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Star Wars Digital Projection Theaters
Zoreta writes "Wired Magazine lists the 19 digital projection theaters in the country where Attack of the Clones can be viewed as Lucas intended."
Say what you will, I can't wait for AotC- digital projector or not. I just
wish *blatant non subtle hinting* some kind soul could get me into an early
showing in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area ;) And at least I have spiderman to
tide me over. Sam Rami vs. George Lucas. Gonna be a fun summer.
Only way to see a movie! Reserved seating, big leather seats, individual tables at each seat, and best of all, a FULL BAR (also meaning nobody under 21 allowed!)! Nothing like watching a flick with a martini while sitting in a nice leather chair. Check it out. I can never go to a "regular" theater again.
I don't think Taco will be near so eager to see AotC when he realizes the full title is "Attack of the Clones of Jar-Jar Binks"
We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
Commander Taco, I could suggest contacting someone at Star Theaters. I'm sure you could get into some advanced screening with press credentials. Here's the URL:
http://startheatres.moviefone.com/
I'd shoot for the Star Southfield -- stadium seating and THX r0x0rs.
Speak truth to power.
I wonder how much this is gonna keep the ticket prices going up...
I saw the digital projection of The Phantom Menace in New Jersey, and was impressed. The picture was absolutely perfect. I'm not certain I would have noticed the difference if I hadn't been told, but ever since I've noticed film glitches in other movies--little flecks on a frame or dammage due to having been played too many times.
So this time it's 16 instead of 2. Hopefully in a few years it will become standard.
It's not digital projection, but nothing else in the area beats the Uptown theater. It's incredible.
But does it really make THAT much of a difference? Better clarity would be great, but are we talking VHS versus DVD quality difference here? Is it that noticeable? Has anyone here seen a film on both film and digital to be able to tell whether or not it's worth a trek to one of these already overcrowded theaters?
I wonder about this, seeing as I have been quite unimpressed by digital cable. True, the picture is extremely clear when it is working perfectly. However, it is not very fault tolerant. A bad analog signal might give me a little snow; I can still enjoy the program. Even a slightly bad digital signal causes massive pixelation; when that happens you cannot make out anything on the screen at all. The Moral: digital is better when it works, but worse when it does not.
How is it that a theater in Arizona and one in Kansas get a digital projector before many of the much larger markets? Anyone from either of these towns have any information on these theaters?
-- Adam
Good, my summer trip is settled. My fiance and I get married a day before the opening, then we rush on to Plano, Texas to see it. Then we rush to California to see it again. We stay in California for a few days, and then we rush to Ohio (forgive me if I am wrong, I really only paid attention to the ones close to me, or in interesting places)
Wonder if my fiance will go for this for a honey moon. Two trips, in one!
My fiance lives 5 miles from the Illinois theater. I won't be living there by then, but on one of my weekly trips from OH, I'm going to drag her there kicking and screaming.
And none in GA. So I have two options.
:(
Get laid Off. Theres a meeting tomorrow of the head honchos, so all I need to do is piss someone off so bad that they send me packing with a Free Air ticket to SF.
Second option would be to start sneaking around the Low-Airfare forums.
I hate Lucas
Rapid Nirvana
Last I heard, the "digital theaters" were working on micromirror arrays, which are great little devices (I spent about a year in college trying to build a microscope with some), except when their pixels get stuck, which although not as frequent as, say, the blue screen of death, is frequent enough to warrant a problem for a theater running the camera for 80+ hours per week. Then again, my last experience with them was 3.5 years ago, so TI and others may have improved the performance significantly since then.
Some men spend their entire lives trying to kill themselves for having been born. --Ross MacDonald
ROAD TRIP!
I saw Episode I digitally projected at the AMC Burbank North 6, and it was magnificent. You don't realize the difference while you're watching unless you really think about it. It's after the movie that you realize there wasn't a single error or marking on the "print".
It's odd that this theater was chosen for digital projection, as there are 2 other AMCs (Media Center 14, and Media Center 8) within walking distance to this one. The North 6 is the least crowded, and the theaters aren't huge. This is a great place to catch movies that you know are released digitally. Went to see Toy Story 2 there, didn't plan to see it digitally, but that's how they were showing it. Animation in particular is much more vivid in this format.
End rambling.
I'm Peggy.
Star Great Lakes Crossing
Phone: (248)454-0366
4300 Baldwin Road
Great Lakes Crossing Mall
Auburn Hills, MI 48326
This theater is the bomb.
-- 4 8 15 16 23 42
I saw Mission to Mars projected digitally at AMC 30 in Olathe, KS. The picture was so good that I could see the makeup that Gary Sinise was wearing. But it was very distracting to see hime wearing some kind of rouge on his cheeks and some sort of shiny lip gloss. Movie makers need to be mindful of this sort of thing. Also Mission to Mars was one of the shittiest movies ever. That never helps.
