[shadebug]

I'm seeing a lot of repetition in the films people use to showcase their projectors, so the question is, what DVDs/HDDVDs/BluRays does my collection need. I know that the fifth element is essential, but what else should I be on the lookout for?

[BlindVision]

shadebug, on Jan 29 2008, 08:32 AM, said:

I'm seeing a lot of repetition in the films people use to showcase their projectors, so the question is, what DVDs/HDDVDs/BluRays does my collection need. I know that the fifth element is essential, but what else should I be on the lookout for?

I guess, is totally up to you.
But it hard to re-produce,
FLESH tones,
VIVID colors,
GRAYSCALES (espercialy the almost black area).

-one thing to remeber, BE SURE that the film you use to adjust after/with, has got the "thing" you are tring to adjust. Fore example, it no good trying to adjust a dark scene -BLACK, if you are no sure it actualy IS BLACK on the film.

As for source/media: the best posible ofcourse - that your wallet allows.

and as fore the FIFTH ELEMENT, thats VIVID COLORS

[OKflyboy]

weldonjb started a great threadabout what Concert DVDs one should get. I'd recommended my addition to that list , not just because its my suggestion, but because that particular DVD is a great VIVID COLOR test as BlindVision suggested.

[Aerosoul22]

You can get demo DVDs people have made that show clips from various movies. There are several categories like special effects, bass, etc. If you aren't already a member I'd check out avsforum.com

Also, having a decent stereo can make the experience SO much better. If you have surround sound definitely check out the beginning of Saving Private Ryan. The newer Star Wars look and sound pretty good too. I also think animated movies usually look really good. Ratatoulie BluRay is the first movie I watched on my PJ in 1080p and it really impressed me.

Outside of the PJ itself I think the biggest bang for your buck to impress people is getting a couple Aura Bass Shakers. Google them if you don't know what they are. They are very cheap but can take your theater to a whole new level.

[TGig]

If you are taking special requests, I recommend you put The Crow in your collection. R.I.P. Brandon Lee... He would have had like 10 Oscars by now.

[Quasi_Mojo]

Giving recommendation of movies is difficult without knowing what your movie tastes are.
If you are looking for video to calibrate your projector, there are plenty of Home Theater video calibration DVDs.
If you're looking for particular movie selections, perhaps you could start a thread in the "General Discussion" forum.
Be certain to give you genre preferences and I'm sure people will make some good selections. Also, you may find IMDB.com to be helpful (if you don't already know about it).

This post has been edited by Quasi_Mojo: 30 January 2008 - 03:25 AM

[shadebug]

I'm a film fan in general so I'll be happy with most things and everything everyone's said would be plenty good in my book. The idea was more twofold. In a joking sort of way is to see what films are always popping up in plogs but more importantly what blindvision was getting at, si showing which ones are technically feasts for the eyes and can really get us going.

I would take issue with the suggestion of ratatouille over most other disney pixar films, if only because I thought it lacked a bit of zing and something like monsters inc works better for vivid colours (which is all you could possibly hope to get from a CG film since fleshtone will never be reliable, though I suppose you could get nice blacks from something like spirits within). The newer star wars (apart from having killed a bit of my inner geek by castrating yoda) I'm surprised were suggested since I thought the CG, from a picture quality standpoint, was a bit overegged and somewhat ruined the picture. It's good if you let yourself be taken in by the film, but I've seen it used in shops and found the colours to be oversaturated (may have been the TV's fault) and the edges to be too sharp (also may have been the TVs fault)

I think the idea, outside of a bit of fun, is that when you make plogs you have to put up screenies, but screenies are no good if you can't reference them against something, usually a screeny from the same film elsewhere. So, as fantastic as the crow is, I'm not sure i've seen anybody use it in a plog, so it's not a great reference (though I'm considering buying it anyway, because... awesome). Whereas, if we trawled through every plog we could make a giant mosaic of pictures of milla jovovich looking worried and use it to figure out which PJ is the best.

Now that's a rationale I never thought I'd give.

[blennus]

Lord Of The Rings also seemed to get used a bit some time ago though use of that has dropped off... probably because of the length of the film and once people get started they just want to sit, watch and enjoy.

The Incredibles and Pirates of the Caribbean have popped up here and there too I believe.

I'm still putting the finishing touches (well for the time being) on mine and have to make a screen but once done I plan to put Bladerunner (the new print) through it... if you've never seen it I'd highly recommend it... if you have but haven't got the new copy yet I'd highly recommend it... the work they have done to it is brilliant it looks as vibrant as if it was filmed recently... definitely looking forward to being able to watch that on the home big screen theatre

That's probably my suggestion

[TGig]

Very true that The Crow would not be good for showing off a projector's color contrast as it only uses about 10 colors from the range of black to light grey throughout the whole movie... But yeah, awesome.

[TGig]

Hey, maybe it would be good for an example of how your projector looks during dark scenes?

[Toysrme]

Patton

Not only won 7 oscars, but was shot in Dimension 150. Absolutely gorgeous movie. I only prey they keep perfect copies of it throughout my lifetime so they can re-sample it during each format war!

[Rhymenocerous]

Boondock Saints
London
A Love Song for Bobby Long
Lost in Translation
Night of the Galactic Railroad (hard to find)
Grave of the Fireflies
Pom Poko
Beer League
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Night of the Living Dead (1968 an 1989 versions)
An American Werewolf in London

There are tons more movies that are must haves, but these are the only ones I could think of off the top of my head. You should also look into HD VMD. It certainly is the best choice for the consumer.

[shadebug]

Rhymenocerous, on Feb 4 2008, 12:41 PM, said:

Pom Poko

I'd love to see giant testicle attack become the staple reference image for screenshots

[TGig]

giant testicle attack? I assume you mean giant tenticle attack? hehe

[shadebug]

nah, tentacles we can deal with. the giant testicle attack in a film which is ostensibly for kids is all sorts of messed up. It's an experience everybody should have, seriously, go watch it right now

[Rhymenocerous]

shadebug, on Feb 4 2008, 06:51 AM, said:

I'd love to see giant testicle attack become the staple reference image for screenshots

no... he means testicle. it's a japanese anime based off a mythical animal in japan. they're kinda like raccoons. but anyway, they can change forms and they can also make the testicles grow and they do odd things with them, like bounce on them and use them for weapons. i know this all sounds very strange, but it still is a great movie. you just have to look past the scrotum stuff.

[x_25]

On an off shoot with Pom Poko, I highly recommend these moves.

Princess Mononoke
Porko Roso
Spirited Away
Castle in the Sky
The Cat Returns

Other movies that are good on the projector

Lord of the Rings
Hot Fuzz
Cars
Any of the Shrecks
Princess Bride

[SupraGuy]

Being something of an anime fan, the Miazaki anime films are all pretty good. I've yet to watch Princess Mononoke, but I've seen the rest. Disney actually did a pretty good job with their dubbed releases of these, too.

Animation generally shows the vividness of the colour, but seldom has any real subtle shading to it, unless it's CGI. As such, it's generally poor at showing the detail that a high res projector can attain.

On topic...

I've found that The Matrix and it's sequels made for good projector viewing, and showing off. Even though the tones in the film tend to be somewhat greenish, there is a wealth of detail there, and a lot of scenes which really show off the capabilities of a good build.

Tying back in to the animation, The Animatrix episode The Last Flight of the Osiris has some really amazing scenes that the big screen does wonders with. Gotta hand it to Square/Enix.