Taxi Driver: "You talking to me?"

Last week, Bite UK’s Sony Digital Cinema team staged an exclusive preview of the newly re-mastered Martin Scorsese classic Taxi Driver in 4K for consumer journalists, bloggers and other industry figures. It was an important chance to tell people what 4K cinema actually is, and why it will matter to everyday cinemagoers.

Unlike its sister industries TV and photography, cinema has experienced few leaps and bounds in technological innovation in recent times – a startling fact when you consider just how pervasive it is. Whether you call it going to the cinema, catching a movie or having an Orange Wednesday, film-watching is a regular ritual for many and while special effects and CGI have evolved at astonishing rates, the projectors and screens with which we view these cinematic masterpieces have, until recently, remained relatively static.

But, like the proverbial tortoise and hare, the cinema industry is about to catch up – and last week, we had our chance to start telling that story. Explaining 4K was no easy task; even more difficult was trying to make it tangible and relevant when there is no immediate connection with the cinema-going experience. Technically speaking, the 4K format offers a four-times increase in resolution over 2K, the current industry norm, but this explanation is little help to non-technofiles (like me). The difference that 4K makes is a classic case of having to be seen to be believed, so that’s just what the Sony Digital Cinema team set about doing.

We needed the perfect vehicle to tell the story and showcase Sony Digital Cinema’s groundbreaking technology, and we found it in Taxi Driver. It’s a film that’s difficult not to have an opinion about, and is embedded in the psyche of anyone even remotely interested in the industry – with classic lines such as “you talking to me?” piercing the vernacular of a generation. The fact that Sony Digital Cinema had digitally restored Taxi Driver (so that for the first time ever, we’re able to see it in the same way that Martin Scorsese filmed it) added another great hook to get people excited.

The event brought together a wide range of cinema enthusiasts, from key publications such as Empire magazine and highly influential film blogs to crucial Sony partners: the Royal Shakespeare Company, Everyman and the Royal Albert Hall. To say that the audience was impressed with the restoration is an understatement: being able to see a pivotal film with such clarity and authenticity has previously been impossible and the difference in the experience was staggering, while not detracting from the stylised look of the film.

Here on the consumer team at Bite UK, we work daily to create compelling content for our clients. But in this case for Sony Digital Cinema, half the task was done for us! It’s our job to make sure the Sony Digital Cinema story is being told to the right audiences, and last week’s screening was the perfect foundation on which to build our campaign.