Big D-Cinema Win for Sony Electronics and 4K

AMC has signed a $315 million deal with Sony to deploy 4K digital cinema projectors in the U.S.

"Digital cinema gives us a huge opportunity to do 3-D, live broadcasts and playback of live events," AMC exec Frank Rash tells the New York Times.

Variety notes that AMC already has 150 of the Sony SXRD digital projectors in its theatres, 29 of which also are outfitted with the RealD system for playing 3-D content.

AMC's initial deal with Sony for 4K projectors happened back in 2007. Installation of this new batch will start soon, and continue through 2012.

One question I have: wasn't Digital Cinema Implementation Partners formed specifically to handle these kinds of deals for AMC, Regal, and Cinemark? Where were they?

AMC Installing More than 50 of Sony's 4K Projectors

AMC Theatres will install 54 of Sony's 4K digital projectors, at new multiplexes in Dallas, Indianapolis, San Diego, and Riverside, CA. The theaters should be open by the end of the year.

From the release:

The motion picture industry recently announced that it is working with major cinematographers to start production on 4K originated features, and the industry has accelerated development of 4K cameras in recent months. [Sony VP Gary] Johns said that Sony also intends to build a complete system of digital cinematography production equipment, including 4K acquisition, storage and infrastructure solutions.

But as far as I know, we haven't yet seen any major releases at 4K resolution - only 2K. (But according to Wikipedia, "As of July 2007, there are some cinemas in Singapore showing digital 4K films to public using Sony's CineAlta 4K digital projector.") So it's unclear when these new Sony projectors will have true 4K content to play...

Wednesday links: Cinemark goes public, Jaman offers Tribeca fare, Chad Hurley writes for Forbes

- Cinemark Holdings, the third-biggest theater operator in the US, went public yesterday. An IPO for AMC, the second-largest, is on the way.

- Six films screening at the Tribeca Film Festival will be available for free download on Jaman.com, for seven days. Variety's Adam Dawtrey writes, "Deal is believed to mark the first time a major festival will have given online exposure to part of its full-length feature program at the same time the movies unspool at the fest."

- YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley has a piece in Forbes on the site's impact on the entertainment industry. He calls YouTube "the ultimate audition venue," continuing:

YouTube is more than a library of clips. It's also a network of audience members who engage content in a different way than previously possible and spread success stories by word of mouth. Some rise to fame because of one viral hit, others build a consistent following over time.

Monday News: Slow Going for Biggest Digital Cinema Group ... United Artists Reborn ... YouTube's Second Silent Era ... More

- The organization responsible for deploying digital cinema equipment to the biggest group of US theaters -- those owned by Regal Entertainment, AMC, and Cinemark -- has adopted a new name and announced a timeframe for conversion. The new name is Digital Cinema Implementation Partners, according to Variety, and thep plan is to start converting theaters in 2008. Ben Fritz writes, "That will put it two years behind competitors Christie/AIX and Technicolor, which already have started deploying d-cinema systems, primarily in smaller and independent exhib chains."

DCIP is now independent from National CineMedia, the public company that it was once part of. It's jointly owned by Regal, AMC, and Cinemark. Seems like a big focus for DCIP will be finding a way to allow studios to deliver movies to a theater via a number of different channels: hard drive, satellite, secure land-line, etc.

The AP also has coverage.

- MGM clearly has a PR person working overtime. The LA Times has a profile of CEO Harry Sloan, and the NY Times had a story yesterday about Paula Wagner and Tom Cruise's efforts to revive United Artists, part of MGM.

- The Wall Street Journal has a piece about silent movies getting new life on YouTube. Camille Rickets writes:

On YouTube, one user has rescored the 1902 French film "Le Voyage Dans la Lune" by Georges Méliès -- considered by many to be the first science-fiction film -- with an electronica soundtrack. A synthesized, thumping beat and keyboards accompany the story of a fantastical trip to the moon. The contemporary techno music -- which seems particularly well suited for a century-old film that imagines the future -- gives the work the feel of an abstract art piece or music video.

"Nosferatu," the 1922 Muranu vampire classic, is one of the most frequently re-scored by professionals and amateurs alike. The most interesting amateur "Nosferatu" rescoring on YouTube is a series that adds sound effects -- footfalls, a creaking coffin lid -- and a modern-classical score that includes synthesizers and the occasional electric-guitar chord. The result prompts viewers to watch the clips as they would a modern horror movie.

Here's a rescored 'A Trip to the Moon' and 'Nosferatu'.

- The LA Times calls iFilm an edited YouTube, and offers a look at how the Viacom-owned site operates.