Hollywood fps

[josel]

Hi all,
How many fps do the hollywood movie makers use?

Cheers Josel

[FulciLives]

24 fps for standard movies.

That pretty much covers most of what Hollywood does but there are other formats like IMAX that use a much higher fps.

But all standard films are 24fps

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[josel]

Thanks for that FuciLives,

But why do they use 24fps and not 25 or 29, surely if they use this fps it would be better quality or do the use a different compression system?

Cheers Josel

[guns1inger]

Film uses 24 fps, and has done since before video came along. 25 fps and 29.976 fps are broadcast standards and have little to do with film.

[josel]

Ok So why don't they change to 29 for better quality or is it that they cannot technically do that?

Josel

[gadgetguy]

fps has nothing to do with quality. They don't change because of economics.

[garryheather]

Ok So why don't they change to 29 for better quality or is it that they cannot technically do that?

Josel

It probably wouldn't be viable to get every cinema projector in the world changed, for starters.

One of the issues is film doesn't like being pushed through the mechanics too fast, plus the extra size and weight of each print would be prohibitive and cost that much more to produce through every stage from production to screen. With digital cinema slowly being rolled out, it is unlikely the next "big thing" will be a new standard for film (even the available space on a film set aside for audio is pretty cramped these days).

[BJ_M]

24 was chosen years and years ago because tests showed that it was the lowest they could go and people could stand the flicker ..

this was done as a cost savings measure - as stock costs and developing are high - as well as distribution and prints ...

the shutter in a projector passes over each frame twice (and sometimes three times in some models), effectivly making it 48fps in a way ..

imax, showscan , iwerks , simex and others use mostly 70mm film in anywhere from 4 perf to 10perf (and 15 perf) at speeds from 30fps to 60fps -- as well as 35mm at mostly 30fps ..

these systems all use electronic or air handling shutters and/or film handling (as well as in most cases extra cooling) to handle the film speed - often (not 10/15 perf imax) the film is rewound through the gate even.. Unlike a normal theater which removes the film from the projector to rewind (or uses rewind platter system) ..

[Cornucopia]

Beat me to the punch, BJ_M!

Also, in a way, 24fps is MORE efficient compression-wise (less # changes per second, more blur, progressive frame).

Those frame rates quoted are for PROJECTION, not shooting. Shooting is USUALLY done at 24fps, but it isn't locked into that. One can "overcrank" or "undercrank" (terms taken from when they actually were cranked by hand), so that when projected, the film motion will speed up or slow down--very fluidlike. (Up until very recently, video could not do that easily, if at all).

Scott

[garryheather]

Or, if you read Terry Pratchett, that's as fast as the imps in the cameras can draw...