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

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Esox50

I knew that. I was just testing to see if you'd catch it. You passed the test. Bravo amigo, bravo!!!

Oh what a tangled web we weave.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I’ll tell you more details about the nuances of the color saturation and the scenes with “slight push to yellow” ( https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movie...64&show=review) when I get the time.
This is going to be a hectic week for me.

Later.

Well, as I briefly mentioned before, the final editing for Valkyrie was completed on the Sony lot (for those aspiring editors out there, the work was done in the Avid DNxHD 36 format) and then the non-linear color grading was performed over at Company 3 by a well regarded DI colorist by the name of Stephen Nakamura - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620231/, working under the direction of the D.P. for all passes.
Coincidentally, Stephen also did the post work on another recently released Blu-ray, namely, Seabiscuit.

Anyway, in regards to the scenes with “the slight push to yellow”.
The North Africa sequence shows this because the D.P. shot with a gold effects filter which gives a slightly yellowish hue to the imagery. He used Kodak 5201 and ‘pull processed’ it two stops. For those unfamiliar with the term……think more contrast and less grain.

The other notable sequence with a "slight push to yellow" was also done intentionally but, more so during the non-linear color grading in post, giving it an almost golden hue. The idea was to have a warm, comfy feeling to the imagery at home……where Tom Cruise’s character returns after recovering in the hospital.

Overall, this film (a period piece) shows an intended mild level of desaturation (except for reds) with a blue/cyan push in many scenes secondary to the production design and post.

P.S.
If the supplements on the disc don’t delve into the visual effects, I can get into a little detail about them later, as Rich’s team from Sony Pictures Imageworks did the majority of the work.

And I'm out the door by 8:00 P.M.

[HeavyHitter]

I watched Valkyrie last night and thought it looked very good and "film-like." I really liked the style of hues and the way it was filmed.

[cjamescook]

I watched the Blu-ray edition of Body Heat last weekend and can attest that Kathleen Turner's grain was well under control.

BTW, it is funny how one's perspective on a film evolves over 28 years, given that I last saw the film in 1981, when it was released, in a theatre.


Misc. recommendation: Also viewed The White Countess over the previous weekend. Granted, it's not BR, but I really liked the script/story, the scale of the filming (scenes) was quite grand, and my Russian playmate said the actors nailed their roles. (She was quite taken with the story, too, given her origins.) The bonus feature saluting Ismail Merchant was a great introduction to Merchant-Ivory productions.

Cheers!
-Jim

[Bobby Henderson]

I haven't watched Valkyrie yet on Blu-ray, but I did get to see the show a few months ago at a d-cinema equipped Carmike location. Good movie. It was nice to see Bryan Singer shooting on film again. The yellow cast on the North African desert imagery was noticeable, but appropriate to convey the hot, dry nature of that climate.

Sometimes the particular theater I visited has the sound turned down a good bit due to complaints I believe come from some of the older folks living in this region. Not this time. The show wasn't bombastic throughout, but the mix sure packed a wallop from time to time.

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Well, as I briefly mentioned before, the final editing for Valkyrie was completed on the Sony lot (for those aspiring editors out there, the work was done in the Avid DNxHD 36 format)...

...we loves the nerdy insider stuff, but isn't the 36 format for Offline only? the cutters would have been using the Online version of the codec, and surely cutting at 10bit on a studio pic with Singer at the helm, no? I'd think storage wouldn't be an issue with a Cruise film, even one that's a relatively low budget, but I'm no exec. producer...

http://www.avid.com/dnxhd/features.asp

Haven't played with the new codec (haven't cut on an avid in -years-) but it certainly looks like an impressive addition to HD workflow... Now for the little things I do I go Premiere (finally a workable beast) or Vegas, a delightful editing program, the simplest of all to use, bring the paradigm of sound editing to video cutting rather than the other way 'round. And don't get me started about how Garage band is a pathetic, "retardent" version of my beloved Acid Pro....

