Slow motion questions. . . how to do it best for 4K?

[Charles Angus]

From all my years as working head projectionist at movie theaters I think you will be ok with 2k because 2k is what they put on film for theaters. Also a lot of movies now a days are shot 1080p and put on film and you never know it. In fact Most IMAX are digital now and they are shown on christie 2k projectors I varified this when I went to see inception in IMAX they had 2k Christie projectors showing on the IMAX screen and it looked great. So I think you will be fine shooting 2k

That's true, but also completely irrelevant. If the standards of delivery were all that you needed at orgination, you wouldn't see a single SDTV show shot on anything better than Beta-SP.

 

[Martin Ubilluz]

I agree always shoot 4k but If he wants to obtain that really cool 120fps its not going to look bad because its not going to be projected above 2k..very relevant if his only option to shot slow mo was in sd then I would say don't, it would look like garbage on the screen. Some times you need that 120fps especially if you have had the idea in the script and really want to at least if you take your time focus good no one will ever know in the audience you shot 2k just like no one watching AVATAR on IMAX ever said hmm that looks like 1080p blown up to 2k

 

[Charles Angus]

I agree always shoot 4k but If he wants to obtain that really cool 120fps its not going to look bad because its not going to be projected above 2k..very relevant if his only option to shot slow mo was in sd then I would say don't, it would look like garbage on the screen. Some times you need that 120fps especially if you have had the idea in the script and really want to at least if you take your time focus good no one will ever know in the audience you shot 2k just like no one watching AVATAR on IMAX ever said hmm that looks like 1080p blown up to 2k

It's all about context, though. RED 2k cut in with RED 4k could look soft.

I'm assuming that Phantom isn't an option for your slomo, by the way. There are a variety of Phantoms, ranging up to the 4k Phantom 65 (with a 65mm format chip).

 

[Stephen Pruitt]

Yeah, Phantom is not an option. . . no money, so we'll be an all-RED shoot again.



I did not at all like mixing 2K RED with 4K RED on the last film. I could see it every time. It just looks soft for some reason. Maybe because it is, I don't know.

It looks like 60fps 3K will work pretty well. I just hate that 2K softness.

Thanks!

Stephen

 

[Kim Frank]

I would also go with 3K. If you need to slow it down even more you could try twixtor or time remapping in after effects. Most importand thing for post slow mo is that you set your shutter at 180 degrees of you're desired end frame rate, even if you're shooting a slower one. This way the images get really sharp with less motion blur and makes it easier for the software to interpolate new frames that don't look smeary. Also note that you can motion blur back in post if you overdone it while shooting. So set the shutter as short as your lighting let's you and give it a try to push it even further in post

 

[Marc Wielage]

...but when we shoot in 2K, we can tell a big difference between 2K and 4K even when viewed in 2K. I mean, no comparison. I suspect that shooting in 2K and then doing a 4K finish would be VERY obvious.

It all depends on content and contrast. I have seen direct comparisons between 2K and 4K where the differences were barely visible, to the point where neither the producer nor director could tell the difference, but the DP and I could (barely). And as I often say, "with many actors, sharpness is not their friend." Diffusion and soft lighting in a close-up are not going to have significant detail past 2K anyway, not in the real world.

One thing you might do if you want the relative sharpness to match is send out the final 2K footage to image processing companies specializing in that kind of post work. Lowry Digital in Burbank has made a name for themselves in this area on quite a few video projects (some of which are under wraps), but Avatar is one that was revealed back in January. They've dealt with the Red very effectively on past and current projects.

Careful image processing is the "secret sauce" that makes a lot of this kind of stuff work. I think it can be affordable to the point where indie films can afford it, but a lot depends on the amount of footage and the degree of fixes required.