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Henry recorded just over a minute of footage before stopping. The point was simply to demonstrate the results, not to chase views or attention.
Besides, while the hard drive in the camera was a custom-made high-capacity unit, the one inside the Stark i486 computer was not. If the recording ran too long and the raw files grew too large, they wouldn't even fit into the i486—let alone be processed in post-production.
Once the footage was captured, Henry first played it through the projector, displaying the volunteer's performance on the screen.
There was no film development process, no messy post-production workflow. With just a few lines typed into a computer menu, the footage stored in the camera was projected onto the screen.
And yes—the video included sound.
When the volunteer saw his own performance, he wasn't merely shocked. It was as if the sky had fallen on him. He grabbed Henry by the collar and kept shouting, "Burn the film! Burn the film!"
His reaction was exactly like Charlize Theron's first time casually stepping in front of a camera—utterly unaware of how severe the consequences could be.
But Charlize was Henry's girlfriend; erasing her embarrassing history was only right. This show-off little chubby guy, though—what was he? You show off, and suddenly people aren't allowed to watch?
Henry shoved the tearful face away, ignoring the snickering around them. "My camera doesn't even use film. How am I supposed to burn it? Now I'm going to demonstrate the editing function. Be good and step aside."
"No way! Boss, if you don't burn the film—or at least make that footage disappear—I'll jump off the roof!"
Completely fed up, Henry snapped back, "Alright, alright. Let me finish demonstrating the editing first. After everyone's seen it, I'll delete the video file. Otherwise I'll have to reshoot.
"You think I'm some serious director? Shooting hundreds or thousands of takes just to get one usable shot? If you don't move right now, your footage is going straight into the Stark Pictures Historical Archive for permanent preservation."
Sure enough, when people panic, reason doesn't work. A single threat was all it took—the chubby guy retreated three full steps, clearing the space.
Henry moved to the computer and began operating it while explaining, "This is a four-year-old computer—the Stark i486 series. It's running Linux, paired with editing software. I'm not doing anything fancy—just cutting the clip in the middle and swapping the front and back."
Since Henry was the only one using it, he'd never bothered designing a user-friendly interface. Besides, building a UI would consume system resources.
On newer machines that wouldn't be an issue. But on an old system like this, once you wasted resources on unnecessary overhead, the editing software wouldn't even run.
Even so, this simple operation took over ten minutes to complete. During that time, the original footage kept looping on the screen.
Gradually, discussion shifted away from the volunteer's painfully embarrassing performance and toward image quality, color reproduction, and fine details.
Someone even brought in a full film projection setup, running actual film reels and projecting them onto a second screen. With a real movie as a reference, everyone gained a much more intuitive sense of the differences in color and detail.
Once the edit finished, they played the rearranged clip. Although the sequence was obviously disjointed, the image quality and colors showed no significant degradation compared to the original—just like traditional film splicing.
"The image quality is still a bit worse than film," commented a cinematographer from the production department, someone who worked with cameras daily and had been invited to observe.
Henry nodded. "That's true. It's still slightly inferior to traditional 35mm film. But it's already better than broadcast television cameras."
This time, the cinematographer nodded in agreement. "That's correct."
Everyone present was technical-minded. They spoke frankly, neither exaggerating nor dismissing anything unfairly.
Soon, attention shifted from the footage itself to Henry's homemade equipment.
Most people looked excited, but a few wore worried expressions.
Henry didn't immediately solicit opinions. Instead, he laid out his plan first.
"I'll provide the technical documentation shortly. In addition to having the equipment department engineers review it, I'll need the legal team to file patent applications.
"The allocation of patent rights should already be specified in my employment contract—handle it according to my agreement with Mr. Stark.
"What I want everyone to do is integrate this… Frankenstein-like setup into a complete system.
"Film cameras aren't always mounted on tripods. Sometimes they're carried on the shoulder, moving with the actors. So there can't be exposed cables everywhere. Lightweight design is essential.
"As for image quality, I already have an encoding and decoding solution that can push resolution up to 4K. Implementation will happen within Stark Pictures, but I'll need manpower to refine the system architecture.
"And then there's usability—the operating method and interface need to be redesigned to lower the learning curve and make the system easy to use.
"This is the work I'll be leading everyone through in the near future. If you have questions, raise them now."
Compared to those showering him with praise, the worried-looking few spoke up cautiously.
"Mr. Brown, what you're proposing would practically overturn the current film-based production and distribution market.
"Have you considered the cost involved? Whether anyone would be willing to cooperate? IMAX's less-than-successful history proves that the dominance of the 35mm film system isn't so easy to challenge."
"But it's not as difficult as you think!" Henry replied decisively.
"All we need is a method to transfer digital files back onto film, allowing compatibility with traditional projection systems.
"By storing footage digitally, directors are freed from the high cost of film stock and its inability to be reused. As for post-production, we can sell software—or rent out post-production studios.
"In other words, in the three stages of filming, transfer, and projection, the first two can be chosen flexibly by any production based on their needs. Most film crews already rent equipment, so there's no equipment replacement cost.
"And for projection, we can still provide traditional film prints. If a theater is willing to upgrade its projection equipment—think about this—"
Henry tapped the projector beside him.
"—without the specialized motors and bulbs required by film projectors, and including patent licensing fees, what price can we set for a new digital projector? And how much profit would that generate?"
To ensure that each frame of fast-moving film appeared clearly—without revealing the transition between frames—film projectors relied on precisely synchronized motors and flickering light sources.
Perfect coordination required specialized motors and lamps, all protected by layers of patents and licensing fees. Anyone manufacturing such equipment had to pay for authorization.
Digital playback, however, still used frames—but no longer required flickering light to illuminate physical film. The savings in patent licensing alone represented a massive competitive advantage.
Henry's explanation left the equipment department managers silent.
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