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

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Does anyone know if any of the insiders around here are colorists or, particularly, have any knowledge about LUTs....

Are you interested in building your own 3D LUT’s from scratch …. and if so, what specific platform/application are you using?

Otherwise,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2_p1pfpLWQ

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Are you interested in building your own 3D LUT’s from scratch …. and if so, what specific platform/application are you using?

Nope; just in understanding the limitations of the Blu-ray format.

[Oliver K]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I think it potentially would have been a bit of an ethical dilemma if Joshua had lived (and had been available for consultation) on the restoration roughly fifteen years later, and still felt the same way about things as back in ~ 1978.

In that case, I definitely would not want to be in Schawn’s shoes.

I'd think that this would be a very appropriate occasion for the use of seamless branching, which is one very useful feature of the Blu-Ray format that is not used often enough.

[Penton-Man]

Hah, I take it you guys like this seamless branching feature on the Blu-rays which offer it.
I hope you do realize and appreciate the fact that for any title, it involves a lot of work on the part of the engineer. If memory serves, the HD DVD format struggled with bona fide seamless branching due to the limitations of the red format.

This brings back memories of a ‘classic’ post by paidgeek.
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...mir#post200145

You know Oliver, one thing that I am constantly amazed about, is that your first language is German (I presume like Torsten, hanser, etc.)………and other members here who post on this forum whose first language is other than English (Grubert’s - Spanish?) and how well you guys write and express yourselves. I truly wish I had the skills to do so with a second language. I can speak and read a few other languages but, only in a rudimentary fashion , just to get by when in town, so to speak.

And in regards to fellow members who are essentially bilingual and hail from other than “English speaking countries”, if TheLion (from Austria) is reading, here’s a heads-up that Quantum of Solace is due to street and one chase sequence in the movie is based around a performance of Puccini’s Tosca in Bregenz (Austria) where real-life professional opera singers were employed by the production to perform as a backdrop to the action.

I’m not sure if that is mentioned in the Supplemental material as I haven’t seen the Blu-ray yet but, if it isn’t, now you know.

There’s already a review up of the Fox-UK disc by our own Dr. Svet Atanasov.

[Jeff Kleist]

And in regards to fellow members who are essentially bilingual and hail from other than “English speaking countries”, if TheLion (from Austria) is reading, here’s a heads-up that Quantum of Solace is due to street and one chase sequence in the movie is based around a performance of Puccini’s Tosca in Bregenz (Austria) where real-life professional opera singers were employed by the production to perform as a backdrop to the action.

You know it's funny, and maybe you're in a position to confirm this Penton

It's often been said, and the resemblence seems more than passing that the motorcycle chase in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is based on the excellent opening chase in Hayao Miyazaki's feature directorial debut The Castle of Cagliostro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65T6sAZdQNE

Either way, masterful direction

Too bad the Blu-ray out in Japan is using an old 1080i master that's had some noise reduction and some very noticeable artificial sharpening done to it. For some reason it still didn't help the grain which is abundant

Those who are brave enough to pick it up anyway, it's a poster child disc for the benefits of calibration, on a torch mode set it looks abominable, but much much better once calibration isn't making the grain scream like a banshee

[Jeff Kleist]

Max, check your email on that issue

[saprano]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

Penton, give my regards to whomever at SPE gave the go ahead to Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist!

Quite a risky project, but what a movie. Also they need to start sending out Blu-rays instead of DVDs (I got the DVD in the post from SPE!). I would normally just go an pick one up, but they send them to me now...

Max you like that movie to? ha i thought i was the only one. it really is a great movie. i was hooked from beginning to end, excellent pacing.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

Penton, give my regards to whomever at SPE gave the go ahead to Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist!

Quite a risky project, but what a movie. Also they need to start sending out Blu-rays instead of DVDs (I got the DVD in the post from SPE!). I would normally just go an pick one up, but they send them to me now...

Will do, and that would be the lady in this pic …………
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/K5NfD...HaR/Amy+Pascal

who, broke a glass ceiling descriptive barrier in ’07 with official promotion by Variety to…… “ShowMan” -
http://www.defamer.com.au/2007/08/th...en_they_s.html

P.S.
Dang Max, you have a different icon picture thingee babe every week!

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by saprano

Max you like that movie to? ha i thought i was the only one. it really is a great movie. i was hooked from beginning to end, excellent pacing.

Challenging filmmaking too, as nearly everything was shot at night.

[Robert Harris]

While speaking of "glass ceilings," let us not forget Dawn Steel.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Nope; just in understanding the limitations of the Blu-ray format.

I think that what you may be looking for is more under the expertise of sspears (I want my 2 dollars - Stacey or Kris!) or paidgeek……………….
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...ed#post1562126

B.T.W., you should catch Nick and Norah if you get the opportunity as a lot of it was shot around your neck of the woods.

