Contagion 4k -WOW!!!!!!!

[Tom Lowe]

Perhaps James T. Mathers over at the Digital Cinema Society would be interested in something like this, or know someone who is...

Do you talk to JTM? Maybe we could suggest this? It would be an amazing resource, IMHO.

 

[Mark Toia]

Doesn't the condition of the print make a difference? Some prints are pretty beat up by the time you see them at the theater.

It's not happening very quickly, but I'd like to see the end of film projectors in Theaters. the reason being the cost of prints, which leads to limited releases.

It's very costly to gamble on an indie and make a lot of prints for a wide release. With digital projection, the cost is minimal. Even if an indie does end up making the rounds, often you have to wait on your local theater to get a print, which might be a while if you're not in a big city.

100% with you there..

 

[Mark Toia]

wow... as they say : "this planet is beautiful because there are different opinions "...

i saw reel steel in ROW at the AMC , both on 2K DLP

reel steel looked great , really really great
contagion (i liked the movie and the content (soderberg is the man) ) looked like crap ,
one of the worse digital red looking movie out there
Lighting is basically not existing , backgrounds blown out all the time (i an digital hard way )

I think that pirates of the carabbean 4 is the best example ever how RED looks amazing (cinematic , good enough to replace film , or whatever you want to call it )
Contagion is probably one of the worse example (no attention to lighting as well as color grading )

g

Well... I think this proves that cinemas projections are screwing things up left right and center.
I watched the3rd lord of the rings in Vancouver, the image was so dark and soft... had the shits, Flew home and watched it again in our local cinema and it was amazingly bright and sharp..
As the end of the day.. i think it comes down to how well cinemas maintain projectors. Digital or film.

 

[Blair S. Paulsen]

Public database of theater specs

Public database of theater specs

Hey Tom, I thought he might run across the thread on his own. In any case I owe him a call, great guy, does nice work, he rocks that fast 17-80 Optimo which I covet (wish the $20K Rouge version had that zoom ratio ;-D.....

I wonder if we could find someone in academia to do the research on global, or at least US theater specs for a degree requirement - Master's project maybe, ... Perhaps then, the DCS could arrange to host the database and maintain it for a modest cost. Just thinking out loud.

Anybody know if there's an Exhibitors trade association that might have collected info of this type from its members?

FWIW if anyone out there makes this database happen or finds it for us, the next time I see you the drinks are on me.

Cheers - #19

 

[Erich Ocean]

Anybody know if there's an Exhibitors trade association that might have collected info of this type from its members?

It's called NATO (http://www.natoonline.org/) and their main trade show is CinemaCon (April-ish IIRC). I don't know if they collect info that detailed or not.

 

[Tom Lowe]

Blair, I have not seen JTM around here much, lately. I love that guy.

I think your idea is a good one. The USA would be a good start for such a database. The best thing is if the list was somehow able to update itself, through the theaters or distributors or something.

 

[Erich Ocean]

What we need is Yelp for movie theaters/auditoriums.

 

[mikeburton]

I really enjoy Steven Soderberg's films for the most part. The stories draw me in but the last few films, ie Contagion, The Informant, and the Girlfriend Experience were all terrible looking films. The Girlfriend Experience will get a pass for intentionally being a "natural light" art piece but the others just plain didn't look good or serve the story IMO.
I agree that the latest Pirates film was probably the best looking RED film I've seen to date but that's Stephen Nakamura as DI colrorist at Company 3 for ya. If you don't know his work, look up his ImDB.
Anyhow, we all know the RED's are capable of beautiful images, there's just not that many major motion picture examples that show off the capabilities. I'm curious to see Underworld 4 and Spiderman. The biggest thing I think all digital cinema cameras currently lack are the mechanical shutter and the texture and life that a natural photochemical grain creates. Many digital images appear beautiful because they are sharp and clean but those same characteristics are not what we've ever associated with "cinema" as we have with the richness and smooth feel of celluloid. I personally think the RED is absolutely perfect for the live action photo shoots that are being shot specifically with that steril and clean modern look and feel because that's what the camera does naturally.
It's when we put it into a realm that we aren't accustomed to viewing these kind of images that they tend to look somewhat strange, or don't invoke the same emotion we are used to.
All that said, Soderberg could use light to make the movies he shoots look a little more cinematic. Feels like he doesn't even care about the aesthetics anymore and is shooting for pure convenience only.

