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

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

All these years later (man I feel old) this was one of the key reasons to still keep a "red" player around.
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Grand.../21007/#Review

FABULOUS to hear, from this review at least, that that fine release has been not only ported to Blu, but surpassed. Excellent news, now we can only pray that other stalwarts such as LEBOWSKI can find their way in versions that better the other HD version they're supplanting.

From one of your and my favorite places to visit -

YouTube - Rue Faubourg: Monaco Film Glamour 1960s - Making of Grand Prix Film F1

If you’re into cameras, I think you’ll see ^ glimpses of 65 mm Panavision Mitchells (BIG ). One anecdote about the production is that for the car camera servo control, they retrofitted some NASA tracking servos and linked them from ground car to helicopter vis-à-vis consumer model airplane radio controls.

I think more info on the specifics can be found here –
http://books.google.com/books?id=RdQ...page&q&f=false

Anyway, story goes that there was a kid playing at an adjacent soccer field or park, etc. with his model plane during the racing shoot and in so doing, his ‘signal’ interfered with the camera car servos (jammed them), so they had to hunt down the kid and monetarily compensate him ($$) to cease and desist his hobby while they were shooting on location.

If you’re into cars, I think a Ford GT40 was the high speed camera car…or so I’ve read.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

All these years later (man I feel old) this was one of the key reasons to still keep a "red" player around....

Life is a circle, for the first time in months, I’ve ventured back to post on what many folks here once considered a ‘red’ forum, and now that that format war has ended and Blu-ray has gone mainstream , the AVS membership are color-unbiased and just good ol’ folks searching for the truth –

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...&postcount=153

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Dennis M

YouTube - RickRoll'D

[Dennis M]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Life is a circle, for the first time in months, I’ve ventured back to post on what many folks here once considered a ‘red’ forum, and now that that format war has ended and Blu-ray has gone mainstream , the AVS membership are color-unbiased and just good ol’ folks searching for the truth –

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...&postcount=153

It's taken a long time, but thankfully it has. Focus it back to what is important, the content and not the media.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

saw THOR in 3D in our local AVX equip'd theatre (ie., RealD)

I was pleased, personally, with the more subtle use of 3D (I've discussed that before here, of course). It never really felt gimicky, and added depth and scope where required, but used more traditional depth when called for.

Just to be clear, I am not referring to THOR.

There is a feature live-action motion picture which has yet to be released at your local Cineplex which mixes film capture (2D) and digital stereo capture throughout.

The Director doesn’t want any press at all about the conversion contribution aspect of it…beforehand, because for one thing, the 2D ->3D conversion process has received such a damning reputation in some circles and secondly, he believes that given the necessary time and money, conversion work can be done well (for example – some scenes in AVATAR which were in fact 2D -> 3D conversions are apparently indistinguishable from the native 3D capture due to their lack of recognizability by critical viewing audiences….to this day) and so, sometime after said motion picture’s widespread release, said Director is looking forward to the element of surprise and realization from audiences and critics alike when he eventually reveals the fact that his feature contains some converted material which is intermixed with the native 3D capture.

I can tell you that the lion’s share of the work is out of Legend3D based in San Diego, now with offices in a lot of places.

[Dennis M]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

YouTube - RickRoll'D

OMG that is priceless.

The scary part is I remember when this song came out.

[Kris Deering]

Penton,

This may be old news and you may have already posted on it but did you by chance partake in the comparitive done with 70mm playback vs the new Barco 4K cinema projector? I guess they used some IMAX footage that was scanned in at 11K and then mastered to 4K to use as comparison with the projector showing the original film and the Barco using the 4K version on a split screen. Any thoughts on the outcome if you did attend?

[Penton-Man]

Wow, I received a boatload of PMs from members asking me….


“for a second source confirmation of what I bolded in the above post regarding the 3D aspect of AVATAR.”

Long-term members here familiar with my postings since ’07 know that in regards to serious matters like this, I do not flippantly speak beyond my experience and/or expertise as I believe the Insiders on the Insider’s forum of Blu-ray.com are expected to offer a higher standard of qualified information….more on a professional level, than a pundit level.

