What exactly is a DCP?

A Digital Cinema Package (DCP) is the industry standard format accepted worldwide for presenting your film at the greatest possible quality. Using visually-lossless compression, a DCP presents each and every frame of your film with pristine clarity in either 2K or 4K resolutions.

What kind of file do you need from me to create my DCP?

The simple answer is a HD (1920x1080), 2K, or 4K file in ProRes 4444 at 23.98 or 24fps. Audio should be 3.0 LRC (Left, Right, Center) or 5.1 Surround (Left, Right, Center, LFE, Left Surround, Right Surround) for Academy qualification. Audio should also be 24 bit, 48 kHz. A DCP can be made with a 2.0 stereo mix but surround or a three channel mix are recommended. Can we make a DCP from other file types or frame rates? Yes, but these are the most common. If you have another file type just let us know.

What’s the difference between all the drives?

A CRU DCP Drive is the industry standard for creating a true DCP. Using this kind of drive is highly recommended since it will be the most compatible and requested across the board. A standard USB 3 drive is less expensive and is accepted by some festivals, however, I would get full confirmation from the festival before going with this option. Typically this option is good as a back up for your feature DCP or main drive for a short film. Similar to a standard drive, a flash drive is less expensive but taken by most festivals for short films. Again, I would get full confirmation from your festival before going with this option. Uploading to a link is quickly becoming the most common option and will make for the fastest DCP turnaround.

What is DCP encryption?

A DCP has an option to be encrypted (locked) to require something called a KDM Key to unlock the DCP for playback. Think of this as something like a password protection. When a DCP is encrypted it has very rigid rules on where and when it can be played back. For this reason, most films (especially indie films) are not encrypted due to the higher possibility that your DCP will not play back should anything change on the festival side. On top of this, a new KDM key is required for each different festival screening. Typically encryption is not recommended unless your film requires a very high level of security.

Do you handle film festival print traffic?

Yes, we absolutely have experience managing all the films for a festival from shorts to features, creating DCPs, creating program blocks, playlists, media management, troubleshooting, communicating with filmmakers and more. Please reach out wether you want us to handle a small part of your film festival or the entire thing! The most recent film festival we worked with was the Bushwick Film Festival in 2022 which had over 100+ films!

What do you mean by 3rd party DCP duplication?

So the way DCP duplication works is this: If your DCP is created by Post Oak DCP we include 2 duplications with no authoring fee. The only thing you pay for is the cost of the drive. (You have to put the file somewhere) After that each duplication is $99 plus the cost of the drive. If you had your original DCP made somewhere else then all duplications from that DCP will be $99 plus the cost of the drive. Also, this is usually only done for feature films. If duplication is needed for a short, please reach out for a quote.

Do you do remote DCP creation?

Yes. We can make a DCP remotely no matter where you are in the U.S. , Canada, Mexico or really anywhere in the world. As long as there's a reliable postal service there we can create your DCP remotely and then ship it. We've even been known to upload the finished DCP files to a festival, server or via WeTransfer etc.

Can I use my own drive?

For liability purposes we do not accept any outside drives. This is because digital cinema packages do not go on just normal off-the-shelf drives. They require special types of drives and formatting. Even if a festival says you can send it on a “normal” drive this tends to cause issues 95% of the time when using an unqualified drive.

What if I have more questions?

If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to contact us.