Re: Not understanding professional resolutions

"OK, now let me have it :)"

Since you asked!

I've shot a number of projects on my 720p Varicam (720x960 pixels). I've projected them in large theaters on high quality 2k projectors. They look as detailed as any 35mm print at the multiplex. And, overall, better than film projection.

If the prints in your multiplex are a few generations removed from the DI (interpositive/internegative etc.) the effective resolution can deteriorate pretty quickly - but a showprint of the same movie well projected might reveal a lot more detail. And watching dailies printed right from the camera negative show just how much detail 35mm has a capture medium...granted that detail that will get lost in either a normal DI or photochemical process, but it's nice to know it's there.

"There are very, very few frames, maybe one of every 15 or so, that is sharp. This is due to motion blur and imprecise focus."

Well, blurry things and out of focus things benefit from higher resolution and less compression as well... and 1/2" DOF isn't a feature of the format, just a cinematography choice...

"We just did a test screening of a blue-ray from the 720p Varicam on a large screen. No one will know that it was not a 1080p original, really. And no one will say it looked softer than a normal film at the cinema."

The last few times I've encountered 720p footage intercut with 1080p or 2K (usually from the same cameras as a speed effect) it stood out a lot. Perhaps it benefits from not being compared side by side, or some highly effective up-resing. But from the material I've shot and colored, I think there's a significantly greater perceivable difference between 720p and 1080p than say 2K and 4K. Somebody sitting 10m away from a 12m wide screen should be able to make out a pixel every 3mm (according to Arri) or 4,000 pixels wide... so all of these should be within the boundaries of human perception...

But there are a lot of other factors - Pixar rendered their first Toy Story theatrical release at sub-HD resolutions to dedicate more time and money to anti-aliasing, and it holds up great...

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