CHICAGO, July 5, 2000 — “Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python” was captured by Golan Productions, Inc on High-Definition Television in Washington DC. GPI traveled to the Warner Theatre on June 14 to record the live theatre show for future release.
Ari Golan directed the eight camera HD show and worked to effectively capture the show without disturbing the sold-out audience.
While HDTV can be expensive to produce, Idle and Golan chose to use HD equipment to create a high-quality, lasting product for Monty Python fans. Both a 60 and 90-minute version are in post-production for DVD sales, videocassette as well as television broadcast.
“HD was selected because the subject matter was worthy of archiving,” according to Golan. “Another benefit of having an HD version available is the enhanced marketability to broadcasters searching for HD content.”
HDTV is the new wave of video technology and is supported by government regulations. The Federal Communications Commission mandated a gradual roll out of digital TV by November 1999 for the top 30 markets. Both Dish Network and DirecTV offer HBO-HD East, with approximately six movies a day transmitted in HD.
Known for its clear, high-resolution picture, HDTV typically has 720- 1080 lines of resolution. In comparison, today’s televisions have resolutions only up to 525 lines.
“The 16 x 9 aspect ratio is ideally suited for conversion to DVD,” says Golan. “Users of DVD are typically videophiles who prefer watching show s in letterbox format and don’t want programs that are reformatted for television viewing.”
The feature film style, high-definition picture also comes in conjunction with Dolby Digital surround sound, allowing for six separate audio tracks. Each track can then be sent to different speaker, resulting in more realistic surround sound.
This fall, GPI will celebrate its 15th year of creating award-winning projects for Fortune 100 companies. GPI has the capabilities to complete high- quality productions of live events, commercials, corporate communications as well as music videos. Included in its facilities, GPI has a 1900 sq. ft. sound stage in its Chicago headquarters, as well as multiple editing and graphic suites.
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Katie Ours
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katie@atomicimaging.com