1st Edition

Understanding Digital Cinema A Professional Handbook

Edited By Charles S. Swartz Copyright 2005

    UNDERSTANDING DIGITAL CINEMA: A PROFESSIONAL HANDBOOK is a comprehensive resource on all aspects of finishing, distributing and displaying film digitally. For technical professionals as well as non-technical decision-makers, the book is a detailed exploration of every component of the process, from mastering to theater management.


    * An overview of digital cinema system requirements
    * Post production work flow
    * Color in digital cinema
    * The digital cinema mastering process
    * Fundamentals of compression
    * Security
    * Basics of audio
    * Digital distribution
    * Digital projection technology
    * Theater systems
    * The international perspective: Views from Europe, Asia and Latin America
    * A realistic assessment of the future of digital cinema

    With contributions by:

    Richard Crudo, President, American Society of Cinematographers
    Leon Silverman, Executive Vice President, Laser Pacific Media Corporation
    Charles Poynton, Color Scientist
    Chris Carey, Senior Vice President, Studio New Technology, The Walt Disney Studios
    Bob Lambert, Corporate Senior Vice President New Technology & New Media,
    The Walt Disney Company
    Bill Kinder, Pixar Animation Studios
    Glenn Kennel, DLP Cinema
    Peter Symes, Manager, Advanced Technology, Thomson Broadcast & Media Solutions
    Robert Schumann, President, Cinea, Inc., A Subsidiary of Dolby Labs
    David Gray, Vice President, Production Services, Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
    Darcy Antonellis, Executive Vice President, Distribution and Technology Operations
    Warner Bros. Technical Operations Inc. and Senior Vice President, Worldwide Anti-Piracy Operations Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
    Matt Cowan, Principal and Founder, Entertainment Technology Consultants
    Loren Nielsen, Principal and Founder, Entertainment Technology Consultants
    Michael Karagosian, Partner, Karagosian MacCalla Partners (KMP)
    Peter Wilson, Vice President, Display Technologies, Snell and Wilcox Ltd.
    Patrick Von Sychowski, Senior Analyst, Screen Digest
    Wendy Aylsworth, Vice President of Technology, Warner Bros. Technical Operations Inc.

    Foreword, How New Technology Has Shaped Motion Pictures: A Short History; Introduction; The New Workflow For Post Production; Color in Cinema; The Mastering Process; Compression; Security; Audio; Distribution; Projection; Theatre Systems; The International Perspective: The View from Europe by Peter Wilson; The International Perspective: The View from Asia & Latin America; The Future of Digital Cinema

    Biography

    Charles S. Swartz oversees efforts to further the entertainment industry through new technology. He draws from more than two decades of experience in feature film and television production, academic programming and strategic consulting to lead the center in identifying emerging entertainment technology issues and developing projects to study them. Swartz assumed his current position at the Entertainment Technology Center in 2003, where he has refocused and recharged the research center. He serves in two positions for SMPTE/Hollywood: Governor of the Hollywood Region and co-chair of the education committee. In 1996, the Los Angeles Business Journal named him one of 100 technology leaders in Los Angeles.

    "This is a brilliant book, which is so comprehensive that it certainly deserved to have the word "Encyclopaedia" somewhere in its title...It would be enormously useful to anyone wanting to know about the cinema industry...Understading Digital Cinema is an excellent book, well worth a place on the bookshelf of anyone who wants a better understanding of the cinema business as it moves into the digital age." - Cinema Technology magazine

    "The author has researched over a wide range of topics, and as such has the defintive guide to digital cinema as it stands today...it is an extremely well-researched and comprehensive guide." - British Cinematographer

    "Understanding Digital Cinema is comprehensive, thorough and required reading for the film professional who wishes to be prepared for the cinema of the 21st Century." - Film Festival Today