Rodriguez uses Linux to Edge out ILM 192
An anonymous reader writes "A Linux device helped legendary independent filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Desperado, Spy Kids, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and others) win the race with ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) to create the first movie ever to use a digital format supporting full-bandwidth RGB. Rodriguez's Sin City, which opens April 1, was shot in Dual Link, or "4:4:4" format, and transferred between tapes and hard drives using SpectSoft's Linux-based RaveHD DDR (digital disk recorder)."
From TFA (Score:5, Informative)
"It's really the same as 1:1:1," explains Howard. "It just means 'take RGB, break it up, send part of it down one wire, and part down the other wire.'"
The compromises in traditional Y'CbCr formats were designed to minimize perceptual loss, keying on the human eye's varying sensitivity to luminescence at various color frequencies. We are most sensitive to brightness in green light, less so in reds, and least with blue. This explains why studios often shoot against a "greenscreen" -- Y'CbCr has most information about green, so it's the easiest color for a software program to identify and replace.
Nice review at sarah. word. (Score:5, Informative)
For lack of a more eloquent explanation, "Sin City" freaking rules.
Remember the first time you saw "Pulp Fiction"? You were unnerved and at times downright repelled, but you admitted that it was the freshest, most original thing to be put into a theater since... ever, and you couldn't wait to talk about how amazing it was with everyone you knew? "Sin City" is kind of like that.
http://sarahlane.typepad.com/sarahword/2005/03/ce
1. Is "Sin City" a family movie?
- Heavens no. It's incredibly graphic and gruesome. I know YOU'RE into that, but don't bring the kids.
6. Does the all-star cast detract from the story at all?
- Refreshingly, no. No one character is the main star, it's more like a bunch of supporting roles. Great supporting roles. These actors are stoked.
8. Are we talking CG animation or live action?
- Almost all the live action was done with green screens and props, then the magic was painted in later. It's amazing.
10. I was pleased to see lots of hot chicks in the trailer. Can I expect more of that?
- You sure can, my friend! But they'll also chop your head off. Literally.
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Informative)
"But what about "4:4:4 Y'CbCr"?!
Y'CbCr, also known as YUV, is the color space used by film editing equipment. Y represents luminance, while Cb and Cr are color difference signals.
Consumer DV (digital video) cameras typically use a 4:1:1 Y'CbCr format, in which luminance is sampled for each pixel, while Cb and Cr are sampled at every fourth pixel. SD (standard definition) cameras use a 4:2:2 format. HD cameras can use 4:2:2, or a 4:2:0 format based on "spatial" samples of 2x2-pixel squares. Dual Link, however, uses a 4:4:4 technique."
Re:Frank Miller (Score:4, Informative)
Slightly Offtopic (Score:5, Informative)
Incidentally, another distinction earned by Rodriguez during the making of Sin City, is that he joined George Lucas and others who have been kicked out of the Director's Guild. Rodriguez's offense, Howard says, was working with a co-director -- Sin City comic book creator Frank Miller -- who doesn't belong to the Guild.
I know it's slightly offtopic, but Robert Rodriguez wasn't kicked out of the DGA. He quit because they wouldn't allow him to credit Frank Miller as a co-director.
Kudos to him, I say.
Re:Frank Miller (Score:3, Informative)
If the guy who wrote the comic books also wrote the screenplay AND is co-directing, then anyone whining about canon should be put to sleep.
Re:Frank Miller (Score:4, Informative)
As a result of leaving the Guild (or being forced out) Rodriguez lost his contract with Paramount to direct the big budget John Carter of Mars (Princess of Mars). Thats got ot hurt.
Lucas had a dispute with the Guild back in the day and dropped out as well
Rotten tomatoes reviews (Score:0, Informative)
Re:Frank Miller (Score:3, Informative)
"Robert Rodriguez scored Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) for $1. Quentin Tarantino said he would repay him by directing a segment of this movie for $1. Tarantino, a vocal proponent of film-over-digital, has said that he was curious to get hands-on experience with the HD cameras which Rodriguez lauds. When asked about his experience, Tarantino merely replied, "Mission Accomplished.""
