The cameras of Avatar 2

[cjackson]

According to IMDb:

Camera: Red Weapon Dragon Vista Vision
Negative Format: Redcode RAW
Cinematographic Process: Redcode RAW (8K)

I see it listed as being 8K. Will this be the highest resolution digital movie yet? What else is known about the cinematography? How long until digital surpasses 70mm IMAX in resolution?

[GuanoLad]

8k is fairly common for 3D. It allows for maximum resolution for VFX, with room to manoeuvre around the frame, and the small drop in resolution that entails would not be noticed.

[commasense]

@cjackson

According to IMDb:

Camera: Red Weapon Dragon Vista Vision
Negative Format: Redcode RAW
Cinematographic Process: Redcode RAW (8K)

I see it listed as being 8K. Will this be the highest resolution digital movie yet? What else is known about the cinematography? How long until digital surpasses 70mm IMAX in resolution?

The IMAX 15-perforation, 70mm frame has been estimated by IMAX Corporation’s Chief Quality Officer, David Keighley, as being equivalent in resolution to a least 12K. Cite.

(Actually, that cite, which is a reprint of a press release, is somewhat dubious, because it claims 12x18K resolution for the IMAX frame. This proves that Keighley didnt review the release, because the IMAX film frame has a 3:4 ratio, not 2:3, and he wouldn’t let such a mistake stand. However, I have known him for decades, and have frequently heard him make the 12K claim in public.)

[The_Vorlon]

@commasense

The IMAX 15-perforation, 70mm frame has been estimated by IMAX Corporation’s Chief Quality Officer, David Keighley, as being equivalent in resolution to a least 12K. Cite.

(Actually, that cite, which is a reprint of a press release, is somewhat dubious, because it claims 12x18K resolution for the IMAX frame. This proves that Keighley didnt review the release, because the IMAX film frame has a 3:4 ratio, not 2:3, and he wouldn’t let such a mistake stand. However, I have known him for decades, and have frequently heard him make the 12K claim in public.)

The other thing to consider is when the film slams to a stop in the gate of the projector, the shutter blade rotates and the film is blasted by 7000 watts of light. And the film heats up, and moves out of the focal plane as it expands.

With digital, the display sensor doesn’t move out of the focal plane.

When I ran a booth, I had a pair of binoculars. First I would adjust so the holes in the screen were sharp, then I would focus the projector so the film grain was sharp. And you know what? Every 20 minute reel of film had it’s own focus.

[commasense]

@The_Vorlon

The other thing to consider is when the film slams to a stop in the gate of the projector, the shutter blade rotates and the film is blasted by 7000 watts of light. And the film heats up, and moves out of the focal plane as it expands.

With digital, the display sensor doesn’t move out of the focal plane.

When I ran a booth, I had a pair of binoculars. First I would adjust so the holes in the screen were sharp, then I would focus the projector so the film grain was sharp. And you know what? Every 20 minute reel of film had it’s own focus.

True in conventional 35mm and 70mm machines, but not IMAX projectors. Bill Shaw, the engineer who designed the IMAX film projector, fixed this problem very early on by using vacuum to hold the film frame against a glass plate (the “field flattener”), in perfect focus, while the shutter was open. He also fixed the exposed frame in place with registration pins to reduce shaking of the image.

@Wikipedia

Drawing the large film through the projector presented challenges for both the camera and the projector. Conventional 70 mm systems were not steady enough for the 586× magnification. On the projector side, William Shaw adapted an Australian patent for film transport called the “rolling loop” by adding a compressed air “puffer” to accelerate the film, and put a cylindrical lens in the projector’s “aperture block”. The projector uses a vacuum to pull the film into contact with this lens. Thus the “field flattener” flattens the image field. The lens is twice the height of the film and connects to a pneumatic piston so it can be moved up or down while the projector is running. This way, if a piece of dust comes off the film and sticks to the lens, the projectionist can switch to the clean side of the lens at the push of a button. The lens also has “wiper bars” made of a felt or brush-like material that wipes dust off the lens as it moves up or down. IMAX projectors are pin stabilized—meaning four registration pins engage the perforations at the corners of the projected frame to ensure perfect alignment. Shaw added cam-controlled arms to decelerate each frame to eliminate the microscopic shaking as the frame “settled” onto the registration pins. The projector’s shutter is open around 20% longer than in conventional equipment and the light source is brighter.

From here.