far apart. More as it happens.

This year it is: 

CinemaCon – 27-30 March

NAB/SMPTE Weekend of Cinema – 22-23 April

NAB – 24-27 April

The Palette at the Exhibition End of the Artist’s Intent

Three years after DCI was formed with a million dollars from 6 studios, and combined with the continuing input of the technology groups of the American Society of Cinematographers, NATO, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, …and most relevant for this story, the Entertainment Technology Center of USC which set up a theater in Hollywood for the testing of the ideas that became the DCI specifications in July of 2005.

Ten years later, the hard physical and financial slog of the transition was announced at CinemaCon 2015 as being basically completed. A year later, several major ideas are still in transition, just as obvious now as the move to digital was back then: SMPTE-Compliant DCP distribution and satellite distribution are still in their trial stage, Immersive Sound, introduced as a proprietary format by Dolby is being led down a variation of the ‘open’ path of most D-Cinema technologies, and projectors with laser light engines – two years after the public demonstrations declaring them working, stable and ready for purchase – are numerically fewer than digital projectors were the year that Star Wars Attack of the Clones was released in May of 2002.

It is under this condition that events are unfolding now, slightly different but with a strong echo of the past. Unless you have been a manufacturer you might not be able to appreciate the ability to have a facility to refine your basically working – so to speak, productized – ideas. Last year at this time the Canadian company Imax opened their two screen Los Angeles home in Playa Vista, next door to YouTube…with their own variant of digital projector (a customized Barco system.) And Dolby Labs have recently begun showing equipment and movie events at their new Vine Street technology showcase in Hollywood.

But the real great feeling as a manufacturer is when a client allows the use of their facility to assist with the innovation of ideas and products. This is the importance of the opening this week, just before CinemaCon 2016, of The Barco Innovation Center at AEG Regal LA Live Cinema. The branding is not only at the front door. Barco Red and White Innovation Center messaging overlooks freeway drivers as they pass near the 10 and 110 interchange.

With an impressive array of executives from both the hosting site and each of the show-cased Barco technology divisions, this facility was re-branded and re-launched.

AEG’s Regal LA Live Cinema is part of an extensive multi-venue entertainment complex located in the center of a still forming ‘new’ downtown Los Angeles. To give some perspective, it is 8 miles from downtown Hollywood. It has several adjacent buildings which feature events ranging from red carpet movie premiers, to concerts and sporting events.

Being in this special multi-block AEG owned and operated area, the cinema is also special in that it is the only Regal Cinema directly owned and managed by the parent company AEG. AEG itself has many varied entertainment groups both in and outside of the movie industry, examples being the AXS Event Ticketing Service and AEG Live, which promotes the shows that are normally present at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, among a thousand others, and of course, the 7,334 screens of Regal Entertainment’s theater chains.

And thus it was that four different AEG and Regal executives spoke of the process and promise of having such a technology center in the midst of their customers, all on the basic message of the potential of using technologies as they mature, with personal anecdotes from their own perspectives. For example, Mr. Robert del Moro, Chief Purchasing Officer for Regal spoke to the ability of monitoring the actual value of savings in air conditioning, electricity and other benefits that a complete facility of laser-engine projectors will bring to their decision processes.

Wim Buyens, from his position as CEO Entertainment, Barco, spoke of the company’s mantra of “Creating Moments and Compelling Experiences” for the audiences that they serve, and being appreciative of having a partner which allows the investment of their space and time. In a later conversation he made a tangential point in a similar fashion, stating that it wasn’t up to them as a manufacturer to set standards for the industry but to meet the standards and goals that are set by the studios and their customers and their customers.

The presentations included the Barco Lobby Experience, which coordinates all of the lobby and aisle displays on a timed plan so they can deliver a single message throughout the facility. As with the other two deliverables, this system was first presented as a working concept at CinemaCon 2014. The Experience begins with a recognizable tone to grab people’s attention, then tones and a hip countdown clock are followed by a special videos/audio mix of studio supplied assets. The software sets the volume level so it is above the ambient noise in the different areas.

The intention is to grab and present the lobby audience with an intense exposure to future presentations. Future software add-ons will add social media tools that facilitate ticket purchasing and other add-ons. Further along, they will integrate the software from a newly purchased group which will even allow some monitor displays to deliver age or gender specific material, depending on who is standing in front of that section. [Remind us to do an ROI article in a few months when all these potential items are incorporated.]

