[photo-3d] George Lucas Goes Digital...

["Dan Shelley" <dshelley@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I found this fascinating... I am ever more curious about where consumer 
digital cameras will go in the near future!

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Lucas Goes Digital for Episode II
by E! Online News Staff
http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0%2C1%2C6299%2C00%2Ehtml

Goodbye clunky celluloid. Hello, digital Jar Jar.

Just when you thought George Lucas completely dissed the digital age by not 
releasing The Phantom Menace on DVD (yet), the Star Wars mastermind 
announced he's going digital for Episode II.

Lucas says he plans to shoot most of the film's live-action scenes using six 
digital, high-definition camcorders--instead of tried and true film 
cameras--when shooting starts in Australia in June.

Ditching film has its advantages. All-digital production promises higher 
resolution, sharper sound and more efficient editing, not to mention 
eliminating the need for costly digital-to-film transfers. Luddites, 
however, insist current digital quality lacks the "warmth" of old-fashioned 
film.

But before movie buffs start rushing off to declare blasphemy, Lucas insists 
the quality is on par with traditional cameras on the big screen. The 
director already pioneered digital projection in movie theaters last year 
with Episode I, but recent test runs proved to him the new cameras are up to 
snuff.

"The tests have convinced me that the familiar look and feel of motion 
picture film are fully present in this digital 24P system, and that the 
picture quality between the two is indistinguishable on the large screen," 
Lucas says in a statement.

Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic (the filmmaker's in-house F/X shop) 
had been testing the "24P" cameras, built by Panavision and Sony, for the 
last four months. The cameras shoot 24 frames per second, just like 
traditional film, but with digital videotape. Of course, the prospect also 
scares people who currently thrive off digital transferring services.

Though the script for Episode II reportedly isn't finished yet, shooting for 
the pubescent Darth Vader flick will begin in Australia, before heading to 
Italy and Tunisia later this summer.

Digital cameras have been widely used on smaller projects and indie films, 
like video for the Web and the Wim Wenders-helmed films, The Million Dollar 
Hotel and Buena Vista Social Club. But it's a first for a big guy like 
Lucas.

"George is a pioneer, and this is a technology that's blazing," says Judy 
Irola, head of cinematography for University of Southern California's school 
of Cinema/Television. "If you learn to work with it, I think you can make it 
look as good as film...it just won't look like film.

"But I don't think it's a technology to be afraid of."

Lucas' minions also have backed the decision, saying they were equally 
impressed by the new cameras' picture quality.

"The tests were really quite astonishing," says Lucas Digital president Jim 
Morris. "The image quality of the new Sony camera and Panavision lenses 
exceeded our expectations, and really validate the 24P system as a great new 
tool for moviemaking."

Not to mention cheaper. The cameras reportedly cost $100,000 each, less 
expensive than their 35 millimeter predecessors.

Not that money's any problem for Lucas. Last week's video release of The 
Phantom Menace sold a record-clobbering 5 million copies in its first two 
days. And the explosion generated another $100 million for the film, 
bringing its total take beyond $1 billion.
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