Not that I've got anything against digital theatres (presuming that they've got the quality up near what film provides) -- I just don't like the idea of the digital information blackhole that it looks like the media industry is attempting to create for our descendents.
Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
Is anyone sure the film will actually be playing at any of them?
El Capitan in LA seems unlikely, for example (being a Disney owned showcase theater).
Here's a list of DLP-enabled Theatres from Texas Instruments, includes at least 6 theatres not listed in the Wired article, plus links to the theatres' websites.
DLP = Digital Light Processing and is supposedly better than Plasma/LCD. 4 Million+ mirrors in this sucker less than a micron apart each.
I'm a 2000 man.
Heh. The AMC Empire 25 and the Lowes E-walk are directly across the street from one another. 42nd and 8th in NYC. Maybe I'll see it once at each :P
AMC Pleasure Island 24 Lake Buena Vista, Florida (which is at Walt Disney World in Orlando)
. . . and I didn't think anything good could ever come from living near Walt Disney World. With the student discount the evening admission is only $5!
SIX out of 19 are in California. Some states don't have a single one, but we get SIX. God, I love this state.
python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
I am there! Okay, so the drive up from wichita for a movie is kind of "re-damn-diculous" but Ill go catch some lame weekday show that no one will be at. I will probably see it opening weekend here in Wichita and then drive up w/in the next week or two (cant wait too long cause they may/may not pull it from digital, and that would suck dickitydick).
I will be very bummed if it is no different from the regular ol projector that Ill be seeing it at here in town.
The ultimate network admin tool needs HELP!
Digital gurus can't send in "The Clones" Article from Variety that appeared back in February.
I saw both Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. on the DLP at the Cinemark Legacy in Plano. Three things really blew me away.
First, it's bright! When the green "the following preview has been approved..." slate goes up, the sheer amount of light coming back off that screen is just amazing.
The next thing that surprised me is the noise: there isn't any. You don't notice the sound of the projector (that "tuh-tuh-tuh-tuh" sound of the gate opening and closing) until it's gone. When the house lights go down before the movie starts, it's completely silent in the theater, which is pretty cool.
Finally, there's no flicker. That's another thing you don't notice until it's gone. Despite the fact that the image is being shown to you at 24 frames per second, there's either no refresh effect in the DLP at all, or so little that your eye doesn't see it. A traditional screen, lit by a film projector, goes dark 48 times per second, and your eye picks up on that. A DLP screen doesn't. I guess that also contributes to the overall brightness; you're getting something like a third more lumens to the screen just because you're not closing a gate twice per frame.
Oh, and in case you're wondering why there's a DLP cinema in Plano, TX, I think it's because this theater is right across the street from the TI facility where they invented DLP. At least that's the story.
I just wish *blatant non subtle hinting* some kind soul could get me into an early showing in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area ;)
Back in the day of Star Trek IV, a friend got me into an early screening, and it was just me and him. The experience was not all that great. I guess my problem is that movies are more of a group thing for me. The Phantom Menace was a blast to see in a big group, while STIV was relatively boring with just me and that guy (sorry Tag if you are reading this...). The biggest problem is that those early screenings, it is usually just two tickets, you and the friend that got them. SciFi is something best experienced en masse.
Bryan R.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, or $12.50 as seen on eBay.....
hmmm... there was great need for the phantom edit. Let's see what odd characters George Lucas felt compelled to introduce to the sequel. Hopefully there won't be a need for a version 1.1 this time.
I actually have a reel of the 1st Star Wars like that - it's pretty bad.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
I'll be there with my pitchfork and burning torch. Somebody else will need to bring the rope.
psxndc
The emacs religion: to be saved, control excess.
Wired Magazine lists the 19 digital projection theaters in the country where Attack of the Clones can be viewed as Lucas intended.
If George truly wants digital projectors to be adopted, what he should do with Episode III is release it to digital-projector theatres two weeks to a month earlier than to standard theatres. QED.
Right here. It is world-wide. I am not sure how often the list is updated. I believe Wired's list is more updated for this movie.
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
I'd rather die than admit that my life ....er um, book... came from the likes of amazon!
Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
They've always been consistant; they love quite a bit of the content, they hate quite a bit of the business practices.
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
THX is going to load this puppy onto hard drives in a QuBit before they get to the projection stage, so it could only be shown where the two lists overlap.
This sig intentionally left justified.
I saw it in Burbank, CA. I couldn't believe how many stars in space. Wow. :)
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Luckily I live just outside of NYC, so I can take a quick trip down to Manhattan to catch it. But I found it funny that in all of New York, there are 3 theatres, all of them in Manhattan. And as far as I can recall, 2 of them (AMC and Loews) are across the street from each other on 42nd street. Convenient for catching 2 shows back to back if one is sold out...
How does digital projection work? Nothing in the article mentions it. Is it a big task for the theaters to upgrade to it? I am curious as to what equipment plays the stuff, what it is stored on, and do they use the same screen as for other movies. I guess this stuff has to be super expensive or else everybody else would have it for AoC.
