Digital Difference A Filmless Film Industry Digital cinema promises, over time, the single most significant enhancement of the movie experience since the introduction of sound in 1927. Since the early 1990s, digital cinema has gradually moved into the film industry. Shooting digitally instead of film is a change in medium not art form. Digital cinema is quickly becoming the industry standard. Producers and independents in all mediums stand to gain ground in the age of digital cinema. Besides it's speed, efficiency, and cost savings, shooting films directly in digital encourages further innovation, while getting back to what's important on any project: telling the story. MiRydea Entertainment actively utilizes current available digital technologies while researching and developing designs for the future. Production A shift to digital cameras has allowed dramatic reductions in costs and new possibilities in special effects. Recent breakthroughs in technology have made it possible to capture images using high definition digital video cameras with fidelity akin to that of 35-millimeter film (Star Wars: Episode II was shot completely on digital). With PS Technik's Mini 35mm Cinema, video can be shot using 35mm film lenses. The Sony CineAlta 24P captures high definition images at a film standard 24 frames per second, rather than the video standard of 30 frames per second, creating images indistinguishable from film.  It is anticipated that in the next 3-5 years, a video chip will be made to advance resolution as well as the full color spectrum exceeding film's capabilities. Post Production Only ten years ago, non-linear editors were introduced. Today, they are the standard. AVID's latest models of online non-linear editing bays offer fully uncompressed high definition video. AVID UnityNet allows technology to be simultaneously managed, moved and changed while having the flexibility to schedule and gain approval from multiple sources. During post production, producers can see their content in real time through local networks and high-speed web connections. As technology improves, server and hard drive space increases while physical size decreases, eliminating storage size issues. Distribution/ Exhibition Today, feature films can be delivered to the consumer via satellite. Cinema Connexion by Boeing uses its expertise in satellite technology, including encryption and compression, to dramatically change the distribution of movies. An estimated $1.2 billion is currently spent each year making, insuring, and shipping bulky film prints. By distributing digitally, an estimated $700 million will be saved each year. Low cost DVD-ROM computer discs remain the primary media for distributing digital films. Using new digital projection technology made by Texas Instruments or Technicolor, digital cinema allows movie lovers to see, for the first time in history, exactly what the director sees in his final cut, without the degradation of image that is inevitable with film prints… thus telling the story as it was meant to be told. Every run of a digital master has the same superb color, crisp detail, high brightness, along with contrast that is technically short of a 35-millimeter print, but superior in image quality to the consumer.