GSCA’s Digital Cinema Naming Convention tool

The GSCA Innovations Committee has established best practices and created a tool for naming DCDM files, similar to practices established by the Inter-Society Digital Cinema Forum (ISDCF). The GSCA Digital Cinema Naming Convention tool generates a file name that will inform vendors what the file contains so the artistic integrity is maintained during exhibition. This tool is especially important for submitting content for GSCA events. It is critical that when the file is received, the technician who receives it knows what was done to that file and under what assumptions it was created so it can be optimized correctly for the event host’s projection system. If those details are not provided with the file, assumptions need to be made about the formats, which could result in adjustments being made that could degrade the audio or video. The DCDM naming tool allows the producer to enter information into various fields and then generates a file name that provides all critical information right within the file name.

Click here for a graphic breaking down the naming convention

Click here for a video on how to use the file naming convention

And here are some tips on using the tool:

  • Fields in green require you to type in information.
  • Fields in blue or with carets use pull-down menus.
  • Some fields will autofill information based on other fields that have been completed, such as aspect ratio based on the raster choice made. If, for instance, you choose 4096×2160 as the raster size, the aspect ratio would be set to 1.90. However, if you change the aspect ratio to 1.43, the Anamorphic check box will be checked, indicating the true displayed aspect ratio does not match the physical one.
  • There are four separate audio track groups to be included, separated by dashes.
  • All fields are separated by underscores in the file name generated.

Please contact Tammy Barrett at tammy@giantscreencinema.com if you have any questions.