Understanding Digital Cinema

1CHAPTER

Introduction

Charles S. Swartz

Entertainment Technology Center

University of Southern California

The process of distributing and exhibiting a motion picture has changed little, in its essence, since the Lumière brothers presented the first motion picture to an audience in 1895. Using a negative, positive 35mm film prints are exposed and developed, and then shipped to theatres, where the images are projected onto the screen. This analog photochemical process is capable of producing screen images of great beauty and expressive power, but in practice the moviegoer’s experience is too often degraded by the wear and tear of the mechanical process, which can result in worn, scratched, and dirty prints. The process of manufacturing and shipping ...