DCP Mastering - For cinema Screenings

PhimHaus has in house DCP creation & playback!

Let us take the headache out of making a DCP for your film projects!

Introduction: Firstly- I AM a 35 year Cinema Projectionist with years of experience - who transitioned loading and playing 35mm films to DCP’s in cinemas!
With a background in Cinema Technical management and working in Post production on NZ & Hollywood based films- we are THE FIRST choice in DCP (Digital Cinema Package) Creation worldwide!. We were involved in the Hollywood Digital Cinema Initiative’ (DCI) at it’s inception. The DCI set up the standards when 35mm film began to look at being replaced by Digital projection.
We also spent 2 years at the NZ film Archives - creating & testing the compression standards they now use for digitizing film and video! But- Why are we better?

DCP for the film ‘ Status Pending’ being delivered to the Embassy Theatre in Wellington NZ.

Fast - Efficient & a high level of customer support

100% Success rate! We have NEVER had a DCP fail to load on screening day! ! That’s ANYWHERE on the planet!
Pre DCP delivery support! Get it right first time! We can give you expert advice on how to deliver your film- with specifications and advice- to make your film look & sound fantastic on screen. (see Q&A at bottom of this page)
Pre DCP sound scan. Our software can predict blown speakers or if one of your channels is going to cause unwanted attention by being too loud in comparison to the rest. The software can also auto level peaks- no need to remix!
Very fast turn around times! If files are provided correctly - we can turnover a DCP in one day!
We can ingest the DCP to prove it will load at any cinema you send it to- no bad surprises
DCP generation AND Playback! We can test your DCP in house - no need to hire a Cinema! We also have a fully calibrated playback suite with 7.1 surround sound!
Personal delivery via Portable HDD- Or Cloud based sharing (if required) . Philmhaus has its own 32 TB ‘Cloud server’. We can send a DCP to anyone- anywhere in the world using a simple sharing link for the end user to download your film for screening.

The Philmhaus Editing and playback suite.

Costing

Short films with files provided correctly from $200 + USB device
Feature films from $300 + Hard drive
Post production crisis support including ‘File Cleaning up or regeneration’ - from $300

DCP Hall of fame

Recognised for ……Quality & a reputation for detail when the films were exhibited!

Oberhausen (Berlin) Film Festival - New Zealand Short film Programs & Competition Entries (Since 2015)
New Zealand Film Festival- Various Features & short film compilations (Since 2015)
BFI London Film Festival - Various New Zealand short film compilations for ‘Market’ Screenings (Since 2015)
Circuit Artist Moving Image Aotearoa New Zealand - Countless programs for curated gallery and theatre.
Encounters - New Zealand feature film
Status Pending - New Zealand feature film
Fat Freddys Drop - ‘Wairunga’ Feature film 2021
Death Cafe - Short by Austin Salt Cowell
Burst - Pelham Films
Blind Panic - (trailer) Pelham films
Last Man on Earth- Award winning film by April Philips

and many many more…

Q&A DCP Basic requirements: Here’s your ‘Checklist’.

Q./ What IS the best format to create my film in- if I’m going to end up making a DCP for cinema Screenings?

A./ ProRes 1080p 422@24fps Cinema projectors are and always have been 24fps.

Is your film made at 25fps? No problem …the answers are below…keep reading….

Q./ I shot my film on 4K though- surely that’s better?

A./ No its not! Cinema DCP’s are 1080p. If you supply it at 4k- the projector will only project a cropped image from the 1080 pixels in the centre of your frames- unless the projectionist is smart enough to see the error of your ways and change the projector settings to fix it. And It will take FOREVER to output your DCP - Only IMAX projects at 4k typically when using 3D

Q./ Will you remove the countdown leader and the ‘2 pip’ ? or can you just start the DCP on the first picture frame?

A./ NO! You MUST supply a quicktime file with synced soundtracks EXACTLY as they are to be seen in the cinema- from the first frame to the last. There is NO editing in a DCP process- it’s mastering ONLY. Make sure your sound files start at the FIRST picture frame too. AND the sound and picture files must be EXACTLY the same length - or the DCP will fail when it tries to load the metadata file to read the DCP.

NB: Not doing this properly messes up ALL the metadata that ends up in playing information for the projector. It is a ‘whole world of hurt’.

Q./ Can I supply a quicktime file with a stereo mix as a guide track?

A./ Yes - The guide track is ignored when separate sound files are applied to the DCP’s audio template.

Q./ I know how to output the quicktime file WITH the 5.1 soundtrack- is that ok?

A./ Totally- the DCP software has AI and will check your channel ordering is correct as a bonus

Q./ Whats the best way to supply a 5.1 or 7.1 soundtrack?

A./ Using WAVE files labelled in the SMPTE Channel ordering ie 1./ L 2./R 3./C 4./ LFE 5./LS 6./RS 7./LSR 8./RSR

Q./ I have a DVD of a film I want to project for private screening- Can you make a DCP out of it?

A./ Yes- Philmhaus can turn anything into a DCP. We have converted super8mm films for instance MANY times into DCP’s for private screening and for art galleries etc.

Additional charges apply of course as a certain amount of post production is required first- in order to make a DCP.

The following is the most common conversation I have with film makers who didn’t shoot at 24fps

Q./ Oh no! But I shot my film on Hi Def video at 25fps!

A./ That’s not ideal- but not a problem either (just don’t do it again ) The DCP won’t remove any frames- it will just take the one extra frame- and use an extra 1/24th of a second to play it. It magically will lengthen the play time of your film without changing the pitch of your sound track by increasing the bit rate of the audio track from 48khz to 50 khz.

Q./ Will I notice the difference- surely I will?

A./ No. Impossible unless you’re superman… The difference is 1/24th of a second and is way too fast for human senses to distinguish. Honestly don’t get caught up on purity either. The only way around this is to shoot your film at 24fps.

Q./ What if I output the film 24@25fps?

A./ Sometimes ‘Apple Cinema Tools’ CAN do this. But ONLY Cinema tools. Just using ‘Quicktime conversion’ drop a frame every second and your film will be unwatchable as it will stutter on screen . Sometimes you’ ll mess up your soundtrack and it will go out of sync as the film plays.

Just don’t do it

Q./ But I heard some projectors can play 25fps!

A./ Yes- but only a few brands of projectors can do this. Older ones often can’t and your film won’t be playable in some cinemas. The ones that can- still play your film back using the same technique as above- by using extra processing- and lowering the quality of your DCP AS it plays back. You’re far better off doing the DCP in 24fps in the first place.