Why do IMAX scenes in Dark Knight Rises look like video?

[Joe Redifer]

So I watched The Dark Knight Rises the other day on 4K Blu-ray which as you know intersperses a lot of IMAX footage throughout. The thing is that most of the IMAX scenes look like video for some weird reason. The frame rate is still 24 in those scenes, I presume. It was quite sharp, so it wasn't a resolution issue. The lighting seemed to be more or less on par with the 35mm scenes. It even had some depth of field. So why does it look more like video? It looked as if I was watching actors rehearse scenes or something... like a behind-the-scenes shot of the "making of" of a movie if that makes sense. The only thing I can think of is that the shots were composed with the left and right being the most important since it had to fit within the scope frame, and there being too much empty space on top and bottom. I don't recall regular Dark Knight (non-Rises version) having this effect. Thoughts?


EDIT: JFC why did I choose THAT avatar for my profile pic?

EDIT 2: This is a stupid movie, BTW.

[Bobby Henderson]

The 15/65mm scenes in The Dark Knight Rises didn't look like video at all in the theater and I didn't notice any soap opera style visual issues on the regular 1080p Blu-ray disc. I don't have a UHD player (or UHDTV either) so I can't see for myself what is going on with that specific disc. My guess is perhaps it's some kind of mastering error with the native IMAX footage, although I don't know how someone makes 24fps film footage look like it was shot on video and still keep it at 24fps. The motion enhancement crap included in most TV sets can certainly make a movie look like videotape or even videotape in fast-forward mode.

[Joe Redifer]

Well as you can guess I had all that stuff disabled within seconds of obtaining the TV. I specifically looked for judder during the IMAX scenes and did see it. Maybe I am more sensitive to whatever is going on here, but I guess I'd need to hear from others who watched the Blu-ray to be sure.

[Marcel Birgelen]

The version you've been watching is the "IMAX 4K" release that swaps the AR between 2.35 for the 35mm scenes and something like 1.77 for the IMAX scenes?

[Joe Redifer]

Yes, that is correct.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I happen to own that BluRay too, but I've never watched it. I got it from a thrift store about a year ago, just before the current zombie apocalypse hit. Your remarks about it, together with Randy's recent remarks that many scenes Tenet look like the Dukes of Hazard series to him got me interested.

If I have some spare time left, I'll fire it up and take a look at those scenes. You've got a scene where it's particularly obvious to you?

[Joe Redifer]

Pretty much any o fthe iMAX scenes after the opening. I think it helps to watch a bit of the 35mm scenes before transitioning to IMAX. Maybe the stuff outside of the "stock exchange" is a good example. The brighter the better.

[Marcel Birgelen]

To give a quick update: I've watched some of that movie in our screening room on Blu-Ray today (the 4K "IMAX" release). Maybe it's not fair to watch it in a screening room as a comparison, but it's sure an awful experience with the aspect ratio constant swapping and watching at a letter-boxed picture half of the time... I didn't really get the video vibe, but I agree that those IMAX scenes, especially the bright ones, don't necessarily have the traditional film look.

I think this is part due to the lack of any color filtering and the lack of motion blur. This is somehow odd, because I've never really noticed this before. I don't know if this is a result of a process they applied to this particular Blu-Ray or if the IMAX shots were shot at another shutter angle than 180°?

[Joe Redifer]

I had the thought that the lack of motion blur could be it as well, but I forgot to consciously look for that when I was watching it. No matter the case, it didn't really feel like a movie. As I said, the IMAX scenes in the previous Dark Knight (non-Rises version) didn't seem to have this effect. I'll maybe take a nother look to see if I see any motion blur later tonight in Dark Knight Rises.

[Joe Redifer]

I saw motion blur when I checked it again tonight. I still think it might have something to do with the framing. Look at this. You see Batman head to toe. That is super awkward framing. And this is 16:9, just imagine how much worse it looks in real IMAX.

IMG_5212.jpeg

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Joe, irregardless of this particular format film cameras (Panavision) use relatively slow shutter speeds. Usually the equivalent of 1/60th to 1/125th of a second and you can get motion blur at those speeds. I am also pretty sure none of the Imax cameras even have variable shutters that allow the equivalent speed to be increased. So they are stuck at the lower end of the speed range.

[Marcel Birgelen]

Despite the lockdown being upon us around here, I haven't really had the time to get back to this until yesterday. But I think Joe has a point here: The way Batman is framed here looks highly unusual. It looks more like a shot from someones iPhone rather than an elaborately choreographed cinematic achievement...

I've looked at the "IMAX" frames and there seems to be motion blur in them, but far less than in most of the 35mm shots. I'll try to capture some frames to see if I can back that up with facts.