FOR PROPERLY EQUIPPED postproduction companies, the world surrounding high-definition television is as inspiring a business development as digital effects for movies was when it burst onto the scene nine or ten years ago.
You’re saying, "So why am I not excited?" Probably because of all the false dawns we’ve had during many years of waiting for HD. But make no mistake that HD is finally with us—and it’s going to be significant, soon.
At Sunset Digital Studios, we’re deep into HD. We recently concluded a series of tests remastering a well-known, well-loved TV series to HD. Obviously the studios believe there’s more mileage in certain programs of theirs, and there will be much more where that came from. The series was originally shot on 35mm and was naturally postproduced in regular NTSC, with no thought of protecting for a wider aspect ratio at the time of shooting.
We’ve developed a "secret sauce" for up-rezzing and adjusting the picture to 16:9, which gives a fascinating new look to old favorites. (I only wish it could do something similar for me.) It makes a tried-and-tested TV series look like it was meant for the movies.
Along the way, we’ve stumbled across a means of producing a kind of poor-man’s HD: super-sharp pictures in 16:9, so good you have to look twice to tell the difference when identical pictures posted in different resolutions are played on adjacent HD and standard definition monitors.
These days, studios have HD in mind when shooting new series. Interestingly however, some of the programs shot on tape are produced in HD, while some are still shot in standard definition. This must be an indicator of confidence in the longevity of different series. Of course, material shot on 35mm film covers all eventualities.
What about commercials? Almost all are shot on film, but how long before they are regularly telecined, post produced and/or stored onto HD tape? It’s a simple matter of economics, of course—the cost of HD versus how long a campaign will run, versus how many people have HD TV sets (almost none—at the moment).
However, in Europe, and especially in the U.K., 16:9 PAL TV sets have been selling quietly, but consistently, for some years. Over that time, a fashionable wide-screen look has developed among certain spots. Knowing ad agencies as I do, it’s typical that one will soon jump into HD and the rest will follow.
Of course for the right kind of spot, which will probably be a high-profile international ad, the economic argument for posting in HD can easily be made, especially if the commercial is also intended for theatrical release. Mastering onto an HD 1080/24 progressive scan allows any movie to be stored in a handy common denominator format.
From there it is easy to go either up to 35mm film, sideways to HD television or down to either PAL or NTSC. And anyone can demonstrate how this is money well-spent.
Review: Writer-Director Adam Elliot’s “Memoir of a Snail”
It's not your typical stop-motion film when characters name pets after Sylvia Plath and read "The Diary of Anne Frank" — or when the story's inspired by a quote from existentialist thinker Søren Kierkegaard. And it's certainly not your typical stop-motion film when you find yourself crying as much as the characters do — in their case, with huge droplets leaking from bulging, egg-shaped eyes so authentic-looking, you expect the screen to get wet. But those are just a few of the unique things about Adam Elliot's "Memoir of a Snail," a film that's as heart-tugging as it is technically impressive, a work of both emotional resonance and great physical detail using only clay, wire, paper and paint. One thing Elliot's film is not, though, is for kids. So please take note before heading to the multiplex with family in tow: this film earns its R rating, as you'll discover as soon as young Grace, voiced by Sarah Snook, tells us she thought masturbation was about chewing your food properly. Sex, nudity, drunk driving, a fat fetish — like we said, it's R-rated for a reason. But let's start at the beginning. In this, his seventh "clayography" (for "clay" and "biography"), the Australian writer-director explores the process of collecting unnecessary objects. Otherwise known as hoarding, it's something that weighs us down in ways we can't see, for all the clutter. Elliot also argues that it helps us build constrictive shells around ourselves — like snail shells, perhaps. Our protagonist is Grace Pudel, voiced with a quirky warmth and plenty of empathy by the wonderfully agile Snook. We first encounter Grace as a grown woman, telling her long, lonely life story to her pet garden snail, Sylvia (named after Plath), at a moment of deep sadness. Then we flash... Read More