Date:08/02/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/02/08/stories/2005020813290300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Digital film projection: good and bad news

By Sudhish Kamath

CHENNAI, FEB. 7. The dream of every filmmaker has come true, but for a glitch in the Cinematography Act, a law made in 1918!

The good news first. Digital projection systems that will discourage piracy and encourage even the smallest of filmmakers to make movies on a shoestring budget, using even a simple digital handy-cam, have arrived.

At least 15 theatres in the State, including three in the city - Abhirami, AVM Rajeswari and Thyagaraja - are already equipped with Qube digital cinema players. "We will soon instal Qube in 15 more theatres in the State," says Jayendra Panchapakesan of Real Image. "We released `Peralagan' in the digital format at AVM Rajeswari and Bala Abhirami and we will soon release `Kaadhal' through the Qube server, which eliminates the use of film or digital video disc (DVD) for projection." The server encrypts and encodes the film, which can then be downloaded over satellite; the image projected through the server will bear a watermark to trace pirates.

Sathyam Cinema is installing a high-end digital projector.

This means digital filmmakers will now have an outlet to take their films to the cinema halls if the Information and Broadcasting Ministry comes to their rescue.

The bad news: The Cinematography Act requires that feature films be submitted for censorship in the film format. When Kamal Hassan released Virumaandi last year, he made an appeal to the Censor Board that digital format used for censorship screenings.

"The formalities of censorship include physically splicing and retaining clips of positives and negatives of the censored portions. How can that be done when the filmmaker submits the film in the digital format," asks a censor official.

Even with the existing regulations, some filmmakers, especially those making pornographic films, keep a duplicate master copy and project uncensored portions in cinema halls. With digital technology, it will be further difficult to keep track of the changes made after censorship, he adds.

However, an exhibitor argues that this can be checked for violations and action taken against cinema halls violating norms. It is just that government officials are unaware of the breakthroughs in technology. They do not realise that an additional Rs.20 lakhs for reverse-telecine (a process that converts digital format into film) is a lot for a low budget filmmaker, who might have shot his film for a lakh or so."

Minor issue

But Film Federation of India secretary, `Abhirami' Ramanathan believes that it can be sorted out. "Once going digital becomes the order of the day, it is a minor issue. We can convince the Government. I was the first person to do DTS sound. Today, almost all big theatres have DTS.

Soon all four Abhirami theatres will have digital projection. Once we have theatres with digital projection, more films will be available in the digital format because the quality of projection is much superior."

Until an amendment comes through, a digital filmmaker, applying for censorship under the video film category, can get a certificate which permits him to screen the film on a digital platform, says another exhibitor.

"If this is possible, small budget filmmakers will have a big advantage," says Kiran of Sathyam Cinemas.

"You can eliminate the cost of film (raw stock), cost of transfers (telecine and reverse-telecine), merely sit on your home computer, edit the film and then project it in the digital format."