If I recall, Simpsons uses 6 Omnimax projectors, 3 for each eye, and all locked in place by computer to avoid blur.
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France Goes Digital
- Thread starter MythBuster
- Start date
blm07
Active Member
Is this like the argument of vinyl versus CD? Cause people are smoking the fumes from their analog machines if they think analog looks or sounds better than digital. (as long as it's encoded properly)
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
I can't speak for vinyl/CD, but a properly cared for (newly made preferably) 35mm and especially 70mm film print looks better than HD broadcasts and Blu-ray. From what I have read Blu-ray is roughly half the quality of 35mm film, which is why when Disney scans their animated film stock for restoration they do so at 4k resolution (Blu-ray is about 2, the same as digital projectors in AMC theatres I believe). The quality of the film stock used for doing a shoot naturally also affects the quality of the final print.
However film can be damaged over time, even when simply re-threaded through a projector where it can become scratched easily. When a movie like the one at France has to be shown up to 20 times a day (twice and hour for an 11am-9pm operating day, I'm going to assume), it runs a greater risk in doing so than a print used at a standard multi-plex.
I'm open to corrections, but this is how I understand it and why I prefer digital in this setting. HoP also looked great to me when I saw it.
jt04
Well-Known Member
As can be seen by this example....
http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo...ames-cameron-avatar-sequel-3d-film-speed.html
...digital is rapidly evolving so it is only a matter of years before it surpasses film in every way including picture quality. So it is nice that Disney has committed to the medium in the theme parks. It offers tremendous advantages even in the relatively early stages of development.
James Cameron does amazing work. Too bad his politics are so looney. :lol:
Chape19714
Well-Known Member
The Simpson's ride is able to put the projectors in the dead center of the screen, between some the simulator cabs. Soarin' does not have that luxury, and has to be able to project the entire show from the above catwalk. Besides Soarin has numerous alterations to the film and projector to increase film speed, luminosity and clarity. Going digital could change the entire look of the ride. And more so than finding a new projector that could handle it (doesn't exist), to keep the clarity of the film, the file would be huge and require an enormous memory and processing system. We're just not there yet.
s8film40
Well-Known Member
No this is not like that at all. 35MM film is actually technically a higher resolution format. There are other factors as well though, many prefer the inherent qualities that film offers. Because it is a chemical reaction creating an image there is a certain randomness to the grains that make up the image. These grains can move location from frame to frame and can visually fill in different areas of the film in each frame, creating the illusions of a far higher resolution than is actually captured on the film. This is also much closer to the way the human eye works whereas the digital video will have stationary pixels in the exact same positions in every single frame. This makes it easy for the eye to pick up this pixelated effect and also does not conform to natural shapes well, this is why the pixels are more evident on lines at angles in video projections.
Additionally film resolution continues to improve, every year Kodak and other film companies release new and better higher resolution film stocks. This is why a motion picture filmed to today can be seen on a projector from 50 years ago and still maintain today's level of quality. Unlike video the film format does not rely on the projection hardware for image quality.
The France film originated on film and cannot surpass the quality of the original film stock. If there is any perceived quality difference now with the video projector than it simply means the film was not being handled as well as it could be. Even in the best case scenario the video projector can only achieve what the original film projection should have from the beginning anyway.
flavious27
Well-Known Member
short answer, cheaper. Long answer, tdo wouldn't want to get stuck paying to digitize soarin without tda paying for their half of the cost also.
s8film40
Well-Known Member
Well that and also they would have to invent a projection system capable of handling an image of that size.
tnemgif
Well-Known Member
I know I'm in the minority, but I will miss the film projectors dearly. There was something special about hearing the humming of the projector, the wobbly images, and the quality of the film. It all just fit together really well with the setting of that theater and just seemed to be a part of the experience.
But I know I'm the weirdo here, so c'est la vie! :shrug:
But I know I'm the weirdo here, so c'est la vie! :shrug:
aladdin2007
Well-Known Member
No you do have something there, now that you mention it the sound of the film projectors in a way was part of the soundtrack. And the grainy bits and jumps made the film a relic in a sense. But Im glad they went the digital route instead of scrapping the film all together.
CaptainWinter
Active Member
I don't find this weird at all.
What I like about this digital transfer is to see TDO investing in something I want *preserved* about WS.
flavious27
Well-Known Member
Well it could be a 2k or 4k projector, which do exist. It will cost someone to experiment with placement and other problems that will crop up.
AEfx
Well-Known Member
I wonder if that is the same at both parks.
I haven't been on Simpsons yet at USF, but I have at USH. The blur was a real problem for me - that and the fact everything was pretty low-rent (like most things at that park). That was my #1 complaint about the ride, it just felt so blurry at parts.
I'll be checking out USF's next month - I sure hope it is a different experience, because it's a very fun ride but the images just weren't great.
thelookingglass
Well-Known Member
The Simpsons Ride at USF doesn't seem blurry at all to me. In fact, the beginning seems photo-realistic.
It has always seemed a little dim, though.
It has always seemed a little dim, though.
Thurp
Member
Well, that's because that's what you and I are used to. It's what we grew up with and we learned to like it and love it.
Kids nowadays are used to digital technology and if 10 years from now you show them what you just described, it would be the equivalent of someone telling us how much they like their gramophone with the scratches and tincan sound.
s8film40
Well-Known Member
That would work for a 35mm presentation but the IMAX screens are significantly larger.
Rob562
Well-Known Member
Makes you wonder if someone in Imagineering might come up with an effects speaker up in the back, putting out a very soft sound of a projector whirring...
They actually did that, kinda, with an attraction up here at Six Flags New England (and also Great Adventure in NJ). The Houdini's Escape attraction has a pre-show room, where an old reel-to-reel projector is on a platform hanging from the ceiling. (A digital projector is hidden inside it) When the pre-show starts, a screen drops down from above, and a "film" is shown. There's an effect speaker with the sound of the projector clicking away, and the film reels turn. (At leas they used to)
-Rob
ChrisFL
Premium Member
Makes you wonder if someone in Imagineering might come up with an effects speaker up in the back, putting out a very soft sound of a projector whirring...
They actually did that, kinda, with an attraction up here at Six Flags New England (and also Great Adventure in NJ). The Houdini's Escape attraction has a pre-show room, where an old reel-to-reel projector is on a platform hanging from the ceiling. (A digital projector is hidden inside it) When the pre-show starts, a screen drops down from above, and a "film" is shown. There's an effect speaker with the sound of the projector clicking away, and the film reels turn. (At leas they used to)
-Rob
That sounds like when the King Tut exhibit first opened in Busch Gardens Tampa, something similar to that