Digital Cinematography 2011 – Different Somehow, but Positively Good Anyway

The combination of exhibition, workshops and screenings, that characterises the Digitale Cinematographie event (now in its ninth year), once again proved to be a winning formula. In spite of very busy autumn schedules, more than 45 exhibitors made the time to present their latest solutions and products from the fields of camera technology, production, post-production, backup technology and archiving. “Challenges of file-based workflows” was the topical main theme at this year’s event.

There were more than 30 workshops spread over the two days and all these were well-attended. On reflection this is hardly surprising, though - the opportunity for people to attend free seminars of such high quality at comparable events is extremely rare.

To give you a taste of what you may have missed, here is a quick round-up of some of the highlights from the excellent programme: Fred Meyers, technical director of Band Pro, and Martin Greenwood, CTO at YoYotta, used a case study involving raw ARRI Alexa and Codex on Board recordings to demonstrate the potential versatility of an efficient file-based workflow. Attendees of the “Introduction to the F-65” workshop found out from Jeff Cree (VP/Technical Services at Band Pro Film & Digital Inc) everything there is to know about the new 4-K camera from SONY, which will be on the market in 2012. A showreel filmed with an F-65 Cinealta 4-K camera could be viewed on both days in the SONY lounge.

The RED One, the RED EPIC and the ARRI Alexa also fared well. During a workshop presented by Ludwig Kameraverleih itself, opportunities and risks associated with digital workflows, both on set and off set, were explained to participants. On both days, there were numerous visitors to the stand of the Campilots Holger Fleig and Volker Tittel, who displayed some remarkable pictures taken with their “multicopter” (a device consisting of a mini-helicopter equipped with a camera) during a workshop and at screenings.

The workshop cinema, used for the first time in this form, took a while to “get into its stride” on the first day. The sponsor, zweiB, equipped it with a Christie CP 2210 compact 2K DLP digital cinema projector and productions ranging from documentaries to feature films were shown here.

Geoff Boyle was this year again the centre of attention. Indeed the title of one of his screenings, “30 years of trying to guess what will go wrong”, was an early indicator that the audience were going to enjoy real entertainment rather than be subjected to a litany of boring facts.
Cameraman Markus Förderer presented clips from Tim Fehlbaum’s feature film debut “Hell” and had to face many inquisitive questions concerning light and weather conditions during shooting.
On the second day, “Gas Monopoly” by Richard Ladkani was introduced by the man himself. This highly topical documentary on the depletion of Earth’s resources not only triggered a technical discussion about shooting conditions, but also provided the audience with considerable food for thought. Finally, mention should be made of the Fachhochschule (University of Applied Sciences) of Salzburg, which presented three of its own productions, all of which left an impression of professional quality.

Even though many fans of digital productions miss the good old days of the big screen in the former location, there were a great many positives that emerged from the workshop cinema. It provided an ideal opportunity to have questions answered by speakers and to engage in discussions with them. The wish for more interaction was completely satisfied, in no small part due to the successful moderation of Su Turhan.

Consequently, this year’s Digitale Cinematographie, held under different circumstances, can be summed up in two words: positively good!The congress hall proved to be an excellent choice as the new venue and was praised by exhibitors and participants alike for its delightful atmosphere. The opportunity to engage in personal discussions was, as ever, the main focus of all participants. “Very interesting and insightful" was how one participant described the event. “I don’t know of any other event where it is possible to chat freely with so many experts and to benefit from their knowledge. Keep it up!”

The Digitale Cinematographie event again found an interested and knowledgable audience. Despite the many other events that took place around the same time, it remains one of the foremost events in the industry.

That’s reason enough for the event organisers to take a positive look towards the new year, in view of the celebrations that will take place then to mark the tenth Digitale Cinematographie event, which will once again be held in the summer (during the film festival).

More specifically, next year’s event will be held on 5 and 6 July 2012 at the Alte Kongresshalle in the Theresienhöhe area of Munich.

The programme for 2011, complete with details of all exhibitors, workshops and screenings, can be found at: http://www.digitale-cinematographie.de. This website can be visited all year round and is regularly updated.

Digitale Cinematographie
Digitale Cinematographie” was founded in 2002 by Gerhard Baier (Band Pro Munich GmbH), Martin Ludwig (Ludwig Kameraverleih GmbH) and Martin Kreitl (MKMedia Production). As a "High Definition Competence Centre", Digitale Cinematographie has been created as a new platform which is neutrally and critically driven by the idea of revolutionising the German film and TV environment through the use of new technology.

For film and media producers from all over Europe, “Digitale Cinematographie” has become an event which cannot be missed. Latest trends and developments from the world of digital film are presented every year on this occasion. This is a very personal, communicative and interactive event for both producers and users. What makes „Digitale Cinematographie” so unique is the smooth combination of the exchange of experience with renowned specialists, the comprehensive outlook on all areas of HD technology, training of young creators - along with the ingenious concept of uniting the transfer of knowledge and practical tests based on exhibitions, workshops and screenings.