Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Trailers for "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

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Topic: Trailers for "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

Dominic Case
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 131
From: Sydney NSW Australia
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 04-20-2005 10:30 PM

quote: John Pytlak
Kodak recycles the numbers that designate film type

This is good stuff from Kodak.

THe world is rapidly getting polluted with numbers. I blame much of this on "lossy" compression, much favoured by the digital video people, whereby 90% or more of all the numbers in every frame are simply discarded, with no thought of the damage they might do in the wrong place.

While recycling old film stock numbers is only a drop in the ocean, it shows that Kodak have realised that every number counts.

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Phil Hill
I love my cootie bug

Posts: 7595
From: Hollywood, CA USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 04-20-2005 10:55 PM

Thanks John! I now "get it"... [Smile]

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Kevin Wale
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 167
From: Guymon, OK USA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 04-20-2005 11:16 PM

quote: John Pytlak
I haven't seen the trailer on a big screen yet, but I suspect the printing negative may have been a direct output from a 4K Digital Intermediate. The difference between 2K and 4K is usually obvious on a 35mm film projected on a big screen, and 4K begins to approach direct print quality.

Is there any correlation between the 2 and 4K you are mentioning here to that of the DLP projector chips? If so, is it your opinion that dlp could litterally be approaching print quality within the next couple of chip advancements? I'm thinking some of the newest DLPs are already 4k right?

I'm just curious because I'm not as up to date on all the digital technology in the last year whether it be on the mastering, or exhibition side, and if you are saying that I would think that rather profound coming from a film guru such as yourself.

I also have yet to see a DLP presentation so I don't know first hand how the significantly less resolution of DLP verses film really shows up on a 30' screen. I have been impressed with what a $15,000.00 digital projector can put out on a 30' screen when playing a dvd. Certainly not the breathtaking imagery as say Return Of The King on film, but I'm amazed at what 1's and 0's can do. lol.

I have seen the Hitchhiker trailer and it is extremely rich. I agree that it jumped out without needing to be looked for. When he is waking up, with the extreme close up... that's usually a classic blunder type of shot and it was crisp.

So, what I'm gathering from this thread is that the cause of that is the film used to create the master? (sorry, I think in terms of a recording studio. lol) Or, is the same film being used in the mass product as well?

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 04-21-2005 01:52 PM

Even as digital projector resolution eventually gets to 4K (pixels across the width of the image), you need a server capable of delivering the datastream needed for 4K images(theoretically four times the data needed for 2K). Matching the black level and subtle tonality of film (increased bit depth / better quantization) is also a challenge.

Kodak VISION Color Intermediate Film 2242 is usually the film of choice for both film duplication and laser recording (e.g., Kodak Lightning Recorder, Arrilaser Recorder) from a Digital Intermediate. Other recording technologies with less light output may record onto a slow camera negative film.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HNN/is_11_18/ai_111304218

quote:
...Digital mastering for a feature film usually implies an output to film. This potential is causing more post people than ever to wonder what it is that makes one film recording process different (and possibly better) than another. The truth is, the verdict is still out on which is better (the never-ending laser vs. CRT debate, for example), but one thing never changes--the machine that goes "bing" is still only as good as the people who run it....

http://www.editorsguild.com/newsletter/MayJun02/digital_intermediate.html

quote:
In the last year or two, the price of scanning film and recording it back to celluloid has come down so much that it is now economically feasible to bring an entire show into the digital domain, work with it there and record it out, ready for printing in the laboratory. The term "digital intermediate" has come to be used for this process, and though it is still so new that in some cases it is being redefined with each show, the fundamental creative and technical advantages may soon make it a standard part of post-production for many features....

Digital intermediate technology is evolving quickly, and prices are expected to come down as new and faster equipment becomes available. Thomson is currently developing the Spirit DataCine 2, to be released in October. It is said to make true 2K scans in 14-bit RGB at a rate of 30 frames per second, as well as 4K scans at 6 to 8 fps. Other high-speed, high-resolution scanners are in the works from Sony, Cintel, ITK and others....

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Wayne Keyser
Master Film Handler

Posts: 272
From: Arlington, Virginia, USA
Registered: May 2004

posted 04-21-2005 02:30 PM

If the notion (expressed by several posters) that the trailer comes from digital elements is correct, may we be seeing some result of a digital "sharpening" process?

Without knowing much about the technical details, I know I can "sharpen" photos with one or more of the digital imaging programs on my computer (though the result is only an APPARENT sharpening, and can easily go way WAY too far).

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 04-21-2005 02:39 PM

If digital intermediate were used, there could indeed be some digital "sharpening". It could also simply be that 4K was used, getting the most out of the original film images and onto the screen.

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