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

[Paul H]

Originally Posted by Blu-Ray Watcher

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/s...zingspiderman/

Thank you!

[Blu-Ray Watcher]

Originally Posted by Paul H

Thank you!

No problem.

[ole geezer]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Hugo in 3D

Abstract –

The 3D is used to enhance the characters rather than sets in most scenes, despite the fantastic production design (hello, detractors of the Blu-ray Bram Stoker’s Dracula, we meet again but, this time in 3D).

Findings –
There is considerable emphasis on the negative parallax space, i.e. when an object is placed in front of the screen plane and in this case, the objects which take most advantage of this 3D choice, for the most part are the young actors (and the dobe) which undoubtedly is an attempt by Marty S. to get audiences more immersed with the characters themselves….and I think it works nicely.

In those scenes which concentrate on the negative parallax in this fashion, the background is set at the screen plane and often blurry. So, what we have in these shots (which constitute a significant amount of the motion picture) is essentially a shallow depth of focus which even further aids in making the characters more immersive.

When positive parallax (objects behind the screen) is embraced to take advantage of the spatial depth, it is usually to delineate the great production design of the clock, gears, open shots of the train station, etc.

Technically, the 3D imagery is consistent and other than a little volume bounce at the beginning and some floating window issues (which may well be related to the unfinished nature of the early screenings), I didn’t notice any technical flaws. Well done.

Conclusions-

I wouldn’t go into this film expecting to be overwhelmed with great detailed spatial depth as in *Big 3D* or you may come away disappointed and anyway, I don’t think the subject matter would have been conducive to that approach in the first place. The real question is, was the 3D effective for the storytelling? Did it augment the story and not interfere? I believe it was effective as the immersion with the characters using the negative parallax greatly augmented the story over what it would have looked like in 2D (although that iteration I haven’t seen as of yet).

Regarding the content itself….
Film geeks interested in film history should especially like the references and imagery regarding the early days of filmmaking.

Thanks for the preview, Penton.

Love this line of yours...."The 3D is used to enhance the characters rather than sets in most scenes..." and will be interesting to see how this effect unravels on the screen. I saw a preview of Hugo in 3D and I'm completely captivated already by the quality of what I've seen.

[ole geezer]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

It's interesting to me that you consciously identify this moment of similitude as decisive in your embracing of 3D, as I don't tend to think of this kind of illusory quality as crucial to my appreciation/acceptance of 2D films. I suppose I do "need" the quality of animation (ie. sufficient and consistent frame-rate) to produce a certain level of persistence-of-vision effect, but 24fps commercial cinema doesn't produce a convincing illusion for me and I don't feel that I need it to. I'm always aware that I'm watching an animated facsimile of reality.

Urgghhhhhh...how boring.

The films that stay with me are those where... what's known as suspension of disbelief takes over and I forget that I'm watching an "animated facsimile."

Speaking of "animated facsimile," I saw Lion King 3D last week and was totally unimpressed...no suspension of disbelief for me there. As much as I am a fan of 3D, I've come to believe that this process is wasted on cartoon movies. I mean to say....what's the point in enhancing a totally make believe world with 3D where the principle players sometimes have no ears nor nostrils.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by ole geezer

Urgghhhhhh...how boring.

How boring that when I'm watching a movie, I can tell that I'm not looking through a window?

Originally Posted by ole geezer

what's the point in enhancing a totally make believe world with 3D where the principle players sometimes have no ears nor nostrils.

Huh... I guess the 'ears and nostrils 3D viability' test just passed me by.

[Steedeel]

I just hope there are no plans to convert Enter The Void to 3D. Just watched it and wondered how dizzying it would be to watch in 3D with the Sony Visor. Or even maybe moving around. OR watching it, whilst moving around having drank a few beers!

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by ole geezer

Thanks for the preview, Penton.

Love this line of yours...."The 3D is used to enhance the characters rather than sets in most scenes..." and will be interesting to see how this effect unravels on the screen. I saw a preview of Hugo in 3D and I'm completely captivated already by the quality of what I've seen.

Well, just keep in mind that there are some scenes which do show spatial depth (like the scenes I noted above, along with the shots of Paris and the scenes in Méliès’ workshop but, in this motion picture, there is definitely more of a pronounced emphasis on the negative parallax, as I described, and the way it is used to immerse the audience with the characters, I think is a departure from the typical 3D movies most viewers have experienced. Again, I look forward to any *conversion detractors* accurately identifying the scenes in Hugo which were 2D -> 3D converted.

