Now that Pepsi is paving the way for commercial spots shown theatrically, the rest of the advertising pack won’t be far behind. Based on the increasing likelihood that a broadcast spot won’t live and die in the television realm, it’s important to consider all the potential uses for your spot. Is there any possibility that it will need to be re-purposed for theatrical release? If there is, then before you shoot one frame, there are a few things that should be taken into consideration.
First, are you shooting film or video? If you’re shooting film, you need to shoot Super 16 or above and in 16:9 frame. Why? Because you need to set yourself up to finish in approximately the same aspect ratio as a theater screen. If you shoot in the 4:3 aspect and later decide to go 16:9, you will end up spending valuable time and money either re-transferring your footage or letterboxing the project. Worst of all, you will sacrifice the original framing and creative control if you go the latter route. In other words, when you turn a square into a rectangle, you’re going to lose a little something.
Also, if you are shooting film, you need to consider finishing with the digital intermediate (DI) process. This method allows you to get the most out of your film in terms of both resolution and color information.
If you’re shooting video, you need to shoot HD. Anything less would require up-resing your spot to HD, forfeiting resolution and production value. There is a myth that in order to get your project into the HD realm, all you need to do is up-res. True, you can take any format and get it to HD, but you can only work with the resolution of the capture medium. Up-resing is essentially adding pixels that weren’t there to begin with, so you end up with a softer image, and you undoubtedly do a disservice to the client’s product. By shooting HD, you’ll have more control and flexibility should the broadcast medium change. Plus, you’re already in the 16:9 space–there’s no need to re-format. Lastly, if your spot is being shown in a theater that has digital (HD) projection, you’ll automatically be ready to go.
Color is huge, and when we say huge, we’re talking 50-foot-screen huge. You can prepare for the large screen by using a color grading facility that offers projected color correction. That way, you can grade for the environment in which your spot will be shown. Spots look very different when shown on a CRT monitor than when projected in a theater. If you didn’t shoot with a theatrical release in mind, go to your post house and find out what it will take to re-grade your spot.
If you plan ahead for a theatrical release, you prepare your spot for not only the movie theater, but for the home theater as well. These consumers are anxiously awaiting the experience of wide-screen content, and your 16:9 presentation is guaranteed to hold their attention.