Disruptive Cinema at the IBC Big Screen Experience

As the audio visual experience in the living room becomes ever more immersive, can innovation entice audiences back to theatres? Disruptive Cinema is the theme of IBC2014s Big Screen Conference sessions which examine the future of theatrical exhibition as it stands at a crossroads of technological initiatives. Which one will attract most box office revenue and who pays for the investment? Here are some of the hot discussion points to be debated at IBC.

Second Screens: Do you agree with Steve Weinstein, CTO, Deluxe Entertainment Services Group that second screens in cinemas are inevitable? Speaking at SMPTEs Digital Cinema Summit in April, he said, The notion of participating in the movies is going to be key.

Recent experiments by Walt Disney have taken their cue from the cult following of The Rocky Horror Picture Show' where fans repeatedly watch the film in theatres and even dress up to enjoy it as a communal experience. Disney has encouraged audience participation for select releases, such as The Little Mermaid', via iPad apps. While fiddling with second screens in a darkened auditoria during live screenings is anathema to some, is it possible that new forms of interactive big screen content could work?

Event Cinema: Last November, the 50th anniversary edition of BBC sci-fi Doctor Who premiered on TV and in 3D in cinemas breaking records for a global simulcast and piquing the interest of TV producers as well as theatre chains. Event cinema is already box office gold, breathing new life into venues and content alike. How could the experiences be brought closer together in future? IBC2014s session includes a special content showcase.

Immersive Audio: Arguably the best way to improve the picture quality is to enhance the quality of sound. For film directors like George Lucas the soundtrack is at least 50 percent of the moviegoing experience but the technology, once state of the art with Dolby 5.1, is in need of renewal. Dolby, Auro Technologies, Barco, and DTS take the battle for control of the next generation of immersive audio standards to IBC.

Laser Projection and HFR: No discussion on digital cinema is complete without weighing up the merits of High Frame Rates (HFR), greater light sensitivity or colour richness. Much of this discussion boils down to asking if the economics of the theatrical business would allow for another change and which of the aspects of presentation quality should be prioritised.

For example, the majority of the worlds cinema chains have invested in digital projection systems but they may soon be urged to exchange them for units fitted with laser technology. Laser projectors are already on the market and considered superior because of the amount of light, therefore detail, they are able to throw onto the screen. Arranged in-conjunction with SMPTE this session includes a demonstrate on of the IBC2014 Big Screen Experience 6P laser system from Christie.

HFR has yet to take off, yet Dr Jenny Read, a Reader in Vision Science at Newcastle University, contends that frame rates are not yet high enough. Weve heard a lot about 48hz in recent years so called high frame rates but really its less-low-frame rate, she told SMPTE. If you want to be able to represent 60hz (the point at which she says humans can still see flicker), the display has to be updating at 120hz.

Theres a growing school of thought that believes technologies like HFR and higher resolution should be available for use on a scene by scene basis, as tools for creatives to fine-tune storytelling.

What Is A Camera? Former Sony Pictures Technologies chief Chris Cookson predicts that the camera, as we think of it today, could be on its way out. Light-field cameras with arrays of lenses and sensors capture enough data that can be used to extract images, he told SMPTE. They are already in existence, through the resolution is not what we would use yet. How will storytellers use these technical capabilities? Do we acquire images, or do we acquire models and data from which we can create images?

No longer a theory, Walt Disney Studios with Fraunhofer HHI and ARRI have produced a short film with a revolutionary Trifocal Camera system which permits a 2D shooting schedule as normal but with native 3D creation performed in post? Dont just find out how it was made, see the film and discuss its implications with the film-makers at IBC2014.

With special supporting content screened at the RAIs state of the art 1,700 seat auditorium outfitted with Christie 2D and 3D laser projection and Dolby Atmos sound, there is simply no better venue than the IBC Big Screen to witness digital cinemas new enabling technologies and debates the business models with all its key stakeholders.

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