If folks don’t get the whole film history tie-in regarding Ben Kingley’s character, George Méliès , I’ll give you the skinny. George Méliès directed over 500 films and pioneered many special effects including dissolves, multiple exposures, adding color to film by hand, the stop trick and time-lapse photography. Most filmmakers believe that had 3D been available when Monsieur Méliès lived, he would have been pushing the boundaries of 3D back then in the ol’ days.

At the top of the VES (Visual Effects Society) home page, check out that yellow logo -
http://www.visualeffectssociety.com/

kinda looks like a variation of the iconic image from A Trip to the Moon, another film by George Méliès, which was fairly recently shown at the Academy (see middle pics under 'Restoration Gallery on the right)…..
http://www.oscars.org/events-exhibit...p-to-moon.html

[Penton-Man]

P.S.
I typed up that 3Dassessment of Hugo rather quickly, so for those who require an explanation of the phrase “volume bounce”, it does not represent something akin to Beyonce shaking her anatomy (I’m talking to you Denon CI )…

http://www.youtube.com/user/beyonceV.../0/OJBfv9CHlcw

but rather, is an artifact probably related to the interaxial distance (camera separation) and switching lenses between shots.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I just hope there are no plans to convert Enter The Void to 3D. Just watched it and wondered how dizzying it would be to watch in 3D with the Sony Visor. Or even maybe moving around. OR watching it, whilst moving around having drank a few beers!

Can you imagine if Roger Corman gets the 3D conversion bug (protect the women and children!), play the trailer –
http://www.cormansworld.com/

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by rickah88

Penton, you know all the right things to say at just the right times! Will I get the same thoughtful treatment tomorrow if my Eagles choke?...

Yes, you may have already seen it once but no problem, as watching it again may help ease your pain this time around –
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Invincible-Blu-ray/236/

[DenonCI]

Way to go Miss Kunis:

http://www.people.com/people/article...s-topheadlines

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Yes, you may have already seen it once but no problem, as watching it again may help ease your pain this time around –
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Invincible-Blu-ray/236/

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Can you imagine if Roger Corman gets the 3D conversion bug (protect the women and children!), play the trailer –
http://www.cormansworld.com/

Love some of the quotes in that trailer! "There is no need for taste", Great!

[Penton-Man]

Alan from Georgia, are you around?
I notice in the news section is the announcement for the Blu-ray of Courageous…
https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=7771

Interesting exhibition note is that this motion picture premiered at the Fox Theater in Hot-lanta, the venue I believe which also hosted the premiere of Gone With the Wind. On a post production note, the color correction was a collaborative process involving the Director and D.P. LUTs were made utilizing FilmLight’s TrueLight system. Initial color correction took about a week. A second color correction pass for the video deliverables entailed an additional 3 or 4 days.

P.S.
Note to mhafner . On a historical note, the RED footage was recorded onto RED drives…..
http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-co...camera-244718/

[Penton-Man]

Men, this is what we’ve all trained for.
Make....Us....Proud, remember-

Leave no turkey behind!

[Penton-Man]

Finally, to lead us into the Thanksgiving Holiday, well, you know me…an animal story is duly worthy. I’m told there is some guy posting on many of the A/V boards who goes by the name of something like ‘hayeshashisway’ -?sp. who, by his own admission, has watched West Side Story either 20 or 50 times and apparently can do many of the song-and-dance routines on queue.

Anyway Mr. hayeshashisway, if you think you’re special or something….you’ve got nothing on ‘Jake’ as according to the owner, he’s been through 7 televisions, 10 VCR’s, and 26 VHS tapes over the years watching his favorite movie, Babe. No report on how many DVD slide trays he’s worn out.

The video –
http://video.foxnews.com/v/128822342...babe-obsession

But, this clip is my personal favorite because it involves those who often sacrifice so much in the service of our country and ask so little in return –
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#45393963

I wish all members a happy, safe Thanksgiving.

[rickah88]

Great story! Thanks for sharing Penton!
You & yours have a Happy, Safe & Healthy Thanksgiving!

[Anthony P]

happy thanks giving to you as well. Any plans?

[Dennis M]

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends in the US.

Have fun overdosing on Turkey.

[sharkshark]

May you 'Mericans have a Thanksgiving as joyous as this:

Van Persie, 5º gol contra o Chelsea (Narração em espanhol) - YouTube