When he began shooting Star Wars Episode II in an all-digital format, George Lucas imagined that Attack of the Clones could screen in 2,000 digital-projection theaters nationwide.
Because "Digital Is Always Better(TM)", right?
Heh...I sense somebody is trying to keep the crowds away from Irvine so they can get a better seat? :-)
Good luck...you know all the people from the game companies (like Blizzard) will be over there the day it opens.
I recently became an usher at a local theatre, I was really excited because I get free tickets for movies. My boss just told me that every cool movie this summer (spiderman, AoTC, etc) is what is called "no passes" where the film company will not allow the theatres to give out free passes to employees for like 60 days. I am still pissed. Atleast Thursday I get to go to the screening with just employees, which kicks arse!
The Senator is the best place to see it in Baltimore. This is a very cool independent theater that has survived since the 40s. There is only one screen so you get to see the movie in a huge hall together with 800 other screaming fans. The owner is a cool guy whose's a big Star Wars fan and gets up on stage to personally introduce each showing. It's a great experience.
As an aside, I believe any theater showing the Star Wars movies as a first run (e.g. - first 8 weeks of release) has to be THX certified.
Which, of course, pads Lucas's pocket a bit more (THX certification costs $$$), but also "ensures" that you get the movie experience that the film maker expected.
If, for instance, there's an issue with a THX certified movie in a THX certified theater, you can call 1-800-PHONE-THX to lodge a complaint. THX claims that they investigate every such complaint.
...download it?
You get to see the movie framed by a camcorder, learn a foreign language, and make a political statement all at the same time.
What else could be so much fun?
Have you ever actually been to Irvine? It's a quiet place with a ton of office buildings. The Irvine Spectrum is actually way on the outskirts in the middle of nowhere. And it is more than a theatre. It is a whole entertainment center. A giant arcade, a Dave & Busters, street merchants... And I worked in Irvine as weel. TONS of high tech companies. I have never seen an act of violence or police brutality. Oh wait... i get it. you want the theatre to yourself. and after typing all of this.. damn, i feel dumb.
I just watched the outtakes of Requiem for a Dream in which Marlon Wayans does a minstrel impression of Jar Jar. I dig the idea, but the execution left something to be desired. Perhaps hating Jar Jar has simply become passe. Like the recent release of "Death to Smoochie", I mean, does anyone really actively loathe Barney anymore? It's not like hating purple dinosaurs needed time to become socially acceptable. Just look at how quickly planes started blowing up on tv (FOX's "24") after the Trade Center bombings.
There's only once digital screen in the complex, and it's the one in the premium. If you get there early sometimes you see the scary hourglass pointer while the system is warming up.
that they would really want it playing there, it cost them a ton of money to put in digital projection equipment, and you would think that they would want to play as many movies as they can which take advantage of it and use that as a selling point...not to mention that clones will probably have a huge draw.
would semm pretty foolish not to play it there
Surcharge for buying my ticket four weeks early: 75 cents
/. geek in Florida for a place in line at the only digital theatre around: PRICELESS!
A ticket to see Star Wars II at the Pleasure Island AMC: $8
Having to fight every
"And like that
...And it's in Peoria! Just a few miles away from me abode! Thank god it's not in Tempe, Scottsdale, or Mesa.
Anyone else here from AZ? Going to the Harkins on 5/16/02?
Go to California...SEE THE ELEPHANT!
Yeah, watching in in 1920 x 1080 is sweet. Looks good even on a 20 inch screen. Except when your MPEG decoder barfs.
Fight Spammers!
Although it might seem odd that, at the moment, only 19 theaters support digital projection, if the whole industry is going to eventually move that way, it will facilitate the transition by having such a large film behind it. Also, DVD production and other digital media formats will be much eaier to provide content for. The will be no film transfers involved, and it will be simpler for them to produce alternate edits for poor suckers like me.
You know, I was just thinking the same thing. Unfortunately, because those two theaters (Loews and AMC on 42nd) are so close together, they have a sort of "gentleman's agreement" in which they don't show the same movies in the same week. One would hope they decide to bend the rules for Star Wars, but ya never know...
Is probably my favorite modern theatre in the city. The parking is not so great, but, I love how they lay out the theatres... a steep arc of chairs, so that even if the guy in front of you is 6 foot 5, he doesn't block your view. Plenty of leg room. The arm rest goes up so you can snuggle up with that special someone. Every arm rest has a cup holder.
There are not giant huge great theatres there, because it's all in an old building, but that's good too... cause it means you don't have to share your film experience with 10,000 wailing babies.
And best of all: they have a student discount!
-Lep
I am allowed to criticize you: you are not allowed to criticize me. Sorry, that's just how things are.
I know the only one up here is in Bergen, Norway. And I got premiere tickets, good seats too.
;).