Re:But what does this mean to the movie viewer? (Score:5, Informative)
Which means that they spend less time chroma-keying (picking out the background colors) and more time making movies. As with any big project, the finished product is filled with flaws that only the actual creator can put his finger on, but the overall sense of polish makes a big difference to the feeling you get when you watch the movie.
You get the same effect writing software: all those little hacks you had to do to get it out the door aren't immediately visible to the user, but they'll piss you off every time you look at them.
The changes aren't even necessarily subtle: they may have to substantially alter a shot if they can't get the background to drop out properly. You wouldn't notice without being in the editing booth, but you'll probably like the movie that much more for getting more of the director's vision onto the screen.
I'm a director [for the stage] myself, and though it's very different from film, we're constantly asking "how much can I get away with?" rather than "what can I create?" You tell yourself that the audience won't notice that you couldn't find the right prop, or that you didn't have time to get rid of the dim spot in the lights, but it pisses you the hell off and looks unprofessional even if the audience couldn't elucidate the difference.
It would be interesting to have a director go into detail on a commentary track to say, "Well, we would have done X, Y, and Z, but we couldn't because the technology was too limited." The closest you get is the re-released Star Wars movies. Well, maybe it's not such a good idea after all.
Re:From TFA (Score:3, Informative)
That is true for video, but most studios use film for greenscreening work. The resolution is going to be much higher, and the colors will not have any compression artifacts (which is why filters like this [highend2d.com], or this [highend2d.com] are used. 4:4:4 stores more color information, minimizing those artifacts.
Also, the color of the screen really doesn't have to be green. Depending on the subject in front of the screen, it can be blue, red, or even black.
Wikipedia to the rescue! (Score:5, Informative)
Wikipedia to the rescue again!
--grendel drago
Re:Huh? (Score:3, Informative)
(or was it 4:2:0 you get out of a camera?)
Don't forget to mention the effects were done at.. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:filesystems (Score:1, Informative)
Jason
Re:Frank Miller (Score:3, Informative)
(The Directors Guild only allows for 1 director per movie).
Are you sure about that? So what do they do in movies that are anthologies, say like the Twilight Zone movie or the upcoming Eros? There are also many movies that have two directors, like He Said, She Said or movies by the Farrelly brothers? No I think it's because the DGA may demand that directors be members of a Guild but I couldbe wrong.
Re:Nice review at sarah. word. (Score:3, Informative)
# After a poor Hollywood experience in the early-'90s, Frank Miller refused to relinquish the movie rights to any of his comic works, "Sin City" in particular. Robert Rodriguez, a longtime fan of the comic, filmed his own "audition" for the director's spot in secret. The footage, shot in early 2004, featured Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton acting out the "Sin City" short-story "The Customer is Always Right". He presented the finished footage to Miller with the proclamation: "If you like this, this will be the opening to the movie. If not, you'll have your own short film to show your friends." Miller approved of the footage and the film was underway. Rodriguez also screened the footage for each of the actors he wanted to cast in the film - all of whom are reported to have been instantly amazed.
# Rodriguez, who credits Miller's visual style in the comic as relevant as his own in the film, insisted that Miller receive a "co-director" credit with him. The Directors' Guild of America would not allow it. As a result, Rodriguez resigned from the DGA, saying "It was easier for me to quietly resign before shooting because otherwise I'd be forced to make compromises I was unwilling to make or set a precedent that might hurt the guild later on." Unfortunately, by resigning from the DGA, Rodriguez was also forced to relinquish his director's seat on the film John Carter of Mars (2006) (at the time "A Princess of Mars" after the book on which it was based) for Paramount. Rodriguez had already signed-on and been announced as director of that film when the DGA situation took place, planning to begin filming soon after wrapping this film.