DCP stands for Digital Cinema Package and it is the replacement for the venerable 35mm film print. Practically all cinemas in North America have converted to DCP, with digital servers and digital projection.
The great thing about DCP: The quality of the original film master, from 200 million dollar Hollywood blockbusters to low budget independent hand-made films are all presented on the big screen with complete fidelity in terms of picture and sound. DCP equipped cinemas and screening rooms are very consistent.

We have been making DCPs for indie features, documentaries and short films for over five years. Nowadays, many outfits provide this service, some at lower cost than ZAP. We are local. Our clients appreciate the quality, the hand-holding in preparing the assets in the right format, our attention to detail and customer support. We quality check our DCPs in our on-site 24-seat calibrated theater environment. Filmmakers are invited to the QC playback if they are available. Our turnaround is quicker: 3 days for features, 1 day for shorts. (Rush service is available for a 50% addl. charge). We provide DCPs for film festivals worldwide including Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca, SF Intl, and Berlin.

Our standard DCP package includes checking and encoding your picture and sound assets, authoring the DCP to current DCI specs, verifying the package, a tech check screening of the complete DCP in our theater and delivery of two hash-checked prints.

ZAP delivers two DCP prints to our clients on industry-standard Linux-formatted (EXT-3) hard drives (or thumb drives for short films < 20 minutes). You can choose between CRU-DX115 drives or less expensive USB-3 drives (or one of each). Check your film festival delivery specs to see if CRU-DX115 is required.

No. DCP prints are delivered on EXT-3 formatted hard drives which cannot be mounted on Mac or Windows computers (unless you install special software and know how to use it). And the DCP package itself cannot be opened or viewed with normally available software.   

Studio releases and films in commercial distribution are often made with encryption. The distributor must provide a KDM key to the cinema or screening room to enable playback of the film on a specific screen on a specific date and time. The lab generates these keys on request from the studio or distributor and emails them to the theater operator. ZAP can generate encrypted DCPs on request and can furnish KDM keys to theater. (There is a charge for this.) Most film festivals showing films that have not yet been acquired by a distributor discourage filmmakers from delivering encrypted DCPs as it complicates their print traffic.

Yes. By prior arrangement, we can upload your DCP to a film festival or distributor that requests digital delivery for a one-time fee. We will need log-in credentials (usually username and password) for connecting to the festival’s server.

DCPs are almost always 24.0 frames per second PROGRESSIVE. Not 29.97. Not 25. Not interlaced.
This is essentially an echo of the 35mm film format. Your DCP will be in the IOP standard (Interop).

25 fps and 30 fps DCPs can be made in the SMPTE standard, but this format is NOT supported on first generation cinema servers which are still in use in many theaters. We make SMPTE DCPs at 25 fps and 30 fps on request.  

IOP DCP is compatible with the most common High Definition film/video finishing format: HD 1920 x 1080 pixels @ 23.98 frames per second.  29.97(i) and 29.97(P) files are not compatible with IOP DCP. 25(i) and 25(P) files from PAL regions are also not compatible with DCP without conversion. Contact ZAP about our frame rate conversion options for your film if it is not mastered at 23.98p FPS.

If you master your film at 23.98 fps, you will deliver the 5.1 audio print master .wav files also @23.98 fps. ZAP will pull up the video to 24.0 fps and ZAP will precision sample rate convert the audio to pull up to 24.0 FPS. (Your mixer does not need to do this.)

2k FRAME SIZE OPTIONS: 1920 x 1080 (16×9 1.78:1), 1998 x 1080 (flat 1.85:1), 2048 x 858 (scope 2.39:1)

4k FRAME SIZE OPTIONS: 3840 × 2160 (16×9 1.78:1), 3996 × 2160 (flat 1.85:1), 4096 × 1716 (scope 2.39:1)

For most documentaries and many indie features, if your shooting and mastering frame was 16 x 9 (aka 1.78:1), we will put the 16×9 canvas (1920 x 1080 or 3840 x 2160) into a “Flat” DCP container. The DCP filename and metadata will indicate 1.78:1 for those theaters that can adjust their screen masking to 1.78:1.   

We assume Rec709 RGB ITU Gamma 2.2. Have your colorist specify if the gamma is something other than 2.2. (Sometimes it is 2.4).

CODEC VIDEO: Apple ProRes 422 or ProRes HQ or ProRes 4444

FRAME SEQUENCE: Contact us for specs.
CODEC AUDIO: Uncompressed PCM 48 kHz / 24 bit
AUDIO FORMAT: Discrete 5.1. Six channels delivered as six mono .wav files, each file clearly named: L, R, C, LFE, Sl, Sr

EDITORIAL PREP: Trim your exports (both the QT and the .wav files) to length. Audio should be trimmed to same length as QT picture, precise to the frame (including any slug).

No leader, no head or tail pops or marks.  First frame of your export should be first frame of picture (FFOP) and last frame of exports should be LFOP.

If your sound house will be providing ZAP with the 5.1 printmaster, they can refer to these specs. If YOU or your editor will be providing the DCP audio assets, we can provide you with step by step instructions for Adobe Premiere, Avid or Final Cut Pro 7. Contact us.

TRIMMING ADVICE: Do not begin your export with audio or visual content on the first frame and do not end your film with visual content in last frame. You can slug the head with 1 second of black and silence and slug the tail with 1 second black and silence if your current LFOP has image or text on last frame. (DCP servers sometimes hold last frame on screen)

DCPs always have DISCRETE sound tracks.
Modern cinemas cannot play back 2-channel “LtRt” soundtracks from DCP.
ALL DCPs made from stereo sources must have soundtracks that have at least three separate audio channels: Left, Center and Right. Mono mixes can be delivered as a single mono channel.
The 5.1 format (really six mono channels) is most common: Left, Center, Right, Subwoofer (LFE), Surround Left and Surround Right. IF your film is mixed and delivered to us in 2-channel stereo, and this track is used in the DCP, the DIALOG would play back from only the LEFT and RIGHT screen speakers and NOTHING would come out of the center speaker. At home or in the cutting room, this is tolerable. But in a theater, it is disconcerting to have no sound coming from the screen’s center speaker, especially for the audience seated in the front third of the house. ZAP can extract a pseudo 5.1 mix from a L/R or LtRt 2 channel mix for an additional charge. ($50 for shorts under 15 mins, $150 for features). If you deliver your sound in 2-channel stereo, we must do this.