Nevertheless, as I’m quite certain that the 2D -> 3D converted content in AVATAR is rather quite common knowledge among well-informed professionals working in the industry….at least, in the L.A. environs, I’ll put a call in and see if I can get any further public acknowledgement of the above fact.

As an aside, for this 3DBD…https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-O...7152/#Overview

the scenes shot from behind goal were 2D -> 3D ‘converted’ because that was prime camera set-up real estate which other 2D camera crews had already staked their claim to long before a decision was made (by Sir Howard) to capture some of the last World Cup in 3D with 3D camera crews….and so set in motion the mad scramble to *make it happen*.

Anyway, as with AVATAR, I’ve read no complaints questioning or singling out these specific scenes as noticeably inferior or even just *different* compared to the rest of the footage and… truth be told, as that was in the earliest of early days of modern 3D production, I would say that the conversion technology and experience of personnel involved with that sort of thing has appreciably improved since that time.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Kris Deering

Penton,

This may be old news and you may have already posted on it but did you by chance partake in the comparitive done with 70mm playback vs the new Barco 4K cinema projector? I guess they used some IMAX footage that was scanned in at 11K and then mastered to 4K to use as comparison with the projector showing the original film and the Barco using the 4K version on a split screen. Any thoughts on the outcome if you did attend?
------------------------
Contributing Writer
Home Theater Magazine

I did not. All I heard about the demo was second-hand information that the 4K digital projector ‘won’ the shootout with the 70mm film projector and they used “Wild Ocean” and something else? as the source content…and, as you said, the 70mm content was scanned at 11k resolution and subsequently converted to a 4k DCP for the Barco to project in the demo.

Sounds interesting and promising for the future of digital cinema.

b.t.w., long time no hear. I hope you’re now getting at least some sleep with the newborn/youngin in the household.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by DenonCI

Thanks Penton. I have a thing for mermaids as well , but I really love SHARKS, specifically, San Jose Sharks!!!

My Ducks are in early hibernation this year.
When’s your next game? I haven’t been following NHL since Sunday.

[Kris Deering]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I did not. All I heard about the demo was second-hand information that the 4K digital projector ‘won’ the shootout with the 70mm film projector and they used “Wild Ocean” and something else? as the source content…and, as you said, the 70mm content was scanned at 11k resolution and subsequently converted to a 4k DCP for the Barco to project in the demo.

Sounds interesting and promising for the future of digital cinema.

b.t.w., long time no hear. I hope you’re now getting at least some sleep with the newborn/youngin in the household.

Thanks. Yes, finally getting sleep. The little one is making it through the night most of the time now and is LOTS of fun with her new talking, signing and love for exploring.

I'm anxious to get a peak at some of the new 4K DLP D-Cinema projectors. None of the houses around here have them yet, but I'm hoping soon. I did get to see one of the newer Barco 2K offerings at a local Regal house in their RPX setup and was REALLY impressed with the level of detail in the larger image. Probably the sharpest D-Cinema setup I've been to and well worth the hour long drive so far. Now if only I could get the studios to stop releasing all their big summer fare in 3D...........

[Kris Deering]

I had a chat with Brad Bird about 3D when Ratatouille was making its Blu-ray debut. He mentioned not being much of a fan of 3D and being a bigger fan of the return of large format productions. I'm with him there. While I know 3D is popular among some, it continues to take me out of the experience 99% of the time. I'm much more excited about the premise of large format filming like Nolan is going for with the upcoming Batman film and if 4K D-Cinema becomes a reality, just maybe we'll see more push for this type of filming. Fingers crossed!

[PaulGo]

[QUOTE=Penton-Man;4744602
Long-term members here familiar with my postings since ’07 know that in regards to serious matters like this, I do not flippantly speak beyond my experience and/or expertise as I believe the Insiders on the Insider’s forum of Blu-ray.com are expected to offer a higher standard of qualified information….more on a professional level, than a pundit level.
[/QUOTE]


In the many year you have been posting here and previously on AVS your posts have always been honest and accurate. I have never found you to twist or alter the facts. Sometime the way you present facts are a bit unique but that's what makes reading your posts fun!

