MITIC
The cutting-edge of cinemaf

The digital revolution amid the new media explosion is either a boon or the sign of the end of the world for cinema, depending on with whom you speak. Creatives are the most nervous, producers the most excited, and exhibitors the hardest to convince that a digital movement can be good.

The group that is quietly and confidently moving the digital revolution forward, whether the industry is ready or not, are those involved in post-production where the difference of a few frames or an extra mega-byte can mean image quality for film audiences indiscernible from film.

The Marche International des Techniques et de l'Innovation du Cinema, or MITIC as it is commonly known here at Cannes, is the industry market set amid the hype and glamour of its film market cousin. Quiet, less frenzied than any place else on the Croisette, MITIC is not about the propaganda. Rather, MITIC is about the very real tools that will move film into the new century.

The technology of cinema covers a variety of phases, including projection, distribution and exhibition (on the Internet, new web screens, or via DVD), along the path to audience fullfillment. MITIC exists to serve as the link between traditional and digital techniques while expanding the link between the Internet and the cinema via conferences (focusing on digital technology as a filmmakers' tool and digital cinema as a new distribution method for exhibition) and on-site, hands-on demonstrations.

The most highly anticipated demonstration at MITIC has been the sell out "Digital-to-Film Demonstration" from Sony Pictures High Definition Center. The question on everyone's lips is not only what will the new Sony 24 frames per second digital camera do with regard to image, but what are the new methods of transferring that digital image to film?

Until the method of exhibition changes for feature films, celluloid projection is still the only method of choice: the market is wide open for the perfect posting method to achieve film quality in the final print. Companies on the cutting edge (and those who have been smart about forecasting the future) are moving quickly to position themselves in the market. DuArt Lab in New York launched their new process for digital-to-film transferring via Famous, the new film from Writer/Director Griffin Dunne (and Producers Dolly Hall and Mira Sorvino) playing in competition at Cannes.

Other companies also moving fast in the transferring market include the Digital Film Group in Vancouver, Canada, the Sony Hi-Def Lab in Los Angeles, and a handful of companies in Europe. Filmmakers are also co-opting the technology to fit their own specific needs as in Urbania, which premiered at Sundance 2000. Although shot on Super 16mm, the film posted on video and then used an adaptation of the digital-to-film process to transfer to the final cut to 35mm without ever cutting the negative.

Other participants at MITIC include organizations, societies and commissions dedicated to furthering the cinema image via the cinematographer, locations, or broadcast. Additionally, unique needs are addressed via production platforms (Creative Planet), equipment (Decipro Audiovisuel, Digital Video Sud, Offshore SA), software (Dust Restauration S.A, Discreet) and strategic partnerships (Engram Media Corp, Ficam).

The MITIC workhorse has been Philips Film Imaging, who manufacture the Spirit DataCine Film Scanner as well as the Specter Virtual DataCine and Voodoo Media Recorder. The Spirit, with its 2K scanning resolution, is now being challenged by ITK's Millennium Scanner which has 4K scanning resolution. ITK is not at the MITIC, but has been a large presence at the festival through their sponsorships of the panel series at the Variety Pavilion.

Designed to approach the cinema professional here at Cannes, the MITIC visitor numbers tell the story of an industry hungry for information: nearly 6000 visitors including directors, producers, technicians, industry, promoters and journalists will pass through the MITIC doors before the end of Cannes. Each of the visitors will find there a place where the revolution moves on…with or without them.

Kathleen McInnis