 

[Mark Toia]

Soderberg could use light to make the movies he shoots look a little more cinematic. Feels like he doesn't even care about the aesthetics anymore and is shooting for pure convenience only.

I think your right... but... I do think its the look he's after or wants. I did like it becuase it was not the normal... hollywood.
I'm not big on leaving that ugly tungsten yellow look in there either... which obviously can be easily removed with a touch of a button, but he's know fool.. its obviously the look he's after I suspect... It made the movie far more believable for me.

 

[Tim Whitcomb]

Hey Tom, I thought he might run across the thread on his own. In any case I owe him a call, great guy, does nice work, he rocks that fast 17-80 Optimo which I covet (wish the $20K Rouge version had that zoom ratio ;-D.....

I wonder if we could find someone in academia to do the research on global, or at least US theater specs for a degree requirement - Master's project maybe, ... Perhaps then, the DCS could arrange to host the database and maintain it for a modest cost. Just thinking out loud.

Anybody know if there's an Exhibitors trade association that might have collected info of this type from its members?

FWIW if anyone out there makes this database happen or finds it for us, the next time I see you the drinks are on me.

Cheers - #19

Ill take an ice cold dirty Vodka martini - shaken not stirred. tyvm

You have no idea how easy this is going to be in 2012 to 2015. shhhhhh Red Ray and Red Laser are going to be the - shhhhh

I'll do it. and donate the proceeds to academia.

 

[mikeburton]

I think your right... but... I do think its the look he's after or wants. I did like it becuase it was not the normal... hollywood.
I'm not big on leaving that ugly tungsten yellow look in there either... which obviously can be easily removed with a touch of a button, but he's know fool.. its obviously the look he's after I suspect... It made the movie far more believable for me.

Agreed, but it still doesn't look good. There are ways to light your scenes and still make them feel more "real" rather than fantasy. The "Real" factor is largely achieved just by shooting in a digital format to begin with but there's ways to make "Real" look good. Everyone has there own tolerances for what they like and don't like and I guess the last couple pictures he's made have not struck me as being aesthetically pleasing in any way whatsoever whether they were shot in 4K or not makes no difference, if anything it made the flaws more glaringly apparent.

 

[M Most]

I agree that the latest Pirates film was probably the best looking RED film I've seen to date but that's Stephen Nakamura as DI colrorist at Company 3 for ya. If you don't know his work, look up his ImDB.

Although Nakamura does work at Company 3, all the Pirates pictures were graded by Stefan Sonnenfeld. And any scenes he doesn't touch himself, he acts as the supervising colorist for others. In other words, anything you saw on the screen Stefan either created, approved, or both. So although there are multiple colorists credited on the picture - all Company 3 guys, and all very good in their own right - Stefan's vision is the one that was followed by all of them.

The biggest thing I think all digital cinema cameras currently lack are the mechanical shutter...

That's true, but "currently" is the key word here. The Arri D20 and D21 both had mechanical shutters, as did the Viper and the Dalsa. And within the next 6 months or so, you will also see the F65 and the Alexa Studio, both with mechanical shutters (the F65 as an option, but my guess is that it will be a popular one, particularly in the "higher end" of the industry).

 

[Jason Diamond]

ok so HERE is a link to AMC theaters that were showing the 4K remaster of Taxi Driver. They aren't super clear but it would seem that the theaters listed there had 4K projection. I'm a bit skeptical of the list since there is a theater there right by me and I'm not sure they have a 4K projection. I will certainly ask next time I'm there.

Jason

 

[Christophe Cherel]

Hi,

I saw CONTAGION in Blu-ray yesterday on calibrated Samsung SP-A800B front projector. I don't like the image. Hight lights are burned, chroma is over saturated, curves are destroyed... Sharpness is here, ok. But What a bad image! (my opinion).

Christophe.