As for the cutters, I'm currious, they running Windows or Mac versions of Avid? If Windows, they cranking on Vaios?

ps. it's been some time, but still one of the more rediculous product placements (on a nerdy, not a luddite fear-of-advertising level) is the BD burner in Casino Royale... Saw it the other day, and it always makes me laugh. Some may think the Nokia in Trek is silly, but, man, when security footage is burned onto BD at an Island resort and filed so neatly on BD-Rs, someone call me, k?

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Esox50

It's been a frustrating week for me as far as Blu-Ray is concerned.

Not to worry, as shortly coming up on Blu-ray you’ve got
Glory
Ghostbusters
and
Dr. Strangelove….. (you should like it as people that get paid to have very discerning eyes and ears whole heartedly enjoyed the 4k presentation screened here….. http://jts2007.org/screening.htm < back in the day)

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

... I'd think storage wouldn't be an issue with a Cruise film, even one that's a relatively low budget, but I'm no exec. producer...

There was something like 1 ½ - 1 ¾ MILLION feet of footage shot by the filmmakers. That would have mean a lot of storage ($$) if they had used a higher bit rate codec.

For editing, the quality was fine given the more compressed format.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

...As for the cutters, I'm currious, they running Windows or Mac versions of Avid?

MacPros

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

...we loves the nerdy insider stuff,

Well, since we're currently on a German theme here-

Good German engineering , Ja………or for you English speakers only, Yah !
………
http://www.dft-film.com/scanners/scanity.php

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

http://www.dft-film.com/scanners/scanity.php

Yeah, but at what speed can it scan at 18K?

[Penton-Man]

Hey, everyone, enough with the PM’s to me from advocates of DTS or Dolby about the audio codecs. If you’ve got anything to say then vote and then explain your vote on this thread………….

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...=1#post1945658

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Yeah

Nobody and I mean NOBODY mention any hints, news, musings, etc. about the Champions League match as I have yet to watch it.

Doing so, means permanent banishment to the underworld.

[Jeff Kleist]

Nobody and I mean NOBODY mention any hints, news, musings, etc. about the Champions League match as I have yet to watch it.

Doing so, means permanent banishment to the underworld.
__________________

Sweaty men ran around a field and eventually kicked a ball into a net

Hah!
Of course, but were there any worthwhile female spectators in the crowd shots?

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Sweaty men ran around a field and eventually either kicked a ball into a net or didn't.

Fixed.


Remember, Jeff, no spoilers.

[SquidPuppet]

Moto GP

Sweaty men in leather suits riding in circles.

OK then... 5/31/09 shakes out like this.

Mugello.
Rossi's home track.
Fiat's (sponsor) home race.
Rossi's attempt at his 99th victory. (premier class)
Rossi has won at Mugello 7 years running....goin' fer 8-in-a-row.

PRESSURE?

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

in circles

That's for NASCAR, son.

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

PRESSURE?

PRESSURE, meet Rossi.

Rossi, meet... wait... PRESSURE, where'd you go?!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

That's for NASCAR, son.



PRESSURE, meet Rossi.

Rossi, meet... wait... PRESSURE, where'd you go?!

Ending where you began IS going in circles.

NASCAR races on ovals.

Rossi aint immune. Shall we peek at 5/17/09?

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

As much input as possible would validate the data as to being statistically significant.

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Finally, any polls seem to be skewed by those who hear a particular mix and attribute it to the codec.

I have to agree with Peter, the placebo effect has caused the poll to be completely useless. Had it been made with the following options it might have been useful

1) dts-ma because of legacy 1.5 Mbps, etc., etc.
2) dts-ma because I think it sounds better
3) TrueHD because of DN, etc., etc.
4) TrueHD because I think it sounds better
5) As long as it's lossless I don't care
6) Other

I don't see how the current poll is of any use to you at all.

EDIT - and don't for a second anyone else suggest that just because I quoted Peter I must be a Dolby fan because I am in the Lossless is Lossless category - I couldn't care less whether you use TrueHD, PCM or dts-ma as long as you don't infringe on PQ and you have lossless audio we're all good.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Ending where you began IS going in circles.

Not if you're going counter-clockwise and make right turns.

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Rossi aint immune. Shall we peek at 5/17/09?

Of course he's not immune, but he is superhuman.