Talk About Digital Cinema

Chris Johnson
Vice President
Classic Cinemas

Chris Johnson

Beginning by doing odd jobs in his family's single-screen theatre, Chris worked his way up in the business. In 1980, he was an usher when the original 'Star Trek' was released - it was his first 'paid engagement' -- but by 1984, he was managing theatres. A year later he moved into the home office, handling purchasing, mainly for concessions. Today, his primary role is in the financial and operations end of the business, as well as handling the scheduling of all movies for Classic Cinema's 91 screens in 12 locations, all in the Chicago market.

On how his family got started in the cinema business.

In the 1970's, my father owned a property that had a single screen movie theatre in it as a rental property. Sometime in 1978, the operator left, sort of in the middle of the night, leaving behind a 'Closed For Remodeling' sign, which basically meant he was a trying to get out of town. My Dad interviewed quite a few other operators, and at the end of that process, decided to try it himself. The existing manager ran the theatre and my Dad took care of the business end of things. We started out as a single-screen, downtown, sub-run operation and had our first multiplex in 1984 -- and then we slowly expanded from there.

On his experience with digital pre-show.

We were actually 100-percent digital in our pre-shows in 2001, which was on the early side of things. The difference is that we can offer something that is more exciting, and changes more often. As we progress, we will really program 'film-specific' -- not just 'rating-specific' -- pre-shows. So we will have a different program for '3:10 To Yuma', which is rated 'R' and for 'Saw IV', which is rated 'R'. We're moving in that direction and, in the future, I would like to tie this in with our loyalty program so that when it's someone's birthday and, by his loyalty card we know he's going into a specific auditorium, we can wish him a Happy Birthday in the pre-show. That's all part of making our guests feel special, improving their experience.

On the audience reaction to digital.

We have 100-percent digital sound in our theatres and it's absolutely superior to the analog, but when you have an analog system set up correctly, we've actually had people comment early on "oh, I love your digital sound�" and they were in an auditorium that was still analog. I think it goes back to the fact that you have to have a quality presentation - no matter what your means of delivering that. In general, in terms of 2D digital compared to 35mm film, we really don't see any increased box office, but there is really no room for an inferior presentation, so however you accomplish that, it's a must.

On feeling pressure to go digital for feature presentations.

There's pressure from two sources. One is the pressure that you always want to be on the cutting edge and you want to be a leader in your industry, not a follower. And the other pressure is so that you can do some of the things the digital platform brings you - which is access to 3D and some of the alternative content - so those are the drivers that push you towards digital.

On playing alternative content.

I am a fan of alternative content when it's happening on off times. It's a great Tuesday-night, Wednesday-night offering for one screen in a multiplex and it's a way of getting a niche piece of content - whatever that may be - played at a time when there is not a lot of other business. Even using pre-show projectors, we've shown Skateboard competitions -- and X-game type events -- that were at a completely off-time and we brought everybody who was interested in that into one show and we had a sold-out show. But I am not a fan of playing a concert or whatever on Saturday night, when it would be going against my peak movie times. I think the one thing we have to remember is that 'movies are what we are' - and the other stuff kind of fills in.

On showing alternative content on the big projectors.

We've shown some content through the pre-show projectors, but we want to be sure we don't do a disservice to what we're offering. A movie theatre is really a public gathering space where you want everybody to get together and get wrapped up with what's on screen -- and in order to do that, you need a quality image. So, eventually, that is where we want to be - on the big projector, the 2K projector, with all content because it really enhances that experience. For most alternative content, the audiences is paying more than they're paying for a movie ticket, so you certainly want to have the audience walk away saying "�wow, that was really something�I really felt like I was there�"

On the power of 3D.

3D really does bring people into the picture. When I first saw it, I thought, 'wow, this is incredible' and now that I've seen it over and over again, I still think it's incredible, but you have to have content behind that. And then there's an 'education curve' where we need to figure out how to tell people 'this is not your old 3D' and get them in there with compelling content. The biggest disappointment has been lack of steady content flow in 3D.

On the cost of 3D systems and multiple formats.

