By Elina Shatkin, October 21, 2003
Mark Forman is the one-man operational force behind the Forman HiDefinition Screening Room, a New York City facility that boasts, well, a small, high-definition screening room. Forman was clearly looking to the future back in 1997 when he asked himself, "What's coming next?" He saw that it was high-definition-the long-awaited and much delayed format was finally coming into its own.
An accomplished still photographer and cinematographer, Forman was dismayed at the lack of opportunities to see his work in a theatrical presentation. "The problem is that no one gets to see what they shoot. It usually ends up with a client and you never see it again. As a cinematographer, I decided that's not good." So the idea was born to build a small screening room, one that would cater to directors and directors of photography and give them an opportunity to screen dailies of the high-definition work they were shooting.
Construction began in August of 1998 with Forman-who had once conceptually designed the Visitor's Center for the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME-taking on much of the design duties. Construction was a challenge. It took a year and a half because, as Forman points out, "No one had really done this before. Mine was one of the first screening rooms in New York that was able to project HD on a wider screen." Construction was finished in May of 2000, but the Screening Room, located on West 23rd St., didn't truly open until the fall of 2000.
The facility boasts a seven-seat, 24-ft. x 12-ft. room, and a screen that is 80 inches long by 45 inches high (or 92-inches diagonal, for those who keep track of such things). It's not a huge space, but it was never meant to be. "It's not intended for audience tests," explains Forman. "It's intended primarily as a technical tool for directors and DPs so they can see how their footage looks projected on screen."
The backbone of the operation is the Sony VPH-G90U HDTV projector, the same CRT projector that Sony uses in its NYC screening room. Hooked up to that is a Sony HDW-F500 HDCAM deck that allows Forman to screen 1080/60i or 24p HDTV videos
. Forman also has a Sony DSR30 deck, a Rushplay Digital Dailies System, a JVC DV-SVHS videotape recorder, and a Sony 7700 DVD player. In addition, the room is outfitted with a Dolby 5.1 audio system that features B&W loudspeakers and 1,300 watts of amplification. "Any form of video that can be projected, I can project," says Forman. "I can even project computer images, if necessary."
Forman says that those who come from the video world, where everything looks good on a small monitor, often don't see the need for projecting their work on a larger screen. "It's a constant battle getting people to realize they should be screening and not just looking at their footage on a small monitor because, unfortunately, they come up with terrible results. What you see on the small monitor that appears to be in focus is generally not in focus on a large screen. Some cinematographers understand what to do and they're very careful, but on almost every HD film, there are one or two shots that are definitely not in focus. And when I ask, 'Did you screen?' the answer is generally 'No.' And it shows."
Color timing is another important reason for projecting on a larger screen. If you plan to show your work on a CRT projector, you'll want to time for a CRT; if you're going to show it on a DLP projector, you need to time it for a DLP projector. To that end, Forman is looking into purchasing an additional projector for the Screening Room so that clients would have the option of screening on either a CRT or a DLP projector. "I haven't had many requests for it yet because people don't really understand the differences, but I want to stay ahead of the game."
While Forman's facility is used primarily by directors and DPs of independent features, he has seen a few bigger names, such as director Robert Altman and cinematographer Allen Daviau, come through.
To persuade more people to project their high-definition work, Forman has a deal going with Plus8Digital.com. Forman will give free half-hours of screening time to people who rent their HD equipment from Plus 8. Hopefully for Forman, this will get people to see the light.
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