Sisters Movie House goes digital

The days of projectionists winding film through massive projectors will soon end, as film reels go the way of the dinosaurs to make room for the transition to digital movies. In a move predicated by the Hollywood studios switch from 35-millimeter film to digital movies, Sisters Movie House will be making the move to the all-digital format starting February 3.

By the end of this year, film studio 20th Century Fox intends to phase out the use of 35mm film altogether, and other film studios are expected to follow. In the next few years, traditional film may vanish altogether.

"There is going to be no film by the end of the year, so no film, no movies," said Sisters Movie House owner, Lisa Clausen. "So if you still want to be in the theatrical presentation business you're going to need to go to digital, it's really that simple."

The move to digital movies got off to an innocent enough start in 1999 with the release of "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace," followed by releases such as Disney's animated film "Chicken Little" and more recently the 2009 Hollywood blockbuster "Avatar."

Instead of film, digital movies will use hard drives, optical hard drives, and other digital technology to project motion pictures. Instead of massive reels of 35mm film, digital movies will be delivered in a container about the size of a cigar box.

Depending upon the system used, each movie will have a digital key code, which will generate passwords that must match serial numbers of the theater's projectors. The digital films can also be encoded with a start and end date that allows screenings for only a specific amount of days, ensuring theaters can only show what they're allowed, for the period allowed.

The cost associated with the move to digital can be enormous. Large movie chains can more easily absorb the cost of the move, while small community theaters may find themselves struggling to survive.

"There is a program that you can participate in where there is some distributor participation which is helping offset some of the costs, but not everybody qualifies for that," Clausen said. "I know that there are some smaller theaters that are really struggling. I think you could see across the country that some theaters may not make it. I know some communities are trying to come up with creative ways to help. I think over in Lincoln City there's an old single-screen there where the city is helping because I think they understand the value particularly in a tourist-based economy of this element of entertainment. But I think for a lot of theaters it's going to be a real struggle."

Before the move to digital, film reels arrived in heavy 30- to 40-pound boxes which contain several reels of film for just one movie. Each reel was then spliced together in the projection room creating one massive reel of film, which could often be as large as four feet in diameter. The spliced reel was then moved to a horizontal surface resembling a large turntable.

The digital hard drives will be connected to digital projectors that will beam the image onto the screen. For 3D movies a highly reflective silver screen is required, but Sisters Movie House won't be installing those.

"After the movie 'Avatar' came out, everybody was going on and on about 3D," said Clausen. "But honestly our best films are 'Argo,' 'Lincoln,' 'Skyfall,' 'Les Miserable,' real films, real stories, real narratives, so to me it's not who this community is so I opted not to do that and it would have piled a lot of additional cost, as well."

In addition to space and weight savings, digital-format films will offer huge improvements in brightness, sharper graphics and better color. With reproduction from digital hard drives there will also no longer be any deterioration from the reproduction of film from the studios as well as from the constant handling and showings of

film.

"When we get film in, particularly a film that has been other places before, it'll come in scratched and you will actually see it on the screen," said Clausen. "So you won't see scratches anymore, the presentation of the film will look the same every time you watch it. I think some people may be distressed about not being able to see a film on 35-millimeter anymore, but I think ultimately it's a better mousetrap."

While moviegoers will notice an improved viewing experience, they should also notice much-improved audio quality as well.

"We're going to be improving the audio, we're going to have total Dolby digital surround sound," Clausen added. "This will be as impressive a presentation as anyplace you'll find in Oregon. Sound quality, picture quality, everything."

For those who will mourn the move to an all-digital format, all is not lost. Each theater will be required to keep one film projector setup. Apparently, not every film made will be digitally transferred. So those who would still like to see Groucho, Chico, and Harpo frolic on the big screen in glorious black and white, you may still have that opportunity.