Coming soon to a theater near you: even more innovation, thanks to a deal to extend the relationship between one of the industry’s projection experts and James Cameron, the man behind Avatar and its upcoming sequels. Christie and Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, Inc., have renewed an exclusive, five-year agreement “that sees these two industry leaders sharing know-how and ground-breaking technology to propel the future of immersive cinema experiences,” according to a joint press release from Christie and Lightstorm.
“To push the boundary of digital cinema, one needs visionary, like-minded collaborators and that description fits Christie to a T, given its long cinema heritage and impressive list of industry firsts in the projection and visual display realms,” said James Cameron in the announcement. “Several years ago, we began our relationship, which has worked well, so I’m pleased to be forging ahead again with Christie at my side.”
Here’s more from the announcement:
Christie will equip Lightstorm with a variety of current and planned projection systems, including the first of a new RGB laser projection series now under development, which boasts much higher efficiencies than lasers utilized in current cinemas, according to the press release. The units will be spread across Cameron’s production facilities and come with 24/7 access to the Christie Network Operations Center (NOC), call center support, and replacement parts as per Christie’s warranty services to all exhibitors.
“Like attracts like and in addition to the latest in projection technologies, Christie is fully committed to sharing our ongoing research and development efforts, including product roadmaps, with our co-visionary, Lightstorm, so that its productions will repeat the awe-inspiring success of Avatar in the years to come,” said Jack Kline, chairman, president and CEO of all of Christie’s operating companies worldwide. “Lightstorm, and indeed our global exhibitor community, are confident in Christie’s ability to deliver a complete cinema experience, encompassing all formats, frame rates and light levels, and this agreement is indicative of this confidence.”
In exchange for knowledge-sharing, equipment and services, Lightstorm will share with Christie its own findings into 3D, HFR and high-dynamic range (HDR) enhancements as well as formatting and color space requirements for achieving the optimal viewing experience.
This knowledge will aid Christie in creating projectors, media servers and tool kits for a variety of applications including cinema exhibition, location-based entertainment and post-production markets.
