Why don’t we see film grain in theaters?

[diamondfoxxx]

I’d really appreciate it if somebody could educate me on this.
So the logic I hear for the presence of film grain in BD’s is that their resolution is higher, which gives us more detail and in turn we can also see the fine grain which is inherent in film. But the resolution of film is higher than a BD, so why can’t we see the grain in theaters? Is it because of the screen size? If so, if I blow up my BD to a 110inch screen will the grain be unnoticeable? Or is it because of the analogue method in theaters and the digital method in home use?

[ZeeMan84]

I saw a lot of grain in 300 in theaters. So much grain that it seemed it was swarming with mosquito near a swamp. I saw the same thing on blu-ray too.

[CheapChildren]

You see it but it appears more spread out. So you just don't notice it. trust me it's there.

[yellowblanket]

tell me about it, i literally have to spray some Raids whenever i watch 300 because i thought it was a swamp of mosquito

[WickyWoo]

I see it in every film I go to, no matter what

Probably because the screen is so large, you're concentrating on only segments of the picture, rather than taking the whole thing in, and therefore dismissing the grain theatrically

[Keiths Light]

im not really sure what your talking about. i think grain is much more noticeable in the theatres then at home, as it should be.

[Bobby Henderson]

Um, maybe the film projection was out of focus? Or perhaps the theater had bad quality projectors with bad quality lenses?

I've seen a lot of grain with some movies. Films shot in Super35 format tend to be more grainy than others. Sometimes that's on purpose. Oceans 11 had to be one of the most grainy movies I'd ever seen in the theater.

[NockNock]

thats what i was thinking i notice it all the time.

Originally Posted by Keiths Light

im not really sure what your talking about. i think grain is much more noticeable in the theatres then at home, as it should be.

[videonut]

Originally Posted by ZeeMan84

I saw a lot of grain in 300 in theaters. So much grain that it seemed it was swarming with mosquito near a swamp. I saw the same thing on blu-ray too.

The grain in this film was added in after the fact. The movie was film digitally so there was not really any grain.

They also did this in the animated film Surf's Up. They added grain to give it a real effect.

[Bobby Henderson]

300 was shot on 35mm film (in the Super35 process, 2.39:1). It was not shot using HD video cameras.

People often assume 300 was shot on video for its similarities in production with that of Sin City. Film cameras can and are very often used in "digital backlot" style production techniques.

However, the seemingly excessive grain in 300 does indeed appear pretty artificial and looks very much like it was later added in post production.

[brosephjames]

The question is pretty vague. Which theaters? Which films? Which blu rays? There's about 6 trillion variables at play here, when you saw the film, how it was projected, the quality of the film used in the high def scan, the quality of the scan itself. Without specifics it's impossible to generalize.

If anything the major complaint ought to be the opposite: why grain is seemingly absent from the blu ray, mysteriously replaced by waxy people and pastel landscapes

IMO I think the answer is simply more psychological. All those years of seeing plasma displays we couldn't afford back in the 90s demod with super saturated glossy scenes has made us associate modern high def home displays with that particular aesthetic, an association we dont bring in with us to the theater and so aren't adjusting our senses to expect it.

The real goal of high def should not be "does it look a certain way" but "is it transparent to the intended source." That alone eliminates any and all concerns about grain and such, but of course the studios disagree

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by brosephjames

The real goal of high def should not be "does it look a certain way" but "is it transparent to the intended source." That alone eliminates any and all concerns about grain and such, but of course the studios disagree

I can see that nobody is going to pull the wool over your eyes.

[segagamer12]

this is one of the side effects of where I live, we have a very cheap ($2.50 per ticket) theater that projects only digitally. I notice all the time the quality is not as good as I used to get at the bigger theaters but I am stuck here till I finish school and hey I won't complain too much because the price is pretty good. The other draw back is they only show 3D movies now and those don't always look as good on their cheap projector.

[Luis_A51]

Are you for real? I see grain in theatres alllll the time. Thats why the first time I noticed grain on a BD I thought to myself "wow, this is just like the theatre"

[diamondfoxxx]

Yeah, I'm for real. Maybe the theaters in your country display much sharper, focused images than mine. I honestly don't remember seeing noticeable grain on any of the films I've watched in theaters here. That's why I'm confused

[ryoohki]

It's there.. it's only plastered 1000x you're screen size so it's diluated..

[WickyWoo]

It's there.. it's only plastered 1000x you're screen size so it's diluated..

Grain is not a liquid. If anything itwould be magnified

As I said, you're simply looking at areas of interest and it's easier to ignore because you're not concentrating on the entire image

[Elandyll]

Plugged my PS3 as son as I got back home on Friday, did the whole setup and patched.

First thing I did on Saturday morning was to play 300.

Gorgeous picture, but I was livid with the amount of Grain. Darker scenes were literally pulsing with millions of mosquitos.

-Then- I remembered something about TV's Default settings (Brand new HDTV).
I went to check, and sure enough, Sharpness was at 50/100.
I got it back down to 0 (where it should probably be for films), chose a better contrast / bright / color tones, and lo and behold, grain is now totally theatre - like (much reduced, feeling more natural), and the pic is just drooling-gorgeous

[DavePS3]

I have yet to see a theater picture that is not always slightly out of focus making things softer. If the PQ is soft, you don't pick up the grain as easily.

[Rustmonsteru]

Two years ago I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it, but after enough blu I notice grain in the theatre now also.