MIAMI - Cineworks Digital Studios, here, recently added a new Digital Intermediate Theater, powered by Assimilate’s Scratch system. Scratch is an all-in-one, data-centric system that includes tools for realtime, multi-resolution review/playback, assemble/edit, conform, primary color grading, audio, visual effects, data management, and final output to film or HD. The theater features a 14- by 7-foot screen and an NEC 2K digital projector.
“We work in a variety of formats – 16mm, 35mm, Super 35mm and HD – so we were in the market for a data-centric workflow that could handle any resolution, both input and output,” explains Cineworks’ founder/co-owner Vinny Hogan. “We also wanted to create a 2K DI theater for client reviews, reviews of dailies, and realtime color correction - a bit of everything.“
The new theater has already been used in the posting of the indie feature, The Way Back Home. The film was produced by Michael King and Paul Sirmons, and stars Julie Harris. The Way Back Home was shot on Super 35mm film. The negative was then converted to 1920 x 1080 HD video and recorded to an HDCAM SR deck over a dual-link connection so that the image was recorded with the full 4:4:4 color space. Final output was to HD.
“We shot a beautiful film on Super 35mm, but after transferring it to HD and color correcting in the HD world, well, the final product speaks for itself - stunning,” says producer King.
Cineworks begins its DI process by creating a TCS (Kodak’s Telecine Calibration System) scan, insuring the full dynamic range of the negative is being captured. The DPX files are then conformed and color corrected in the Scratch 2K DI Theater.