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TOO high quality of a picture?

aceofspades70

aceofspades70

I had a discussion once on another forum I frequent.

High-def is great, I agree. But can the quality be too good for certain films?

Say for instance; you make a horror film and you want a gritty appearance to reflect upon the 80's look.

Or, would one just have their editor use an effect for it. I'm thinking either way, but I also ask, is that a good idea to give it that look in order for it to "feel" more like a horror film?
 
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I would have to agree and say that a picture can be too high quality. If the picture looks so good it makes special effects shots look fake, then I would have to say that one would need to dumb down the picture. Not to mention we are getting to the point where one can start to see the actors make-up. I don't want to see that. Only me?
 
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It's the Wild West of determining the new cinematic aesthetic, and we are all the lexicographers who will determine the new language of motion pictures. What does it say when you have to back the focus off an actor's face because it reveals too much? This isn't to say it's good or bad. We haven't decided yet. It's all too new.
 
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I'm presently color grading a horror feature shot on HD. Part of what I'm doing is making the beautiful images the camera captured into less pretty ones. It's heartbreaking, but necessary for the mood of the piece. For the actors' features I'm adding filters to smooth them out.
 
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I know a lot of people who add grain to 1080 and 2k/4k images to give it a more filmy look.

Yes, it can be too high, and You'll probably see a hault in image res in the future. High Res can make the picture look un-organic and fake.
 
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I was just thinking about this a couple of hours ago.

Is there such a thing as too high-quality of an image? I think so. High-Definition video admittedly can look fantastic, but it can also reveal things in the video that otherwise would have remained invisible if shot in standard-def, like the make-up on actors as other people said.

I also wondered if someday, we might double the quality of high-def. Instead of 1920x1080, say hello to 3840x2160. People in the early days of television called 300+ lines of resolution high-def. I don't see why someday the image sizes could double again. However, I think that would be too much detail, and things wouldn't look as true-to-life as they once had. However, this is just me speculating and I'm really still sort of a n00b when it comes to film making. :P
 
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These aren't necessarily big issues you're talking about though yodaman.. for instance the concern about things being revealed that would otherwise be hidded before...

Just means you have to do your job better. :)

There is makeup available that does its job but is even difficult to see in person with the naked eye. It cost more than the cheap crap they sell at walmart, but nobody should really be using that stuff anyway. :)
 
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Yodaman said:
I also wondered if someday, we might double the quality of high-def. Instead of 1920x1080, say hello to 3840x2160.
Click to expand...

We already have 2+ years ago.

RED One Shoots 2K & 4K res (4520 X 2540 pixels)

And RED's new Epic will shoot 5K-8K and is said to shoot up to 28K res (28X the res of 1080p)
 
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RED One Shoots 2K & 4K res (4520 X 2540 pixels)

And RED's new Epic will shoot 5K-8K and is said to shoot up to 28K res (28X the res of 1080p)
Click to expand...

Whoa. That's some pretty big numbers there!

I had no idea cameras could go that high. I literally thought 1920x1080 was the maximum size for video. You learn something new everyday. :)

That's when huge hard drives and processors that go up to 80GHz (through the use of diamonds; they say that within the next decade there will be processors manufactured from diamonds that can reach 80Ghz) would come in handy.
 
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Will Vincent said:
These aren't necessarily big issues you're talking about though yodaman.. for instance the concern about things being revealed that would otherwise be hidded before...

Just means you have to do your job better. :)

There is makeup available that does its job but is even difficult to see in person with the naked eye. It cost more than the cheap crap they sell at walmart, but nobody should really be using that stuff anyway. :)
Click to expand...

Yep, for HD makeup is usually airbrushed on by a very skilled artist. I've seen hand applied still look good it HD, but it was high quality makeup applied by a very skilled makeup artist.
 
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Shoot in the highest quality possible for your budget and then down convert, or do whatever you need to match the desired media outlet. Even pristine HD looks a little fogy when blown up in a movie theatre - you have to down convert film to fit anywhere - Its about 1/4 quality to air film/4k a SD TV signal.

If your effects guy can’t make the effect look good, or your makeup is bad – that sucks for the movie and you probably shouldn’t work with that guy again.
 
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Samiammi said:
Shoot in the highest quality possible for your budget and then down convert, or do whatever you need to match the desired media outlet. Even pristine HD looks a little fogy when blown up in a movie theatre - you have to down convert film to fit anywhere - Its about 1/4 quality to air film/4k a SD TV signal.

If your effects guy can’t make the effect look good, or your makeup is bad – that sucks for the movie and you probably shouldn’t work with that guy again.
Click to expand...

My last movie was shot on an HVX200A and projected in HD from Blu ray, and it STILL looked a bit grainy on a full size movie screen. Probably not to the audience,. but to me, I could see it.
 
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My 2 cents. Shoot for the best camera image possible. Period. Get the best make-up artist you can. Aim for the most realistic special effects you can afford and if it dosen't look real -- rewrite or manipulate until it does (e.g. I took out all the SFX needed scenes in one movie because there was NO budget and to try to create such would have made the '2-star' movie a total disaster).

As mentioned above with the RED, 4520 X 2540 pixels or 28X the res of 1080p... WOW!
And Quad systems are just down the road. They had a large screen Quad Vision at NAB last year -- it is the future. Way down the road, but it is coming...

Personally. Later this year, with scripts in hand, I aim with the HQ setting on PMW EX 3 cameras and hope for the best result possible. No one can predict the future of technology or our entertainment culture. We just aim the best we can and make stuff up as we go.

Like I said, my 2 cents.
 
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