can anyone tell me where or which SG cinema can show 4k Digital
resolution?
'Sivaji' - first Indian film to incorporate 4K resolution
By Papri Sri Raman, Chennai, June 14: Ranjikant's much hyped
"Sivaji: The Boss", which opens Friday, is the first Indian film to
incorporate the latest 4K resolution technology that is used only
on big-budget Hollywood films.
In India, 2K resolution for digital intermediate (DI) is the set
standard. Around 400 of the 2,900 prints of "Sivaji" have been made
in digital format by Prasad EFX, one of the largest digital
post-production studios in India. The studio has colour graded and
post-produced the film.
Till recently, digital grading in India was done on a small monitor
or by a low-end projector and screen.
Major Hollywood studios, however, allow cinematographers to see
images being graded in high resolution on the big screen. Detailed
attention is thus paid to selectively colour grade smaller areas in
a frame or shot.
Scanning the entire feature film in 4K resolution requires huge
storage space and powerful graphics capability. A single frame
scanned in 2K occupies about 12 mb space while a 4K image would
occupy 4 times more (48 mb).
For these reasons, scanning in 4K for an entire DI feature film has
never been done in India till now.
Considering the superior imagery that has been cinematographed by
K.V. Anand for "Sivaji", the processor for the film, Prasad group,
felt that 4K would do justice to the film by enhancing its digital
image quality and flexibility in colour grading.
AVM, the producers of "Sivaji", have also gone ahead with the
process considering the advantage it would have despite an increase
in the cost of production.
"By routing the entire film through the 4K pipeline for the DI
process, we can be certain that none of the details available in
the celluloid film are lost," Madhu of Prasad EFX said.
"Another advantage is that when we can scale up the images during
the post and graphics processes, the image will not go soft or lead
to any artefacts. As a 4K image has larger resolution, we can also
have unlimited freedom in manipulating the colours during grading,"
he added.
"Our meticulously colour calibrated environment ensures that what
the cinematographers see in our facility is what is actually seen
by people in the theatres."
The entire 4K DI process was done in Prasad EFX's Chennai facility,
using high-end scanners, film recorders and colour grading
suites.
Prasad simultaneously worked on around 85 percent of the VFX, or
graphics, in "Sivaji", also in 4K resolutions.
In the recent past, Prasad EFX has worked on the DI and colour
grading of mega budget Bollywood movies like "Krrish" and "Rang De
Basanti".
The group has also upgraded their DI facility in Mumbai by
including a digital theatrical projection system and a high-end
Barco Projector D-Cine Premiere DP100 to their existing
facilities.
The 26 ft x 40 ft theatre is located in the Prasad EFX facility at
Andheri West, Mumbai, and is equipped with 5.1 surround
sound.
Prasad EFX won several prestigious awards -- Filmfare, Screen, Zee
Technical, Broadcast India, and at the recently held International
Indian Film Academy at Yorkshire -- for "Krrish".
The company has been a pioneer in bringing in new technologies and
sophisticated equipment to India.
Prasad EFX is an arm of the 50-year-old Prasad Group, which has
facilities and offices across India, Singapore, Dubai and Hollywood
and is one of Asia's largest post-production groups
