DCP Projection

[Maurice]

What can someone tell me about getting digital film prepared for DCP projection at theater? What are the costs and specs needed. I understand the final product is projected from hard drive?

[rajarbell]

go to google...

[AudioPostExpert]

There are two DCP specs, the older DCI and the newer SMPTE spec. If you are talking about screening your film at one specific cinema then your best bet is to contact that cinema and find out which of these two specs their cinema supports. The SMPTE spec is probably the easiest to comply with for indie/amateur filmmakers as it supports video speed, whereas the DCI spec is more widely used but requires film speed only (24fps). BTW, both specs require a minimum 3.0 audio mix (not 2.0 stereo), although the de facto minimum for commercial DCPs is 5.1.

There is free DCP creation software available, so in theory you can create a DCP for just the cost of a hard disk but if you don't really know what you are doing then using an authoring house would probably be the wisest option.

G

[zenamerican]

The final product is a disc basically - what blu ray is to DVD , DCP is to Blue Ray. The Few times I needed one it was like any other conversion. I provided the highest quality master for me these day pro res 422 HQ and the authoring entity making the DCP handled the conversion. I am a DIY person and DCP was not worth me learning. So leave it to the experts you just worry about the highest quality master. Remember - garbage in = garbage out

[indietalk]

That question was from 2014

[Scoopicman]

Originally Posted by indietalk

That question was from 2014

I wouldn't mind hearing what some people are using in 2017. I have the DCP option in Adobe Premiere, but have not tried it, yet.

So, who has done it and what are you using?

[zenamerican]

Originally Posted by indietalk

That question was from 2014

Sorry first day on the site - just finding my way around. Your reply was a great help for the old - well I will never do that again I feel silly now

Awesome community

[buscando]

Originally Posted by zenamerican

Sorry first day on the site - just finding my way around. Your reply was a great help for the old - well I will never do that again I feel silly now
Awesome community

No need to feel silly , I thought your post was helpful.

[Lucky Hardwood]

Hi, Zen! Welcome to the madness that is IT. Even though you replied to a 3 year old thread, you provided fresh insight, so thank you.

[jax_rox]

Originally Posted by zenamerican

The final product is a disc basically - what blu ray is to DVD , DCP is to Blue Ray.

This is not really true, especially as Blu-Ray and DVD have never been used as a mass distribution format for cinema projection, and DCP is not a format for home video distribution.

A dcp could sit on a disc in theory, but it isn't a medium like Blu-Ray or DVD. It is a file (or more accurately a 'package' of files) and is more commonly delivered on a hard drive, or digitally.

The rest of what you say is pretty accurate. There is a conversion involved, and it is better to leave it up to those who have done it before and know what they're doing to ensure consistent results.

[PaulWrightyThen]

To add to the old thread, I did one recently. Rendered an uncompressed version of my film. Chucked into DCPomatic, set the aspect to 'scope' and it spat out a 15gb package that played flawlessly at the cinema. I think it took about 45 mins to do a 12 minute film. Bish bash bosh. They offered to do it in house but i wanted a bash myself. I also had a .h264 as a backup on my hard drive.

[jj4vr]

Originally Posted by Scoopicman

I wouldn't mind hearing what some people are using in 2017. I have the DCP option in Adobe Premiere, but have not tried it, yet.

So, who has done it and what are you using?

We did our latest indie film using the Premiere DCP export. Was super easy and worked right out of the box at our local theater. They had zero problems with it and the whole process was smooth.

Edit:

Forgot..one issue was the estimated file size was WAAAYYYYY off. It estimated like 1 TB of space..it ended up being about 80GB if I remember correctly.

[PaulWrightyThen]

Originally Posted by jj4vr

We did our latest indie film using the Premiere DCP export. Was super easy and worked right out of the box at our local theater. They had zero problems with it and the whole process was smooth.

Edit:

Forgot..one issue was the estimated file size was WAAAYYYYY off. It estimated like 1 TB of space..it ended up being about 80GB if I remember correctly.

I used that for a test. Everyone swore me away from Wraptor though...

[550]

Hello, everyone. Could I ask a question about DCP? For instance, Sundance film festival accept 1920*1080 files . But the aspect ratio is 1.78:1. The aspect ratio of cinema are 1.85:1 and 2.40:1. Can DCP make 1920*1080 mp4 file be broadcast on the silverscreen in qualified aspect ratio? Thank you for your answer.

[joelhall]

Sundance do accept DCP in cinema aspect, but require a Bluray or ProRes backup sent as well. At least that was my understanding.