James Cameron plans another innovation for his next “Avatar” installment: shooting at double or more the film speed that has been Hollywood’s standard since the 1920s, a move he says will greatly improve 3-D images.
Cameron, whose 2009 sci-fi blockbuster raised the bar for digital imagery and put the 3-D craze on the fast track, said Thursday that “Avatar 2” would be shot at 48 or 60 frames a second to reduce an effect called “strobing” that can blur moving images, particularly those in 3-D. For more than 80 years, the norm has been 24 frames a second.
In a demonstration for theater owners at their CinemaCon convention, Cameron played 3-D footage he recently shot at 24, 48 and 60 frames a second to show the better quality of high-speed filming.
The footage of medieval dinner and fight sequences shot at 48 and 60 frames a second were noticeably superior.
At 24 frames, blurriness was very evident when the camera panned or dollied along the dinner table and when two knights dueled with swords. The fuzzy images greatly diminished at 48 frames and virtually vanished at 60 frames.
“I was stunned when I saw it, at how clear and crisp it was,” Cameron said. “If 3-D is like looking at reality through a window, we’ve taken the glass out of the window.”
New digital projectors rapidly being installed in theaters can handle the higher frame speeds with no more than a software upgrade, said Cameron, who wants faster filming rates to become the standard for 2-D and 3-D movies.
While 3-D has been a blessing for studios and theaters that charge a few extra dollars for the added dimension, many movie fans complain about eyestrain from blurry 3-D images. Faster film and projection speeds will help eliminate that problem, Cameron said.
“Avatar” is the biggest modern blockbuster, with $2.8 billion in theatrical revenues worldwide. Cameron has no definite timetable for his two planned “Avatar” sequels, but the second film in the franchise still is years away from theaters.
“I’m still just writing the script, so I’m a minimum of 18 months out of having to shoot something,” Cameron said. “I’ve got a bit of time to get this sorted out.”
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More