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Filmmakers Opportunity: check your film files, work in progress or DCP in our cinemas

Ongoing

At HOME we are always looking for new ways to support northwest artists to make work. For the first time, we are pleased to be opening up our cinemas for the region’s filmmakers to check their work in progress on the big screen (and with a proper sound system!).

Whether you are at sound mix, first edit, or any other stage of post-production – or if you have produced a DCP to be sent to festivals and distributors – this opportunity will allow you to check if your work is going in the right direction and spot any technical issues before it is too late.

Eligibility

  • This service is open to films where the director, producer or writer currently lives in the North West
  • It can be a for a short film or a feature (including narrative, documentary, animation and artist film)
  • It can take place any morning from 10:00 until 12:00 during the week (Mon to Fri)
  • It will either be in Cinema 2, 4 or 5 depending upon scheduling and availability

Limitations

  • This is not for community films, adverts, promotional films or TV series.
  • It cannot take place during weekends.
  • This is not for cast and crew screenings, nor for a public audience
  • You can book one slot per film. We aim to accomodate as many filmmakers as possible so for the time being we are limiting this offer to one check per film (i.e you can not book one day to check the sound, then another to check the render etc..)

Formats and tech specs

  • Work in Progress:

From your computer (HDMI output, or Mac with relevant adapter; though please be aware that newer Macs with the touchbar can be problematic when outputting from USB-C)

  • DCP:

delivered on NTFS-formatted hard drive only, NOT exFAT or Mac-Journaled

Please ensure all DCP audio content is mastered to -3db to prevent peaking/clipping

Please ensure all DCPs are encoded as SMPTE, not Interop

Please note: we will need to ingest the files in our system so there will need to be a couple of days between the date when we receive the file and the date you can watch it in the cinemas

  • Cinema tech specs

Sony R505/R515 4K digital projectors (2D only)

24, 25, 30, 48, 50 and 60fps all compatible

SDR only, not HDR compatible

Datasat AP20 7.1 audio processors

Laptop audio generally only outputs stereo, however DCPs can be encoded in mono, stereo, 5.1 and 7.1

How do I book a slot?

If you’d like to check your film in the cinemas simply fill in the form below

Eligibility check

Criteria
Remember: the writer, director, producer or production company must be based in the North West (The North West is Greater Manchester, Cumbria, Cheshire, Lancashire, Merseyside)
Remember

Your details

We will most likely communicate with you by email but may phone you if this is easier or we require an urgent response.

Practicalities

This is simply so we make sure the cinema is available for the duration of your film
Please give us a few options in case our cinemas are busy. Remember they are available Mon - Fri from 10:00am until 12.noon
I am bringing the film..(Required)
Please refer to the "Format and Tech Spec" section on the website page for details.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.