posted 06-01-2004 05:10 PM                    

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MGM's Soul Plane became the first film to be distributed using Eastman Kodak Co.'s new method of storing the soundtrack on a thin layer of cyan dye in the film instead of on a magnetic or optical track. According to the Rochester, NY Democrat and Chronicle, the technology requires the installation of an infrared light reader in movie projectors, a relatively inexpensive accessory that has now been installed in about 85 percent of the nation's theaters. The newspaper observed that the track will mostly serve as a backup to digital soundtracks, which are generally stored on a separate disk that is synced to the projector. Some 5,000 to 10,000 U.S. theaters, however, are not equipped with digital sound systems.

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posted 06-01-2004 05:40 PM                       

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Kodak improves movie film

Cyan dye soundtrack debuts in 'Soul Plane'

By Ben Rand
Staff writer

DANESE KENON staff photographer
Richard C. Sehlin, Eastman Kodak Co.’’s chief technical officer, last month displays a strip of film containing a cyan-dye soundtrack, evidence of Kodak’’s commitment to making better movie film even in a digital-imaging age. [Day in Photos]

(June 1, 2004) — Even though sales of 35mm film have entered a prolonged decline, researchers at Eastman Kodak Co. are still finding significant ways to improve their crown jewel — as the motion picture industry is about to find out.
Rochester’s largest employer worked with an industry association to develop a safer and more environmentally friendly method for recording soundtracks on movie film.

The method stores voices, music and other sound effects on a thin layer of cyan dye in the film, rather than in particles of silver. The old process required the labor intensive application of a caustic chemical that was often imprecise and occasionally dangerous.

Cyan dye soundtracks are about to become a widely used industry standard. On Friday, for instance, MGM Studios switched over to the new technology with the release of Soul Plane, a movie starring Kevin Hart and rapper Snoop Dogg. Walt Disney and Buena Vista films will switch over this fall.

The soundtrack-related improvements come just as the movie business begins to accelerate what’s expected to be a long-term switch from film to digital-imaging technology.

Theaters worldwide have begun installing digital movie projectors, which display sound and images to the big screen from a DVD, satellite download or other computer format.

That transition is moving slowly right now — much more slowly than the film-to-digital switch in consumer photography. Only about 200 screens worldwide have installed digital projectors. There are more than 35,000 screens in the United States alone.

Kodak says there are many opportunities to improve quality and sell movie film as the digital switch takes shape. The film business “is very healthy,” said Richard Sehlin, chief technical officer of Kodak’s entertainment unit.

Yet Kodak is aware of the trends and is making serious investments in digital. Company researchers in Rochester helped develop Kodak’s own digital movie projector, for instance. The company is also working with theaters to network screens in hopes of boosting the quality of pre-movie entertainment.

The move to revise the method for storing sound on film emerged from discussions a decade ago among Kodak, Dolby Labs, Technicolor and other leading technical players in the movie field.

Standards for the cyan dye process were developed fairly quickly, but it required the cooperation of theater owners. The technology only works with the addition of infrared light readers inside movie projectors. Those readers decode the cyan dye tracks and convert them to sound.

Now that an estimated 85 percent of theaters have those components, studios are beginning to release prints using the cyan dye process, said John Pytlak, senior technical specialist at Kodak.

Movie-goers won’t notice any difference in sound quality. Most soundtracks today are played from digital format. But film provides a backup in case the digital players malfunction during the showing of the film. And an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 screens still depend on analog soundtracks, officials said.

The real benefits of the cyan dye technology are environmental, Kodak said. The old process requires processing labs to apply — and then wash-off — a toxic solution on the edge of the film.

By converting to the cyan dye process, labs will no longer have to wash the film, which means less water will be used. Kodak estimates that will save enough water annually to satisfy the needs of a town of 75,000 people.

The advance is an example of companies joining to develop technology for the good of an industry rather than their own competitive advantages, Sehlin said. “Technicolor had nothing to gain. Kodak had nothing to gain. Dolby had little to gain,” he said. “That wasn’t what motivated us.”

The new technology will save the industry some money by cutting down on errors in soundtrack application, said Ioan Allen, a senior vice president at Dolby Labs.

He agrees that there is still room to improve the quality of film, at least in subtle, but important ways.

”My guess is there will be some theaters that run 35mm film for decades to come,” Allen said.

BRAND@DemocratandChronicle.com

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Business reporter Ben Rand did a pretty good job getting the facts right from the interview a few weeks ago.