3D is a great addition to a theatre and it's a great way of bringing incremental revenue in, but I am concerned about the multiple formats. 'Beowulf', for example, is released in IMAX 3D, digital 3D, digital 2D, and 35mm film, so: What is the superior presentation? And who determines that? I am hoping that will rectify itself, but I don't think it will shake out for a while.

On what he looks for in a digital system.

I think we need a digital system that goes beyond putting a picture on the screen. I think that's a given - but can the system manage all the content and systems that are in our theatre and tie them together and really make the person walking through the door feel like they are enjoying a customized experience, without them realizing how we are doing that? So the ultimate words are 'flexibility' and 'adaptability' to the audience.

On automating the entire presentation.

We want something that can manage the keys, manage our screens so we'll be able to load a movie once and play it on multiple screens. The integration of the pre-show is also important. So, we'll have our feature and our trailer pack -- which might differ by showtime -- and we'll have our pre- show -- which, again, might also differ by showtime. And then we'll have the other content -- lobby signage, and so forth -- content that's right for the audience coming in. When you have a morning show that's focused on children, for example, we'll have G and PG trailers and Kiddie Combo specials and games spliced in - and all that will happen automatically, as we've programmed it.

On the importance of reliability.

One of the big differences between film and digital is the mechanical-based nature of the 35mm projector versus the computer-based nature of the digital system. And so, with digital, I think it's crucial to have somebody watching that system, monitoring that system, 24 hours a day. We want to know when there is an issue with a bulb that might be past its hours, or a system is off-line, or some content wasn't loaded correctly. That lets us manage by exception. I don't want to know that everything is working perfectly; I want to know when something is in need of attention.

On the cost and obsolescence of digital systems.

On paper, digital is more expensive. But I think when you really break down all the other costs with a film system - having somebody in the booth assembling prints, splicing trailers, splicing out trailers, loading platters -- when you add up everything, I think digital is probably break even. I think that some of the flexibility with digital can put digital in the plus column - but the biggest question mark is: What is the lifespan of digital equipment - both from an operating-life standpoint and from an obsolescence standpoint? In ten years, a 35mm projector will still run 35mm film. But, in the short period of time we've been in the 'DCI world', there's already been a host of changes. I think that will settle down a bit, but in ten years with digital what will we look like?

On what he looks for in a partner.

First off, you want somebody you believe is going to be there for the long haul. Second is - who has experience in this space? Do they understand what a quality cinema presentation looks like? Do they know how to continually improve that? Is their technology built on a strong foundation and do they have the tools in place to monitor and upgrade their software? You can have a system that's the best there is - but if that system doesn't have the support with it, you might be out of luck. And then, I think that finding an organization that is proving themselves to be able to handle the exception, the crises - those are the three things you need.

On working with Kodak.

What Kodak has done is always, always, no matter what the circumstances, delivered when there has been an issue. They've gotten everybody to work towards solving the issue, no matter whose fault it is. Whether it's the projector, or the content is wrong - it doesn't matter - Kodak's goal has been to get us on screen. When there is a problem, Kodak's approach is: Let's worry about whose problem it was - later. Let's worry about getting the problem fixed - now. And they have the infrastructure. They can send technicians out - and they are able to work to resolve any situation.

On controlling the system.

Kodak's attitude is: It's your system, you do with it what you want. You might pay a little bit more for that system upfront, but when you consider that you ultimately have control of your system and what you want to play and do with it - and Kodak will help you achieve that - I think that's the one thing that sells me on Kodak more than others. The system is in my theatre. I want to have control of what's going on there - rather than "gee, it's not going to cost you that much and we'll take full control of what's on your screen and everything else." That scares me a little bit and I don't have to deal with that when I deal with Kodak.

On delivering a great movie experience.

I think Presentation Quality is a given. Comfort's a given. I think that Service wins the day. Anything you can do to eliminate hassles or annoyances is going to make you the superior movie-going experience. And I think that has to do with managing lines, with the right attitude, with value-added propositions. We provide free refills on every size popcorn, every size drink. We give mints out when you leave, just to say: 'Good night, thank you for coming.' We give a 30-minute guarantee; for any reason, you can leave within 30 minutes with a full refund. I think a key measure is how you treat people when you are not exchanging money. You make believers out of people when you are always looking out for the best interests of the guests, no matter whether or not you are losing a sale that day; longer term, you are gaining a customer for life.