[DenonCI]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

My Ducks are in early hibernation this year.
When’s your next game? I haven’t been following NHL since Sunday.

They play tonight. I think if they lose it tonight, the series is all but over. Vancouver is exceptionally tough this year and I don't think they have any weaknesses at all.

[pro-bassoonist]

Hello Penton,

Just stopping by to say Hello , and point your attention to a future release that I know you will appreciate



(I believe I mentioned the UK SDVD to you before).

I hope you are doing well

Pro-B

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Kris Deering

I had a chat with Brad Bird about 3D when Ratatouille was making its Blu-ray debut. He mentioned not being much of a fan of 3D and being a bigger fan of the return of large format productions. I'm with him there. While I know 3D is popular among some, it continues to take me out of the experience 99% of the time. I'm much more excited about the premise of large format filming like Nolan is going for with the upcoming Batman film and if 4K D-Cinema becomes a reality, just maybe we'll see more push for this type of filming. Fingers crossed!

I’ll gladly watch international soccer in 2D (double-D) any darn day of the week –

YouTube - ‪WM 2010 Hot Argentina Fan‬‏

Seriously, for filmmaking, I’m even more of a proponent of 4K than I am of 3D, because the resolution situation is of more imminent importance than the ‘establishment’ of 3D, since the longer 2K DI’s are routinely done for motion pictures shot on film, the more we lose, and I seriously doubt we will ever recover that captured resolution again, see –

https://forum.blu-ray.com/insider-di...ml#post2299058

Cinephile activists should be shouting – “Producers take note, if not for ourselves, do it (4K DI’s) for the sake of our cinephile children!”

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by PaulGo

In the many year you have been posting here and previously on AVS your posts have always been honest and accurate. I have never found you to twist or alter the facts. Sometime the way you present facts are a bit unique but that's what makes reading your posts fun!

YouTube - ‪Dr Tongue's 3D House of Pancakes Clip‬‏

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Nevertheless, as I’m quite certain that the 2D -> 3D converted content in AVATAR is rather quite common knowledge among well-informed professionals working in the industry….at least, in the L.A. environs, I’ll put a call in and see if I can get any further public acknowledgement of the above fact.

http://wn.com/Jeffrey_Katzenberg_Ans...-3D_Conversion

My reservation with the above ^ 3 min. video (which was forwarded to me by a colleague) is that the questionnaire (Rob H.) says “few”….which to me, means about 3 – 10 shots. I’m sure that there were far more 2D -> 3D converted shots than that. I’ll ask again for another link as proof in that regard.

For some background, as far as who be the participants in the video, I think everyone here is familiar with Jeffrey Katzenberg but, for those who are unaware of Rob’s work experience in the industry, although somewhat dated now, here is a bio of Rob Hummel, scroll down to the “H’s”, just below the dude named Houston . –

http://www.amianet.org/events/theree.../speakers.html

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Hello Penton,

Just stopping by to say Hello , and point your attention to a future release that I know you will appreciate



(I believe I mentioned the UK SDVD to you before).

I hope you are doing well

Pro-B

I’m doing just marvelous , thank you very much….and back at ya! (see the trailer) –http://www.imago.org/index.php?new=437

Seems I’ve heard of that Cardiff dude before and, for that matter, so have these international Lensers - “A Week to Remember” – http://www.imago.org/index.php?new=435

of which I duly plug the paragraph…”of great interest was the lack of artefacts even when the image was blown up 900% during a night sequence” when referring to a particular motion picture camera with an 8k sensor. I'll let that Crisp fellow fend for himself.

PaulGo – there’s even a little spiel in the same paragraph mentioning your *extra dimension*.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

http://wn.com/Jeffrey_Katzenberg_Ans...-3D_Conversion

My reservation with the above ^ 3 min. video (which was forwarded to me by a colleague) is that the questionnaire (Rob H.) says “few”….which to me, means about 3 – 10 shots. I’m sure that there were far more 2D -> 3D converted shots than that. I’ll ask again for another link as proof in that regard.

Voilà!

Scroll down to ‘47 shots that we actually filmed in 2D for Avatar’ –http://geekswithblogs.net/evjen/arch...18/142332.aspx