Whether ordinary movie audiences are aware of this or not, the local cinema is experiencing a major revolution that may be as important as the shopping center's cinema replacing the huge independent cinema.
What we're talking about here is the analog switch (i. e.
Celluloid film)
Digital projection.
By the end of this year, the two largest chain cinemas in China-TGV cinema Sdn Bhd (TGV)
Sdn Bhd and Golden Screen Cinema (GSC)
The transition from the traditional celluloid projection system to the 100% digital projection will be completed.
In fact, TGV has completed the transition to digital screening, which has 20 cinemas nationwide with a total of 164 screens, while GSC, which operates 28 cinemas nationwide, A total of 238 screens will reach 100% by the end of this year.
The move will mark the end of an era in which the traditional projection system using 35mm film, which has been in use since the end of 1880, is being completely replaced by digital film projection.
With the digitization of the cinema, the celluloid movie will be eliminated forever, which is a question worth thinking about.
From the perspective of film production, the transition to digital is inevitable --
Since the first Sony digital film camera was used to film George Lucas's Star Wars 2: Attack on clones, Hollywood has quickly adopted the technology.
Today, most American films are filmed using digital movie cameras such as Skyfall, Avatar, millionaire in the slum, Hobbit, Avengers
Just as digital cameras have completely replaced film cameras, the rapid adoption of digital film cameras in the film industry means that today's manufacturers are no longer launching new movie cameras using celluloid film.
In this era of special effects and digital editing, it makes sense for filmmakers to digitize.
It simplifies the workflow because digital files can be easily transferred to computers that do most of their work now.
On the other hand, if a movie was made on a film, the workflow would be much more complicated --
Once the lens is shot, it has to be chemically developed and then scanned into the computer frame by frame.
From there, the special effects/edits will be done on the computer.
The problem is that once the editing and effects are done, the movie has to be printed back on the celluloid frame --by-
Photo frames to be distributed to the cinema.
To give you some perspective, a typical movie takes up about the movie and stores it in five to seven large cans, each containing up to 000 feet of the movie.
Multiply by the number of cinemas and the number of films that are released, you can imagine logistical problems.
The digital advantage is different from the change from the traditional single-Hall cinema to the cinema, and the change from the digital cinema screening brings real benefits to the filmmakers.
First of all, having a digital file instead of a celluloid movie means that the quality of the projected film does not deteriorate over time.
Cercelluloid is a physical medium that is scratched and slowly degraded every time it passes through the projector, resulting in a general decline in image quality each time the film is shown.
By digital projection, no matter how many times the film is shown, the film is clean and the color is accurate.
Digital screenings also make it possible for theater operators to do things that were previously impossible to do, such as showing movies at a higher frame rate.
Peter Jackson's Hobbit was released at 48 fps (
Number of frames per second)
At the end of last year, we landed on our coast in several digital cinemas.
While higher frame rates themselves have complex reactions
After all, fans have become accustomed to the "look" of 24 fps movies since 100 "--
There is no denying that fast-
The move action of 48 fps looks clearer compared to 24 fps, especially in terms of numbers.
Another advantage of digital film screening is that it simplifies the screening of 3D films.
Even before digitisation, it is possible to show a 3D movie, but it is technically difficult to show that it needs to show two fully synchronized movie reels at the same time.
Using a digital cinema projection, the process of displaying a 3D movie is much easier, only a special synchronous filter needs to be installed in front of the projector lens.
The cost of converting theaters with existing 35mm projection systems into digital projection systems is high.
According to Gerald.
Dibbayawan, CEO of TGV Cinemas Sdn Bhd, the cost of converting the company's existing halls into digital projections is between RM200 000 and rm50 000.
Conversion, however, is a necessary step, as the entire film industry has simply turned to digital cinema and now no more 35mm movie projectors are being made.
A handful of existing movie projectors that are still running can no longer be fully serviced if they are broken, simply because the companies that make them are no longer running.
"In fact, we have two 35mm projectors at The Pyramid theater in St --
"One is still being used and the other is being eaten all the time in case one of the surgery is broken," Dibbayawan said . ".
The same is true of the Lotus Group, one of Malaysia's largest movie theater chains, which shows Tamil and Hindi films in addition to standard Hollywood fares.
"Our 24 theaters across the country are all digital.
"We still have movie projectors just because you can't resell them now even if you want to," Datuk R said . ".
Lotus Group chief executive Doraisingam ).
At present, there are still 35mm projectors for local cinemas to show some local movies and advertisements, many of which are still being released on celluloid.
This may change, however, as many local filmmakers, such as the KRU studio and the upcoming Vikingdom, are now turning to digital movie cameras to make their films.
At the same time, almost all Hollywood films are now released on the DCP.
Digital Cinema Package)
It is essentially a dedicated encrypted hard drive.
The use of digital files also means that the distribution server has more control over when films are allowed to be shown.
"With the DCP, dealers can actually lock the film and set the date and time of the show, like after midnight on a certain date," Dibbayawan said . ".
In the past, the projector would be responsible for switching film reels and spooling the film into the projector, and now the modern digital projection system is basically automated.
The order of ads, trailers, and films themselves has been around for a whole week now, and humans interact only when there is a problem or something that needs to be changed.
The Sunway Pyramid of TGV is slightly different from the larger digital IMAX theater in the 1 Utama branch --
In addition to the larger screen and more sophisticated sound systems, Digital IMAX also uses two projector systems to project two images on the screen to ensure that the image is brighter and the contrast is better.
For 3D IMAX movies, the images projected by these projectors are slightly different
One projector processes the left eye image, while the other projector projects the right eye image, which together produces a 3D image when viewed through 3D glasses.
In addition, the IMAX corporate headquarters in Canada also obtains continuous data feeds from the IMAX system, where the feeds are constantly monitored and analyzed to ensure quality.
For modern movies, the progress of technology is not over yet.
Better audio systems and higher resolution projectors are waiting.
Even in terms of distribution, the current DCP delivered from the theater to the theater may eventually disappear and instead support satellite transmission systems that send digital movie files directly to the cinema.
Interestingly, despite such a big change in cinemas over the years, the number of movie watchers has only increased in recent years, and the number of cinemas supporting this increased demand has also increased.
Why can people go to the movies legally even if there are movies now (and illegally)
Ready to watch on big screen TV, tablet and smartphone?
"I always go to the cinema and eat at the restaurant.
"Not only are you there to satisfy your hunger, but you are there to serve the company, the atmosphere and the experience," Dibbayawan said . ".
"It's all for the cinema to experience and to improve the experience of our customers.
It's been twenty years since piracy.
But we are still there.
Enhanced experience will help us combat this situation.