Technology Stakes Out Its Claim
Credit: ©2012 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved
Tech Column
High Frame Rate
Still from The Hobbit.
D
epending on who you talk to, High Frame Rate cinematography (HFR) is either the next big thing or just a disastrous novelty that detracts from the real art of cinema. So far we have only one example of a feature, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, that arrived in theatres in mid-December 2012. HFR has been around for decades, most notably championed by Douglas Trumbull in the 1970s with the 60 fps/70 mm Showscan format. But in the analogue world of cellulose and sprockets, it was too expensive to shoot and exhibit in an industry where critical mass was stuck at 24 fps, which consumed less film. “Also, projectors at the time couldn’t run that fast without blowing up,” says Bert Dunk csc, asc, the Technology Supervisor at Sheridan’s Screen Industries Research and Training Centre (SIRT). Demand for a workable 3D solution and digital has opened the doors to make going to the theatre a more attractive value proposition, says Paul Salvini, chief technology officer, Christie Digital Systems. For theatres with late model projection units, HFR is a simple software shift, says Salvini, but for more widespread adoption some exhibitors will have to upgrade their hardware.
It’s a prudent investment, he insists: “Audiences can experience it the way it was meant to be seen. HFR is just one more tool for creative professional cinematographers.” As it stands with 24 fps, creative compromises have to be made, he says. The possibility of HFR opens up options, especially for sports sequences, chases and action scenes, which of course drive box office sales. Instead of a wide shot to avoid blur, HFR opens up choices to longer lenses. And it’s not an either-or solution. Projectors can shift seamlessly from 24 to 48 and back again, Salvini says. Technically, though, HFR seems to make sense. At 24 fps the capture misses half the action of 48 fps. Theoretically, then, at 60 or 120 fps, movement is captured more sharply. SIRT has an HFR research and development lab and is working with Christie to develop and better understand the limitation and innovations offered from both the capture and audience aspect, looking at issues like shutter angles and frame rates. But from a training point of view, the decision to jump the frame rate is a simple one and requires no additional crew training, says Dunk. We’re ready, it’s as simple as that, he says, though the devil is in the details.
Canadian Cinematographer - March 2013 •
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