This is going to be good
Yes, they cost ungodly sums of money, but don't be fooled. Lucas isn't pushing DLP because of the great resolution. He is pushing it because a major release (3,000+ screens) means $33 - $35 MILLION in duplication costs.
Digital distribution cuts that to a fraction. Add to that the ability to check dailies in Hollywood via an optical link -- so the execs don't have to get dirty on site, and you have a winner.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
You can get those micromirrors in projection TVs too, it's called 'DLP'. I was really impressed when I looked at a DLP display at a specialty store. Still very expensive though ($10k or so)
Btw, I've seen the term 'contrast ratio' used in the specs of projectors/TVs. AFAIK, LCD projectors often have a contrast ration of 200 or so, the better ones have up to 400. I think DLP has more than that.
--- Hindsight is 20/20, but walking backwards is not the answer.
but star wars interests me only as it pertains to my status as a geek. I'm far more interested in seeing Spider-Man than episode 2. Spider-Man I intend to see on day 1. Episode 2 I'll wait to see until someone tells me something good about it. A Jar Jar death scene would be nice.
-
I camped out for Phantom Menace tickets at the coolest theatre in Denver (the Continental). When I first saw the list in Wired, I considered doing a road trip to a digital theatre to top myself. In the end laziness won out. Ah, the things I will do to garner bragging rights as a hardcore fan. I guess I'll just be pleased if the film is any good.
Whoops!!
:-/
I should have read the Wired magazine article first. I didn't know Disney already installed a digital projection system there.
Screw digital. Lucas had 70mm prints for the initial releases of SW ep. 4-6. Where are they now? Have quality standards dropped this much since 1977? (DLP may come close to 35mm, but will not touch the quality of 70mm for many years to come)
Hmm.
;)
:-)
Say what you will, I can't wait for AotC- digital projector or not. I just wish *blatant non subtle hinting* some kind soul could get me into an early showing in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area
I'm really not sure how that fits in with this, a post from taco earlier today. For the lazy:
just the same as I no longer have any interest in seeing the upcoming Star Wars movie
This is one fickle editor to be sure... PSST! Taco, gotcha
Blearf. Blearf, I say.
Too bad I can't get into the premium theatre for another 3 years, because it's only 15 minutes from my house.
Fortunately one of those theatres (the edward's irvine) is the closest theatre to where I live). I guess the title of the wired article doesn't apply to me =P
Go here.
Click here or here.
My brother went to see ToyStory 2 in digital at the AMC Mercado 20 theater in Milpitas, and when he went back a couple years after they had taken the digital out (!!)
.
- Reverse-commute on the Logan Express bus from the airport out to a short distance from the cinema. Indeed before the trees leaf out you can see the two buildings from each other; later just ask directions from the station staff, it's a trivial 5 minute walk. To catch Logan Express go to the lower level of the Airport and watch for a large red coach-style bus, the one you'll want is the hourly Framingham one.
-
Take the Commuter Rail out to Framingham station. There are buses that connect from there around Framingham but I've never seen a good map or schedule of them, Google or ask on ne.transportaion for current status. Personally I'd just catch a cab over.
- Look into getting a ZipCar or just convincing a friend to drive you out. The cinema is a hop-skip-&-jump from the Framingham exit on the Mass Pike. Offering tickets & popcorn is good incentive.
Finally, contrary to some reports the digital projection isn't in the Premium Theater - that's standard 35mm insofar as I know. Instead I recall the large #9 screen is the one with the digital projection and special audio equipment. While the Premium screen does seem to get the freshest prints and often have the best focus & other projection niceties it appears to be just a well executed traditional film theater sans children & mystery stuff sticking to the seats & floors.I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
My glasses are almost six years old, my contacts at least two (i ordered bulk a while back), so everything beyond six feet appears a tad blurry. I'm wondering now if I should get my prescription updated just for this.
I wonder how many out there are in the same boat? Oh, and that digital dolby doesn't do much either, my hearing took a beating from all those Ozzy concerts.
-- If god wanted me to have a sig, he'd have given me a sense of humor.
Just look at how quickly planes started blowing up on tv (FOX's "24") after the Trade Center bombings.
well, to be fair, this was probably already filmed before Sept 11th.
Anyone know if there is even a single one of these digital projection theatres in the UK?
Happy Boy should spend less time creaming over digital projection, and more time coming up with a decent plot, decent dialogue, and decent characters.
I really can't believe there is a digital theatre in Kansas, but the nearest digital projection to my humble central Canadian abode is in Boston. Hello? Toronto? Montreal?
There are several perople that are rallying against digital projection. Roger Ebert, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg to name a few. These are people who have a vast amount of experience in this field. Ebert, for one, has been the most vocal about his distaste for digital projection: claiming that it yields muted colors and compression artifacts.
