Press Release

FotoKem, Doremi Labs and Christie
Digital Systems, USA, Inc., have produced the first Digital Cinema
Distribution Master (DCDM) of a major motion picture that conforms to the specifications of the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI). The DCDM was then used to generate a Digital Cinema Package (DCP), ready for distribution.
"Serenity" was used by Universal Pictures to test the workflow required to
create a DCP. FotoKem created the DCDM directly from 2K digital
intermediate files, while Doremi Labs assembled the files along with the
audio into a digital cinema distribution package. Christie provided the DLP
CinemaR projector for the tests.
The DCI specifications are the result of collaboration between seven major
studios – Disney, Fox, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros. –
to develop uniform guidelines for the digital projection of motion pictures.
Three years in development, the final DCI standards were published in July
of this year.
The successful completion of the DCDM and the DCP on "Serenity" in
compliance with the DCI standards marks a major milestone in the move toward
all-digital projection for motion pictures.
"We are honored that FotoKem was chosen by Universal to play a historic role
in the advance toward digital projection in theaters," said Paul Chapman,
Senior Vice President of Technology at FotoKem. "Our collaboration with
Doremi Labs and Christie has demonstrated the viability of the process to
create in digital space an exacting replica of the filmmaker's original
intent in terms of color and clarity."

"Serenity," currently in theaters in traditional film prints, was utilized
for testing by Universal because a digital intermediate had been created at
FotoKem and the original 2K scans were readily available for conversion to a
DCDM. Chapman, along with Bill Schultz, Senior Vice President and General
Manager, Digital Film Services at FotoKem, designed a hardware/software
pipeline for making the conversion into XYZ color space as it has been
defined for digital projectors. "The challenge was converting to the
digital cinema color space directly," said Schultz. "We developed a very
fast method of transferring the color intent of the movie into the XYZ color
space while maintaining the full bit depth and the full spatial resolution
of the movie."
FotoKem then delivered approximately 132,000 16-bit tiff files, each
representing one frame of the film, to Doremi Labs where they were converted
to JPEG2000 files and wrapped with the audio into a Media eXchange Format
(MXF) file on the Doremi Mastering Station. This final encrypted file
represents the Digital Cinema Package ready for distribution to theaters
equipped with Christie Digital projectors. "Our mastering station ensures
the accuracy and integrity of the final product while providing the highest
level of security for the studio's assets," said Camille Rizko, President of
Doremi Labs.
While films have been digitally displayed in the past, "Serenity" is the
first to be projected in the JPEG2000 format said Brian Claypool, Senior
Project Manager, Digital Cinema, Christie. "The Christie CP2000 Digital
Cinema Projector can reproduce up to 35 trillion colors which make the
images you see on the screen simply stunning. We're projecting a JPEG2000
master in a 12-bit 4:4:4 DCI XYZ color space, using a dual link HD-SDI
interface from the server to the projector. 'Serenity' is the first movie
to be projected in such a manner."