From Eastman Kodak

Are You Ready To Ride The Digital Super-Highway?

As early as 1934 Walt Disney spoke about translating a Grimm fairy tale into a full-length animated feature. Many people in Hollywood were skeptical. They didn't believe movie-goers would watch cartoon characters for some 80 minutes, let alone pay 25 cents for the privilege.

Disney persisted, and his first animated feature premiered in 1938. Within three months, 20 million people saw the film. Disney won a special Oscar for innovation. But that understates his achievement. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs inaugurated a new genre of film entertainment. It has become a priceless classic.

During the past several months, the Walt Disney Company and Kodak collaborated on the restoration and preservation of Snow White using advanced digital technology which was considered only theoretical just a few years ago.

The work was done at the Cine-site digital film center, a Kodak company, in Burbank. Some 119,550 frames of 35 mm film were scanned into digital format as a first step. That means the analog information on each frame was converted into binary data -- ones and zeroes -- which faithfully described the image. It required 40 megabytes of data to create a digital picture file for each frame of 35 mm film.

Once the visual information was converted to digital language, image computing workstation operators went to work. At one type of workstation, "dust-busters" were able to dig beneath the surface and eliminate photo images of dust and other artifacts imbedded in the original Technicolor film. At another type of workstation, "painters" retouched and replaced damaged picture areas caused by aging and handling.

The digital picture files were then recorded on a color intermediate film in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Overall, Cinesite handled some 15 trillion megabytes of data related to the restoration project during a 10 week span. If you translated that much binary information into text, there would probably be enough words to fill the pages of most of the books in the main Los Angeles library.

The bottom line is that millions of youngsters and parents are currently enjoying the Snow White experience exactly the way Walt Disney envisioned it. The prints made from the digital master are a pristine representation of the film he created 56 years ago. Furthermore, the efficacy of Snow White has been ensured for many future generations.

What's this have to do with television? Plenty. If you have been reading the Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, the New York Times, or any other number of popular press since the recent FCC decisions regarding HDTV, you have been alerted to the fact that the television industry is getting ready to embark on a journey down a digital super-highway. In anticipation, alliances are being formed by film studios, producers, cable systems, networks, telephone, satellite communications and computer companies.

The motivating force is a belief that in the future, we will have the ability to deliver as many as 500 channels of digital HDTV to U.S. households. The means of delivery will probably be fiber optics networks, augmented by high-density data compression technology. In addition to having more options, the audience will be able to interact with TV sets and become active users instead of passive viewers.

They will be able to buy goods, pay bills, invest in stocks, access multi-media libraries, call up movies and TV programs on demand, play interactive games by themselves and with others on the network, partake in educational programs, and do their jobs without ever leaving their TV sets.

The common denominator for all of this, ranging from the restoration of Snow White to interactive HDTV, is the rapid progress being made in the evolution of digital technology. But, the truth is television is changing, because we are changing. Alvin Toffler predicted most of the basic premises linked to the digital super-highway when he wrote about "the electronic cottage" and "global village" in Future Shock and other books years ago. The rapid evolution of digital technology is a result, not a cause.

What does this mean to you? For starters, counter programming and time-shifting could take on new meanings. The chances are good that the best films in your library will eventually be worth more because the audience will have the freedom to choose what they see, and when they want to see it.

There are no guarantees. The success of the super-highway will be determined by the public appetite for this type of experience. Meanwhile, some big risks are being taken. In a time of uncertainty, one thing is sure. If your current programs are originated on 35 mm film, the chances are good they will be ready to ride on the digital super-highway of tomorrow to its ultimate destination.

But you should be aware of one possible pitfall. Digital technology is now frequently used to create titles, a range of visual effects, and for other postproduction. In addition, during recent years, digital technology has been widely employed for creating three-dimensional environments and synthetic characters in commercials. TV program and feature film producers (ie., Jurassic Park) are now embracing computer graphics imaging, or CGI, as a means for trimming costs and expanding story-telling opportunities.

It is important to understand that if digital postproduction and CGI are locked into NTSC resolution, it is possible and even likely that your programs won't be ready to ride the digital super-highway. Key visual elements won't have the visual panache it takes to keep the audience engrossed in a fantasy. The credibility of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park was a key to the success of the film.

There is a practical solution: Resolution-independent digital post-production. Many visual effects and postproduction houses are now set up to provide digital services at film resolution. Others are certain to follow their lead. This will allow you to release your program in any TV format, both now and in the future. You will also be ready for theatrical release opportunities.

Resolution-independence will cost more up-front. But it could save you big headaches down-stream. It could help ensure that like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, your films will endure.

Fred Franzwa was recently named Western region vice president and business general manager for Kodak in Hollywood. His area of responsibility includes the Western United States and all of Canada.