In what seemed like a CinemaCon pre-show practice run, a low-key presentation of the Barco Flagship Laser projector was used to demonstrate a full range of 2D and 3D material at the full SMPTE spec of 48 candela/meter2. A special piece of demo material for one of ARRI’s new Alexa cameras was used to show the artful blend of increasing brightness without washing out contrast. Unlike many demonstrations, this material was slow enough to stare into the dark and the light areas, and appreciate what is being attempted. One imagines that this would be a great opportunity to try alternatives to silver screens with the Barco Flagship Projector, perhaps using a quality RealD Precision White Screen to see if eliminating the vignetting brought by the 1.8 gain silver screen would add to the pleasure of the gorgeous material being sent from such a high quality 4K delivery (60,000 lumen~!) system.

With 2 of the Flagship Laser Projectors in the facility now, it was announced that by the end of summer, Barco blue phosphor lasers will replace the rest of the projectors in the facility.

Todd Hoddick, Chief Executive Officer of Barco Escape, showed the latest iteration of the Barco Escape system. Todd is enthusiastic about breaking the preconceived notion that we have to live within the original confines of a glorified sheet on the wall. The thrust of his remarks have to do with the efforts to get Hollywood content, for which he announces 4 movies in the next year, doubling again soon thereafter. There will be a similar coordinated effort with a partner in China. He also plans on nearly 2,000 installs in the coming years (over 1,000 in the US and EU, and 1,000 in China.)

The system itself has continued evolving since the first exposure at CinemaCon 2014. Perhaps the most relevant info is that it is now a fully DCI compliant system. We take this to mean that the 2 side-facing projectors are chosen from Barco’s arsenal of DCI compliant projectors and a clever bit of security software keeping sync. In addition to quoting a price per auditorium of $100,000 ($15,000 higher than quoted at CineEurope…is this a euro to dollar confusion?) plus a $10,000 fixed price per movie (or other entertainment package) which, he said, by putting the onus on Barco to supply material to cinema customers shows their dedication to the idea. Several anecdotes were told of box office success along with several concert and film clips, most seen before, although a clever commercial was shown.

Two Auro Immersive Audio system accompany the two Flagship Laser Projector System, and AuroMax systems are promised before the end of the year.

Thus finishes what can be considered a nice soft launch into the coming rigorous weeks of CinemaCon, the SMPTE Future of Cinema Conference and NAB. The equipment, while all cool and advancing the arts, was not the story. The story was a level higher than that, the relationship and the potential of the palette at the exhibition end of the artist’s intent.

Good luck to them and good luck to us all.

The Palette at the Exhibition End of the Artist’s Intent

Three years after DCI was formed with a million dollars from 6 studios, and combined with the continuing input of the technology groups of the American Society of Cinematographers, NATO, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, …and most relevant for this story, the Entertainment Technology Center of USC which set up a theater in Hollywood for the testing of the ideas that became the DCI specifications in July of 2005.

Ten years later, the hard physical and financial slog of the transition was announced at CinemaCon 2015 as being basically completed. A year later, several major ideas are still in transition, just as obvious now as the move to digital was back then: SMPTE-Compliant DCP distribution and satellite distribution are still in their trial stage, Immersive Sound, introduced as a proprietary format by Dolby is being led down a variation of the ‘open’ path of most D-Cinema technologies, and projectors with laser light engines – two years after the public demonstrations declaring them working, stable and ready for purchase – are numerically fewer than digital projectors were the year that Star Wars Attack of the Clones was released in May of 2002.

It is under this condition that events are unfolding now, slightly different but with a strong echo of the past. Unless you have been a manufacturer you might not be able to appreciate the ability to have a facility to refine your basically working – so to speak, productized – ideas. Last year at this time the Canadian company Imax opened their two screen Los Angeles home in Playa Vista, next door to YouTube…with their own variant of digital projector (a customized Barco system.) And Dolby Labs have recently begun showing equipment and movie events at their new Vine Street technology showcase in Hollywood.

But the real great feeling as a manufacturer is when a client allows the use of their facility to assist with the innovation of ideas and products. This is the importance of the opening this week, just before CinemaCon 2016, of The Barco Innovation Center at AEG Regal LA Live Cinema. The branding is not only at the front door. Barco Red and White Innovation Center messaging overlooks freeway drivers as they pass near the 10 and 110 interchange.

With an impressive array of executives from both the hosting site and each of the show-cased Barco technology divisions, this facility was re-branded and re-launched.

AEG’s Regal LA Live Cinema is part of an extensive multi-venue entertainment complex located in the center of a still forming ‘new’ downtown Los Angeles. To give some perspective, it is 8 miles from downtown Hollywood. It has several adjacent buildings which feature events ranging from red carpet movie premiers, to concerts and sporting events.

