Otter Mii-kun
10-04-2015, 02:49 AM
Through the entirety of the 20th Century, and into the first few years of the 21st, movie theaters showed feature films that they were running on film, usually 35mm, but some theaters ran 16mm or even 70mm (the latter being known as "large format"), among some other film print formats.
Despite the ubiquity of 35mm film presentation in the theaters, the movie industry began transitioning from film to digital projection starting in the early 2000s. This trend accelerated when digital 3D technology was brought into use, with many movies being produced and presented as such in theaters. With digital projection, no actual film is involved, instead, the movie is a (extremely large) digital computer file (or series of files) "ingested" into the digital projector system and then shown at a pre-scheduled time. The two major digital projection formats are in image resolutions of 2K (2048×1080 pixels) and 4K (4096×2160 pixels), with 2K being by far the most common.
Also, through this period of transition, many movies are being shot in digital formats, and are presented as such in digital cinemas, and until recently, printed out to 35mm film for projection in film-running theaters.
One major advantage of digital projection is picture quality-pictures are consistent at each and every showing of a particular feature film, unlike film, which can accumulate scratches, and dust over time. On the other hand, the big advantage of film is its maturity and long-standing status as a de facto worldwide standard for cinema.
The major disadvantage of both film and digital is cost: potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in initial investment to convert cinemas from film to digital projection; on the other hand, well over $1,000 to print and ship a typical 6-7 reel (each reel going up to 2,000 feet, totaling just over 22 minutes) 35mm feature, as opposed to around $150 for equivalent digital files.
To set of discussion: Do you like film or digital projection in the movie theaters better?
My opinion: digital projection is really nice-no distracting scratches or dust specks in the picture, as well as no changeover cues every 20 minutes or so (black circles or ovals in the upper-right-hand corner, or even colored sawtooth balls back in the days of 3-strip Technicolor dye transfer printing). However, I do miss the faint "clickclickclickclickclickclick" of the projector's intermittent (the device that pulls down each film frame sequentially for showing on screen every 1/24th of a second) and shutter from the projection booth.
Despite the ubiquity of 35mm film presentation in the theaters, the movie industry began transitioning from film to digital projection starting in the early 2000s. This trend accelerated when digital 3D technology was brought into use, with many movies being produced and presented as such in theaters. With digital projection, no actual film is involved, instead, the movie is a (extremely large) digital computer file (or series of files) "ingested" into the digital projector system and then shown at a pre-scheduled time. The two major digital projection formats are in image resolutions of 2K (2048×1080 pixels) and 4K (4096×2160 pixels), with 2K being by far the most common.
Also, through this period of transition, many movies are being shot in digital formats, and are presented as such in digital cinemas, and until recently, printed out to 35mm film for projection in film-running theaters.
One major advantage of digital projection is picture quality-pictures are consistent at each and every showing of a particular feature film, unlike film, which can accumulate scratches, and dust over time. On the other hand, the big advantage of film is its maturity and long-standing status as a de facto worldwide standard for cinema.
The major disadvantage of both film and digital is cost: potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in initial investment to convert cinemas from film to digital projection; on the other hand, well over $1,000 to print and ship a typical 6-7 reel (each reel going up to 2,000 feet, totaling just over 22 minutes) 35mm feature, as opposed to around $150 for equivalent digital files.
To set of discussion: Do you like film or digital projection in the movie theaters better?
My opinion: digital projection is really nice-no distracting scratches or dust specks in the picture, as well as no changeover cues every 20 minutes or so (black circles or ovals in the upper-right-hand corner, or even colored sawtooth balls back in the days of 3-strip Technicolor dye transfer printing). However, I do miss the faint "clickclickclickclickclickclick" of the projector's intermittent (the device that pulls down each film frame sequentially for showing on screen every 1/24th of a second) and shutter from the projection booth.