Distribution : Digital Cinema Packages (DCP) What are the benefits? by Sam Szylwin

I've been asked to give a brief history and why DCPS are an integral part of Indie Filmmaking and exhibitions.

DCPS are the standard format for exhibiting a film at a live venue, whether you're on a festival run or in distribution mode. It provides the best possible screening scenario for all titles being projected (thrown) to a big screen. It provides a lossless color system as well as superior audio.

The reason for the evolution of DCPS some 12 years ago (to the public) was to create a universal platform for theaters, film festivals and the distribution of content.

With the differences of celluloid film types, it was challenging to maintain all formats having the ability to screen at every venue. 16mm, 8mm, super 8, 35mm, 70mm etc at each venue worldwide would be an expensive investment in equipment. DCPS evolved with the emerging need to provide one simple platform that would provide the best audio and picture that could play anywhere worldwide.

Filmmakers today don't know how lucky they are that they have "digital everything." Celluloid prints could run upwards of $25,000 for one feature film. The cost of having a celluloid print made for an exhibition prohibited many filmmakers from moving forward.

Today, having a DCP encoded for exhibition (90 minutes) should run you about $1000 including the price of the hard drive. That's an Indie friendly price vs $25K. This is another reason we see such an increase in how many filmmakers are now present in the industry, it's not cost prohibitive any more.

One of the biggest issues I see as a DCP provider but also as a Tech in festivals is that Filmmakers do not budget for their exhibition content and then scramble to raise money to have their DCP encoded. Budget for your exhibition content folks, save yourself the heartache!

In order to have exhibition content (DCP) encoded on your behalf, I would steer away from open source platforms and softwares that claim to be able to provide a "reliable" DCP. FCP and Adobe Premiere have the ability to export files for DCP and claim you can make a DCP from them directly. In my experience 8 of 10 DCPs fail that are created with these softwares.

If you need a DCP search out a company like Cineworx and get a quote. Including us, there are 3 other reputable companies that can provide such a product and have been around almost as long as we have. Your results and screenings will be impeccable and you can count on the end result when using a reputable DCP company.

Note: if you have your film color corrected, please be sure to ask your colorist or post supervisor on any gamma changes. They will understand your question.

The standard for your color spectrum is Rec709, once color correction takes place, that spectrum has changed. If you do not make the DCP company aware of these changes, you will not receive a DCP that will show the true colors of how you intended your film to be seen. Ultimately it will be a waste of your money having it color corrected. Most DCP companies will not tell you that and you may not end up happy with the end result.

If anyone has questions about DCP encoding, Festival protocol or decide they want to self distribute they can reach out to me for answers if they haven't found them elsewhere.