The cinema advertising business has been steadily growing in recent years. But increasingly, the quality of theatrical advertising has been coming into question.
“Most ads shown in theaters come from standard definition originals, or at best high definition, and don’t stand up to large screen projection,” relates Rand Gladden, VP at Burbank-based post house Fotokem.
But recently, Team One Advertising in El Segundo, Calif. shifted into high resolution gear, finishing Lexus’ “Details” :30 in 4k for presentation on select IMAX screens. The work is part of a deal arranged by Team One through which Lexus is providing free prints of the Sky High Entertainment’s 40-minute film Adrenaline Rush: The Science of Risk to select IMAX R theaters in exchange for running the “Details” commercial at the head.
Adrenaline Rush: the Science of Risk features extreme skydiving in locations including Florida’s Keys and California’s Mojave Desert, as well as base-jumping and parachuting. The film also examines psychological and physiological aspects of participating in such activities.
Team One decided to link this with a spot highlighting the performance of a Lexus. “We are looking at all short-form opportunities whether it is for cinema or for the web,” explains Team One producer Jack Epsteen. “The business is changing, and we are looking for ways to get our message out.”
The “Details” :30, directed by Francois Vogel of Santa Monica-based Tool of North America, was lensed in 35mm on location in Prague and originally finished in standard definition for television broadcast. The :30 was edited by Hal Honingsberg of Santa Monica-based Chrome, was color corrected at Company 3 by Stefan Sonnenfeld, and featured visual effects and finishing by Paris-based BUF Compagnie. When the decision was made to release the spot on IMAX screens, the agency went back and had “Details” remastered in 4k so that it would stand up in a large screen environment.
For those unfamiliar with the 4k data resolution, it represents 4096 horizontal pixels x 3112 vertical pixels per frame. Today’s 1080HD has a resolution of 1920×1080. And 2k resolution–which has become today’s de facto standard for digital cinema mastering–is 2048×1556. 4k is four times 2k resolution, as it doubles both the horizontal and vertical picture information. And some filmmakers are beginning to look to 4k for digital cinema mastering.
The Lexus “Details” :30 was re-mastered at Fotokem, which is equipped to offer the digital intermediate services and whose primary business is long-form work. Lexus was already working with Fotokem, which also created the Adrenaline Rush prints.
To create the 4k version of the spot, FotoKem first scanned the 35mm film elements of the Lexus commercial using its Imagica XE Advanced film scanner.
Next, dirt removal and dust busting were accomplished using MTI’s Correct, and the images were transferred into Quantel’s Pablo, an iQ-based finishing and primary color correction system that can accommodate 4k resolution.
Editor/colorist Walter Volpatto assembled the spot and did the color correction in 4k in the Pablo system, while also using Filmlight’s Truelight color management system.
This work was accomplished in a Fotokem suite that is equipped with digital projection capabilities and a 20-foot screen, which was installed to afford clients the opportunity to see what the work would look like on a big screen in a theatrical setting.
Epsteen reports that the remastering process went smoothly. He adds that Chrome’s Honingsberg played a very helpful role, as the editor went through the rough cut and graphics and marked elements that needed to be repositioned, moved or altered. For instance, the roads were cleaned when they made the original TV spots, and this task needed to be repeated in the 4k process.
Titling was done in a Discreet Flame followed by a film out at 4k to a 65mm/15 perf negative. 70 mm/15 perf exhibition prints were then created for distribution.
Bill Schultz, senior VP/general manager of digital film services at Fotokem, explains that nearly all of the trailers that are finished at Fotokem now require a digital cinema master, but this is the first commercial that the company completed in this manner and in 4k.
“The [theatrical] version of the spot had to maintain the high quality and fine detail of both the Lexus and the original TV version of the ad,” says Andrew Oran, VP of sales and operations, large format, for FotoKem. “Only a complete 4k pipeline from the 35mm original negative could achieve a level of quality that would translate well onto an 80 or 90-foot-wide IMAX R screen.”
Also working on “Details” from Team One were group creative director/art director James Dalthorp, group creative director/copywriter Jon Pearce, and executive creative director Chris Graves.