Have a question for Doug Trumbull?
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I do have a question that is a little off-topic.
Doug Trumbull was spearheading initiatives to overcome limitations of traditional 24 frames/second (and the inevitable motion blur during camera pans) by proposing 30 fps with his Showscan process.
Now that we have electronic frame creation in our flat screens that create the missing frames to have 48 fps (some call it "soap opera effect") I'm curious how he feels about it.
On my UK Blu-ray of "Silent Running" (directed by Doug Trumbull) the content providers actually "ask" the home video user to switch off artificial motion enhancers. But I'd like to know from Doug Trumbull whether I have to feel guilty about not doing it...
Thanks in advance for your assistance.
Bob
Doug Trumbull was spearheading initiatives to overcome limitations of traditional 24 frames/second (and the inevitable motion blur during camera pans) by proposing 30 fps with his Showscan process.
Now that we have electronic frame creation in our flat screens that create the missing frames to have 48 fps (some call it "soap opera effect") I'm curious how he feels about it.
On my UK Blu-ray of "Silent Running" (directed by Doug Trumbull) the content providers actually "ask" the home video user to switch off artificial motion enhancers. But I'd like to know from Doug Trumbull whether I have to feel guilty about not doing it...
Thanks in advance for your assistance.
Bob
Unfortunately I was not able to ask him a question as I was right behind the person who got to ask the last question! >_<
He answered a question concerning how his experience on 2001 (or maybe close encounters... I saw them both the same day) compared to TMP, which he said "there is no comparison". Basically he summarized his experience on the film as very hard on him, mentioning that at one point he was admitted to the hospital due to stress and exhaustion. He blamed Paramounts wishy washy nature, lack of planning, and just overall rushed schedule, and did the job (under protest) to get out of his contract.
Robert Comsol: Showscan was 60FPS. He said many times he does like the 24P format, and appreciates it's place in cinema, not wishing to supplant it. He wanted showscan, and now wants Magi, to offer a new/alternative process to advance spectacle. I imagine the blu-ray says that is because Trumbull is proud of his previous work as it is, and didn't strike me as revisionist in his opinions of his previous work. A lot of his work was very precisely, and to present it improperly is probably not what he wants (he spoke at length about his preparations for the screening of his short).
I saw the QAs he did for 2001, Close Encounters, and UFOTOG (The 70MM print used for 2001 was absolutely incredible). I don't want to cover his answers very much as I saw people recording them and I'm sure those'll be uploaded to youtube at some point.
His short was basically a techdemo for his Magi process. It was produced on a low budget which shows, but the process was pretty neat. It was presented at 4K 120FPS in 3D (that's 60 FPS per eye) and also featured some of Trumbull's cloud tank effects as well (which were rather neat in 3d). The 3D effect was probably the best I've seen. The lenses used, the smoothness from the framerate, and the brightness from the new projector cumulated in to a very very sharp image that was very relaxing to watch as opposed to straining (which is what I've experienced in most other 3D films). Due to the afore mentioned, the "soap opera effect" wasn't too present. Trumbull said repeatedly that it was produced in uncharted territory, and wanted a lot of feedback on how people perceived the process. My own conclusion was that it'd be a good format for spectacle features, maybe in a variable frame-rate capacity... if more 24P blur was to be introduced in to the less spectacle esque moments, and then rendered in full for the scenes that need the extra clarity and smoothness (effects scenes)? I'm not sure. It'll probably take a lot of experimenting to develop a cinematic language for this process, which is what Trumbull said he is trying to do.
On an aside, he mentioned that 48P for the hobbit wasn't successful in his opinion due to improper application: a hyper-real aesthetic wasn't a good fit for fantasy material of this sort. I'm inclined to agree, though I've not seen that presentation.
He answered a question concerning how his experience on 2001 (or maybe close encounters... I saw them both the same day) compared to TMP, which he said "there is no comparison". Basically he summarized his experience on the film as very hard on him, mentioning that at one point he was admitted to the hospital due to stress and exhaustion. He blamed Paramounts wishy washy nature, lack of planning, and just overall rushed schedule, and did the job (under protest) to get out of his contract.
Robert Comsol: Showscan was 60FPS. He said many times he does like the 24P format, and appreciates it's place in cinema, not wishing to supplant it. He wanted showscan, and now wants Magi, to offer a new/alternative process to advance spectacle. I imagine the blu-ray says that is because Trumbull is proud of his previous work as it is, and didn't strike me as revisionist in his opinions of his previous work. A lot of his work was very precisely, and to present it improperly is probably not what he wants (he spoke at length about his preparations for the screening of his short).
I saw the QAs he did for 2001, Close Encounters, and UFOTOG (The 70MM print used for 2001 was absolutely incredible). I don't want to cover his answers very much as I saw people recording them and I'm sure those'll be uploaded to youtube at some point.
His short was basically a techdemo for his Magi process. It was produced on a low budget which shows, but the process was pretty neat. It was presented at 4K 120FPS in 3D (that's 60 FPS per eye) and also featured some of Trumbull's cloud tank effects as well (which were rather neat in 3d). The 3D effect was probably the best I've seen. The lenses used, the smoothness from the framerate, and the brightness from the new projector cumulated in to a very very sharp image that was very relaxing to watch as opposed to straining (which is what I've experienced in most other 3D films). Due to the afore mentioned, the "soap opera effect" wasn't too present. Trumbull said repeatedly that it was produced in uncharted territory, and wanted a lot of feedback on how people perceived the process. My own conclusion was that it'd be a good format for spectacle features, maybe in a variable frame-rate capacity... if more 24P blur was to be introduced in to the less spectacle esque moments, and then rendered in full for the scenes that need the extra clarity and smoothness (effects scenes)? I'm not sure. It'll probably take a lot of experimenting to develop a cinematic language for this process, which is what Trumbull said he is trying to do.
On an aside, he mentioned that 48P for the hobbit wasn't successful in his opinion due to improper application: a hyper-real aesthetic wasn't a good fit for fantasy material of this sort. I'm inclined to agree, though I've not seen that presentation.
I read it was chainsawed and dumpstered. I find that far more believable. Anyway, the V'ger exterior was done at Dykstra's Apogee, not Trumbull's facility.