No doubt it's better than DVD quality, but there definitely some compression going on. To match the quality of 35mm print, you need something like a 5 megapixel camera. For 1/1.85 aspect ratio projection you're talking about a 3,000 x 1600 pixel image. Is the resolution on DLP that good? On the DLP website I couldn't get any hard numbers for what the resolution will be for digital projection (there's alot of info there, so be my guest). Even with DVD compression levels you're gonna have to put this thing on a 100gig hard drive, and the compression is quite noticable to film buffs (admittedly, I can only tell with poorely encoded dvd's).
Besides, there are alot of things that influence the quality of the cinema experience. Hardly any theatres use the correct brightness for their projectors. Furthermore, the jump to 50mm or 75mm film would have an astounding leap in quality. You could double the framerate, but you'd also double the number of film canisters (I worked at a theater during high school, those suckers can get pretty big and heavy).
I saw both Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. on the DLP at the Cinemark Legacy in Plano. Three things really blew me away. First, it's bright! When the green "the following preview has been approved..." slate goes up, the sheer amount of light coming back off that screen is just amazing.
I used to work for a video company. We rented out Hughes/JVC ILA video projectors, $250,000 each, circa 1993. Nothing compared to the ones at the Famous Players down the road from my house, but we'd light cigarettes off the lenses of these things. I loved those Hughes. 1024x768 at 72Hz refresh and x-deflection up to 55kHz in 1993. Man, did I ever love those things.
The next thing that surprised me is the noise: there isn't any. You don't notice the sound of the projector (that "tuh-tuh-tuh-tuh" sound of the gate opening and closing) until it's gone. When the house lights go down before the movie starts, it's completely silent in the theater, which is pretty cool.Not just the audio noise of the film being snapped through the gate and the shutter exposing the screen, but also the video noise - dust, cigarette burns in the film, color differences when the alternate projector spins up and the system switches to another reel. Just a perfect image, silent, solid, stable and bright.
My first ever digital movie experience was The Mummy. I was with friends and we were in a trippy sort of mood. One of them was a roadie, and sure enough, out came the acid. Three hits of good old 1960s blotter, sat down in the movie theater, and I was convinced that my brain was going to melt. The carpet was attacking me. And then I experienced a digital movie projector for my first time. That was powerful enough, but imagine the effects of a digital projector, acid and The Mummy all at once. (Those who don't know what I'm talking about are encouraged to see the movie "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", then view "The Mummy" in that mindset.)
Every scene from that movie is burned into my brain. And I think I'm probably the only person I know who actually enjoyed The Mummy.
Fire and Meat. Yummy.
Just wanted to point out that, in addition to the 19 screens in the US, there's at least one digitally-equipped theatre in Canada. Here in Toronto, the Paramount (Queen and John) has shown a number of films on DLP, and it really is awesome.
For me, the biggest difference was the lack of image noise; the "hairs" on screen from flaws in the film that are blessedly absent in a digital system.
And this is probably a coincidence, but the theatre happens to be across the street from TI's Toronto office. The Toronto office is completely unrelated to DLP though.
---
Kern
I rather expect "CmdrTaco (editor)" is not the same as "CmdrTaco". I also rather doubt that Tacos user # is 564483. But most glaringly, that post was reasonably well written, with no painful grammatical errors, which almost certainly eliminates Taco from the field of persons who could conceivably have written it...
ehintz
Another decade is probably needed to get this worked out. Right now, it's not cheaper to go digital.
Personally, I hope digital projectors do take over. One potential improvement they can make is in frame rate. Sometimes, if I'm close enough to the screen, strobing is visible at 24fps. Particularly in animated movies where the screen scrolls without blurring, I can see a double image as it pans by. IMAX theaters are aware of this and have film that can run as high as 60fps. Unfortunately, for film that's pretty expensive.
But in the digital world, 60 fps is feasible (or will be before too long.) Even if the resolution's a little lower, the improvement in frame rate'd easily make up for it.
"Derp de derp."
Now that would bring back some memories (after driving back down to the Cincinnati, Ohio suburb where that theatre is located)... saw the first Star Wars movie there, 4 times. Back then, the Showcase was the big new deal in movie-going... all 3 screens of it. The original has since been torn down to be replaced by a 24 or 30 screener... but then I'd guess that's why they have the digital in place... gotta be a new facility to have it. (?)
I'd have a personalized plate on my car, but "toxic bachelor" won't fit into 7 letters.
I can understand deterioration of analog film making a digital viewing better, but if, like I'm sure 99% of us here will be, I'm sitting in the first midnight show of AotC watching a digitally-produced analog film print in an otherwise tricked-out theater, am I really going to see that much of a difference?
I ask only because unless it's appreciably better than a NEW print it's not really worth the 50 mile drive into LA. I'd analogize it to listening to a song on a CD vs. listening to it on a brand-new vinyl disc - the analog printing might even look smoother, I don't know. Hell, just 'cause that's the way Lucas wants it doesn't mean it's better - ask Jar-Jar.
