More Studios Agree To Strike Prints Using Environmentally Friendly Print Dye
Four More Distribs Pledge
Switch To Cyan Soundtracks
ORLANDO, Fla. – Representatives of 20th Century Fox, Sony, New Line and Universal announced Oct. 25 that those studios would join Buena Vista, DreamWorks, MGM and Miramax in making the switch to environmentally friendly pure-dye cyan soundtracks for future titles released in 35mm.

Exactly one year earlier to the day, Buena Vista announced that it would become the second major distributor to switch to cyan for all releases. MGM launched a similar policy in May 2004 with the rollout of “Soul Plane.”
Buena Vista first tested the cyan-dye process last autumn with 2,800 pure-dye cyan soundtrack prints of the Bernie Mac baseball comedy “Mr. 3000.”

DreamWorks pioneered a cyan-dye distribution effort in mid-2003 with its release of Woody Allen’s “Anything Else.”

The cyan-only soundtracks are produced without the caustic chemicals and silver used in the usual print manufacturing process and significantly reduce water usage. Silver-replicated tracks collectively use approximately 20 million gallons of water a year – enough drinking water for a town of 75,000. Distributors further reduce waste by eliminating the need to replace prints due to redevelopment problems in silver soundtracks.

Conversion to cyan requires the installation of red light-emitting diode (LED) readers in projectors, as a pure cyan soundtrack played on a white light or infra-red reader will cause distortion, sound reduction or possible inaudibility. It is estimated that the vast majority of the projectors in the United States are now equipped with the red LED readers.

The release of these prints marks a significant breakthrough in making the conversion to pure cyan a reality for NATO, which has worked closely with the Dye Track Committee, a group of motion picture executives formed in 1998, in the effort to replace silver tracks with pure cyan dye tracks.

LEDs also last about five times longer than tungsten lights, and slowly fade over time, giving operators warning that replacement is due.

“This boon to the environment represents one of the most significant advances in film manufacturing in seven decades,” noted NATO vice president and executive director MaryAnn Anderson. “We can all be grateful to our studio partners for coming so far so fast.”