Being in this special multi-block AEG owned and operated area, the cinema is also special in that it is the only Regal Cinema directly owned and managed by the parent company AEG. AEG itself has many varied entertainment groups both in and outside of the movie industry, examples being the AXS Event Ticketing Service and AEG Live, which promotes the shows that are normally present at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, among a thousand others, and of course, the 7,334 screens of Regal Entertainment’s theater chains.

And thus it was that four different AEG and Regal executives spoke of the process and promise of having such a technology center in the midst of their customers, all on the basic message of the potential of using technologies as they mature, with personal anecdotes from their own perspectives. For example, Mr. Robert del Moro, Chief Purchasing Officer for Regal spoke to the ability of monitoring the actual value of savings in air conditioning, electricity and other benefits that a complete facility of laser-engine projectors will bring to their decision processes.

Wim Buyens, from his position as CEO Entertainment, Barco, spoke of the company’s mantra of “Creating Moments and Compelling Experiences” for the audiences that they serve, and being appreciative of having a partner which allows the investment of their space and time. In a later conversation he made a tangential point in a similar fashion, stating that it wasn’t up to them as a manufacturer to set standards for the industry but to meet the standards and goals that are set by the studios and their customers and their customers.

The presentations included the Barco Lobby Experience, which coordinates all of the lobby and aisle displays on a timed plan so they can deliver a single message throughout the facility. As with the other two deliverables, this system was first presented as a working concept at CinemaCon 2014. The Experience begins with a recognizable tone to grab people’s attention, then tones and a hip countdown clock are followed by a special videos/audio mix of studio supplied assets. The software sets the volume level so it is above the ambient noise in the different areas.

The intention is to grab and present the lobby audience with an intense exposure to future presentations. Future software add-ons will add social media tools that facilitate ticket purchasing and other add-ons. Further along, they will integrate the software from a newly purchased group which will even allow some monitor displays to deliver age or gender specific material, depending on who is standing in front of that section. [Remind us to do an ROI article in a few months when all these potential items are incorporated.]

In what seemed like a CinemaCon pre-show practice run, a low-key presentation of the Barco Flagship Laser projector was used to demonstrate a full range of 2D and 3D material at the full SMPTE spec of 48 candela/meter2. A special piece of demo material for one of ARRI’s new Alexa cameras was used to show the artful blend of increasing brightness without washing out contrast. Unlike many demonstrations, this material was slow enough to stare into the dark and the light areas, and appreciate what is being attempted. One imagines that this would be a great opportunity to try alternatives to silver screens with the Barco Flagship Projector, perhaps using a quality RealD Precision White Screen to see if eliminating the vignetting brought by the 1.8 gain silver screen would add to the pleasure of the gorgeous material being sent from such a high quality 4K delivery (60,000 lumen~!) system.

With 2 of the Flagship Laser Projectors in the facility now, it was announced that by the end of summer, Barco blue phosphor lasers will replace the rest of the projectors in the facility.

Todd Hoddick, Chief Executive Officer of Barco Escape, showed the latest iteration of the Barco Escape system. Todd is enthusiastic about breaking the preconceived notion that we have to live within the original confines of a glorified sheet on the wall. The thrust of his remarks have to do with the efforts to get Hollywood content, for which he announces 4 movies in the next year, doubling again soon thereafter. There will be a similar coordinated effort with a partner in China. He also plans on nearly 2,000 installs in the coming years (over 1,000 in the US and EU, and 1,000 in China.)

The system itself has continued evolving since the first exposure at CinemaCon 2014. Perhaps the most relevant info is that it is now a fully DCI compliant system. We take this to mean that the 2 side-facing projectors are chosen from Barco’s arsenal of DCI compliant projectors and a clever bit of security software keeping sync. In addition to quoting a price per auditorium of $100,000 ($15,000 higher than quoted at CineEurope…is this a euro to dollar confusion?) plus a $10,000 fixed price per movie (or other entertainment package) which, he said, by putting the onus on Barco to supply material to cinema customers shows their dedication to the idea. Several anecdotes were told of box office success along with several concert and film clips, most seen before, although a clever commercial was shown.

Two Auro Immersive Audio system accompany the two Flagship Laser Projector System, and AuroMax systems are promised before the end of the year.

Thus finishes what can be considered a nice soft launch into the coming rigorous weeks of CinemaCon, the SMPTE Future of Cinema Conference and NAB. The equipment, while all cool and advancing the arts, was not the story. The story was a level higher than that, the relationship and the potential of the palette at the exhibition end of the artist’s intent.

Good luck to them and good luck to us all.