Panelists Mull Film Quality at Digital Media Summit

8 Nov, 2011 By: Billy Gil

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LOS ANGELES — Panelists at Variety's Film Technology Summit Nov. 7 had a lot to say individually about film quality, with the only real consensus being that there are more options now than ever for projecting and restoring film.

Wendy Aylsworth, SVP, technology, Warner Bros. Technical Operations, said digital cinema and 4K digital film resolution, which refers to a resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels used in digital projectors and to scan and restore films for home video release, was something that the industry was still introducing for a time, but that now filmmakers were beginning to incorporate the technology into their work.

“I think we're to the point now … that we're seeing the creatives push the envelope,” she said.

Cinematographer Roberto Schaefer (Quantum of Solace, Finding Neverland) was less keen on 4K resolution as well as 3D.

“Everything starts to look like daytime soap opera,” he said, regarding digital, adding that quality of image doesn't necessarily mean a sharper, crisper image. Regarding 3D, he said: “People seem to like it, sometimes. … But it comes down to story, also.”

The job for technologists is to provide the “quiver” necessary for filmmakers to choose their tools as they see fit, according to Peter Lude, president of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. However, Schaefer said while options are great, he feared the ultra high-resolution of 4K and 3D would become the expected norm.

Aylsworth added: “I think that there's a lot of things that go into the reasons you go to the movie theater [that go] beyond pixels.”

Aylsworth said theaters can go beyond what you get at home because the experiences are different — theaters are dimly lit, and there are fewer distractions than at home, where people find they don't like wearing 3D glasses, for instance.

“I think that there will always be a need for theater-going, as opposed to home viewing,” she said.

Pierre Routher, VP, 3D product strategy and business development for Technicolor, agreed.

“The home version will be very immersive, but it will never be the same,” he said. But he added that his kids like the flexibility of being able to watch movies on the go on their iPad.

Routher said technologies are evolving very quickly and the industry must take caution when introducing them to ensure things don't go wrong, such as 3D imaging that can make audiences feel nauseous. He said TV sets were being developed that could change the color gamut used to reflect filmmakers original intent. Lude encouraged coordination between theater operators, creators and consumer electronics manufacturers to keep such information via metadata.

Meanwhile, on a film restoration panel, panelists showed off films restored for home video release, such as Warner's recently released Ben-Hur, touted as the best restoration ever, costing nearly $2 million and scanned in 8K, according to Jeff Baker, EVP and GM, theatrical library, Warner Home Entertainment.

Andrea Kalas, VP, archives, Paramount Pictures, showed off a stunning restoration of the silent film Wings, which Paramount will release as part of its centennial celebration next year. She said the nitrate degredation was such that digital effects tools were necessary to restore the 1927 film.

“The digital technology we use for restoration allows us to do things we … couldn't address in the photochemical world,” said Grover Crisp, EVP, asset management, film restoration and digital mastering, Sony Pictures Entertainment.

(L-R): Film critic Leonard Maltin, Grover Crisp, Robert Heiber, Andrea Kalas and Jeff Baker at the film restoration panel.

 

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