The most intuitive feeling of watching a movie is the impact of the picture on the vision. On the visual effects itself is a big selling point of the film, last year is Ang Lee's 120 frames "Billy Lynn", this year is Nolan's new film "Dunkirk". Nolan did not use any new technology this time, but stubbornly chose to shoot with the current largest size 70mm IMAX film in this era when film was about to decline. Because the largest screens on earth today are IMAX specifications, IMAX allows movies to be displayed in the largest picture. The huge 70mm film can provide more than digital 12K picture quality, and the resolution is also much higher than the usual digital camera and projection.
Some people may think this way: it's just IMAX. There are not a dozen movies released every year in the cinema. You can watch it anytime you want. Then I said it's not really, it's also IMAX, this time it's very different. Dunkirk is available in different formats depending on the theater facility. The format of film IMAX and laser IMAX theaters is 1.43:1, the format of ordinary digital IMAX theaters is 1.9:1, and the format of other theaters other than IMAX is 2.2:1.
There are no cinemas showing IMAX on film anymore in China. To see a 1.43:1 full-frame, only Harbin, Dongguan, and Kunming each have a laser IMAX cinema.
Comparing Harbin's Tailai Times Cinema and Beijing's largest IMAX screen, Huaxing International Cinema, there is a difference of nearly 2 times the screen of "Dunkirk". The most important thing is that the director's special pursuit of the screen effect is completely invisible in Beijing. . This is really distressing!
So, I decided decisively: go to Harbin! After buying a round-trip ticket and sleeping in a sleeper overnight, we arrived at Yongtai City in the eastern suburbs of Harbin on Saturday morning.
The studio is on the 5th floor of Yongtai City. Once you enter the IMAX hall, it is a steep staircase. Climbing to the top, the largest domestic screen of 610 square meters stands in front of you, and the image equivalent to a 7-story building covers the entire wall of the theater, and you can't help but admire it.
Turning to look at the auditorium, there are a total of 14 rows of sofa seats. The spacing between the rows is wide, and the upward slope is relatively large, so the movie viewing will be more comfortable. The top row is full of double sofa seats, specially set up for couples.
At the beginning of the movie, I was instantly shocked by the 1.43:1 picture format. The curved screen made the picture almost square, which is a completely new movie viewing experience. My seat is in the 10th row. Although I didn’t feel completely immersed, I quietly tried the phone, and I couldn’t capture the full picture of the screen no matter it was horizontal or vertical. When I saw the Moonstone sailing out of the port, I found that the frame was obviously narrowed, and I realized that there were two different frames in this piece. But how to switch? I didn't understand for a while. Coming from a long way, if you don’t take this opportunity to clarify the frame switching rules, you may not be able to tell the difference when you return to Beijing under the 1.9:1 frame. Thinking about returning at 4:00 p.m., there was still enough time, so I decisively bought a ticket for the next laser IMAX. Hussai ordered something for lunch, and two brushed laser IMAX. I bought the 13th row, but after entering the venue, I found that there were no one in the middle three sets of sofas in the 14th row couple seat (maybe it was locked and no takeaway), so I unceremoniously sat on the middle couple sofa. Maybe it's the visual difference as the distance gets farther. This time, the picture doesn't feel as close to a square as the previous one. Try shooting with a mobile phone, just enough to fit the complete picture. As can be seen from the photos taken, when the 1.43:1 format is projected, the bottom two ends of the screen will still be slightly blocked by the railings of the venue, but this little bit has no effect on viewing.
Since I have to brush it again in order to clarify the changing rules of the frame, I must have missed every detail. It turned out that Nolan switched the frame not only because the noise of the IMAX film camera affected the on-site simultaneous recording, but switched to 2.2:1 regular 70mm film for scenes with many dialogues. The noise of the IMAX film camera must be the cause, but the final frame change of the final film has another rule to follow. I personally understand that the change between the 1.43:1 full frame and the 2.2:1 frame of "Dunkirk" is arranged in this way. The following is explained according to the three timelines in the movie: 1. Breakwaters: most of them are 1.43:1 Full frame. The scene of the soldiers hiding in the cabin of the small boat is basically not full-frame, only Tommy probes in the middle to see the tide rise and becomes full-frame; in the end, the ship is about to sink, and it is also full-frame when it starts to swim out to escape. In addition, Commander Bolton had two conversations that were not full-frame. One was when the general said that Churchill wanted to evacuate 30,000 people, and the other was when he talked to the army colonel and said that only a destroyer could be sent to pick up the people. These two times have become 2.2:1 when it comes to high-level government decision-making. 2. At sea: After the Moonstone set sail, the frame became 2.2:1, basically unchanged. There were three times when it changed back to full frame to save people, one was to save the soldiers played by Murphy; the other was that Colins crashed and smashed the engine cover and was rescued. I understand that this is already the sea line; the third is that the minesweeper was finally hit Rescue the drowning soldier, Tommy and Alex after sinking. 3. Aerial: All full frame has not changed. The last line back to the UK is also full frame. After reading it twice in a row, I took the high-speed train and rushed back to my home in Beijing that night. Although the 28 hours are in a hurry, it is truly worthwhile and satisfying. In addition to the digital IMAX that premiered in Beijing, I watched it three times in a row. My impression of this film is that the advantages and disadvantages are obvious. It is not Nolan's best work, but I will not complain here. The visual effects of Nolan's films are still as shocking as ever, which is commendable. [Add a tidbit] Between the two scenes, when I was looking for a suitable shooting angle in the cinema, I didn't pay attention to my feet, and I fell hard with one foot. Fortunately, the carpet was not a big problem.
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