'Chicken' release set on more than a wing and prayer
'Chicken' release set on more than a wing and prayer
Nov 3, 2005
As the Walt Disney Studios breaks open its digital 3-D version of "Chicken Little" on 84 screens this weekend, behind the scenes a veritable army of technologists is poised to ensure that the world's first digital 3-D theatrical release arrives sunny side up.
To help exhibitors through this crucial weekend, one d-cinema engineer is assigned to each 3-D screen for the first run of the film. No fewer than three toll-free numbers have been set up for exhibitors, and new d-cinema projectors have magnets stuck to them with help lines clearly displayed.
For the past week, key studio and d-cinema executives involved with the 3-D release have been holed up in a war room known as "the chicken coop" on the Disney lot, overseeing the deployment of the 84 new digital 3-D projection systems. A few execs will remain stationed in "the coop" over the weekend to deploy response teams to any exhibition sites in peril.
"Exhibitors are counting on us for reliability, and there is a lot of fear associated with new digital equipment," said Tim Partridge, Dolby senior vp and general manager of the professional division. "In terms of a technology transition, the move to digital cinema is enormous, but we believe we can provide assurance."
When Disney first announced in June that it would debut "Chicken Little" in 3-D, it set in motion several frenzied months that saw the build-out of multiple Dolby digital cinema screens; the roll-out of Real D, an as-yet unproved 3-D projection technology; the creation of a newly engineered digital postproduction process at Industrial Light + Magic; and the mass production of four acres worth of cute green polarized glasses.
At stake this weekend is the viability of digital cinema, digital 3-D and the promise of a new out-of-home experience.
"We're all tied together in this: Disney, ILM, Real D and exhibitors," said Michael Lewis, Real D co-founder and chairman. "The audience is going to tell us how we do very shortly."
Although all involved hope audiences will lose themselves in the immersive 3-D experience, plenty of drama lies behind bringing the re-outfitted animated film to the screen.
The first bump in the road arrived the day that Disney publicly announced its 3-D plan in June (HR 6/27). Exhibitors were caught largely unaware that they would be asked to commit to the new digital cinema equipment. Disney's distribution team fanned out across the country to present roadshows explaining the concept to exhibitors.
In order to show the movie in 3-D, theater owners then had to haggle with Disney's two d-cinema partners, Dolby and Real D, over equipment deals. Each company negotiated separate long-term yearly contracts with exhibitors for their systems (HR 10/5).
Along the way, Disney's initial goal of 100 screens fell to 84, due to a shortage of available digital projection systems, execs said.
"We had in excess of 100 exhibitors interested," said Real D CEO Josh Greer, "but we couldn't get the equipment. Digital projector suppliers are used to selling 5-10 units a month, and all of a sudden they had an order for 50."
Walt Disney Feature Animation faced a completely different challenge in turning its first in-house computer animated film into a 3-D experience.
"Our main 3-D production challenge was overcome when we found the gang at Industrial Light + Magic," said Lylle Breier, senior vp worldwide special events.
The Marin Country visual effects shop had not planned to convert 1,400 computer animated shots into 3-D in just over three months. It did not have a digital 3-D process in place, or 3-D conversion software, or a team to handle the task, according to Colum Slevin, senior director of computer graphics, Industrial Light + Magic. ILM also was in the middle of a company-wide move to San Francisco's Presidio.
"There's a white-knuckle element to this whole thing," Slevin said. "It's a quantum leap for us to suddenly cram 1,400 shots into a pipeline on a three-month schedule. Remember, 'Chicken Little' was never planned as 3-D movie. We had to crack open (Walt Disney Feature Animation) shots that have been in production for four years, and they changed their pipeline halfway through production."
He further explained, "It's an archival challenge trying to find (the) right take; it's a gargantuan bookkeeping exercise, but it's also an amazing aesthetic exercise."
It also was an exercise that other computer animation houses, such as Pixar, DreamWorks/PDI, Blue Sky and others, have been closely watching, aware they may need to do 3-D conversions of their films currently in production, Slevin suggested.
The 3-D conversion process cost Disney about $8 million, according to two sources close to the production. ILM delivered the 3-D digital master of "Chicken Little" on schedule to Disney on Sept. 19.
Although Disney had penciled in a screening of the film at the ShowEast exhibitors convention on Oct. 24, it opted instead to present just a short, 3-D clip from the movie.
Said Breier, "We did in 4 months something that normally would have taken over a year. We weren't finished, and we were not ready to show the whole movie at ShowEast. It's a gigantic process. Once ILM was finished, there was color-timing, testing. The movie was finished in postproduction at Disney."
Meanwhile, the projection booth and silver screen installations were coming down to the wire, as well.
"The end is near," said Michael Karagosian, president of MKPE Consulting. "We're hearing all kinds of stories from exhibitors. There are lots of problems installing new screens, equipment hasn't been showing up on time, security keys have been delayed; it's just a huge hurdle for everyone involved."
Partridge commented, "It's a really complex new system and radically new technology to those 40 (theater chains). So, yes, of course, we're seeing teething problems, and that's why we need to supply as much customer support as we are doing."
