‘We’re always one reel ahead’

At IU Cinema, the process of screening a film begins long before the audience enters the theater. With a 34-foot screen, four projectors and 21 speakers, the art house venue is equipped to deliver a state-of-the-art viewing experience, but getting to that point takes careful planning and technical precision.

The Indiana Daily Student spoke with IU Cinema Director Alicia Kozma to get an in-depth perspective on how a movie is developed at the cinema.

Projecting on digital

It starts with coordination between the cinema and the film’s distributor. Once a film is selected, the cinema works directly with the distributor, who sends across a digital cinema package. The DCP is essentially an external hard drive containing various files — most importantly, the film itself. It may also include bonus content, trailers and other additional materials if requested.

“We aim to receive these DCPs about six weeks in advance of the scheduled screening,” Kozma said. “Although four weeks is our minimum threshold.”

Once the DCP arrives, it is ingested and copied into the digital projector's server. The server is responsible for storing and managing every piece of content that appears on screen. At this stage, the technical team checks to ensure the files are intact and functioning correctly. To unlock and play the encrypted film content, the team uses a unique digital code called the key delivery message from the distributor.

With the key in place, it’s time to initiate quality control. This includes a thorough check of the entire film, ensuring it looks and sounds the way it should. The cinema employees harness the film through an integrated cinema media processor chip called Barco Alchemy, which reads the content from the DCP. They additionally verify the availability of accessibility features like captions. The cinema also makes sure its closed-caption devices work properly with the content.

About three weeks before the screening, the film is scheduled for another round of QC and testing.

“Our digital projector operates much like Spotify or Apple Music,” Kozma said. “We maintain a playlist to organize everything shown on screen.”

This playlist, built using a software called Doremi, helps to control dynamic elements such as moving the curtains and adjusting the lights. Pre-show materials such as emergency exit slides, promotional content and trailers are assembled as needed. The film and any bonus material are added after the pre-show lineup.

Sound testing is one of the first steps in QC. Because every film has its own unique audio levels, projectionists identify the quietest and loudest moments to ensure volume remains consistent.

“This isn’t automated by the way,” Kozma said. “It's all done manually by ear.”

Since the number of people in the room affects the way sound travels, the volume is adjusted closer to the screening day based on the audience size to create a balanced audio experience.

Then the cinema conducts two rounds of testing in the weeks before the screening. On the day of the event, a third and final check is performed. As the film starts playing, the projectionists monitor the picture and sound from the booth, while other staff members listen from inside the auditorium.

“If the crowd is larger than expected, small real-time adjustments to the volume might be made,” Kozma said. “These changes are subtle and go unnoticed by most, but they help create the best possible experience.”

Projecting on film

When the cinema screens on film instead of digital, the process is much more hands-on. The film typically arrives as one to eight physical reels, depending on the runtime and are carefully inspected before screenings. Technicians have inspection benches with film runners at both ends. Using a magnifying loop and a light table, the technicians crank each reel manually, checking for shrinkage, dirt, damage and any previous repairs.

“We won’t proceed until we know the print is safe for both the film and the projector,” Kozma said.

Film prints are expected at least eight weeks ahead of time because they’re bulky, fragile and must be shipped with care.

Film screenings also require different equipment than digital ones. While digital content can be inspected through software, the celluloid-based reels need to be physically reviewed frame by frame. Once inspected, the reels are assembled in the correct order.

The cinema boasts twin Kinoton 16mm and 35mm changeover film projectors for seamless reel changes. While one projector runs, the subsequent reel is prepped on the other.

“We’re always one reel ahead,” Kozma said. “As soon as one reel ends, the next one begins without delay.”

Sound for film works differently than digital, so the employees test it twice to get it right. Even with a film print, the employees can still create a digital playlist for pre-show content and automation, meaning both digital and analog systems work in tandem.

Unlike digital screenings, which can be fine-tuned remotely — sometimes even using an iPad — film projectionists must be physically present in the booth to make manual corrections. For instance, if the film slips out of frame alignment during projection, the operator must adjust it by hand.

“These changes are often so subtle that audiences won’t notice,” Kozma said. “But a trained eye catches them immediately.”

Captions are harder to manage. Older celluloid prints lack open captions because the technology simply didn’t exist when they were made. Whether closed-caption options are available depends on whether the film was remastered. Kozma said accessibility remains a challenge.

“Even though we’re required to provide accessible screenings, distributors are not obligated to supply accessible versions,” she said. “So, sometimes, even when we want to offer captions, they just don’t exist for certain titles.”

For celluloid film, inspecting the reels alone takes five to seven hours, and the full preparation process — inspection, assembly and testing — can take anywhere from 10 to 15 hours in total.

Once the screening ends, the employees rewind the reels, prepare an inspection report, detailing any issues or repairs, and repack the film into heavy metal containers to return to the distributor.

“Preparing a film to be screened at IU Cinema — whether digitally or on celluloid — is a very detailed and specialized process,” Kozma said. “From the seats in the Cinema it looks like movie magic when it’s really the dedicated labor and talent of the Cinema team.”

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