Digital projection one step closer?
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NPR ran a report this week on the advent of digital projection. After almost a decade of hype and promises, theatres may finally be switching to the new, clearer and cheaper format. It’s welcome news for independent filmmakers since the price of making final film prints can really put a hole in a budget. When theatres are capable of digital projection, there’s no print, only digital media to deliver on a hard drive, greatly decreasing the cost. DSL-equipped theatres can even download entire films, making films almost free to distribute.The reason the format hasn’t spread as quickly as anticipated is a disagreement on who should pay for the upgrade from the old analog technology to digital. Theatre owners think studios should pay, as they stand to save hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars sending out prints.Studios, of course, think theatre owners should do it.
But the disagreement may be coming to an end as the two camps are arriving at a cost-sharing compromise. This is very encouraging news… another bar to entry in the indie film market is lowering.