And on the subject of DLP as a whole, the studios are jacking theaters big-time. They want them to foot all the costs of going digital in an age where they're raping them to the tune of about 90% of the profit from ticket sales. After the "cinematic arms race" over stadium seating, many have gone out of business already, and those still running are hurting. I'm amazed they get by on candy/popcorn/soda sales as it is.
If you're ever wondering why your local theater has no money for improvements, look no further than the studios.
The only tool you've got against psychosis is experience.
sam raimi > george lucas
The one in Olathe KS is about a mile from my house! I knew living in East Bumf*** would pay off someday!
Any relation to Murray Spiderman, of Spiderman's Kosher Deli?
Digital projection of digitized analog movie sometimes has problems. I saw a movie about white water rafting that disturbed me. The white water spray was fractal, and kept flickering on the screen. Another problem movie was the DVD version of 2001: A Space Odyssey (seen at MIT, of all places). Some of the model details flickered, especially the craters on the moon.
I suspect an "all the way through" digital processing shot with digital camera, post-processing digital and projection digital would have fewer of these problems. Second, proper spatial filtering to reduce jaggies helps. Third, a director who understands the limitations of digital would film scenes that reduce these problems.
I look forward to seeing Lucas's results.
The reason why youcould say that digital is better for starwars, is that a large part of the movie was rendered in digital anyway.
But for movies that film real life, digital projection is terrible - it shows a great reduction in quality.
I go to this theater regularly, and lemme tell you. DLP is amazing, though the clerks there couldnt quite explain what it was when me and my friend asked. At first you can't really tell the difference, but when action scenes come up, thats when the technology shines. I'm gonna fight the crowds even more this year to get tickets to the opening show of ep 2 now.
Wow how sweet is that, that's where i go anyway, it's like 5 minutes from my house. Course i'll probly never notice the difference, but hey, always up for something new.
"The crows seemed to be calling his name, thought Caw."
Movie guru Roger Ebert didn't have much good to say about digital projection. Poor lightning, pixelated displays, washed out colors. To me it sounds like the problems I have seen with DLP projectors for the home. Thats why I went and got a nice analog CRT hdtv for my home movie viewing =) I think I will stick to nice analog film.
You'll notice that one of the theatres is in Laka Buena Vista, Fl, which is another name for DisneyWorld. The Pleasure Island AMC 24 will offer a Disney Cast-Member DLP screening of the film midnight of the day it's released. Tickets are only $4. So boo-yeah. Glad I work for Disney.
Free messageboards and more! Your girlfriend's seen myWang
Question: Where do Hollywood movie producers go to the movies? Well, apart from premiere night I mean.
Answer: Private screenings.
How much would you be willing to pay for private screening at location of your choice _at the same time as general movie release_ ? Think home cinema with digital projector, good sound, your own choice of seating, companions, food etc.
Now think pay-per-view digital capability of live events. Whatever takes your fancy - any major sporting event, concert, expedition. Direct digital-feed by satellite straight from the distributor.
Now think movie-industry supplied and controlled projector with encrypted digital feed from the distributor so that you can't bootleg the feed.
I think with digital capability and micro-outlets like this, the role of the film distributor could be about to change significantly.
STF
Saw Episode 1 in two different digital theaters. Had a chance to talk with some of the engineers who developed these technologies.
:-)
The first theater used an infrared-modulated liquid-crystal image light valve, developed by Hughes. An interesting feature of this technique is that the resolution is continuously adjustable (there are no pixels in the projector). Because the transfer function of the liquid crystal is nonlinear, it needs to be calibrated frequently, and that process (at that time) was not very automated -- perhaps that is why the TI mirror chip dominates this application today.
The second theater used the TI mirror chip. It provides fixed HDTV resolution, although it is possible to run this chip at various frame rates.
Both theaters used identical sources, at the same frame rate and HDTV resolution. (The projector uses an appropriate lens to stretch the image into the desired aspect ratio.) The compressed and encrypted movie was stored on a redundant array of disk drives (RAID5 I assume) that had a total capacity of 350 GB. An industry standard [don't remember the name] box was used to decrypt and uncompress the frames on the fly. Episode 1 used up about 250 GB, compressed.
Obviously, the compression used in this application is nowhere near as severe as the compression used on DVDs. I suspect this is one of the most important reasons why the image quality is so remarkably good. Yes, this is merely an HDTV picture writ large, but you will never see an image this good on any home theater -- at least not until you can get a 250 GB file at home....
The biggest improvement I noticed with (both of these) digital projections, compared with film, was the total lack of frame jitter. With film, there is always some wear and tear of the sprocket holes, and even a brand-new print will have the image jittering back and forth a little bit. (Imax, with its film registration pins, is largely immune to this problem.) Digital projection eliminates this annoyance forever.
Although the images looked just fabulous, everything was not perfect. The end credits, in particular, showed some artifacts, although these were not really obvious unless you walked up toward the front of the theater. Perhaps these were due to choices made during the compression process -- after all, Episode 1 was not a fully digital movie, and in fact this version was digitized from a completed film print. It will be interesting to see how a fully digital Episode 2 compares in this regard.
