INDIE CIRCUIT

Filmmaker Guide

DCPs, Explained

DCP stands for Digital Cinema Package: the set of files that real cinema projectors play, usually delivered on a hard drive. Most proper cinemas can only play a DCP. Many small rooms can play an ordinary file or a Blu-ray instead.

Do You Need One?

Check each theater's formats on its listing. If it lists only DCP, you need one for that room. If it lists ProRes, H.264 or Blu-ray, you may not. When you post to the Screening Room, we show what share of listed theaters your formats can reach, and how many more a DCP would open.

Your Two Options

A post-production lab makes and checks it for you. Prices vary widely, from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand for a feature.

Do it yourself with DCP-o-matic, free software that many independent filmmakers use. It takes some care and a few hours of computer time.

Making One With DCP-o-matic

  1. Download DCP-o-matic from its official site, dcpomatic.com.
  2. Start a new film and add your finished master, ideally a high-quality file such as ProRes.
  3. Set the DCP name, the content type (feature), and the picture shape: Flat for most films, Scope for very wide ones.
  4. Keep the resolution at 2K and the frame rate matching your film, usually 24.
  5. Map your sound: stereo, or 5.1 if you mixed it that way. Add caption files if you have them.
  6. Make the DCP and let it run. A feature can take a few hours.
  7. Watch it through in DCP-o-matic's own player to catch problems.
  8. Write it to a hard drive with DCP-o-matic's disk writer, which formats the drive the special way cinema servers expect.
  9. If you can, test-play it on a real cinema projector before you send it anywhere.

This is a plain overview. DCP-o-matic's own documentation is the reference for current settings.

Locked Or Unlocked

A DCP can be encrypted so it only plays on certain dates in certain theaters, using a key made for each projector. Most small films go unlocked, which is simpler for everyone.

Sending The Drive

Label the drive with the film title and your contact, include a prepaid return label, and aim for it to arrive a week before the screening.