Reference screening room in a post-production studio – a whim or a necessity?

We watch films on whatever devices we can get our hands on: phones, tablets, laptops. Occasionally, we will go to the cinema, but even there, the screening conditions usually leave much to be desired. What is, therefore, the point of having a reference-level theatrical image quality in a post-production studio? Is it anything more than just art for art's sake?

We have invested considerably in our reference screening room. It's more than just the world's most modern Barco projector, a screen front from leading post-production screen manufacturer Harkness Screens, and a Dolby theatrical sound system. The new room required us to make major changes to the studio space, relocate workstations, negotiate with our personnel and, finally, have the patience of saint with the protracted refurbishment works. Would we have decided to go through all this for a mere fad?

It is, obviously, true that most viewers will miss out on film experience of the quality we have access to in our studio. They will watch it on small displays or see it screened by miscalibrated projectors with too little power, on screens which reflect too much light. The point is, however, that even though we know that these viewing conditions will be more or less far from optimum, each time – depending on the file, the streaming service, the device or the cinema room – the distortion will be different.

This is where reference comes in as an ironclad standard, a steadfast point on a chaotic map filled with various devices and cinemas. It is only by referring to a standard that we can determine the deviation. And since the deviations will be manifold and hard to predict, adjusting the image to reference-level conditions seems to be the most reasonable solution.

The need for a reference screening room is further justified by screenings which take place at top cinema events. Prestigious festivals such as the Berlinale or the cinematographers' festival Camerimage attach great importance to the quality in which films entered in the competition are presented. Only a reference screening room allows one to view a film in the same standard in which the jury will later watch it.

“The reference room is a place created for those filmmakers who present their films at major festivals, enter competitions and win awards. For them, the highest possible image quality is a must. They are not ones to be satisfied with half-measures, compromises or mediocrity. They know that every imperfection can cost them dearly," says the director of our studio Magda Zimecka.

What determines the credibility of the image we project as a reference? First and foremost, it is the projector. “The projector has an impressive brightness of 27,000 lumens, which means that we are prepared for all upcoming standards within the HDR definition in the years to come, including those which have not yet been launched. At the moment, the maximum brightness of this projector twice exceeds the most demanding specifications in existence, so we have had to adjust the entire projection track accordingly, including the appropriately crafted glass through which the projector projects the image onto the screen, explains Wojtek Janiszewski, our head of technology.

“There is a widespread belief that no studio device can handle the colour space in the Rec.2020 standard. Yet, the projector we have at our disposal is capable of displaying over 98.5% of the Rec.2020 palette. With a?brightness scale of 7880 nits, this can be described with just one word: spectacular!” Wojtek proclaims.

Thanks to this projector's capabilities, we can also make use of the full potential of the camera material in terms of future technical requirements. What is also important is that a device of this class makes it easier, and sometimes even possible at all, to work with difficult footage which is far from perfect.

Access to a reference screening room at the heart of a post-production studio significantly increases the efficiency of working on colour and other aspects of the image, such as special effects.

“Previewing the HDR and added special effects can, of course, be done on a TV screen, but 65 or even 85 inches sets pale in comparison to a several metres wide cinema screen. Size does matter!” believes Marek Subocz, leader of our VFX team.

“Both the colour correction and special effects departments use DaVinci Resolve software. This is extremely important for the efficiency of the entire workflow. Thanks to this compatibility, everything that the cinematographer and the colourist work out on the big screen (contrast, colour temperature, brightness, etc.), can be immediately transferred to our VFX department to fine-tune the effects for a specific look, and vice versa," adds Marek.

The large screen and comfortable seats also translate to an overall comfort when working with the producer, director and the rest of the film crew. It is no longer just a laboratory designed to work on VFX and colour correction, but also a place for producers’ screenings’ of individual cuts of the film, test screenings and, finally, official premieres. The post-production studio becomes the space where the filmmakers' vision is ultimately fulfilled.

Does this mean that, until recently, we did not have access to a reference projection room? Yes, we did. “Until now, ORKA has used a lamp-based reference projector. Admittedly, the market had been moving towards laser projectors for quite some time, but it is only recently that the technology has matched the capabilities of top-of-the-range lamp-based equipment”, says Daniel Pietrzyk, whose contribution to the technological aspect of equipping the room remains invaluable.

“For a long time, the laser seemed to be just an industry fad, but eventually we decided that the time had come to make the transition. The new equipment finally meets our requirements. It is time to enter a new era in terms of projection. Laser technology is now the norm in post-production, and there is little if any indication that this will change anytime soon”, explains Daniel.

The equipment we have at our disposal would be of little use if it weren't for the people who operate it on a?daily basis. “Ours is one of the most experienced teams in the industry”, stresses Wojtek. "With this technology, our know-how and close cooperation with innovators such as Vufinder Studios with their LED technology and native Unreal 5.1-based workflow, the sky is the limit!”

All those who would like to test our capabilities are welcome to contact us at: [email protected]