CINEMATHROUGHTHEYEARS

35MM • 70MM • 2K • 4K

Movie technology has come a long way since its inception. While 50 years ago, the foremost technology was technicolor film, the argument now rages between the four major kinds of film technology, namely:35 mm • 70mm • 2k • 4kThese terms can be quite confusing to an audience who don’t know about movie technology and screens and how your viewing quality can change de-pending on these factors.

A BRIEF OUTLINE

• Most films made before the digital age were shot in 33 mm film. 33 mm is the classic, old projection format that we all see used in movies from the 50s and 60s.

• 35 mm film evolved from traditional 33 mm and is what was used for movie projection for the majority of the past half century.

• 35 mm film has the capacity for immense detail when digitized but most projectors that play 35 mm film don’t have the output capacity to deliver this experience.

• The 35 mm film projection used in theatres displays a resolution roughly 10 times lesser than 70 mm film.

• In the past 10 years the usage of 35 mm film has decreased considerably, with most theaters and films switching to digital production.

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• 70 mm(IMAX) is a benchmark of quality in cinema. It offers the very best in movie projection.

• Few cinema screens offer 70 mm projection in and around the world but where they are found they are unparalleled in terms of picture quality, resolution, clarity and color.

• Truly nothing else rivals the quality provided by 70 mm projection. In fact, 70 mm projection even outperforms 4K projection, creating an image close to 8K quality.

• To truly maximize on 70 mm projection quality, the image needs to be caught in 70 mm as well. The Dark Knight and Interstellar are both examples of films that use 70 mm in certain scenes.

• With more cinema theatres opting for digital projection quality benchmarks also change accordingly.

• 2K projection is the first frontier of digital projection technology.

• Most movie theaters use 2K projection technology, but more are opting to switch over to 4K technology.

• This is good news as quality doesn’t look very different on a smaller screen, but viewed on a large cinema screen the difference becomes very noticeable.

• 2K projection offers a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels which offers a quality digital image and image capture. As far as projection technology goes, 2K and 4K quality shouldn’t be too noticeably different for most audiences.

• Digital projection technology plays movies in either 4K or 2K resolution.

• 4K simply means that the theater screen is filled with 4096 x 3072 pixels of resolution. This offers superior clarity, more vibrant image capture and crisp digital quality.

• 4K projection fills a projection screen with just a little over 8 million pixels of resolution. To do this however, requires screens that reflect more light and more than one screen coating or “gain”.

• 4K projection requires a screen like the Galalite Digilite that offers 2 gains or more. This tends to be more effective for 3D films as well.

• 4K projection offers roughly twice the number of pixels as 2K.

CONCLUSION

• The most noticeable differences only occur between 70 mm and 35 mm projection.

• An audience viewing a 35 mm film will enjoy it regardless of 2K or 4K projection, but pick a quality theater with a screen that meets all these benchmarks and offers superior quality.

• The Galalite Digilite screen used in many theaters in India and around the globe meets the 2 gain, high resolution requirements of most modern movies like Avengers: Age of Ultron or Interstellar.

• Don’t compromise on quality on your next movie-going experience. Make lasting memories with your loved ones with a popcorn and a movie at a reliable Galalite technology screen.