ObiWanKennerobi said:
If film looks more like 6k, then why not just scan it at 6k? Then they can avoid resolutiongate 2.
The 6K slogan comes from Kodak and really only applies to the very finest modern 35mm film stocks.
Older 35mm film stocks(such as the ones Star Wars was shot on) wont go anywhere near 6K(they probably barely make 3-4K----and that is just the live action).
True........ VistaVision elements /frames(which probably could be in the 6K range) that were used for the optical composites......but once those were duped to create the final composites you would have far less than 4K(and most likely barely 1K).
That is why Lucas recomposited most of those shots digitally.
He knew that the originals would not stand up to the closer scrutiny of a 2000's modern presentation(in terms of resolution).
I have seen 4K versions(all be it upscaled) of Close Encounters, Superman The Movie ,Star Trek The Motion Picture and Alien*(the other Big "Optical Composite" 4 special effects heavy movies of the late 70's).
All of them exhibit generation loss the minute an effect and/or titles appear on screen.
It is a distraction(if you are looking for it)......and John Lowry was correct to identify it as a discrepancy that affects the storytelling process.
Star Wars 2011(upscaled to 4K) looks fantastic.....and is superior to all of the above movies in terms of resolution linearity....be it live action or special effect.
I will try to upload some screen shots of star wars(upscaled to 4K)
*I have a Sony 1000es 4k projector(2160 x4096)