High Def video or is it?

[Vancouver]

Here is an interesting question I dont here mch talk a with the new format.

Why do movies producers actual plan on starting to film with High Def Cameras? As best I can tell the cameras they use for thins like HD sports games are not the same that is and was used for filming movies.

In my personal opion we have 480i upscaled so well with the proper equipment that unless they change the cameras they use to film movies either new format wont look better then high end DVD players like a Denon 5910 today.

 

[Hi Ho]

Movies are filmed with 35mm film. That can be scanned at just about any resolution. That's why they can take old movies and release them in true HD. They simply rescan the original film with higher resolution scanners.

TV is filmed with HD digital cameras. The resolution it's filmed at is the highest it will ever be unless it is upscaled.

If producers start using digital cameras to film movies then the best we will get with future "super HD" formats is upscaled video from any movies made with those cameras instead of film.

480i upscaled is not HD and it simply does not provide the full effect. Yes, on very good equipment it looks really good, but true HD looks even better.

I say stick with film!

 

[westcott]

Here is an interesting question I dont here mch talk a with the new format.

Why do movies producers actual plan on starting to film with High Def Cameras? As best I can tell the cameras they use for thins like HD sports games are not the same that is and was used for filming movies.

In my personal opion we have 480i upscaled so well with the proper equipment that unless they change the cameras they use to film movies either new format wont look better then high end DVD players like a Denon 5910 today.

HD Video is used quite a bit now and it is hard to tell because most users tend to lean toward a "film like" look. IMO, soft and grainy.

Give me HD Video any day like that on Jay Leno or other video documentaries and sports. It looks like HD material at its best, and not like a good DVD film copy. Ask anyone who has HD programming. Most will agree that they are very dissapointed with what the industry is calling HD via film.

 

[BMXTRIX]

It is a common misconception that film is not HD or that digital film production is less than 35mm film production.

My understanding is that digital film production occurs using cameras that exceed what broadcasters use for HD broadcasts. Far higher resolution in those cameras actually produce results that are closer to the levels of 35mm film than most people realize. Add to that, the video will never degenerate and won't have flaws from the beginning.

Now, film, by it's nature, is HD. It is comparible (I believe) to a 4000x2000 image. Look at the highest levels of HD coming down the road which is 1080p. That is 1920x1080. So, 35mm film basically contains about four times the resolution than our current displays can even handle.

Movies on film are far beyond standard definition. They are well beyond broadcast HD. Cinematic digital HD is beyond broadcast HD as well. They have to raise the bar to meet the resolution required for a 40 foot screen in a theater.

All new Star Wars movies? Shot entirely digitally.

Almost all movies? Shot on film, but then scanned into computers and edited entirely digitally. The final film masters are created from digital masters, not analog film masters anymore. The resolution is fixed, but it is VERY high - higher than we may ever need in our homes - ever.

 

[aarond]

Movies are filmed with 35mm film. That can be scanned at just about any resolution. That's why they can take old movies and release them in true HD. They simply rescan the original film with higher resolution scanners.

TV is filmed with HD digital cameras. The resolution it's filmed at is the highest it will ever be unless it is upscaled.

I say stick with film!

Most network TV sitcoms are still shot on film 35mm and 16mm. The problem with most HD formats is the depth of field. With film a cinematographer can direct the viewers attention to a specific part of the image, a crucial tool in video storytelling. I have watched nature specials on PBSHD and find my self not knowing where to focus because of the depth of field.
ARRI ( www.arri.com ) is working on a digital camera with a CMOS based on a super 35mm slide. That will use current 35mm lenses.

 

[westcott]

It really is about hardware and what producers are used to using.

It was touched on but focal lengths of lenses, imagers, lighting, and several other factors that we do not see affect the appearance of film or video. Artists still argue that film has a quality that is preferred by the masses. It is also a format most are used to working in. Even efforts to use HD Video cameras are more focused on making it look like film with the proper lighting, imaging, and lenses than embracing the live appearance of video using lenses with a much greater focal length.

Here is a link that is a good read.

http://www.tvtechnology.com/features/Tech-Corner/F_RandyHoffner.shtml

 

[soundsfine]

Photographic film is around 20,000 grains per inch! That's really HD.