Advanced Television

Hollywood tests UHD/HDR at 120fps

March 14, 2016

By Chris Forrester

Famed movie director Ang Lee (Life of Pi, Hulk) says he is filming his next project in Ultra HD, 3D and High Dynamic Range (HDR) as well as using an ultra-smooth 120 frames/second format.

The project, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, will be previewed at NAB next month in an April 16 Keynote during SMPTE’s ‘Future of Cinema’ session at NAB. The movie is the first feature-length film to be captured at 120 fps.  Sony/TriStar will release the film in the US later this year.

The only other major project to even get close to a higher frame rate was Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which was shot at 48 fps and managed to wow some customers and dismay others who missed the ‘filmic’ look of conventional 24 fps projection.

The Ang Lee movie is an adaptation of a best-selling book of the same name (by Ben Fountain) and tells the story of Billy Lynn, an Iraqi war hero who embarks with his platoon on what is described as a “wickedly funny” victory tour which includes being guest of honour at a Dallas Cowboys football game on Thanksgiving Day.

Categories: Articles, Production, UHD, Ultra-HD/4K