Private Cinemas / Home Theaters

[Alexandros Angelopoulos Apostolos]

I was wondering when someone like Michael Bay builds hilmself a private cinema / home theater like this

 

http://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/michael-bay-los-angeles-home-article

 

what is the medium the show the films from? Is it a Blu-ray or is the film projected from something else?

[Tyler Purcell]

Well today everyone is digital. In the not too distant past, private theaters were mostly film. I've been in to many older private cinema's and have seen double 35mm projectors. Today a guy like Micheal Bay can afford a fiber line and 4k cinema projector matching one at an actual cinema. So people at the studio can send him in real time 4k images off the edit so he doesn't have to leave home.

 

There is also a semi-secret network available to rich people which allows them to view first run content immediately at home. Most guys like Bay will have that system installed at their house so they never have to go to the movies.

 

If I had that kind of money, I'd just install a cinerama style curved screen, matching stereo, matching glass for the projectors and run double 35mm/70mm projectors along with a 4k digital cinema projector. I'd put my money into gobbling up buying prints of movies and having them to watch. Then again, I like being hands on with that sorta stuff, many filmmakers aren't interested.

[Alexandros Angelopoulos Apostolos]

Oh, that’s so juicy! A semi-secret network! :D B) Go figure. Makes total sense, but the idea hasn’t crossed my mind.

 

But when you say 4K images in real time, that’s only true for his own films, I presume? What does he do with films unavailable in the secret network? Furthermore, not much is available in 4K, no?

 

I’m just interested in what sort of medium such movies are stored on and where does he get them from. There’s some sort of Amazon for these things or no? Unless it’s a perfectly ordinary Blu-ray Disc, either the normal HD one or this more recent UHD disc, and what I’m asking is silly.

 

P. S. Not very relevant: I have no idea what I was going for with that last part of the question, but I presume that “the” is actually “he”.

[Phil Connolly]

For those with the money you have services like this:

 

http://www.primacinema.com/

 

Movies cost about $500 a pop so its not really a mainstream thing

 

Studio insiders probably get free access to the DCP's and I'm sure plenty of people are screening blu ray and netflix etc...

[Tyler Purcell]

Studio's will send DCP's for these guys to watch, just like a normal cinema.

[Alexandros Angelopoulos Apostolos]

I get that if you’re a professional, and not just any professional working in Hollywood. But even for them it’s difficult or, better, impossible to have that for any film they imagine. Then there are those rich people with no (apparent) connections to the movie industry. Think Patrick Soon-Shiong, the richest person in L.A. I bet he doesn’t get access to DCPs, even though he could if he wanted to. So perhaps he’s not the best example, but you get the gist.

[Tyler Purcell]

Ohh yea, just "rich" people, they use http://www.primacinema.com/

 

Which is pretty amazing if you think about it.