News Stories

Cinedigm Digital Cinema Signs 100th Exhibitor in Phase Two

5.22.2011
[Press Release]
Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. (NASDAQ: CIDM) today announced they have signed 100 exhibitors in their Phase Two digital cinema deployment program.  Rogers Cinema (a member of the Cinema Buying Group of NATO), signed Cinedigm’s VPF deployment agreement for 45 screens in eight locations, marking the 100th exhibitor to sign on to Cinedigm’s Phase Two.
Rogers Cinema, whose customers are encouraged to “Enjoy the magic of the movies”, is a nearly 40-year old family company that operates theatres in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Cinedigm’s Digital Cinema division is the industry-leading deployment program for Digital Cinema. It facilitates the funding, installation and operations support and ongoing VPF administration for the company’s Digital Cinema rollout plans throughout the United States and Canada.  Cinedigm, which has signed  long-term VPF agreements with all the major studios and interim agreements with dozens of independent distributors, is also the digital cinema integrator partner for the CBG, a buying program of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) for independent theatre operators in the United States and Canada.

“NATO and the CBG congratulate our partners at Cinedigm and all the many exhibitors who have made the move to digital cinema,” said John Fithian, President of NATO. “This important technological transition will improve the quality and diversity of entertainment for our industry’s patrons.  We encourage all CBG members to work with Cinedigm and get on board the digital train now.”
In the combined Phase One and Phase Two digital cinema deployment program, Cinedigm has:

  • Signed 8,012 screens overall at 786 sites
  • Installed 6,214 digital screens
  • Signed 71 Cinema Buying Group exhibitors, representing more than 1,500 screens
  • Signed exhibitor buyer deals representing more than 3,200 screens
  • Signed Phase Two Cinedigm financed deals representing close to 1,200 screens

”Cinedigm is without question the number one choice for exhibitors to entrust with their digital cinema program,” said Chuck Goldwater, President, Media Services Group.  “We have earned that trust with an unmatched record of reliability and proven performance, delivering on our promises since ‘Day 1’ of digital cinema.  We are so proud of all our exhibitor partners, our vendor and lender partners, and especially appreciative of the tremendous support of our studio partners.  We look forward to continuing to support their digital cinema business plans and ambitions for many years to come.”

Cinedigm offers a new business model to exhibitors by enabling theaters to present engaging alternative programming including live 2-D and 3-D sporting events and concerts, shorts, cartoons, live Q&A’s, as well as branded entertainment.  Recent releases by Cinedigm include the groundbreaking, worldwide LIVE 3D broadcast of the FIFA World Cup Championship, the BCS Championship in LIVE 3D, the Dave Matthews Band 3D concerts, and the sold out 3D PHISH concerts. Cinedigm has also released the KIDTOONS series for the past six years, a weekly family friendly matinee series that runs in over 165 theatres across the country.  Cinedigm also provides a number of powerful software applications that enable exhibitors to enhance and streamline their daily operations.  Additionally, Cinedigm offers precision marketing tools to dramatically increase exhibitor marketing effectiveness, including social media initiatives, targeted advertising and strategic public relations.

See the original press release here: http://www.dcinematoday.com/dc/pr.aspx?newsID=2341

Deluxe Acquires StereoD Business (2D-3D conversion house)

5.22.2011

[Press Release]

Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc. announced today that it has closed on a definitive asset purchase agreement to acquire the business assets of StereoD, LLC, the recognized leader in high-quality conversions of 2D theatrical content into stereoscopic 3D imagery. StereoD is based in Burbank, California.

StereoD has created 2D to 3D conversions for “Thor” (Marvel Studios), “The Green Hornet” (Columbia Pictures) and “Gulliver’s Travels” (20th Century Fox), and is currently working on “Captain America” (Marvel Studios). 

“StereoD has grown rapidly in a year and a half, not only because of its proprietary VDX technology but its proven ability to service its clients,” said Cyril Drabinsky, President and CEO of Deluxe. ”They are a perfect fit for Deluxe, both for StereoD’s traditional theatrical content business and in new areas such as 3D Blu-ray, 3D TV channels, 3D commercials and 3D streaming content,” said Drabinsky. 

William Sherak, President of StereoD, will continue to run the business reporting to Cyril Drabinsky. StereoD’s talent pool of master stereographers and graphic artists is joining Deluxe as part of the transaction. 

“With more 3D screens available today, and the continuing advancement of conversion technology, we believe conversion now provides artistic benefits as well as the obvious cost savings over shooting in native 3D,” adds Drabinsky. 

“Older titles are becoming new revenue opportunities for studios and library owners,” said Sherak. “With StereoD’s 2D to 3D workflow, and Deluxe offering the full scope of all other deliverables, this becomes a true one stop shop for our clients.”

See the original post here: http://www.studiodaily.com/main/news/prc/Deluxe-Acquires-StereoD-Business_13185.html

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Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

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