[ACCESSORIES][CUSTOM
HOME THEATER INTRO]
Custom Home Theater Trailers
by Digital Forge
<< Back to Custom Intros
Updated 12/03/02: Digital Forge home theater intro products can be
purchased for less from resellers. Please contact Digital Forge for the
list of resellers.
Wow! That's how you would react when you watch the home theater
intros by Digital Forge. The sweeping images, the masterful transitions, the
engaging soundtrack .... each is a treat to one's sensory system. Very impressive!
"image/animation
quality, sound selection, and overall production are topnotch" |
Each trailer gives you that genuine look and feel of commercial theater trailers.
But these are so much better in that you can have it personalized for your very own
theater. Anywhere there is text, you can request that your name or phrase be added
seamlessly into the scene(s). And they do a fantastic job integrating the
personalizations. It is not amateurishly pasted on. The personalizations
appear, move, and flow smoothly with the scenes. They really are an integral part of
the trailer.
These made-to-order trailers will impress even the most jaded home theater enthusiasts.
Seeing your name emblazoned on the trailer gives it an immeasurable cool factor. It
will make your get-togethers even more enjoyable as you watch your guests'
amazement. It certainly will elevate your home theater head and shoulders above your
neighbors' and perhaps the envy of your fellow home theater enthusiasts.
 Digital Forge is one of a handful of creative talents/companies who have the
foresight to anticipate the needs of the demanding home theater community. With the
advent of HDTV and the resulting surge in interest in the home theater, they are poised to
capitalize on this niche market. What was once reserved for the wealthy are now
attainable even for the common man with the help of accessible and reasonably priced
desktop technologies available to the developers. The web also doesn't hurt with
getting the word out.
Digital Forge offerings include five trailer themes and an intermission.
- Awards Night
- Popcorn
- Wormhole
- City Cinema
- Classic Popcorn
- Custom Intermission
 Of the five trailer themes, my personal favorite is the Awards Night.
The imagery, presentation, and production are exquisite. From the night sky
scene; to the panning motion from the poster adorned walls of the arena coasting into the
theater flanked on both sides by the golden statues; and later by "light"
fountains, this trailer is very well done. It immediately gets you engaged to the
home theater and primed for the feature presentation.
The other trailers are no less entertaining.
 The
Popcorn theme starts with a series of uplights illuminating as the bell
rings and ultimately flooding a huge ticket stub.
When all lit, the familiar boxing opening "Are you ready rumble?" signals the
transition from the ticket rocketing into space and exploding into hundreds of popcorn
that shower down into a large popcorn cup.
 The Classic Popcorn theme is the original version of the
Popcorn theme.
It has a slightly different presentation of the popcorn as it pour down into the
popcorn cup.
What I do like about this one, at least the version that is on the disc, is that as the
banner announcement of the feature presentation fades into black, the cursive signature of
the home theater owner wipes from left to right in a white glowing text. Very very
nice touch.
 The
Wormhole theme has a science fiction edge to it.
It starts out with the glasslike texture theater nameplate imploding and transitioning
to a scene reminiscent of the Star Trek opening with the earth and moon coming into view.
This scene probably provides the best exercise for your subwoofer and transducers of
all trailers. Pretty impressive LFE delivery. You are then transported into a
wormhole with images that remind one of the scene from the movie Contact.
 The City Cinema theme is the least eye-candy of the
themes.
It shows a flying movie reel with a light trail behind it swooping from the night sky
into a cityscape by the water, painting the theater name as it flies across the horizon,
and reversing into the city and into the theater.
Each trailer theme lasts about a minute which is just right. You don't want to
overwhelm the audience too much. After all, the feature presentation should be the
highlight of the show, right? ;-)
The Intermission that came with the disc doesn't look like the sampler
they have at their site. This one presents a view from a seat in the rear left
section of a theater facing the theater screen. The slightly angled view of
the theater screen shows a series of trivia (e.g., famous faces, quotes, movie jargon, and
did-you-know topics). Accompanied by a soundtrack of smooth jazz/new age flavor, it
works very well. The intermission is 15 minutes long with no trivia repeats.
The music changes occur at every five minute mark.
Product Specs:
Each product (trailer theme and intermission) is produced in Superbit quality for
enhanced video quality in widescreen anamorphic format. Audio is rich and full
through the use of Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack with LFE support. DTS is not offered
but probably will be in the future.
You can add your personal touches to the basic designs by working with the
developers. You tell them what and how you want it and they will try to work with
you. Wherever text appears, you can add your own personal message. This
applies to the DVD jacket as well to further customize your intro. I'm not sure if
they can alter the image in the trailer and/or the jacket from their base formula but it
probably won't hurt to ask.
Application:
Commercial theaters use at least two projectors: one set for the trailers and one
for the feature presentation. The trailer projector(s) show movie trailers, trivia,
and theater announcements. The main projector shows the feature presentation.
So, in a home theater setting, you'd have two dvd players. The first one to
player the custom trailers and the second one for the movie. And just like in
the movies, there will be some staging required such as picking the right audiotrack and
scenes. You then use your remote(s) to play/unpause the appropriate player to your
display.
Equipment used to conduct the tests are a Sony SVP-7700 (interlaced), a Toshiba SD2200
(interlaced), and a Hivizone home theater personal computer (HTPC) (progressive). The picture was displayed on
an ISF calibrated Toshiba TW65x81. Switching between the players was done via the Inday switcher.
Minor Quirks:
During testing, I noticed a slight image fade during the Schindler's List Did You Know
trivia scene in the Intermission. It was momentary but I did notice it. Also,
I noticed some judder on the Toshiba player during the scene panning from the poster wall
to the red carpet of the Awards Night theme. Little or none was evident on the
other players.
Yes, it is possible to have one of these tailor-made trailers built for your theater.
Although their website lists each theme at $200 and the intermission at $100, they
can be purchased from resellers for much cheaper. Please contact Digital Forge for a
list of resellers. A little more than other home intros but you do get a topnotch
quality product customized to your specifications. In the grand scheme of things,
this is probably just a fraction of the amount spent on the home theater. So, the
cool must-have factor far outweighs the cost.
Verdict:
There are other vendors that offer the same service for less. But having seen the
Digital Forge line, theirs is the best implementation of a home theater introduction I
have seen. The image/animation quality, sound selection, and overall production are
topnotch. I would contend that anyone who's had the pleasure to see them would have
to agree that these are well worth having despite the higher cost. They will serve
as a key component in completing and at the very least personalizing one's home
theater.
Digital Forge deserves a thumbs up for their trailers! High up!
For more info:
To learn more about Digital Forge products, please visit their website which
includes RealAudio samplers of thier product offerings.
|
