To HD or not to HD.

All this talk about the lab reminded me of something I've been meaning to write about -- making a decision on video format. These days, there are two basic options: standard definition and high definition.

From a resolution standpoint, high definition is the obvious way to go -- 1080 lines of resolution versus 486 lines of resolution for standard def. With the new high def home formats available (HD DVD and Blu-ray), there's the posibility that Interplanetary might be released in high def one day, and it's easy enough to downconvert a high def image to create a standard def DVD. The downside is cost -- a high def transfer is about twice as expensive as a standard def transfer.

Since we're counting every penny, I decided I'd let the marketplace decide. If having a high def master of Interplanetary would make it easier to find a distribution deal, I figure it would be money well spent. I contacted an acquaintance who is a producer's rep (someone who helps filmmakers market and sell their movies), and she said that a high def master would, indeed, make the movie easier to sell. So that's the way we're going.

One additional cool thing about the high def transfer -- we're able to bypass tape and go straight to computer disk. High def tapes are expensive, and I don't have a high def VTR, so the direct-to-disk route is relatively cost-effective and convenient.