"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[Jack Torrance]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Funny ironic aside though………anyone out there (esp. TV engineers) know what the slang acronym for NTSC is? (other than, Never Tested Since Christ), anyone?

Someone in post production told me this once...

"Never Twice (the) Same Colour"/"Never The Same Colour" or something like that...

d'oh! Stupid, gin soaked foggy memory! I think I'm in the ballpark though

[DenonCI]

Originally Posted by DenonCI

Never the same color (twice)?

Anyone who every calibrated a TV knows this

[Bizi Jones]

nuts to screen caps
newbs try screen calibration
northwest tries sleeping cabin
not to seem clear
nothing that sounds comedic (oh wait),
notorious thugs smoking crack...haha

that was fun

[Jeff Kleist]

A really good example against the whole DVD as color reference thing is Labyrinth. The DVD had bittime boosted contrast, which makes the Firewalker scene look like exactly what it is- luminance keying against black velvet. When I saw it theatrically a year or two back the improvement was DRASTIC in terms of the success of the illusion because the levels were correct

I haven't seen the Blu yet, but I've heard that it resembles the print

[Penton-Man]

I’m looking forward to the Blu-ray debate for Public Enemies…..as the theatrical presentation exhibited all the no-no’s that ‘go against the grain’ for the conventional aesthetic notions of how many feel a Blu-ray transfer should look.

Meaning, for those who never saw it in their local Multiplex, the theatrical presentation of Public Enemies demonstrated amongst other things – blown highlights, some red tinted skin tones in the low key interiors, inconsistent noise from shot to shot in the same scenes, a definite ‘videoish’ look due to intentionally limited dynamic range, shooting with an open shutter and wait for it………..intentional digital sharpening (EE) .

Heck, there’s even solarization of blown out car headlights at night.

It’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea but, Michael Mann’s idea was to present a ‘real’ or ‘reality show’ feeling rather than giving everyone the conventional period piece look of an old gangster movie.

[Penton-Man]

^
P.S.
Heads-up to Kris Deering.
Michael M. shot in Rec 709 using video monitor gamma on set.
Good luck this week in L.A.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Jack Torrance

Someone in post production told me this once...

"Never Twice (the) Same Colour"/"Never The Same Colour" or something like that...

d'oh! Stupid, gin soaked foggy memory! I think I'm in the ballpark though

You and Denon hit a home run.

5....4....3....2....roll the break

[aygie]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I’m looking forward to the Blu-ray debate for Public Enemies…..as the theatrical presentation exhibited all the no-no’s that ‘go against the grain’ for the conventional aesthetic notions of how many feel a Blu-ray transfer should look.

Meaning, for those who never saw it in their local Multiplex, the theatrical presentation of Public Enemies demonstrated amongst other things – blown highlights, some red tinted skin tones in the low key interiors, inconsistent noise from shot to shot in the same scenes, a definite ‘videoish’ look due to intentionally limited dynamic range, shooting with an open shutter and wait for it………..intentional digital sharpening (EE) .

Heck, there’s even solarization of blown out car headlights at night.

It’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea but, Michael Mann’s idea was to present a ‘real’ or ‘reality show’ feeling rather than giving everyone the conventional period piece look of an old gangster movie.

This was a great review of Public Enemies from Empire, it always stood out when i was reading it about how much they mentioned the films look;

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/...p?DVDID=118244

Whatever James Cameron’s Avatar may resemble in cinema’s ‘big shake-up’ later this year, this less self-aggrandising film, shot entirely on an ultra-high resolution digital format, marks a new cinematic language. The genre may seem familiar, that rat-a-tat-tat of Tommy guns, molls and dapper hoods, but never with this level of immersion. If Mann’s mission was simply to portray the early ’30s with pin-sharp realism, he has triumphed. This is not a film about the ’30s — it is a film in the ’30s.

Yet, more than just their eras, the two films feel like different worlds. Such is the docu-clarity of this digital skin, you have to readjust your thinking. This isn’t the glamour of the movies, warmly draped in celluloid, but rather an instantaneous, ‘stunning’ reality: every facial pore, every herringbone stitch, every silvery wisp from a smoking gun comes crystal-clear. Strangely, it makes the film both period and contemporary: history through a sci-fi lens.

True, Mann is asking a lot of you: myriad characters come and go in the hurly-burly of the plot and we are required to keep up. So hard-and-fast-and-vivid comes the digital detail

I think Mann is a true great filmmaker, he hasn't yet made a film I didn't love and I hope he never loses the originality of his visions.

[BluLobsta]

Originally Posted by aygie

I think Mann is a true great filmmaker, he hasn't yet made a film I didn't love and I hope he never loses the originality of his visions.

Yes, I just received an email from Amazon that Heat will be delivered tomorrow. Can't wait to see what HD audio/video does for this film.

