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

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Yes,
Apparently on a very small monitor and more importantly, back in the day, they didn’t print the dailies to film to screen them (at least somewhat daily) in a typical theater set-up


……………..until the shoot was completely over and done.

mmm evaluating on small monitors... sounds like some BD transfer thing too...

[WickyWoo]

Patton is a great looking disc by most people's standards but without a master or the film print to compare to, how do you make a reasonable comparison to the way the film "should" look? Sure there are plenty of members that say experience this and that, but honestly memory is a bad indicator most of the time. Besides, how do you know that the other times you saw something that it wasn't altered from the "intended" look as well.

You can use knowlege of the photographic process, the director's style, that sort of thing. I've never seen Patton in the theater (though I keep asking the Senator to book that 70mm print that I keep missing in LA), but the second I looked at those pictures I knew there was something very wrong with it because they had the characteristic DNR traits, and not the traits of a 1970 movie

You also see a lot of comments on the quality of the encode with many comments stemming from the bitrate meter. Without a side by side comparison to the master how do you honestly know what is an encode issue and what is a master issue. I know in some comparisons I've done with a D5 master the blocking issues that were there were also in the D5.

Too many people rely on the bitrate meter. While a good baseline BR is a happy thing, between 15-20mbps will usually do for exposition, and 25-30 for action. I rely on what I see, not on the tech specs or percieved deficiencies.

[Kris Deering]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

mmm evaluating on small monitors... sounds like some BD transfer thing too...

The Sony reference monitor is on the small side, and I know a lot of people still like to use it.

[HeavyHitter]

Since it appears Patton BD was DNR'd, is there any shred of hope or likelyhood Fox would re-do it?

[PaulGo]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

It's not a lack of enthusiasm

It's more of a lack of time to devote now that they don't have to counter FUD missles every other day. These people took time out of their already insane schedules to be here, and most of them do pop in when they can

I'm sure Penton Man's schedule is as busy as an of the other insiders, so I applaud him for is enthusiasm and dedication in making a very meaningful contribution to the members of Blu-ray.com!

[Robert Harris]

To Penton-Man...

Lowry's ability goes beyond claim. I've seen the system in use, and it works
very, very well.

Had Fox wished to lower grain on Patton without affecting the resolution of the image, their process would have worked admirably.

RAH

[Brain Sturgeon]

Thanks for your insight on this title Mr. Harris. Hopefully, the powers that be will avoid this on titles of this importance in the future. Although, I am still happy that we have the one we do have in the quality that we have it. I am still looking forward to screening it. What coulda been though...

[Rob Tomlin]

..

[Rob Tomlin]

..

[Kris Deering]

Originally Posted by Robert Harris

To Penton-Man...

Lowry's ability goes beyond claim. I've seen the system in use, and it works
very, very well.

Had Fox wished to lower grain on Patton without affecting the resolution of the image, their process would have worked admirably.

RAH

Robert,

To your knowledge, was Patton noise reduced intentionally? Did Fox want to eliminate grain or was it a choice made somewhere else? Patton is a long movie so I wondered how much was done to keep the average bitrate down or if they just preferred the look.

[Caligula]

Originally Posted by H9k_

Caligula, Penton dont go to the studios..they come to him

what does this mean? Who is penton and why do studios come to him.. is he owner MGM or what?

no offense penton, just dont know who you or your duty in hollywood (that if u are located there) I would like to know about your role as insider of what?

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Robert Harris

To Penton-Man...

Lowry's ability goes beyond claim. I've seen the system in use, and it works
very, very well.

Had Fox wished to lower grain on Patton without affecting the resolution of the image, their process would have worked admirably.

RAH

Well hello Bob, you can call me Penton…… as Penton-Man seems rather formal.
Let me be the first to welcome you to my thread and even this forum in general, as I think it was last Oct. or so that you last posted in our humble neck of the woods.

Also, feel free to unlock your Insider’s Thread whenever the mood arises, as I believe we’d all appreciate your further insights on future topics of concern given your experience and background.

In regards to DTS Digital Images, Inc., there is no denying the fact that with their magic, they can make some material more visually pleasing than it was when originally presented to them. Case in fact is Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D, which I saw at Showest.

Their “process” as I understand it, does not simply involve removing grain with no associated decrease in detail, which is how I read your linked post above. Their “process” involves both grain reduction as well as some “sharpening”, “image enhancement”, “detail enhancement” – whatever people know the term by, to give a more detailed ‘appearing’ image...........and the "sharpening" can have its own negative consequences.

In fact, their software is even optimized for a certain about of “sharpening” to go along with the grain reduction. I believe this is old ground that we have covered on this forum before. There is another insider here who has actually been a past client (paid $$........or at least, the studio that he represents has) who has commented on this in the past if my memory is accurate. Give me a moment to do a search.

I will grant you one thing. The process used on Patton, was probably more *extreme* than would have been if DTS Digital Images, Inc. had been offered the same material to work on.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

There is another insider here who has actually been a past client (paid $$........or at least, the studio that he represents has) who has commented on this in the past if my memory is accurate. Give me a moment to do a search.

Here ya go………………

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=158

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Caligula

what does this mean? Who is penton and why do studios come to him...?

I leave Ben Franklin’s lying all around my office.

[Robert Harris]

I have no direct information in regard to what Fox has done to Patton, who did it, or why it was done.

I'm in the dark as much as anyone else.

As regards Lowry (no longer DTS), they now have the capability to do their digital magic without removing grain.

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I leave Ben Franklin’s lying all around my office.

Don't forget the free haircuts, shaves, and mani/pedis!

~Alan

[ThatArtGuy]

I thought shaves and haircuts were two bits. That's an awfully expensive pedicure.

[MerrickG]

Hey Penton,

I havent asked a question in a while, but I thought I would ask if Comic-Con will probably be the time when studios will start announcing their 4th quarter plans as far as bluray releases?

[coolmilo]

Hello Penton,

I am sitting at home looking at a stack of Paramount movies that was delivered earlier this week. I am very happy to own these movies on Blu-ray packaged media and I can't wait for Universal’s offering next month. I am so pleased that the big five studios have all embraced lossless audio that I have to pinch myself to make sure this is real. Thinking back to this time a year ago with the format war and all this is truly a great time to be a fan of Blu-ray.

Have you heard of any plans that Focus Features will release their excellent movies on Blu-ray? I am guessing that FF releases are a matter of time but I am hoping that they release movies sooner rather than later if you catch my drift.

Many thanks...

[WickyWoo]

I leave Ben Franklin’s lying all around my office.

He's the Penton-Bunny