Huaxia Film Distribution Co., Ltd. (Huaxia Film), a well-known film distributor
in China, today announced at CinemaCon 2019 that it will develop, leverage and promote
premium format movies driven by new, advanced configurations, specifically the
Cinity Cinema System. Cinity will seamlessly combine related processes and
technologies, (e.g. filming, post-production, distribution and projection) that
are representative of advanced-format movies, to build a complete industry
ecosystem for them.
To
accomplish this, specific to the field of projection, Huaxia Film has entered
into strategic partnership agreements with Christie Digital Systems Inc.
(“Christie”) and Hong Kong-based GDC Technology Limited (“GDC”) to co-develop a
projection system for advanced-format movies. This Cinity Cinema System is
unique in being designed to project 120fps High Frame Rate (HFR) movies. It
will also encompass current and emerging advanced cinema technologies, including
4K, 3D, High Dynamic Range (HDR for contrast ratios), Wide Color Gamut (WCG)
and Immersive Sound.
Technology
iteration vs. industry upgrading: advanced-format movies are an irresistible
trend
From
silent movies to the introduction of sound, black-and-white movies to color and
35-mm film to digital, each advancement in movie technologies accelerated the
evolution and success of the industry. Upon completion from film to
digitization across the world, movies are being further improved with modern,
advanced technologies. The Cinity Cinema System from Huaxia Film will combine a
variety of advanced technologies such as 4K, 3D, HFR, HDR, WCG and Immersive
Sound to deliver the highest specifications and best possible movie
presentation in the movie projection era.
“The
industry has made some successful efforts in shooting and post-production of
advanced-format movies, and developed some preliminary solutions,”said Fu
Ruoqing, Chairman of Huaxia Film.
“At present,
technical challenges along the industry chain are mostly linked to projection.
With the application of HFR and other technologies as the bottleneck. By
entering into strategic partnerships with Christie and GDC Technology, Huaxia
Film will work closely with them to remove this bottleneck and develop the
Cinity Cinema System, thus driving innovation and upgrading of the
advanced-format movie industry with technological breakthroughs in the field of
projection. By combining art with technology, we will deliver more forms of
artistic presentation to the shooting and production processes to improve movie
production, create a differentiated and high-end market, and keep movies alive
and competitive.”
Leveraging
high technologies to deliver an unprecedented movie going experience
Each
revolution in the film industry is aimed at improving the movie-viewing
experience. The Cinity Cinema System that incorporates a variety of modern high
technologies will deliver clearer images, truer to real-world colors, smoother
motions, more life-like high-speed actions, more immersive sound, and therefore
a more immersive movie-viewing experience to the audience.
“For
more than half a century, Christie’s business and technology
innovations have led the industry, and with these announcements, we are proud
to participate in the latest, seminal improvement to the film industry,” said Jack Kline, long-time
Chairperson, CEO & President, Christie.
“Christie will
provide world-class digital projection technologies and services for the Cinity
Cinema System, which will allow cinemas to show commercial movies in a seamless
advanced format encompassing 4K, 3D,
120fps HFR, HDR,
WCG and Immersive Sound to deliver an unprecedented movie-viewing experience,
to the delight of global audiences.”
To
facilitate the adoption of the Cinity Cinema System, Huaxia Film will create a Cinity
Film Lab to combine filming, post-production and distribution of superior,
immersive film-viewing experiences. The company will invite various
organizations and famous filmmakers around the world to participate in the
construction of the Lab as well as film-making. At CinemaCon, it has invited some
internationally renowned film directors to serve as consultants for the Cinity
Film Lab, who will help Huaxia to conduct various tests and research projects,
aimed at developing talents for shooting and post-production of advanced-format
movies. In addition, the company is planning to invest in the production of
advanced-format movies and support related organizations, as well as teams to
deliver superior advanced-format movies that exemplify profound thoughts,
exquisite arts and sophisticated technologies, thus attracting more people to
cinemas.
Opening a new
channel for international cultural exchanges through advanced-format movies
Movies
are not only a comprehensive form of artistic presentation that carry cultural
connotations and values, but also, and more importantly, a critical medium for
cultural exchanges between different countries. Huaxia Film will start mass
production of the Cinity Cinema System, and promote and run it throughout the
world, to initiate and enhance these cultural overtures.
“GDC
is committed to providing superior solutions for the global cinema chains,” said Dr. Man-Nang Chong, founder,
chairman and CEO of GDC Technology Limited.
“By working
with Huaxia Film and Christie, we will launch advanced-format movies, their
technologies and projection approaches across the world to promote exchanges of
these films between different regions, and open a new channel for international
cultural interactions and exchanges through these films. We are full of hope
and expectations for this partnership.”
The
Cinity Cinema System is expected to be launched in August, 2019 with the first
100, dual-projection systems to be installed in cinemas across mainland China,
Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, with additional systems to be installed worldwide
later on.
