Is it Time to Move to a Faster Frame Rate for Distribution?

[Kalani Prince]

Probably the best explanations of 24p and "why" we like it by Stu Maschwitz of The Orphanage : http://www.macvideo.tv/camera-techn...cfm?articleId=3213230&pagType=samecatsamechan

You can start around the 3min mark but I recommend watching it from start to finish, it's great : )

 

[Stuart English]

Playback from DCP

Playback from DCP

Just for interests sake Gaspar Noé's new film Enter the Void was shot at 25fps and was printed and distributed as such. Although I believe the DCP version is 24fps and the 35mm print is 25fps. Not sure why the DCP is different to the 35mm though.

As far as I am aware, DCP only supports 24.00 fps or 48.00 fps playback.

 

[Tom Wardrop]

Probably the best explanations of 24p and "why" we like it by Stu Maschwitz of The Orphanage : http://www.macvideo.tv/camera-techn...cfm?articleId=3213230&pagType=samecatsamechan

Thanks for posting. It was quite insightful.

I definitely agree that less information can certainly enhance a story, or a scene, or whatever, and agree that it ought to be an artistic decision left up to the film maker. I think for films such as Avatar which are intended to be "epic" and extremely visual, could benefit greatly from having a high frame rate, where as on the other hand, your typical stylised drama really shouldn't exceed 25 fps.

The idea of variable frame-rate is also very interesting. I imagine having the ability to boost the fps when you want to, would have much the same effect as making a word bold in a text document. A boost in fps would put a strong emphasis on that scene and make it stand out, where as a reduction in fps would serve as a gentler emphasis or visual cue (we can obviously already do the latter, but not without limitations). Imagine how awesome it would be if you were watching an action film at 24 fps, then all of a sudden when the much-anticipated explosion goes off, it's presented in 60 fps slow motion. That would certainly have an impact.

 

[Harry Clark]

I vote for 16 fps (silent-era 35mm standard) 18 fps (Super-8 standard) is a little too fluid for me...
Seriously, I agree with Leo. 24 fps is a beautiful standard.
Cheers,
Harry

 

[Harry Clark]

PS- I clicked on the link to Stu's interview and I have to say I agree with every word. Well said...
Cheers,
Harry

 

[Leo Ticheli]

Imagine how awesome it would be if you were watching an action film at 24 fps, then all of a sudden when the much-anticipated explosion goes off, it's presented in 60 fps slow motion. That would certainly have an impact.

Or not. Cutting to slow motion is already a tricky proposition; it can have the effect of taking one completely out of the movie, sort of a look behind the curtain, or seeing a magician's gimmick. I want the viewer to be completely immersed in the story, not part of the crew.

I'm not knocking slow-motion at all here; I frequently shoot slightly over-cranked to smooth out action, just enough for the effect, but not so much the viewer is really aware.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo

 

[Robert Berger]

60 fps, good for you

60 fps, good for you

I vote for 16 fps (silent-era 35mm standard) 18 fps (Super-8 standard) is a little too fluid for me...
Seriously, I agree with Leo. 24 fps is a beautiful standard.
Cheers,
Harry

I have been told that 60fps give you and your brain what it realy wants when you look to a big screen.

I have seen showscan at 60fps and it was great, even bigger than great.
So lets go to 60fps and with the Epic we are still able to shoot slomo's!

Robert MX 1265

 

[M Most]

As far as I am aware, DCP only supports 24.00 fps or 48.00 fps playback.

The SMPTE adopted specification was amended in the last year to include a number of other rates, including 25, 50, 30, 60, and the video derived equivalents (23.976, 29.97, 59.94). I believe that amendment is available on the SMPTE website.

Of course, amending the specification doesn't mean that equipment vendors have incorporated all of those amendments.

 

[Blair S. Paulsen]

Please add base frame rates of 48, 50, 59.94 & 60.

Please add base frame rates of 48, 50, 59.94 & 60.

Regardless of one's personal preferences and/or the best service to the material at hand, it sure would be nice to have options.

EPIC feature request: offer base frame rates up to 60fps including all the current ones plus 48, 50, 59.94 (sorry Graeme) and 60.

Coincidentally when I watched Crossing the Line for the first time at NAB '07 the first person I saw when I exited the screening was Graeme and the first thing I said to him was how distracting the motion blur was. I suggested it was just a matter of time before 48 or 60fps replaced 24 for the majority of content. I wonder how the typical viewer would react if they were conditioned to 60fps and then were shown 24fps...

Ultimately as an owner operator who has a family to support the sports market is too big to ignore so having 60fps as an option would be welcome. FWIW broadcast infrastructure is being gradually upgraded to 3G SDI to accommodate 1080/60P in the future - this has been seen as the next step for high value sports presentations. It has the added benefit of providing more bandwidth for stereoscopic applications but I digress.

Cheers - #19

 

[Justen Nguyen]

I was under the impression that 24fps was used for film because when projected it was closer to 48hz. And 50 to 60hz would produce the nominal amount of motion blur most like what one would see in real life. Though the idea of flicker rates might have been based off persistence of vision (which was later proven to be false) it seems to have gotten the idea of projection right in my opinion.

My problem, much like Stu Maschwitz said in that link, is that there is too much information. The motion is too smooth and looks hyper-realistic.

 

[Tom Wardrop]

Or not. Cutting to slow motion is already a tricky proposition; it can have the effect of taking one completely out of the movie, sort of a look behind the curtain, or seeing a magician's gimmick. I want the viewer to be completely immersed in the story, not part of the crew.

It would obviously have to be in the right circumstance that you'd do this (if at all like you said). The point is, one could play with such flexibility to create interesting new effects.

One of the scenes specifically I was thinking of that I think you could apply this to, is that scene in Swordfish where the ball-bearing bomb explodes. The Matrix would have also been able to benefit from an increased frame-rate for those slow-motion scenes.