Sundance started charging filmmakers for pre-screen tech checks

Presented by the Sundance Institute.

In the first physical edition of the festival since 2020, one of the changes Sundance filmmakers are experiencing this year is to play behind the scenes and before the theater doors open. For the first time, Sundance is paying filmmakers guaranteed tech checks before screening.

Tech checks involve checking the sound, picture, subtitles and other aspects of projection and audio before showing it to an audience at a DCP or print in a theater.

The new policy was revealed in emails sent to film crews requesting technology checks, and includes assigning Sundance “dedicated staff to facilitate.” Thirty-minute spot checks outside theater showtimes (ie early morning or late evening) cost $1,250. Fifteen minute spot checks cost $500 excluding screening time. And a five- to 10-minute site inspection before homes open is guaranteed for $750. (“If you’re late and miss the window, you’ll still be charged. There’s no power guarantee for this check, it’s not possible to delay an open house for a tech check,” the email says.)

All technology checks are free of charge. The Sundance email begins by inviting filmmakers to arrive at the theater an hour before the screening and asking theater staff for tech checks. The email also emphasizes Sundance’s technology protocols: “All exhibit items go through a rigorous screening process before being taken into the theater.” All of our theaters are configured and calibrated by the same team of Digital Cinema and Dolby technicians. Projectionists check all the content in the theater on the screen and set a threshold level based on the Dolby reference.

Filmmaker He contacted Sundance about the new policy and received the following response from a representative:

Historically, Sundance has aimed to accommodate filmmakers who request to see their films on screen before screenings. With back-to-back screenings, filmmakers were able to see the show and listen as much as possible before the house opened. This year we have tried a new process to provide technology checks for films requesting technology outside of their category, as it involves additional resources from the festival.

Our goal is to provide filmmakers with the best exhibition experience at Sundance.

Asked to comment on the policy and the festival’s technology checks, Sergio Andres Lobo-Navia, technical director of the film festival, regularly exhibits and DCP-creation tech for Filmmakerwrote, “The whole point of a big tech team at Sundance is that everything is pre-checked and tuned to perfection. In theory, if they do their job right, filmmakers usually don’t need to worry about tech checks, except for increasing the volume to talk to the house manager.”

Sundance’s policy is not entirely different. For example, at the Toronto International Film Festival, filmmakers are allowed to attend the festival’s traditional tech checks before screenings, but filmmakers who want either 30-minute slots or the full run are billed for the festival’s three largest slots.

However, Sundance’s new policy has drawn criticism for pricing out guaranteed tech checks at all venues. A Post veteran who has worked on several Sundance-selected films and asked not to be identified wrote, “For most of the films playing at Sundance, this is the first time they’ve been shown to a large audience. A final tech check ensures the filmmakers that nothing went wrong along the way and that the film looks and sounds the way they envisioned. In an ideal world, all films would be given a chance to run in full before their premieres. While I appreciate that this is unlikely to happen, the idea of ​​treating a tech check as a luxury that requires an extra charge seems like a disgusting money grab and goes against the spirit of the festival. This is a standard practice that should be built into their operating costs.

While other filmmakers, producers and post supervisors at the festival criticized the policy, some were not even aware of it, such as the competition film producer. And, in general, the filmmakers we spoke with said they had no problem receiving a free courtesy check before screening.

“Nobody in any tech group wants to do a tech check with the filmmakers,” Lobo-Navia concludes. “We usually do them to please studios and other VIP filmmakers (opening, closing, center shots, etc.). Offering this as a fee creates the illusion that this is all that is necessary and required to ensure that you have a flawless screening. i would no i don’t Advise any filmmaker to pay such outrageous fees. Before your film reaches Park City, the money is better spent doing a full screening of the DCP/exhibition material in the theater. This should be one of the last steps in your post-production process.