So another year has drawn to an end and like ever other website and news outlet it is time to look about over the last 12 months to see if it is possible to summarise the several hundred stories which have been covered on the website over that time.
Immersive Sound
Without question one of the big topics of the year was that of 
‘immersive sound’ with the biggest players being Barco Auro and Dolby Atmos. I think it is highly likely that sound were continue to be a theme which will continue into 2014. While there were a number of film releases over the year with these formats in use, without question the one which received some of the best reviews for its use of sound was Gravity:
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4K
4K continued to make itself known over the year, partly with the continued release of new projectors, but also because it became more noticeable in the domestic markets with things such as televisions and projectors. New projectors were also released (see below for more details). There will be a bit more about this in my interview with David McIntosh – Vice President, Sony Digital Cinema.
Immersive 360 images/Projection Mapping/Projection Domes
In the 2012 News Review I referenced the number of stories about Projection Mapping, and this was still a growing area. During 2013 this has been an area which continues to grow with a distinct increase in 360 or giant screen cinema presentations – going back to Cinerama days? The advent of digital technology has helped these really large formats to take off again, especially with the number of Planetariums converting to digital equipment they are able to add extra content to the screenings. Computers are also helping the creation of this large format content. I think that we are going to see a lot more of this material and development happening.
And if would like a brief history of Projection Mapping, as it isn’t anything new then this article is a great starting place: The Illustrated History of Projection Mapping
Small Screen Projectors
Both Barco and Sony brought out projectors during 2013 designed for screens up to 10 
metres with the aim of helping the last of the small cinemas to convert over to digital. You can read about the Barco projector here and although it is a slightly different model you can read about the Sony projector here.
Digital Conversion
This was the year when many of the smaller independent cinemas in both America and the UK went over to digital technology. It was noticeable the number of stories which came out of America relating to the plite of the small cinema who were struggling to make the conversation. Keanu Reeves released a film entitled “Side-by-side” about the change to digital, which I wrote about.
Crowd Funding
Like other areas, there are more attempts to either convert a cinema or rebuild one via crowdfunding sources, and this is a trend which will continue.
Drive in Theatres
Much of the year was spent explaining how many drive-in theatres in the US were going to die off with the requirement to convert to digital. To help save these theatres, Honda got involved with helping to pay for the cost of conversion for a number of sites. You can also read about my experience of visiting a drive-in cinema in the UK here.
Distribution
Digital technology is still in its early days and the industry which surrounds it is still in a state of flux as it manages the change from film to digital. Now that the majority of the world has made the transition other areas of the business will now change at a rapid pace. One of these areas will be those around the way in which the movies are distributed to the cinemas themselves. During the year Cinema Technology Magazine ran a number of articles discussing this subject. Have a read of the articles discussing this topic.
Death of the Projectionist/Death of Film
Mark Twain once said: “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” something which I think celluloid can claim during 2013. While it is true that the majority of the world has now converted to cinema and only a few countries now remaining to do so there has been a large nostalgia for 35mm film and making sure that it is preserved or that it is possible for people to screen it if they so wish. Two main campaigns came out over the course the year to help with this; firstly I launched the website “We Can Still Show” and then also there is the AMIA Film Advocacy website.
Following this there have also been a number of projects to capture the ‘death of the projectionist’ of which a large number have been around capturing the ‘art form’ on a moving media. Here a few of those videos and projects. Here are just a small selection of some of the projects:
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The Art of Presentation
During 2013 I was asked to write a couple of articles about the art of presentation and the end of the role of the projectionist. You can read the two articles here:
Along with this the BKSTS CTC launched a new training course about the art of presentation. There are more of these courses planned during 2014, so have a look at the website for further details.
Summary
These are my impressions of the big stories and trends over the last 12 months. Like every year there have been a number of product launches of various types, often review here by Cine Tech Geek, which are always worth a watch. I have noticed a lower number of cinemas being opened or closed than in previous years – this would appear to be the case based on the