Star Wars Episode III

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Exactly Alex, that's what I mean.
Nice example of of Alien also!

And you're right, in Sky Captain and Sin City they are really artistic choices. It seems with the new Star Wars Films George Lucas never wants to build any set anymore because he can do it with CGI, and it makes his movie very un-organic. If uses with degrees, it comes more into balance, and what you told is indeed his biggest problem: his writing... Terrible.

[Yi Fong Yu]

back to the topic@hand,

http://imdb.com/title/tt0121766/technical
^i thought ep3 used 4k recording process instead of 2k, i'm really surprised that he stuck with 1920x1080, if lucas is satisfied, does this mean that 2k is "good 'nuff"?

did anyone see ep3 in DLP? i went to my local cinema with a 2k projector and the image looked very good across a 300' screen. i honestly think that a 4k projector would be overkill. thus, i don't understand why Warner Bros remastered Gone w/Wind, Wizard of Oz in 4k resolution when 2k is plenty.

on my projector @home (1024x768 native), the 1920x1080p resolution of T2 Extreme Edition looks awesome. even a 1080i broadcast or 720p movie looks so much better than regular DVDs.

[Heath McKnight]

I wonder, since they aren't shooting digital in 4k (as of right now, only the Dalsa Origin shoots in that and is too expensive to rent), do they need to master in 4k? Film is "4k," so I can see doing a DI in 4k and editing/outputting back to film that way.

heath

[Heath McKnight]

I was curious if T2 Extreme's WMHD DVD was 720p. I bought that 3 years ago and never saw the DVD (PC, fast, big monitor, Windows XP Pro--all of which I DON'T have).

heath

[Nick Jushchyshyn]

Visual effects is nothing new to great film.
2001
The original King Kong
Citizen Kane is LOADED with visual effects
Ben Hur

I'm a HUGE Star Wars fan (the 1977 film is what ultimately led me to what I do today), but I think the shortcuts in story and dialog are the real issue with series rather than the effects. There are very few instances where the effects pull me out of the story. Many are so realistic you probably wouldn't be able to know which elements are from a live set vs added in post.

As for resolution, only the Dalsa shoots digital 4k at the moment and they're waaayyyy more expensive than Sony's F950. With the Sony cameras, LucasDigital could have several cameras all over the world.

Sin City's effects were an artistic choice from the beginning, but much of Sky Captain's look was actually about hiding issues (that resulted from less than ideal shots and schedules) in a creative way. BTW, MOST of the sets in Star Wars are NOT CGI. Almost all are EXTENDED with CGI, but only a few are totally CG. Most of the areas directly around the action are real and beyond that, there is a LOT of "real" miniature and photographic work in use rather than "all CGI".

As has been noted, this is a galaxy far far away, so many of the effects are spotted easily only because they are simply impossible to do any other way and our experienced minds are aware of this even while we "suspend disbelief" for a little while to enjoy the moment.

Have fun. :)

[Heath McKnight]

Wanna know how expensive the Origin is?

http://dalsa.com/dc/index.asp

and

http://dalsa.com/dc/dcc/products/products.asp (their own rental house that rents EVERYTHING)

and

http://dalsa.com/dc/origin/origin.asp (daily prices--that's without a lens, recorder, etc.)

heath

[Yi Fong Yu]

T2's EE WMV-HD is 1920x1080@24p, 6.7mbps variable in 4 files totallying around 5 gigabytes.

since there is DRM involved, you'll need a PC to be connected to the internet in order to view the content.

Originally Posted by Heath McKnight

I was curious if T2 Extreme's WMHD DVD was 720p. I bought that 3 years ago and never saw the DVD (PC, fast, big monitor, Windows XP Pro--all of which I DON'T have).

heath

[John Hudson]

This is where I get confused. All this talk of wasted pixels......

If one shoots Super 35 and crops it to a 2:35.1 is it wasting pixel's (resolution) ? Isn't what is being done by Lucas (and incidentally Rodriguez in Once Upon A Time in Mexico (Yes, I mean Mexico) the same thing in essence?

Isn't this what we do shooting digital ? It's not wasting pixels. It is'nt wasting anything.

And Ken; I'm not sure I'm following ? You are saying film the actors on the stage and then you have the option of 'Re-sizing' them in post?'. Who is doing this ?

---

CGi should always be used for all intense practical and enhancement purposes; not the end all of end all's like Lucas is doing.

And Mathieu; we know you meant Mexico ! ,:O'

[Heath McKnight]

I know with HDV you can zoom in around 70% before it gets too distorted.

heath

[John Hudson]

Hi Keith

What about film (new Vison of example) ?

[Heath McKnight]

Originally Posted by John Hudson

Hi Keith

What about film (new Vison of example) ?

Do you mean "Heath?"

heath

[John Hudson]

Yes I did (Sorry; on multiple thread's :P )

Just call me Mike to get even

[Heath McKnight]

I'm assuming that HD movies shot in 1080i/p are probably cut in 2k and put to film. I know that 35mm film is cut with a 4k DI.

heath