Ultimately, I would like to see digital theaters break away from their current limitations of resolution and (especially) frame rate, but I expect nobody will invest in these kinds of improvements until digital projection is much more widely accepted.
This theatre is old and no longer has the greatest reputation.
See these reviews for more information.
Personally, I consider Sam Raimi to be an excellent director who at the very least deserves to have his name spelt correctly.
Fight or flight its all the same
Live to die another day
--Ryan
I think someone missed the humor intended in the original post. =)
You're the reason, George, why there aren't more digital screens today. You demand 80% of the box for your movies and even a cut of the concessions! (which by the way is unheard of).
Theatre companies don't make as much money off of your movies as you think they do (especially since you take 80%). So where are these theatres supposed to get money from to buy these $100,000-$500,000 digital projectors? Most theatres have a hard enough time trying to pay employess, advertising, and performing maintnance on the theatres without you asking these theaters to do costly upgrades.
Besides, when would the theatres use the digital projectors? Once every 3 years when you release a movie?
Maybe Lucas should open his own Theatre Company and realize that money for upgrades is hard to come by.
"A plan fiendishly clever in its intricacies"- Homer Simpson
Here in Switzerland we don't have cinemas (digital OR analogue). We have Popcorn sellers who show films , insist on seating everybody together elbow-to-elbow in the middle of the room and pausie the film for 10 minutes (sometimes in the middle of a line).
I'll wait for the DVD.
I am a Karma Library.
...He seems like a really good actor. To bad he picks such cheesey movies like "Mission to Mars" and "The Family Man". Those movies would actually be watchable if the characters weren't so contrite and phony.
It's like watching Jackie Paper burn...morbid entertainment.
those planes were filmed quite a bit before 9/11....in fact, fox delayed release of 24 because of 9/11 and even considered dropping it entirely
I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....
Your jaggies are coming from the compression of the image, not just becasue it's digital.
So there are 17 in the USA, interesting. As far as i can tell there are none in Canada at all? Can anyone verify this? What about the rest of the world? Would lucas make sure a deal about 17 theatres?
I'm very curious. Does someone have a master list of digital theatres worldwide?
I thought Family Man was pretty good.
A solution to the problem with music today
I was surprised that there was one in Kansas two. Something cool happens in Kansas and its a month after I jumped ship. Are there any digital theatres in Vancouver? Oh well, Kansas sucks in general, it was worth it.
This Wiki Feeds You TV and Anime - vidwiki.org
I just wait for a nice high-quality VCD transfer to be posted to USENET--which always happens within a week of a big film opening--and watch it in the comfort of my own home cinema. Sitting close to 55-inch HDTV is better than sitting in the middle of a theater watching a big scren, as far as my tastes are concerned. And it's completely quiet, unlike the time *Blair Witch Project* was ruined for me when an obnoxious couple kept snickering...
;-)
:-)
;-) Now, which call-girl do I pick? :-o I don't think your theater can compare with *that* kind of service! heehee...
The only problem is avoiding low-quality VCDs with poor image or sound quality or glitches; but there are certain websites where different VCDs get "graded," and the best VCD groups put their wares across all of 2 CDs, for the best possible quality. But since I wouldn't want to change discs in the middle, I just use TMPGenc to combine them into one whole movie beforehand, and play from the HD of the "home theater PC," output to the TV thanks to ATI's beautiful All-in-Wonder. I still remember the looks on the kids' facs when I let them watch Hary Potter all day long, three days after its theatrical release.
Martini? You can have whatever you want without getting gouged by rapacious movie-theater-and-MPAA-monopoly prices, when you watch a top-quality VCD at home.
Hmm, when Episode II comes out and I wrangle a HQ copy, maybe I should do something special that you can't generally do in theaters, even the nice kind. I'm thinking "geek menage-a-trois" with Episode II in place of the PC...
Chasing Amy
(We all chase Amy...)
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws"-Tacitus
It's now owned by AMC, although how this will effect the digital theater I can't say.
with both Framingham and Randolph available in the greater boston area, which do I choose? Any body been to both?
BTW theforce.net's current thinking is that tickets will be available for pre sale May 3rd. (at least at AMC theaters)
A week ago I called the Plano theater asking about advance tickets. The woman I spoke with said she wasn't even sure if they were going to have Star Wars. Excuse me? You want to lose money? Can anyone else confirm this crazy thing she told me, because I can't believe it.
proton != antielectron
This was posted on theforce.net April 22.r yID=1 5746
http://cgi.theforce.net/theforce/tfn.cgi?sto
Clint writes in, with very good news for Memphis area fans:
I recently emailed Memphis' major theater chain, Malco, about their plans for digital projection of Episode II. Their response was quite exciting. It seems they are planning on installing no less than 6 DLP projectors in the Memphis area before the release of Episode II. Here is the response:
Dear Clint,
If all goes as planned, in Memphis there will be two digital projectors for STAR WARS at the Majestic (Auditoriums 1 & 15), two at CORDOVA (Auditoriums 1 & 2), and out of Memphis two at Rogers, Arkansas (Auditoriums 1 & 2).
