Cannes gets digital2 min read

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Say your goodbyes to film and welcome into the era of digital cinema. World cinema congregates at Cannes this May and here’s a little peek into the inner workings of the festival.

XDC, one of Europe’s leading providers of digital cinema solutions, has been tapped once again to provide the festival with the equipment and support to over 100 screenings to over 18 auditoriums.

Out of these 18, ten features the 2K DLP Cinema projectors hooked up to JPEG2000 servers which houses the films digitally. The other 8 are equipped with HD DLP standard projectors. All the auditoriums are also issued the CineStore Solo G3 servers and the Doremi DCP-2000 servers.

Besides taking care of the playout systems, XDC’s digital content lab has also re-mastered the films into JPEG2000 format under strict quality controls to prepare them for not only screenings, but also for distribution. By paying a small fee, film distributors, directors and producers are able to get their hands on a digital copy of the films screened at the festival. All copies are conformed, encoded and encrypted to ensure its quality and to prevent unauthorised copying.

Alain Remond, General Manager of XDC France, points out: “Today, digital cinema allows all members of the production and delivery chain to have the opportunity to get their stories to screen the way they intended.  Indeed, since more and more movies are shot and post-processed digitally, digital screening helps avoid expensive operations to convert to 35mm, which is particularly crucial for some independent films with limited budgets.”

Besides keeping things digital, the process also keeps the original print intact for films that originated on film. Unlike the mechanical process of spooling a film reel, repeated screenings of digital material will not damage the source. Gone also are the dust, scratches and pops that are unavoidable with film, along with the tiresome chore of storing it.

The 2008 Cannes Film Festival also marks the fifth time that MDA is leading Singaporean filmmakers into the international film market with a record line-up of 20 film projects. The 20 films will be presented by a delegation of six local companies comprising of animation, CG, documentary and independent filmmakers, producers and marketers.