A short lesson on Cinema Projection and Formats

It is essential that you use the highest quality audio, video, illustrations, etc, when you are preparing media for DCP. You will typically have to upscale your files to meet the required resolution set by the projector you are using, but the upscale shouldn't be extreme by any means.

By example, I will be preparing files for an NEC 2K Projector, served by a Dolby Cinema Server.

www.dcinematoday.com sums it up nicely:

"2K is the term used to describe images that have approximately 2K vertical lines. In digital cinema, a 2K image is delivered to the theatre in a digital "container" 2048 pixels wide by 1080 pixels high. A 2K image with a 2.39:1 ("scope") aspect ratio could be supplied having 2048 x 858 pixels. A 2K image with a 1.85:1 ("flat") aspect ratio could be supplied having 1998 x 1080 pixels. 2K resolution is specified by DCI as the minimum needed for showing theatrical content."

So, what this mean for me is:

My image needs to be at least 2048 x 858 pixels for a "Scope" image  and 1998 x 1080 pixels
for a "Flat" image.

Scope, (also known as Anamorphic or "Widescreen" is a more popular choice because most Movies today are filmed in Scope. So creating content to "Scope" specifications is generally a good idea because programing a "Scope" ad or short film with a "Scope" movie will typically eliminate the headaches endured by the projectionist or whoever is in charge of uploading content to the servers.


  

Flat (1998 x 1080) was the old standard in converting movies to home screen formats, until recently. You will notice quite the loss in viewable content in flat formats, so keep that in mind when creating your content.

With that said, I strongly suggest creating both "Scope" and "Flat"versions of your ads so that your ads will be compatible with either workflow/program used depending on which movie is shown. 

So, with a little more knowledge, we will continue on to Step 2: Premere Pro