Thanks for your interest!
Alan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_U.S._Election_c
Here is the article by Roger Ebert about why he isn't a fan of digital projectors.
And to be fair, here is the response from a film maker in British Columbia.
AMC Empire 25 Theatres New York, New York
Now how the fuck am I gonna get tickets?
BOSTON SUCKS!
Wow I like never reply to stuff on here..heh. It's not normally $5 there? darn the two places I normally go are 5 bucks how much is it normally there? How does one take advantage of the student discount sense my college doesn't give ids.
AMC South Barrington 30 South Barrington, Illinois
10 min from my house. BOOOYAAAA!
-Mark
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain.
(1) Try to see the "regular" version on one of the few theatres getting a Kodak VisionPremier print. They are awesome and faaaaar exceed the DLP quality.
(2) Whether you see it on a VisionPremier print or not, the differences you should look for (and will notice if you do) is that the colors are slightly washed out (like a bad mpeg) or faded looking - check the deep blues and greens for instance, look for motion blur in the encoding, blockiness, line clarity (like looking for anti-aliasing artifacts and such on sharp contrast diagonal surfaces).
If you are in or near Baltimore [especially since there are no (inferior) DLP projectors in the area] I'd suggest the Senator Theatre in Baltimore just south of Towson (on York Road/Rt 45). Largest screen in the area (42' if memory serves), 16,500 watts of sound system, Dobly extended surround and more (you can FEEL when the big ships fly by). Amazing projection as well - family owned theatre, and the same guy running the projector since (what seems like) the beginning of time (or at least the last 63 years - and the quality of that experience shows). Their website is at The Senator Theatre. Heck, if you are within 100 miles of the place, it's worth seeing the movie there. I think tickets are going on sale there this Saturday... and there will probably be a line forming Friday night (and a drum circle and maybe a fire pit... if you play some sort of percussion or other fitting instrument, bring it along)... I live 3 blocks away, and the Episode I crowd and ticket campout was sh|tloads of fun. They do some kick ass stuff every Star Wars movie.
Rob
www.Hyperforce.com
WebMaster:
BinFeeds
XXX Thumbnailed Image Newsgroups but
...does that mean that once theaters go DLP the tickets will be cheaper?!
Sorry, bad joke.
Cool! Amazing Toys.
I learned from the website that the 3 chip projectors use 3 chips each at 1280x1024 (1 for each color). That works out to more than 3000x1600. Also it is my understanding that the picture is much brighter because the lamp isn't being switched. I dunno. I will check it out for myself. There is a theater here in Vegas that has DLP.
Cool! Amazing Toys.
The movie is delivered to the theatres on many DVD-discs. The resolution is 1280x1024. The DVD-discs are transferred to a special server from Avica Technology ( http://www.avicatech.com/ ). Then the movie is sent to the advanced digital projector.
The picture is, according to one of the attendees at a 35mm projector-test in Las Vegas, a LARGE improvement. Contrast, colors and depht is better.
To me the resturant situation is particularly frustrating. My general sub-urban area (a section of unincorporated county that would probably have become a township long ago if it were in a northern state) is home to around 100,000 people. It is for the most part a middle-to-upper-middle class area. There are no less than 20 different national chain resturants (Chilli's, Hops, Outback, Macaroni Grill, etc.) located in a 5 square mile area around two arterial highways. 18 of them feature service that is no better than average and only one (Macaroni Grill) has food that is consistantly better than average. In other words, with over 100,000 people in economic classes ranging from middle to upper-middle and a significant population of high income households (probably 5 to 10 thousand) there are still no premium (or high-quality) resturants, theaters, other entertainment venues, or convienence service companies. On top of that there isn't even a significant population of locally-owned resturants, retailers or groceries. Even the bars seem to be chain stores.
We all still have to drive into the city to eat anywhere that requires a jacket or to find an arts venue other than local "volunteer" theater or the mass-market AMC theaters. Some times it seems like my "home town" is just one gigantic truckstop. Bring on your mass-market sci-fi George Lucas. Appearantly, we all love Jar-jar and we aren't going to leave unless you sell us happy-meal action figures, plastic light-sabers, collector's edition plates, stamps, coins, jackets, books, legos, towels, and any other artifact that can be stamped out by an injection molding machine and painted red and shiney with a Lucasfilm trademark on the bottom.
Not only that, the AMC PI actually has two digital screens, not just one.
"...digital projector or not. I just wish *blatant non subtle hinting* some kind soul could get me into an early showing in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area." Star Southfield says they're gonna be "testing" a digital projector for SW Episode II.