Big Picture Big Sound

HD to the MAX!

With the release of MacGillivray Freeman Films' Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk, the Blu-ray format has seen its first IMAX title sourced from an 8K scanned master (8192 pixels of horizontal resolution). Big Picture Big Sound was able to speak with Ryan Mullins, President of Big Picture Digital Productions Inc. (no relation), the company that handles the MacGillvray Freeman releases on Blu-ray Disc and DVD for Image Entertainment. Mr. Mullins gives us insight into the exciting new process that they used for this new release, pushing the boundaries of Blu-ray technology.

For Grand Canyon, distributed by Image Entertainment, the Blu-ray features unprecedented image quality thanks to an innovative image transfer technique developed by David Keighley at DKP 70MM, an IMAX company. Keighley went through the film frame-by-frame scanning the original 70mm source at 8k before any processing was applied to the image. As Ryan Mullins put it, "when we got started with Blu-ray we realized it was more demanding than DVD.  While you could come up with a lot more brilliant image with Blu-ray, things like dirt and scratches also became a lot more apparent. So, I mentioned that, 'why don't we crop the image at maximum resolution, going scene by scene at the 8k stage before blowing-up the image.'"

For IMAX titles, there is always some blow-up to the image that must be applied when bringing the films to a home video format, for, as Mullins explains it "the images look too small on the screen." This is where the crucial step of doing an 8k scan before any blow-up really comes into play, as it helps reduce many of the artifacts that are magnified along with the image when scanning at lower resolutions.

The new transfer technique uses an innovative approach whereby the original 8k scanned image is converted to the 2k HD format (1920X1080 pixels) with a process that maintains the integrity of the original image to the greatest possible degree. To the human eye, the result is a Blu-ray image that looks better than anything we've seen before. Mullins says this technique helps to achieve "a much higher perceived resolution" and "denser pixel depth" than with Blu-ray Discs sourced from 2k or even 4k masters.

One of the interesting uses for this increased resolution that Mullins discusses is to use Blu-ray as a large venue projection format in developing countries where expensive theatrical digital projection systems may not be an option. "Blu-ray may turn out to be a theatrical source in some of these areas," Mullins says.

But the innovations do not stop there with Grand Canyon Adventure. The title is also amongst the first from MacGillivray to feature newly designed menus that are more integrated thematically with the film. Here is where the work of German company Imagion comes into play, as their painstaking work authoring the Blu-ray and setting up the BD-Live features truly pays off.

It also worth noting that Grand Canyon Adventure was originally filmed in 3D and ran in IMAX theatres as a 3D feature. On Blu-ray disc, normal 2D will have to do for now, but the film's opening water drop CGI-sequence is an integral part of its 3D roots. In 3D-equipped IMAX theatres, those water droplets would have been literally right in front of your eyes. Mullins says the company plans on releasing a 3D version of the title on Blu-ray as well, "but not until the market matures."  

There are no plans to release the title in the inferior anaglyph (red/blue) 3D format, but, rather, something more along the lines of one of the new emerging 3D technologies that take advantage of the new 120hz displays. Mullins adds, "unfortunately you will need a 3D capable TV, which are not widely available but are arriving to market after a lot of people have just upgraded to HD in the last few years.  There is also that small problem about the economy tanking to factor in as well. Home 3D will be a reality -- 'if' has been answered, the 'when' part is looking tricky."

"That being said," Mullin continues, "I think Blu-ray is the last good packaged format for video. That technology should remain on your shelf for the next ten years."

When asked if there are plans to do any more titles utilizing this 8k process, Mullins replies, "From here on out the plan is to do everything at 8k. We've got a few titles coming out that'll be sourced from 8k masters, including Arabia and Van Gogh."  So the future is looking bright for IMAX on Blu-ray. 

Big Picture Big Sound thanks Ryan Mullins of Big Picture Digital Productions, Inc. for his time answering our questions and providing information on this IMAX release.  For more information, read our complete review of Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk (IMAX) on Blu-ray Disc. 

Where to Buy

• Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk (IMAX) on Blu-ray Disc (Amazon.com)

More information:

• www.grandcanyonadventurefilm.com
• www.macfreefilms.com
• www.mffeducation.org
• www.imax.com
• www.imagion.de/en/company.html