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Author Topic: INTERMISSIONS Peter Clay Film Handler Posts: 16 From: Alderney, Channel Islands Registered: Aug 2013 posted 03-10-2014 03:05 PM                     Hi, we have recently in the last year converted from film to Digital and we used to have intermissions which has been very difficult to find a way of doing these now that we are digital. I have done a lot of research on this in trying to find the best solution that is still cost effective for the size of the cinema that we are it would not make sense to spend thousands on lots of automation stuff. The system we have is a doremi server and what we have managed to setup is the following. I created an Intermission picture in the .png format in Photoshop one sized for Flat and one sized for Scope. We then had our projector installer place these .png files in the projector itself stored as test patterns. Then we were able to setup an automation cue with in the playlist that would pause the film at whatever point we like and switch from the server to the projector and display the "test image". This actually works quite well, when you press play again another automation cue tells it to switch back to the server input and it continues to play the film where left off. I do have a question though. Is there anywhere on the internet where you can find out the "reel" info that the DCP comes with. for instance I notice that on IMDB you can find out how many reels a film is but it does not say the reel length. This info would be handy as it could then be used to find the best possible place to insert the intermission. I hope this all makes sense. Regards Pete  |  IP: Logged David E. Nedrow Master Film Handler Posts: 368 From: Columbus, OH, USA Registered: Oct 2008 posted 03-10-2014 03:11 PM                        This probably won't be valid much longer, but you can get "checkframe" sheets from Deluxe and Technicolor. These generally provide the length/runtime of each reel, in addition to the first and last frame of that reel. But, with the demise of 35mm exhibition, these will go away as well.  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 03-10-2014 04:01 PM                     Doremi Software 2.6x will have a real intermission function. You can specify where in the main feature the intermission should start. You can then specify an intermission SPL that plays during the intermission, then exit the intermission either automatically after the intermission SPL has ended, or manually. You can also specify a roll back into the last xx seconds of the feature to continue. Doremi 2.6.x should be released soon, I assume around Cinemacon. Placing intermissions on reel changes is not a good idea with DCPs, I guess, since they can be completely seamless, you shouldn't expect a suitable scene cut there. Some DCPs even come without any reel segmenting, that is, single reel. I think for a good intermission, you simply have to cue into the movie to find the best possible position. There are also some sites that collect credit offsets and suitable intermission suggestions. This forum is one of them, e.g.: http://www.film-tech.com/ubb/f3/t004188.html - Carsten  |  IP: Logged Peter Clay Film Handler Posts: 16 From: Alderney, Channel Islands Registered: Aug 2013 posted 03-11-2014 07:08 AM                     Thanks Carsten, That is some of the best news I've heard if version 2.6 does have that function. I know our head projectionist here will be happy as he keeps saying it should be possible if someone could just update the software. So for now we will keep to the "trick" we have and then something better later on.  |  IP: Logged Anders Nordentoft-Madsen Film Handler Posts: 57 From: Valby, Denmark Registered: Aug 2005 posted 03-17-2014 06:30 AM                        Version 2.6.3 is out now....  |  IP: Logged Peter Clay Film Handler Posts: 16 From: Alderney, Channel Islands Registered: Aug 2013 posted 04-08-2014 08:24 AM                     Our projector "crashed" on us a few weeks ago (it was something to do with the "raid" board) the guy came over and acknowledged the fault and said it had happened to a number of different cinemas with the same projector. He installed a new board and hard drives and also updated to the latest software. the new software is now 2.4.4 and although it hasn't enabled us to do a "proper" intermission he has installed an intermission image into the projector as a test image so we can pause the film and have the projector call up this image whilst it is paused. The new software as enabled us to "rewind" the film when we click play again which is a step in the right direction. basically I have set up an automation that after the pause when I click play it will rewind 2 secs before playing again.  |  IP: Logged Marcel Birgelen Film God Posts: 3357 From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands Registered: Feb 2012 posted 04-08-2014 04:47 PM                     If it was the RAID controller, it was the server that crashed and not the projector . (But since it's a Doremi server, it should actually be software RAID...) The Intermission problem is a persistent one with Digital Cinema. Many cinemas around here also have intermissions, some handle it better than others. On the dark side are those who simply cut the movie roughly in half and don't even dare to check if it falls in the middle of some dialog or action scene... For now, the only way to find a good timing for the intermission is by watching the movie during QC or first showing, or watch the forum that Carsten mentioned and look if somebody came up with some hints about an intermission. It's rather sad that studios don't provide some guidelines regarding intermissions but I guess most of them disapprove the concept entirely...  |  IP: Logged John Wilson Film God Posts: 5438 From: Sydney, Australia. Registered: Dec 1999 posted 04-11-2014 06:36 AM                     What format is the test image, Peter? Is it automatically generated when you select a certain channel? I'd certainly be interested in getting that here so I can have a logo on screen when patrons enter the auditorium if the show hasn't started yet.  |  IP: Logged Peter Clay Film Handler Posts: 16 From: Alderney, Channel Islands Registered: Aug 2013 posted 04-15-2014 04:11 AM                     Hi John, The test image is in png format. I made 2 images one in scope ratio and one in flat ratio. Our installer then came and uploaded these directly to the Projector and assigned each one to a different channel on the Projector. How it works is Channel 1 is IMS Flat Channel 2 is IMS Scope Channel 3 is HDMI Channel 4 is Intermission image Flat Channel 5 is Intermission image Scope we then set up 2 automations, one that switches to channel 4 and one that switches to channel 5 depending on scope or flat film. I'll put below the exact automation that I setup below for anyone else trying to do this. INTERMISSION SCOPE Projector dowser: close Playback: PAUSE Delay 1 seconds Projector dowser: open Switch on Projector channel 5 Delay 35 seconds Projector Dowser: close Delay 1 seconds Switch on Projector channel 2 same for Flat automation but use the relevant channel numbers. You can then insert that automation into your show at what time you want the intermission to start. When you want the film to start again I created another automation that will reopen the dowser and continue playback which you insert into the playlist timeline 1 second later. All you then need to do is hit play when you want to resume the film. that automation looks like this. INTERMISSION END Playback: rewind 1 seconds Projector Dowser: open Sorry for such a long post but hopefully this will help people out their who are in a similar situation to ourselves. Regards Pete  |  IP: Logged Philip Jones Film Handler Posts: 90 From: England Registered: Dec 2011 posted 04-16-2014 07:52 AM                     Can the above be done with a Dolby DSS200 and NEC2000C? I don't think we have cues for pause, play, etc on ours - is this a limitation with Dolby or can it be added?  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 04-16-2014 11:45 AM                     The DSS200 will not self-pause...though I would suppose one could wire a GPO to the Pause input on the same GPIO connector. Via an automation, it should not be an issue. Note, coming in Dolby 4.8 is an "intermission" function that allows one to basically insert a sub-play list where desired. It could prove to be handy beyond just making intermissions.  |  IP: Logged Philip Jones Film Handler Posts: 90 From: England Registered: Dec 2011 posted 04-16-2014 01:24 PM                     That's great news. When is 4.8 likely to be released?  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 04-17-2014 06:36 AM                     My crystal ball says May.  |  IP: Logged Peter Clay Film Handler Posts: 16 From: Alderney, Channel Islands Registered: Aug 2013 posted 04-17-2014 01:46 PM                     The system we have is a NP-NC900C-A It is an all in one Projector and Server. Regards Pete  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-17-2014 02:17 PM                     Thanks Steve -- that is great news.  |  IP: Logged

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