[Jeff Kleist]

Meaning, for those who never saw it in their local Multiplex, the theatrical presentation of Public Enemies demonstrated amongst other things – blown highlights, some red tinted skin tones in the low key interiors, inconsistent noise from shot to shot in the same scenes, a definite ‘videoish’ look due to intentionally limited dynamic range, shooting with an open shutter and wait for it………..intentional digital sharpening (EE) .

Sounds like a Michael Mann movie to me

[DenonCI]

I remember seeing Collateral in the theater and thinking how they screwed the pooch with the presentation, then I remembered "Oh yeah, it's a Mann film...it's supposed to look this way!"

[Penton-Man]

At the end of the day, I think many Blu-ray enthusiasts will either love or hate the look of this motion picture but, the BIG picture to keep in mind as cinephiles too is that, if anything, this movie represents diversity in filmmaking (which is a good, a very good thing)........just like the grainy, gritty look of The Wrestler and “300” or the recreation of 1940's film noir techniques in The Good German by Steven Soderbergh.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by aygie

This was a great review of Public Enemies from Empire, it always stood out when i was reading it about how much they mentioned the films look;
http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/...p?DVDID=118244.........

It sounds like the reviewer liked this motion picture…….very much.
One tiny technical correction though, as he says (from your quote) that it was “shot entirely on an ultra-high resolution digital format”.

Something that the imdb site will reveal (if it’s up to date) is that some footage was shot on film with Arri cams.
Something that it (imdb) won’t describe – is that the film capture was a small amount of footage, specifically the photosonic stuff (above 60fps shots) for the vfx.

Here’s a review from my side of the pond for you ………
http://www.laweekly.com/2009-07-02/f...tal-dillinger/

[aramis109]

Ooh, 'Collateral' talk! Does this mean it's coming soon, or is it just in the discussion due to it's "Mann-ish" look?

I'm a huge Mann fan- have been for a long time. I think his use of music and score really strike home with me when paired with his visuals. I dunno- it's not something I've really thought on, but I know that his movies just seem to resonate with me. Speaking of, 'Heat' should be on my doorstep today- can't wait to watch that again. I've been holding off for quite awhile. I remember it as being the reason I got into surround sound to begin with.

On another note, I picked up 'Gremlins' over at Target last week. Yes, it's very gritty. Yes, it's very soft. But my family and I loved every minute of it, and I have to admit a few times I was surprised at the amount of detail that was there that I had not seen before. It was a childhood favorite of both me and my wife, and my daughter got to see it for the first time. After the movie she said, "I wish I could have a Mogwai pet!" (I've already started shopping for a Gizmo plush for her for X-mas).

Point being, it's that love of movies that sharkshark was talking about that many of us forget. It was a real treat to watch that again with my family.

[DenonCI]

Kind of off-topic, but I watched the "Gremlins" DVD with my daughter when she was five...I had forgotten how violent the movie was and she had nightmares for a week straight. Every now and then my wife remembers that incident and gets angry with me even though it was 8 freaking years ago!

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by DenonCI

Kind of off-topic, but I watched the "Gremlins" DVD with my daughter when she was five...I had forgotten how violent the movie was and she had nightmares for a week straight. Every now and then my wife remembers that incident and gets angry with me even though it was 8 freaking years ago!

Oh but wifes have extremely long memories for things we do wrong As Red Skelton once said if it was not for wifes, us man would spend our entire lives thinking we are perfect Do not worry I am sure she won't remember it 20 minutes after you are dead

[Kris Deering]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

^
P.S.
Heads-up to Kris Deering.
Michael M. shot in Rec 709 using video monitor gamma on set.
Good luck this week in L.A.

Thanks Penton!

On that note, I must say that I wish studios would adopt something of a disclaimer along these lines similar to Criterion. I noticed on the BD of Benjamin Button that it listed exactly what color space the disc was encoded in (REC 709) and what type of master was used. Personally I would like to know the color space and reference gamma since many projection systems will allow you to force whatever you want. If we are truly suppose to see what the "director intended", we need to know what the mastering monitor and encode were set up for. It would take up a miniscule amount of space on the disc or packaging, but would go a long way for the true videphile.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Kris Deering

It would take up a miniscule amount of space on the disc or packaging

Or in it, for that matter. No need to clutter the outside with info that won't impact anyone's purchase decision. Win/win!

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

this movie represents diversity in filmmaking (which is a good, a very good thing)........just like the grainy, gritty look of The Wrestler and “300” or the recreation of 1940's film noir techniques in The Good German by Steven Soderbergh.

I remember wishing that movie would come out on HD DVD. I still haven't gotten around to seeing it...

~Alan

[mark antony]

Talking of Mann, i'd love to see "Thief" with audio sourced from the T.Dream master tapes (what a score to hear in lossles multi-track...) and "Last of the Mohicans" with both versions included to please all...

M