[Penton-Man]

RAH, I read your review of In Cold Blood.
Nice to see that it meets your stamp of approval.

[Oliver K]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Hah, I take it you guys like this seamless branching feature on the Blu-rays which offer it.
I hope you do realize and appreciate the fact that for any title, it involves a lot of work on the part of the engineer. If memory serves, the HD DVD format struggled with bona fide seamless branching due to the limitations of the red format.

Seamless branching would be perfect for example for the alternate version of I am Legend or for an option to watch the Imax scenes from The Dark Knight in a scope AR.
I definitely appreciate the work that goes into seamless branching but as it is an option it should really be used when appropriate. Of course if it is cheaper to add an additional disc to a Blu-Ray release so be it, but I would hope this isn't the norm for bigger releases.

And thanks for the compliments but I have been needing some English writing and reading skills with all of my interests for quite some time now (not only with home theater) so at some point I had to decide if I was serious about my interests or not. Therefore it is more the necessity than the interest in other languages than my own that drives me - plus most other languages are easier to learn than German which makes things much easier

[Jeff Kleist]

Seamless branching requires not only a huge amount of disc space, but compromises the overall bitrate where they overlap. Dark Knight would be a giant undertaking, and that's the way that Nolan wants it. You should be happy. If you're running CIH you set to 16:9 and forget it, you've got the IMAX experience right there. Seamless is only really practical when the edit points are few, the chunks are big, and/or there isn't a huge action scene at the heart of the edit

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I think that what you may be looking for is more under the expertise of sspears (I want my 2 dollars - Stacey or Kris!) or paidgeek……………….
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...ed#post1562126

Thanks! I'll give it a try.

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

B.T.W., you should catch Nick and Norah if you get the opportunity as a lot of it was shot around your neck of the woods.

And I was just going to inquire after just what is so brave and bold about this movie- if such things can be discussed without involving spoilers.

My neck of the woods, eh... ? My new/current neck, I presume. Interesting. It's going to take some convincing to get the lady to watch this one with me- she could never hack the trailers for it.

[Oliver K]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Seamless branching requires not only a huge amount of disc space, but compromises the overall bitrate where they overlap. Dark Knight would be a giant undertaking, and that's the way that Nolan wants it. You should be happy. If you're running CIH you set to 16:9 and forget it, you've got the IMAX experience right there. Seamless is only really practical when the edit points are few, the chunks are big, and/or there isn't a huge action scene at the heart of the edit

I have not looked as much into seamless branching but was thinking of it as multiple parts or sniplets of the movie being put together to form a whole - why would that limit bitrate when you just substitute one part for another ? What you are describing sounds more like what I would expect to be a problem with mutliple angles that can be switched around when the movie plays.

I do not really have a problem with the AR changes of TDK but I think it is a very good example of a movie where seamless branching would have been a much appreciated option for not just a small minority of customers.

[Doctorossi]

Hey, Penton, from the post you referenced, it looks to me like you may know enough to answer my questions, so I'll give you a run...

Everything I've read about 10-bit log to 8-bit linear conversion is for abstract (ie. not Blu-ray specific) application and refers to fixed formats. In the Blu-ray spec., is any of the color translation adjustable beyond the black point and the soft white-clip parameters? It seems to me that much of the 10-bit/8-bit gap could be covered without much increase in file size by a dynamic LUT system (perhaps tied to reference frames). Is there any provision for anything like this?

[cjamescook]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

This brings back memories of a ‘classic’ post by paidgeek.
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...mir#post200145

Sigh. I miss the Geek. The forums must have been a real time sink for him. You must be a real fanatic to keep it up this long, Penton.

[Jeff Kleist]

I have not looked as much into seamless branching but was thinking of it as multiple parts or sniplets of the movie being put together to form a whole - why would that limit bitrate when you just substitute one part for another ? What you are describing sounds more like what I would expect to be a problem with mutliple angles that can be switched around when the movie plays.

Because there are overlap points where the switch takes place that are very difficult to engineer, and both streams have to exist simultaneously. You still only have the hard ceilings of bandwidth to work with

Think about it like a crossfade in audio.

[BluDomain]

Some of you might be interested in this. Times are
stated on the links.

Live Chat with Schawn Belston, Twentieth Century Fox Restorationist,
Monday, 16 March 2009
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/chat...LIVE_Chat.html

AND

An Evening With Warner Home Video Live Chat
In Attendance:
George Feltenstein, SVP Catalog Marketing
Ronnee Sass, VP Publicity & Promotion
Janet Keller, Manager of Publicity
Monday, 23 March 2009
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/chat...ome_Video.html