Added Breier, "You can't imagine. Every day there were things that came up with this movie. There was nothing easy about it, but being first isn't easy."
To help exhibitors through this crucial weekend, one d-cinema engineer is assigned to each 3-D screen for the first run of the film. No fewer than three toll-free numbers have been set up for exhibitors, and new d-cinema projectors have magnets stuck to them with help lines clearly displayed.
For the past week, key studio and d-cinema executives involved with the 3-D release have been holed up in a war room known as "the chicken coop" on the Disney lot, overseeing the deployment of the 84 new digital 3-D projection systems. A few execs will remain stationed in "the coop" over the weekend to deploy response teams to any exhibition sites in peril.
"Exhibitors are counting on us for reliability, and there is a lot of fear associated with new digital equipment," said Tim Partridge, Dolby senior vp and general manager of the professional division. "In terms of a technology transition, the move to digital cinema is enormous, but we believe we can provide assurance."
When Disney first announced in June that it would debut "Chicken Little" in 3-D, it set in motion several frenzied months that saw the build-out of multiple Dolby digital cinema screens; the roll-out of Real D, an as-yet unproved 3-D projection technology; the creation of a newly engineered digital postproduction process at Industrial Light + Magic; and the mass production of four acres worth of cute green polarized glasses.
At stake this weekend is the viability of digital cinema, digital 3-D and the promise of a new out-of-home experience.
"We're all tied together in this: Disney, ILM, Real D and exhibitors," said Michael Lewis, Real D co-founder and chairman. "The audience is going to tell us how we do very shortly."
Although all involved hope audiences will lose themselves in the immersive 3-D experience, plenty of drama lies behind bringing the re-outfitted animated film to the screen.
The first bump in the road arrived the day that Disney publicly announced its 3-D plan in June (HR 6/27). Exhibitors were caught largely unaware that they would be asked to commit to the new digital cinema equipment. Disney's distribution team fanned out across the country to present roadshows explaining the concept to exhibitors.
In order to show the movie in 3-D, theater owners then had to haggle with Disney's two d-cinema partners, Dolby and Real D, over equipment deals. Each company negotiated separate long-term yearly contracts with exhibitors for their systems (HR 10/5).
Along the way, Disney's initial goal of 100 screens fell to 84, due to a shortage of available digital projection systems, execs said.
"We had in excess of 100 exhibitors interested," said Real D CEO Josh Greer, "but we couldn't get the equipment. Digital projector suppliers are used to selling 5-10 units a month, and all of a sudden they had an order for 50."
Walt Disney Feature Animation faced a completely different challenge in turning its first in-house computer animated film into a 3-D experience.
"Our main 3-D production challenge was overcome when we found the gang at Industrial Light + Magic," said Lylle Breier, senior vp worldwide special events.
The Marin Country visual effects shop had not planned to convert 1,400 computer animated shots into 3-D in just over three months. It did not have a digital 3-D process in place, or 3-D conversion software, or a team to handle the task, according to Colum Slevin, senior director of computer graphics, Industrial Light + Magic. ILM also was in the middle of a company-wide move to San Francisco's Presidio.
"There's a white-knuckle element to this whole thing," Slevin said. "It's a quantum leap for us to suddenly cram 1,400 shots into a pipeline on a three-month schedule. Remember, 'Chicken Little' was never planned as 3-D movie. We had to crack open (Walt Disney Feature Animation) shots that have been in production for four years, and they changed their pipeline halfway through production."
He further explained, "It's an archival challenge trying to find (the) right take; it's a gargantuan bookkeeping exercise, but it's also an amazing aesthetic exercise."
It also was an exercise that other computer animation houses, such as Pixar, DreamWorks/PDI, Blue Sky and others, have been closely watching, aware they may need to do 3-D conversions of their films currently in production, Slevin suggested.
The 3-D conversion process cost Disney about $8 million, according to two sources close to the production. ILM delivered the 3-D digital master of "Chicken Little" on schedule to Disney on Sept. 19.
Although Disney had penciled in a screening of the film at the ShowEast exhibitors convention on Oct. 24, it opted instead to present just a short, 3-D clip from the movie.
Said Breier, "We did in 4 months something that normally would have taken over a year. We weren't finished, and we were not ready to show the whole movie at ShowEast. It's a gigantic process. Once ILM was finished, there was color-timing, testing. The movie was finished in postproduction at Disney."
Meanwhile, the projection booth and silver screen installations were coming down to the wire, as well.
"The end is near," said Michael Karagosian, president of MKPE Consulting. "We're hearing all kinds of stories from exhibitors. There are lots of problems installing new screens, equipment hasn't been showing up on time, security keys have been delayed; it's just a huge hurdle for everyone involved."
Partridge commented, "It's a really complex new system and radically new technology to those 40 (theater chains). So, yes, of course, we're seeing teething problems, and that's why we need to supply as much customer support as we are doing."
Added Breier, "You can't imagine. Every day there were things that came up with this movie. There was nothing easy about it, but being first isn't easy."
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