Loom, a science fiction short film directed by Luke Scott (son of Ridley and nephew of Tony), was used by RED to show off their 4K 3D projector at NAB 2012. The last time we talked about Luke Scott, he had just directed a viral video for his father Ridley's Prometheus. While you won't be able to watch it in 4K (or in 3D), the H.264 file is remarkably clean. The film is set in the mid-21st century and stars Giovanni Ribisi as a scientist working at a laboratory attempting to grow meat for human consumption. While he plays worker bee during the day, he's got a secret that could land him in jail.
You can download the film by clicking on the image below (there is some NSFW nudity). The film was shot in 3D at 5K on RED EPIC by Darius Wolski (who also lensed Prometheus and The Pirates films):
I wasn't sure why I liked RED's projector so much (and why the 3D didn't strain my eyes), but I've now learned that it's one of the few ways you can see 3D at 24fps (or higher) in both eyes simultaneously. Convergence is one of the biggest issues with 3D, but part of the reason that people have called for higher frame rates (like Peter Jackson and James Cameron) is because most 3D projectors simply can't show a full frame rate to each eye at the same time, and over the length of an entire film, both of those issues can cause serious strain.
Here is what Jarred had to say over at REDUser about when we might start seeing the projector as well as their compressed 4K player, REDRay:
Projector starts rolling out end of the year to some select installations... we have a period of Field FCC testing that takes place before they can be shipped to random people. They should be in the store for normal purchase sometime in the first few months of 2013. REDRAY as mentioned will be ahead of the projector..
I had proposed that RED's projector might be able to save independent theaters, but until the projector actually gets out there in numbers, more and more small theaters will face the tough digital transition as Hollywood continues releasing films as a DCP (digital cinema package) only. While the RED projector at the moment will be the most inexpensive way to get real 4K on a somewhat large screen, there very well may be inexpensive options from competitors by the time the projector actually sees the light of day. RED has done an exceptional job pushing 4K acquisition, but actually displaying 4K is a whole other story. We're still a few years away from 4K TVs that people can actually afford, but a relatively inexpensive projector could mean a lot for all of this 4K content that can't be shown anywhere.
What do you guys think of the film? If you were at NAB, what did you think of the 3D projection and how has seeing the movie in 2D affected the overall feel?
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