"The Incredibles"

Jeff Tanner · December 7, 2004

Although this is an animated movie, I'm sure that there is room for discussing it on this forum.

As a cinematographer I have had the opportunity to shoot many commercials that involve computer animated objects, animals, characters, etc. so I certainly have an appreciation for all the work that goes into producing a movie like "The Incredibles".

As I sat in the theater waiting for the feature presentation to begin I honestly didn't know what to expect. I knew the basic plot but that was about it. Normally when I sit in the theater and watch a movie I can't help but study the lighting, camera movements, continuity, blocking, locations, etc. (like most of you I'm sure). But this was a departure for me. From the first scene to the last I was totally immersed in this movie. Every little detail was perfect, every scene had purpose, every character was well developed, and every frame was amazing to watch.

If you normally stay away from animated movies because you think that they are for kids, do yourself a favor and catch this show in the theater. This is a fantastic movie! You will not regret it.

Respectfully,

Jeff Tanner

Adam Frisch FSF · December 8, 2004

I saw it digitally projected at one of the biggest screens in London and was completely blown away. The image, the lighting, the story - everything. It's the best film this year, easy.

I'm a complete convert - the sooner we can get prints out of theatres, the better.

John Pytlak RIP · December 8, 2004

I saw it digitally projected at one of the biggest screens in London and was completely blown away. The image, the lighting, the story - everything. It's the best film this year, easy.

I'm a complete convert - the sooner we can get prints out of theatres, the better.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Many think Digital Cinema looks its best with digital animation. But I have been disappointed in some other presentations, and even was in a theatre that cancelled the digital presentation of "Ice Age" because of technical difficulties, and ended up showing their "backup" 35mm print.

Kodak is already very active in Digital Cinema:

http://www.kodak.com/go/dcinema

John Sprung · December 8, 2004

It's the best film this year, easy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wouldn't go that far. It's fun, it has some nice jokes for the grownups in addition to being a kids' movie. I loved the Edith Head caricature. But I think "Ray" was a more intense emotional experience, a just plain better movie.

-- J.S.

Robert Sanders · December 9, 2004

I absolutely adore widescreen animation. I believe "A Bug's Life" was 2.35 as well. Hopefully Pixar makes more widescreen animated films provided the story supports it.

Even though "Atlantis" wasn't Disney's best, I still loved the wide aspect ratio. Same with "Anastasia" and now "The Incredibles"!

Adam Frisch FSF · December 9, 2004

Many think Digital Cinema looks its best with digital animation. But I have been disappointed in some other presentations, and even was in a theatre that cancelled the digital presentation of "Ice Age" because of technical difficulties, and ended up showing their "backup" 35mm print.

All the jitters, crackles and pops in a print are very disturbing. I'd rather have a slightly inferior image quality than have that.

And my recollections from the days as a projectionist was that it was almost impossible to keep a print completely scratch free for it's entire run, no matter how many times you checked the projectors and non-rewind systems a day. Most prints, sadly, got scratched almost immmediately on the big multiplex I worked at, mainly due to the heavy workload and the inexperienced projectionists.

And just splicing in and replacing the commercials or any new trailers each week easily took 30-minutes up to 1 hour for every single print. Multiply that with 15-20 prints and all of a sudden you had your work cut out for yourself. We used to be 3 projectionists working all night long to finish before fridays new schedule.

It's madness. Film prints have to go. Imagine how much less labour intensive it'd be to change a trailer or a commercial in a digital projecting theatre? It's a simple click of a button.

That said, the industry needs a standard for digital projection adn it also needs projectors that can do 4K. As of now, I think Kodak makes the hottest one with 2K resolution, don't they?

David Mullen ASC · December 9, 2004

Sony has a 4K projector, or at least, they announced one. Kodak's been promoting their 2K system using JVC D-ILA technology but I've heard rumors that D-ILA is basically dying as an option. The DLP technology is capable of producing better blacks. Kodak, rightly so, has been concentrating on improving color space issues, but I think they need to jump off the D-ILA technology and work with TI on a DLP-based system.

Jonathan Spear · December 9, 2004

It's the best film this year, easy.

I'm a complete convert - the sooner we can get prints out of theatres, the better.

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Agreed.

I was blown away.

Kudos to Disney/Pixar.

-T

Annie Wengenroth · December 10, 2004

Yep. I really enjoyed it myself. It had great sound design, memorable characters, and they really managed to pull the viewer into the story through camera movement and of course humor! As someone who pursued animation as a career for a few years and then grew frustrated with it and decided to opt out, I was glad to see something like this. I'd started to wonder if Pixar's productions were going to become as formulaic as all the 2-d Disney movies eventually did, but I think they've got something unique going on. And speaking of unique, there was actually a blurb in Newsweek, I think?? about how the story has a bit of an existentialist spin, which I thought was pretty cool. It definitely has a very worthwhile message for us all.