First Feature Shot and Shown in 4K: Social Network

"While the rest of the world is caught up in the 3D craze, I'm glad to see that David Fincher is still sticking with his guns and thinking about how to make 2D projection look better and better. A reader on SlashFilm sent in a little scoop from the RED camera presentation at the NAB Show in Las Vegas this week. For those unfamiliar, the RED camera system (created by the founder of Oakley) is the world's leading high resolution digital video camera that the entertainment industry has been slowly using more often. The RED is one of the few cameras that actually shoots in 4K, but most films aren't even projected in 4K at movie theaters.

There's a lot of technical info here, so I'm going to try and get through as much of it as I can. 4K resolution (4096×2160) is quadruple that of 2K which is what most films are rendered and projected in at nowadays. Despite that there are 4K projectors in movie theaters, most movies aren't shot at or even distributed by the studios at that resolution. I've seen some movies projected in 4K at conventions like ShoWest and it looks incredible, but it could be even better if they were using 4K res footage. Apparently Fincher's new film The Social Network was shot with RED cameras and may be the first film projected in theaters at that quality.

At the RED presentation this week, they showed some footage from The Social Network as well as Steven Soderbergh's Knockout (he likes to use the RED camera as well, last used on Che). Apparently a few movie theater chains (AMC, Regal) have bought 12,000 new digital 4K projectors that will be installed this year. RED also announced that The Social Network will be the first feature film to be shot in 4K resolution and projected in 4K resolution. Obviously you'll have to make sure your local theater is running 4K projectors, but this will look absolutely gorgeous, better than anything you've seen. It's no coincidence that Sony is one of the top manufacturers of 4K projectors and is also the studio that is distributing The Social Network.

As a moviegoer, I'm actually more excited at the prospect of seeing 4K resolution films than I am seeing 3D. I wish that the industry would put a little more focus on the projection quality in movie theaters more than whether or not they can make an extra buck with 3D, but that's a story for another day. It would be better to see an action movie for your first time in 4K, but I guess Fincher's Facebook movie will have to do. Despite what you may think, not many people have actually seen 4K resolution footage shown in 4K resolution, and I'm sure you will have a jaw-dropping experience when you see how crystal clear and incredible 4K looks.

Sony / Columbia will be releasing David Fincher's The Social Network in theaters on October 1st this fall."



(Originally posted at FirstShowing.Net.)