A new method of distributing digital movies promises to make it easier for independent filmmakers to get their work in front of the movie-going public.
Landmark Theatres on Thursday announced that it will equip 177 screens in all 53 of its cinemas nationwide with Digital Cinema Solutions' digital delivery system. Landmark specializes in first-run independent and foreign films.
The DCS Cinema System will connect the art-house theaters through a virtual private network. Master copies of certain films will be encoded as Microsoft Windows Media 9 files and sent to each movie theater over the VPN. Films may also be sent to theaters on DVD and loaded into the system directly, according to Jim Steele, DCS president.
The system is built on a mobile cart that includes a projector, server and audio equipment. The theater's projectionist sets up playlists of different trailers and movies using a touch screen.
The standard 35-mm print format can be financially prohibitive for independent filmmakers who don't have studio-size bank accounts.
"We're hoping that film producers and distributors will be able to save money using this format," said Bert Manzari, vice president of film and marketing for Landmark. "A (35-mm) print of a movie can weigh 70 pounds. If you're reducing it to a portable hard drive or DVD, it becomes easier to ship and easier to store."
Currently, about 99 percent of films in theaters are 35-mm prints, Manzari said. Making each copy costs a minimum of $1,000.
"It's an expensive process," Manzari said.
"If we can lower the bar so (independent filmmakers) can save a few hundred thousand dollars, they could increase the size of their advertising (budgets) and get a bigger market share for their film," said Ray Price, Landmark's VP of marketing.
Each film will be encrypted and protected by digital rights management technology from Microsoft, enabling the film to be played only for an agreed-upon period of time.
"Our technology enables content to be packaged in high-quality format, in small file sizes, with the complete surround-sound experience," said Erin Cullen, product manager for the Windows Digital Media division at Microsoft.
Landmark first experimented with the digital system last November. Eight Landmark theaters showed a digital version of Standing in the Shadows of Motown. It worked so well, the chain decided to expand the program.
Price said digital distribution is another way to lower the barriers to entry for smaller filmmakers. Currently, the enormous expense it takes to make a film "tends to favor the very broad, bland films that favor everybody but nobody specific."
"It's a big step toward maintaining and creating diversity in storytelling," Price said.
P. David Ebersole, a writer, director and producer with Killerpix Global Media Filmco, said he was excited about the plan.
Ebersole has made three features and 10 short films, and said he's been personally affected by the lack of digital distribution. His most recent film, The New Women, was just released on DVD. But had there been a digital system like DCS' in place, his film might have had a chance to be shown on the big screen.
"If it's filmed digitally and there's no blow-up master, we have a big black X against us to find theatrical distribution," Ebersole said.
"You always realize when you make a digital film and you want it to go out to the theaters, you're going to have a huge expense in the end making a 35-mm print. If that gets taken out of the equation, you're going to see a lot of happy digital filmmakers, and probably more digital filmmaking."
The digital distribution system should be in place in all Landmark theaters by the end of the year.
