Cork, Ireland—Jul 1, 2004
Avica Demonstrates the Power of Digital Technology at Cinema Days in Cork
Ten Minute Digital Teaser Reel Is First Ever Digital Presentation in Ireland Thanks to Avica’s FilmStore™ Technology
rish film exhibitors gathered late May at Cinema
Days in Cork as part of the annual opportunity to preview the upcoming slate of
films for release. This year, however, they received more that they bargained
for, as much of the Cinema Days talk turned – and remains focused on – the
advent and impact of digital cinema.
Digital cinema technology and services leader, Avica Technology Corporation, via
its widely used FilmStore™ Digital Cinema Player system, seized the opportunity
to treat exhibitors to a ten-minute demonstration that served as the first
digital cinema presentation in Ireland’s history – providing a unique glimpse at
the new theatrical experience.
This year, Cinema Days was hosted by Trish Long of Buena Vista International and
Anna Lavery of United International Pictures, who selected the Douglas Cinema in
Cork as its venue.
Margaret Greene, general manger of Cinema World, reports that she was markedly
impressed with Avica’s presentation – not just by the heightened image and sound
quality, but by its ease of operation. “I was actually pleasantly surprised at
just how straightforward it was to install and operate the digital cinema
projection system,” she said. “And then we were all blown away by the vivid
picture quality.”
News of Avica’s eye-opening presentation in Cork followed on the heels of their
well-received digital presentation of DreamWork’s ‘Shrek 2’ at the Cannes Film
Festival earlier in the month and the recent opening of their European
headquarters in Thurles.
Kevin Cummins, Avica Europe’s Operations Director remarked that, “This
introduction of digital cinema and its capabilities to the industry here at
Cinema Days is another example of how Avica is utilizing Ireland as a
springboard into a broader European presence – consistent with the recent
opening of our offices in Thurles.”
“As a sponsor of the Irish Pavilion at Cannes,” said Scott Stremple, Vice
President of Operations for Avica Technology, “we wanted to give the Irish
cinema industry a peek at this exciting new technology. Based on exhibitor
reactions, the demo we screened at Cinema Days was a massive success, and we’re
truly grateful to the event organizers for the opportunity to showcase what we
can do. The presentation went as well as it did largely thanks to collaborations
with Digital Projection, Ltd., who supplied the state-of-the-art digital
projector, and Trevor Judd at Technicolor, who lent invaluable technical support
with the digital transfer.”
Avica’s FilmStore™ products for the preparation, distribution and screening of
Digital Cinema content comply with requirements of the major Hollywood studios.
FilmStore Players have been used for over 90,000 digital cinema screenings
worldwide including recent international blockbusters ‘The Day after Tomorrow,’
and ‘Shrek 2.’
