This an edited version of an article which appears in the December 2014 edition of Cinema Technology Magazine and which can be read here: www.cinematechnologymagazine.com.
Introduction
Back at the beginning of October I was invited to be one of a handful of journalists and guests to the European premiere of a new cinema experience which Barco hope will provide a new cinema going experience for the audience.
The Barco Escape system was first announced at CinemaCon in Las Vegas earlier in 2014. You can see further details here:
The European premiere took place at the Kinepolis cinema in Antwerp and saw a partnership between Barco, Kinepolis and Fox.
Introduction
On Friday 10th October 2014 I was invited to the European premiere of Barco Escape presentation of “Maze Runner”.
What is Barco Escape?
The concept behind Barco Escape technology sounds simple, yet is groundbreaking: by combining three digital cinema projectors with three screens – one at the front and two angled screens on either side of it –, Barco Escape creates an amazing panoramic presentation that immerses the audience into the movie. ‘The Maze Runner’by 20thCentury Fox is the very first film specially prepped for this theater configuration. The choice to provide Barco Escape footage for this movie is perfect: thanks to the new format, the audience feels pulled into the maze at key moments of the film, just like the boys in the story. ‘The Maze Runner’ debuted in September at five US Escape theaters.The Kinepolis flagship cinemas of Antwerp and Brussels will be the first in Europe to feature Barco Escape equipment.
How does it work?
The new, ultra-wide Barco Escape movie format is just one of Barco’s many recent innovations to help exhibitors advance cinema and, consequently, attract new audiences. In its constant search for ways to reinforce its frontrunner reputation in the cinema industry, the Kinepolis Group has always strongly supported Barco’s vision and been amongst the first to adopt new Barco technologies – from 3D digital cinema (2007) and 4K technology (2011) through to Barco’s 60,000 lumen, laser-illuminated projectors earlier this year. The decision to install the DP4K-60L laser projector at four Kinepolis cinemas was the first in a series of joint Barco-Kinepolis initiatives that were laid down in a partnership agreement between Barco and Kinepolis. The installation of Barco Escape marks a next step in the cooperation between the two cinema aficionados. In the future, Kinepolis theaters will also feature Barco’s interactive content leveraging technologies.
Future
The Maze Runner’ will première in Barco Escape at Kinepolis Antwerp on Friday 10 October, during a dedicated press screening, and at Kinepolis Brussels on 15 October. In an earlier press release, Barco also announced its plans to bring the live performance of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga in Brussels, on 22 September last, to Barco Escape theaters in early 2015.
Conclusion
Waiting for the next couple of iterations of the system, it is good but it is still very early days and there are a number of things which need to be resolved – using proper DCP projectors rather than HD digital projectors so that there is proper colour matching between screens, managing light bouncing from the three screens, especially when two of the screens aren’t in use, masking off the bottom of the centre screen as the out screens are smaller.
It is real just a digital version of cinerama and has many of the initial issues which it suffered from. However, like when I first heard Dolby Atmos where I wasn’t impressed because they hadn’t got use to the tool the dame feels to be the case with Escape, it still needs time for the producers to work out what they can and can’t do with the new toy – there was only ten minutes of extra material which means that there was a lot of distraction when the picture was appearing and disappearing all the time.
But I’m excited, it is very definitely the beginning of an exciting journey which will be built upon and developed and it is fantastic that there are companies such as Barco who are working hard to try and provide the cinema audience with a reason to go to the cinema rather than just watching the films at home, which has to be a good thing. Stay tuned as there is going to be a lot more to look at.