Directors playing a part in hidef - John Landis tells studio to degrade picture!

I dont call in making the picture darker, degrading it.



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Originally Posted by MovieSwede /forum/post/11776782


I dont call in making the picture darker, degrading it.

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Not my words - the technicians'.


And the pretty-vs-funky commentary alludes to a more general uglification than simple darkening.

If my memory is correct I remember reading about this a couple of years ago on HTF when the last DVD version of Animal House was prepared (Double Probation editon). That looked to clean for Landis and they had to degrade that.



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Originally Posted by Everdog /forum/post/11777065


Sadly, when the average person thinks HD, they think clear, bright and colorful (colourful for those outside the US). How often have you heard people say there is no need to release B&W films in HD? Double eek!

Numerous people have asked me why HD football games look better than HD films on HDM. They don't see all the macroblocks and artifacts, they just see bright colors...ooooh...pretty colors....must be HD.

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Dont forget things like sharpening, edgeenhancment and DNR.


In the end everybody has a different view of what a good image is.

The story and characters are obviously more important than just eye candy. But once in a while, eye candy is harmless fun.


What Rob Zombie says though worries me.


We think that absolute detail and clarity should be how HDM should be judged on technical merits, yet Landis and Zombie appear to think otherwise. Zombie didn't like it when things look too "clear" and too "clean" equating it with ****.


Directors' intent really give me a headache sometimes, but I suppose they know what effect they are trying to project. I suppose too much detail can reveal more of their mistakes, but even on DVDs, mistakes are often a great talking point for movie-buffs, so HDM just allows more technical mistakes in the movies to be seen. How is that different?



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Originally Posted by MovieSwede /forum/post/11777229


Well I think the reason why waterworld needed 175millions was because of the weak story and characters.

But I do agree with him, first story and character. Great PQ and AQ is bonus.


How many of you here watched starwars on VHS tape in a 4:3 tv with monosound and were still amazed over the movie?

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Let's not forget that most films are not large budget action films with lots of CGI. Many of the best films are the character/story driven dramas and comedies. And seriously, would 7.1 lossless surround sound instead of mono make a huge difference when watching Citizen Cane, On the Waterfront or Its a Wonderful Life?



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Originally Posted by Everdog /forum/post/11777398


And seriously, would 7.1 lossless surround sound instead of mono make a huge difference when watching Citizen Cane, On the Waterfront or Its a Wonderful Life?

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No, because they were original mono.


But does 1080p make a difference when watching Casablanca? In my opinion - hell yes. If I didn't think that I wouldn't have hidef at all - big action/sfx blockbuster don't do much for me.

I am awestruck on how well Casablanca looks in HD DVD and Blu-ray.


That sold me on how good some of the classics , even the B&W ones can look in HD DVD.


I've seen Casablanca now both on 720p and 1080p60 and both ways its so much better than DVD its not funny. Both the HD DVD and IIRC I just saw Joe Kane using it on Blu-ray at 1080p24 at the Samsung theater booth at CEDIA.


Watching the smoke curl, you can almost taste it and watching nuances like the medals and watches make it look like you are in the room.

"Graded , grading" refers to colour correction in film speak.


"degraded" although not exactly good terminology probably just means they backed off on the overall colour correction rather than physically degrading the image quality.

imo, unless the director asks, leave processing alone and just do a true complete transfer of the film. some directors wanted their films to look clear but due to technical limitations they could not. some directors intended for their films to have a degraded look, and when transferring such films the look should be intact.



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Originally Posted by Mr.D /forum/post/11777925


"Graded , grading" refers to colour correction in film speak.


"degraded" although not exactly good terminology probably just means they backed off on the overall colour correction rather than physically degrading the image quality.

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I agree with this - I think it's more likely they reduced the contrast and color range, rather than the resolution. Made it less "perky", but keeping it HD would have met the director's demand.

I think what is significant in this story is here:

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Same with Oliver Stone.


“I’m going to, I’m going to,” Stone said about getting high-def players at home. “I have a nice plasma screen.” ...

Stone noted that a feature-length documentary about his Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut, made by his son Sean, “is only on the [HD DVD and Blu-ray] because it doesn’t fit into the two-disc [DVD].”

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It would seem that studios are not having space problems on HD DVD. They are able to fit more on HD DVD than on 2 disc DVD sets already.



Quote:
Originally Posted by rdjam /forum/post/11778134


I think what is significant in this story is here:


It would seem that studios are not having space problems on HD DVD. They are able to fit more on HD DVD than on 2 disc DVD sets already.

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Good heavens, can't you set aside the spin doctor hat for a bloody minute? For you, absolutely everything is a hook to boost your preferred format.

It all depends on if its a style, language, manner, plot or characterdriven story(or a mixture)


If style is an important part the movie(wich it is in most hollywoodfilms), PQ and AQ is very important. And style movies are the thing that sells best for us in the highdef crowd.