OK, there’s been a huge uproar over so called DVD projection at Rialto this week. First, can I clarify for you that it was in fact not a DVD but a hard drive playing the film in question on the day concerned. That hard drive has substantially more “picture information” on it than any DVD would ever have. However Rialto have said publicly that it appears that the file being used was faulty and has been replaced with a 35mm film print.

I have read pages of the online debate at www.nzherald.co.nz and so much is under-informed that I feel compelled to comment so that it’s clear we support the development that has occurred in the last decade of DVD cinema projection in NZ and give you some very basic technical understanding of the technology issues involved.

There are only two cinemas that I am aware of playing any DVD’s full time in Auckland - the Academy primarily in our 16 seat Encore Cinema and the smallest of the three cinemas at the new Matakana complex. Rialto as far as I know plays all e-cinema from hard drives delivered from the film owners. These are supposed to maximise the quality but that depends entirely on the source materials used.

In the cinema industry we now have three commonly used projection standards.

• 35mm film – the tried and true method that has barely changed in 100 years. If you look at 35mm film it should be technically superior from an image stand point to e-cinema (see below)

• e-cinema – standard and/or high definition computer copies or DVD’s of films originated from a “broadcast quality” video master made from the “film” (please note that most films these days are in fact created from a video/data output transferred on to film stock – most films are no longer made from negative film cut to resemble the final film) – this standard may be referred to as 1.3k images by some industry folk

• d-cinema – this is what is called the DCI standard – DCI stands for Digital Cinema Initiative and is the future of cinema projection, and can’t come soon enough for the environment’s sake – 35mm film is spectacularly destructive in an environmental way – using fossil fuel to create its raw materials and then dumping millions of reels of film into landfills worldwide every year – this may be referred to as 2k and/or 4k images – see http://www.dcimovies.com/

Take a read of this web link. It clearly identifies that DVD can be superior to 35mm film, and some of the reasons are obvious. 35mm film degrades fractionally every time it is played. Most 35mm film prints arriving in New Zealand, particularly of “arthouse” films, because of the costs involved, are “used prints” that have been on release in other countries. They start their first days in NZ as damaged and scratched before they even get seen for the first time.

A well made DVD will deliver, through a high quality projector (a 1.3k DLP style projector is currently the “standard” e-cinema projector being installed new into most New Zealand cinemas) a crisp, clear and unscratched image, vastly more pleasing to the eye than a used 35mm film print.

Technically though, a 35mm print will always deliver a better image than a DVD. It just is arguable, on a case by case basis, what is more pleasurable to watch in what environment.

A well prepared hard drive file copy of the film will do that much more than a DVD.

Why we need DVD and/or e-cinema in New Zealand

Here is a partial list of reasons why DVD cinemas have opened all over New Zealand in the last 5 years or so:

• Arthouse cinema was not reaching its full regional and main centre market off the limited number of 35mm prints that could be afforded by distributors bringing films to New Zealand. The 2005 Golden Globe winning Best Foreign Film Osama was released across New Zealand on two 35mm film prints and a further 20+ DVD’s that serviced mainly regional markets.

• In rural communities where there are many e-cinemas in NZ, the economics of a D-cinema standard or 35mm print cinema, would not make it possible for the cinema to cover the interest required for the borrowing, let alone cover any other operating costs! Yes, that’s rural, but it is one of the reasons that e-cinema technology has been enhanced and we can offer better than DVD projection as a result. Pro-rata NZ has probably one of the best film choices in the world - for such a small country there is a massive choice of mainstream & arthouse movies. And should e-cinema standard films not be continued, then many of these diverse & obscure & entertaining films will stop coming into the country.

• Cinema patrons often don’t get to the cinema in the first two weeks when a new film opens. They still want the film playing in 3 or 4 months when they want to go. Cinemas pay a lot to open every session (staff, rent and advertising being the big costs in a cinema) and can’t keep a 35mm film print from a distributor for sessions where only 10-20 people are regularly coming. DVD Cinemas opened, like our “Encore” and Rialto’s two DVD auditoriums to allow a film to run much longer than would be otherwise possible.

