| Message/Author |
|
|
 Anonymous posted on Thursday, October 22, 1998 - 07:43 pm
|
|
|
{8436 Colonial Drive Stockton, CA 95209-2139 USA http://lfca.org
PRESS RELEASE - For Immediate Release
Media Inquiries: Judith Rubin, tel. 510/595-9664
LARGE FORMAT CINEMA ASSOCIATION MAKES MULTIPLE PRESENTATIONS AT INDUSTRY EVENT IN SYDNEY
LFCA Presents Film Stock Tests, Animation and Commentary on Industry’s Future
Next Year: Francis Thompson Tribute!
SYDNEY, September 10-15 -- The Large Format Cinema Association (LFCA) was an active participant at the annual meeting of the International Space Theatre Consortium (ISTC), an industry conference and film festival held at the Panasonic Imax Theatre at Darling Harbour in Sydney, Australia. Both LFCA and ISTC (which has renamed itself the Giant Screen Theatre Association, or GSTA) are professional trade organizations that support the worldwide specialty film industry.
LFCA President Christopher Reyna met with ISTC outgoing President Jeffrey Kirsch in January 1997, and the two agreed to find ways for the two organizations to cooperate. “It’s important for LFCA to develop and maintain a harmonious working relationship with ISTC/GSTA just as we seek productive relationships with other professional organizations,” says Reyna. “The two organizations can work for mutual benefit without competing.”
LFCA was responsible for four different presentations at the ISTC/GSTA gathering:
1. 70mm/15perf Interior Stock Tests. Part II of the LFCA Large Format Film Stock Tests was shown at ISTC/GSTA in its entirety. These comprehensive tests document the performance of eight different Kodak negative film stocks of all speeds, shot on 65mm/15perf under a variety of interior lighting and exposure conditions (Part I tests the same film stocks in an exterior setup). They have also been shown at the Euromax Symposium for Large Format Filmmakers, and at LFCA’s annual Los Angeles conference and film festival. The tests are designed to help filmmakers and are available, through the LFCA Techical Standards and Practices Committee, for anyone in the industry to view free of charge (except screening and shipping costs). LFCA has also provided a copy of Part I and Part II of the stock tests to Euromax for the benefit of European large format filmmakers.
2. Animated Shorts. Three original shorts and the Absolut Panushka collection were shown at ISTC in 70mm, 15perf format. LFCA co-produced the shorts Sky (1998, Barbel Neubauer); Aviary (1998, Jules Engel) and Singing Sticks (1998, Christine Panushka). All three were created in 15/70 format. Absolut Panushka was a 15/70 enlargement from the original 35mm production sponsored by Absolut Vodka. Both presentations were made possible by support from the LFCA Animation Task Force, which is dedicated to encouraging and supporting creative experimentation in large format animation. These works premiered in May 1998 at the LFCA annual Conference and Film Festival in Los Angeles.
3. More. A preview of the new animated short, More, was shown at ISTC. More is a unique new stop-motion animation short produced in 70mm/15perf for the giant screen. Directed by Mark Osborne and presented by Flemmington Pictures, More is co-produced by Bad Clams Productions and Swell Productions and was made possible by support from Executive Producer Steve Kalafer and from the LFCA Animation Task Force. Music was composed and performed by New Order. Production on this experimental short is nearly complete, and the giant-screen world premiere of More will take place in November 1998 at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. More will also be screened in May 1999 at the next annual LFCA conference and film festival, in Los Angeles.
4. Vision 2005 Panel. LFCA President Christopher Reyna was a speaker on the Vision 2005 panel at ISTC, which explored the future of the specialty film industry. “70mm is the last stand of acetate, and we need to work on the process by which we grow. There is room for a multiplicity of suppliers, products, formats and techniques. We need to focus on creating new models with which to build success on success. We need to attract new people to the industry. They will bring with them new energy, new talent, new money and also new problems.”
Touching on the much-canvassed topic of whether new technology, especially digital technology, will bring the cost of production down, Reyna opined, “Films will not get cheaper, whatever anyone says about digital. The cheaper the technology gets, the more the filmmaker wants to do with it.”
Cooperation between LFCA and ISTC/GSTA will continue. LFCA has already arranged to present its Francis Thompson Tribute at next year’s GSTA meeting in New York City September 11-16, 1999. The multimedia tribute, assembled by LFCA members, honors the 90-year old pioneer of specialty film with a collection of recent interviews at Thompson’s New York apartment and complete presentations of two of Thompson’s most influential films, NY NY and To Be Alive. The tribute was first shown at the May 1998 LFCA Conference and Film Festival in Los Angeles, where LFCA presented Thompson with the Abel Gance Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Other professional groups with which LFCA cooperates include The Society of Motion Picture Technology (SMPTE) with which LFCA has formed a workgroup for the creation of industry-wide technical standards; TiLE (Technology in Leisure and Entertainment) and Euromax, a European consortium of 15/70 theaters. LFCA is cooperating with TiLE and Euromax to organize a May 1999 large format film trade gathering in London.
‘Large format’ or ‘specialty film’ refers to 70mm film that has eight, 10, or 15 perforations (perfs) per frame (five perf may also be included in this category). Large-format theaters in educational institutions or commercial movieplexes usually show 40-minute features; motion simulation theaters and specialty theaters in amusement parks and other venues might show ride films (about 4 minutes long) or other entertainment films (about 15 minutes long). Flat screens in large format theaters range from about 60 feet x 84 feet, to 70 feet x 100 feet. Hemispherical dome screens can have diameters between 70 feet and 90 feet.
The mission of LFCA is to promote global public awareness of large-screen entertainment formats, to provide a forum for sharing information and to foster the growth of the industry. The next LFCA Conference and Large Format Film Festival will take place May 18-22, 1999 in Los Angeles.Information on joining the organization or attending the conference can be obtained at the LFCA website, http://lfca.org, or by telephoning the LFCA office in Stockton, California at 209/477-2726.
###
Media inquiries: Judith Rubin, tel. 510/595-9664 |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
