2K vs 4K

tokenwhiteboy

tokenwhiteboy

If there is a thread that discusses this, please direct me to that.

We are producing a horror / thriller that has box office potential (ie... not a B movie)

Obviously plan A is to sell the film and / or secure theatrical distribution

Plan B includes setting up our own screenings and a limited theatrical release

Now... the question is this...

should we shoot in 2K or 4K?
 
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If you have money and time 4k is always better to post production like color grading. Then you can allways down convert if you want smaller resolution. But then you need more memory cards, better computer's and more time to post. If the rentin price is not lot of more or you have the camera allready.

but if you don't have money. I prefer more 2k. You don't have to spend so much time and money.
 
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tokenwhiteboy said:
We are producing a horror / thriller that has box office potential (ie... not a B movie)

Obviously plan A is to sell the film and / or secure theatrical distribution

Plan B includes setting up our own screenings and a limited theatrical release

Now... the question is this...

should we shoot in 2K or 4K?
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Do you have an
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"A movie"
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budget, to get that 4k image? ...and the sound to sell it? :hmm:

As far as Plan B... don't make these mistakes.

Obviously plan A is to sell the film and / or secure theatrical distribution
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How are you doing this?

signed,
Ass Pony
smiley_tiphat.gif
 
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Our executive producer is very well connected. There is a very high possibility that this film will receive theatrical distribution.

We do have the budget to shoot 4K.

And yes... we have the sound.
 
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Hire a DP. He'll advise you on what to shoot.

If it were me, I'd read your script and then decide what to shoot on based on what will best serve the story.

For a horror/thriller I might consider an Epic, which does shoot in 4k.

I might consider an Alexa, which shoots 2k (or 3.2k with Codex on-board/internal).

It's much more complex than simply 2k vs 4k, and the reality is shooting 4k doesn't make your pictures look necessarily any better.
Hire a good DP, and shoot on what he suggests you shoot on. Even 1080 can be upscaled to 2k without much loss of quality.
 
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Not the EP's first feature. I'm asking here for opinions from this community.

Is 4K a must for theatrical? In the opinions of this community.

We aren't disclosing the budget.

We are in talks with a few DPs as we speak. Our primary target has both the Red Epic and ARRI Alexa as options.

The reasons I ask these questions, is to get more input from the independent community here.
 
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tokenwhiteboy said:
Not the EP's first feature. I'm asking here for opinions from this community.

Is 4K a must for theatrical? In the opinions of this community.

We aren't disclosing the budget.

We are in talks with a few DPs as we speak. Our primary target has both the Red Epic and ARRI Alexa as options.

The reasons I ask these questions, is to get more input from the independent community here.
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But you're not giving any reasonable information. :weird:
 
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tokenwhiteboy said:
so shooting with a 5D or a 7D would be okay?
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It wouldn't be my first choice, especially if you have the budget for better.

The camera choice is one of the least significant factors as to whether your film gets distributed.

If the choice was a 5D with a 3-tonne truck of lighting and grip gear or a RED Epic with notjing, I'd be going for the lighting package.
 
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jax_rox said:
If the choice was a 5D with a 3-tonne truck of lighting and grip gear or a RED Epic with notjing, I'd be going for the lighting package.
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I agree totally.

TWB, there is a difference between 1080p and 2k though, namely that almost every camera out there can make 1080p now-days but only a handful of higher end pro cameras can do 2k. Mastering in 2K means that you shot on something that can make 2k. Plus compression issues on DSLR's vs higher end cinema cameras. If you can afford an actual cinema camera, use it.

Like others have said though, this should largely be up to your DP. Talk to him/her about the goals, vision, look and feel, where and when you'll be shooting and budget and let him/her pick the equipment they're familiar with to achieve what you're asking for.
 
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So can u give out any info? Budget, who the EP is, or even the studio behind this? I would love to see some of your past work if their is any available.

On the camera subject. I go RED epic for the 2K. Looks great in horror.
 
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PaulGriffith said:
I agree totally.

TWB, there is a difference between 1080p and 2k though, namely that almost every camera out there can make 1080p now-days but only a handful of higher end pro cameras can do 2k. Mastering in 2K means that you shot on something that can make 2k. Plus compression issues on DSLR's vs higher end cinema cameras. If you can afford an actual cinema camera, use it.

Like others have said though, this should largely be up to your DP. Talk to him/her about the goals, vision, look and feel, where and when you'll be shooting and budget and let him/her pick the equipment they're familiar with to achieve what you're asking for.
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But is the difference noticeable (or maybe should I say does it matter) to anyone other than the cinematographiles?

Yes... a DP may see that the 5D footage pales compared to the Epic... but will the actual target audience give a rip?
 
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tokenwhiteboy said:
But is the difference noticeable (or maybe should I say does it matter) to anyone other than the cinematographiles?

Yes... a DP may see that the 5D footage pales compared to the Epic... but will the actual target audience give a rip?
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In short, yes. But each camera has it's own look, just as each film stock has it's own look. Therefore, I couldn't recommend specifics without knowing a lot more about your project - the DP you bring onto the project will.

Without knowing more, and without reading the script I can't give much more than general advice.

It sounds like you don't really have the budget for much more than a DSLR anyway - certainly if you did it would be very low on my camera/format preference list.
 
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