• Some films can not be sourced on 35mm prints. Last year the Academy played a long season of the doco In Search of Mozart entirely from DVD as the film was never made available on 35mm. Rialto also played almost all year the hugely successful As It Is In Heaven entirely from DVD as the film makers from Scandinavia wanted $12,000 for a single translated 35mm film print. Eventually, the film was so successful that armed with a proven hit and more money from customers, the distributor, not the cinema, went back to the film maker and probably negotiated a better access deal and the film was eventually sourced on 35mm film prints for cinemas not equipped to play DVD like the Bridgeway in Northcote. Rialto, the cinema, had no choice in that decision and as far as I know never played the film on anything other than DVD in 2006 and then from its digital file servers on the recent return season.

• Provincial access to first run films. A cinema is the first choice for seeing a new film because it’s new and it’s the biggest screen you’re likely to see the film you want to see on. You can wait for the DVD in the shops or you can see it first in cinema. The one good thing about this debate is that no doubt there is now more awareness of the fact that some cinemas, Rialto, Academy and Matakana do play e-cinema and if that’s unacceptable to you, you just ask and have a total choice of attendance.

• Low budget local films don’t get seen many other ways – both Rialto and the Academy have given screen space over to low budget New Zealand and Australian films that never had the dollars to finish to 35mm film and would never have been seen without our investments. New Zealand films like Squeegee Bandit and Hidden both jump to mind along with Australian films like Puppy and Five Moments of Infidelity, the latter playing as I write this in the Academy’s Encore Cinema.

Why e-cinema tickets cost the same as 35mm cinema

There is no valid argument for a seat in an e-cinema to be cheaper than in a 35mm cinema. The facts are:

• The cinema pays the same to the owner of the film whether it is playing a 35mm film print or an e-cinema file or DVD.

• The cinema pays the same to advertise a session and would pay more if it included notes about formats in its ads so the argument would actually be the opposite

• Staffing costs are the same

• The fixed cost of having the facility is much the same

• The maintenance costs on e-cinema equipment is higher due to faster obsolescence and the fact that a bulb for a 1.3k e-cinema projector can feel almost as expensive as a whole home cinema projector!

If you want to see a film on a larger screen with a group of friends, a cinema will always be the place, whether the film is projected from 35mm or from an e-cinema plant.

The Academy’s Standards

We want you to enjoy your experience at the Academy. We check each DVD and 35mm print on arrival and whilst these checks are random, they avoid most inferior standard product reaching the screen. If we discover we have missed something and you have to tell us about it, we’ll give you your choice of your money back or free tickets to another play date to apologise for our error.

The Academy Cinema Auditorium

The large cinema at the Academy has a 35mm film projector and a Panasonic Single Chip DLP 1.3k e-cinema projector. This is the highest quality e-cinema projector in use in Auckland cinemas today.

We play e-cinema files from a Panavision Media Player which is a leading edge digital media player designed specifically for cinemas.

All our sound goes through a Dolby stereo system.

The Encore Cinema Auditorium

The 16 seat Encore Cinema, which we know some people hate and others just LOVE, we get both sets of feedback (I know those who hate it will argue there could not be a lover of the Encore, surely not!) – plays all sessions from a top of the line Pioneer DVD player through Panasonic LCD Projectors. This equipment is all about to be replaced with hardware that will match, for the size of room, the picture quality delivered in the Academy cinema using a new DLP projector and ultimately also the Panavision Media Player.

Ask us

We can tell you if a film will be playing from DVD or e-cinema if it’s an issue for you. Bear in mind though that by our own standards, we are guaranteeing your experience.

Oh, and normally our NZ Herald ads indicate with an * Booking Recommended note all films and/or sessions playing in our Encore Cinema. That is a sure sign the film will be seen using DVD or e-cinema in our Encore Cinema.

John Davies
2/10/07