Technicolor rolling out digital format in European market.

Thomson signed an agreement this month with a Belgian movie theater chain that will have its Technicolor Digital Cinema unit installing equipment as part of the rollout of digital cinema in the European market.

Technicolor will have the Barco projectors and Dolby Digital Cinema playback items installed in 50 Kinepolis Group theaters by early 2007. Another 80 theaters will undergo the conversion by the end of 2007.

Kinepolis got involved with the roll out because of its desire to use the latest in technology at its theaters, said Joe Berchtold, president of Technicolor Theatrical Services, and head of Technicolor Digital Cinema.

"It is a reasonably self-contained market that you can do this test and understand how it impacts a lot of things," Berchtold said.

The Technicolor Digital Cinema unit is based in Camarillo.

Technicolor began its rollout in U.S. theaters in June, a month later than expected. What the company learned about using the digital equipment in the U.S. the aters can be applied to the European rollout although there are issues specific to Europe, such as power supply, Berchtold said.

"Because the business is different in Europe with potential workflows we want to understand on a limited scale the implications of those workflows before we do a substantial rollout," Berchtold added.

The transition to the digital format will change how entertainment companies distribute their films as well as provide higher quality prints, a means to increase revenues through more showings, and a better method for long-time film storage.

Five major film studios--DreamWorks SKG, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, 20th Century Fox--have partnered with Technicolor in support of its rollout. The company is in negotiations to get New Line Cinema and The Weinstein Co. on board as well.

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, a division of Burbank-based Walt Disney Co., has signed on with rival digital cinema firm Christie/Access Integrated Technologies to release its films in a digital format.

Valley Filmmakers

"The Night Swim" won't be shown in digital cinema anytime soon but the feature film from two graduates of the cinema arts program at Los Angeles Valley College was among the entries of the 9th annual DancesWithFilms festival that took place in Los Angeles recently.

James Gabriel and Dan Casserole based the film partly on a funeral of a family member of Casserole's.

The pair approached filming of "The Night Swim" much differently than they did their first project, "Holiday," a film they couldn't finish because their money ran out.

For their second film, the pair scaled the production to what they knew they could afford without bankrupting themselves.

Gabriel said that while the Valley College program was good in teaching about film theory and production, little attention was given to the distribution and marketing side of the business.

"They taught how to make the film but nothing about what to do with it once you are finished," said Gabriel, who grew up in Arleta.

Gabriel and Casserole wrote the first draft of "The Night Swim" script in one month. They completed filming in 13 days--done on weekends--using a cast partially assembled for "Holiday."

Robert Macklin stars as the lead in "The Night Swim," a story of a man facing the death of his wife and the complications arising at the reception following the funeral as those in attendance find a way to cope with the circumstances.

"The Night Swim" will be shown at another festival in September and the pair will continue submitting their film at other festivals in hopes of attracting the attention of a distributor.

Mark R. Madler can be reached at [phone] or at [e-mail].