Superman Returns Trailer

[Mark Allen]

The most interesting part of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came during the previews and the Superman Returns trailer screened.

 

I've now seen the ellusive superman returns footage on the big screen. Unfortunately I had the worst seats in the theater because my friend just had to eat a full meal before we headed to the theater - so I ended up sitting in the last row with a white emergency light blaring into my peripheral vision - so I really don't know what I thought. The audience certainly didn't notice. They were cheering from the moment they realized it was Superman. Basically everything I saw - the trailers, the Harry Potter movie - all had this issue of a washiness because that light was so freaking bright! I would have left and asked for my money back, but my friend really wanted to see the movie (though she agreed the light was ridiculously annoying... this was at Groman's Chinese Theater by the way - supposed to be the best Theater in LA! - Arclight is better.).

 

So - what did you all think? People here must have seen it. I tried to find a thread talking about it, but nothing.

[Brad Grimmett]

I once almost got kicked out of a theater for hanging my sweatshirt on the emergency light. It was so bright I couldn't stand it anymore.

I haven't seen the trailer yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

[David Mullen ASC]

I saw the trailer before "Harry Potter" but this was the IMAX DMR version, so it's hard to make judgements with all that processing they do to blow things up to IMAX.

 

Plus the way the trailer is cut, it's hard to judge the quality of the Genesis. Some shots looked a little noisy & soft but otherwise, it looked very film-like.

 

Unfortunately, my response through the whole trailer was that the original "Superman" did these scenes better. You'd think nearly 30 years later you'd be more knocked off your socks by improvements thanks to technology. In particular, I'm referring to a rooftop night scene with Lois Lane and Superman; this version looks clearly shot on a stage with a translight, compared to the front-projection work in the original with real moving plates of Manhatten. The effects in the Smallville scenes (flashbacks?) looked cool.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing a trailer with some real dialogue moments and longer shots.

[Mark Allen]

I suppose also it's good to keep in mind what is in the trailer is hardly representative of the movie. I know in the past I've worked on doing an effect for a trailer in about six hours that in the film was worked on closer to six weeks. Also who knows what processing has gone on for the trailer if they were rushing it to the theaters or not.

 

But I agree - longer shots, more dialogue scenes - that will be good to see.

[Guest fstop]

In particular, I'm referring to a rooftop night scene with Lois Lane and Superman; this version looks clearly shot on a stage with a translight, compared to the front-projection work in the original with real moving plates of Manhatten.

 

Totally- that shot from SR you talk about looked like "SKYBATMAN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW". Actually, the whole thing looked like a fanmade trailer for a SKYBATMAN video game. Without the 1978 elements (Brando and the score), what's so "super" about some brown-haired boyband member in a darker version of Raimi's Spider-man costume, in low hanging French panties?

 

I don't like this selfconcious use of lense diffusion against Sigel's soft, modern photography. It:

 

a). PALES next to any of the diffused lensing of the colourful images from the Salkind movies (it doesn't even look remotely consistent with the looks of those movies), and

 

B). WREAKS of being shot on video by film guys who never use diffusion on their film work, but are desperate to soften the "harshness of video".

 

The irony is that the similar rooftop Lois penthouse shot from 1978's Superman WAS shot before a translight(as well as a painted backdrop and a process screen), and this new one is a greenscreen effect!

 

What a waste of Tom Sigel and the debut of the Genesis.

[Guest jbraver]

I heard from a friend at WB that they rushed a lot of the effects to get it out with harry potter. They have something like 3,500 effects (that number is from a bluetights.net blog ) shots so you dont know what they just threw in. There was one shot that looks a lot like Pre-Vis.

 

I like Newton Thomas Sigal's work. I have faith.

 

on a side note-

 

The director Bryan Singer is doing a bi-weekly video journal. Some of them are really cool. There was one about Newton Thomas Sigal and the Genesis

 

quicktime

http://www.bluetights.net/video_large.php?id=19

 

winmedia

http://www.bluetights.net/video_medium_wm.php?id=19