Mayazaki's Spirited Away: BAD (red) DVD Release?
07-21-02, 02:30 PM
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Mayazaki's Spirited Away: BAD (red) DVD Release?
I'm hearing rumors that the dvd release of Spirited Away is way overboard on the red color in the movie --- i.e. the entire movie has a red tinge on the DVD release.
Anyone have any news on this (I've checked out the threads at www.animeondvd.com)
Mine is "on the way", by a slow boat, so I'll get it in about 2 weeks, but this bums me out, since buying it sets one back about $45....
I've been really looking forward to seeing this, but this puts a slight pale on my attitude.
Anyone have any news on this (I've checked out the threads at www.animeondvd.com)
Mine is "on the way", by a slow boat, so I'll get it in about 2 weeks, but this bums me out, since buying it sets one back about $45....
I've been really looking forward to seeing this, but this puts a slight pale on my attitude.
07-21-02, 03:09 PM
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The tint is there, and it will annoy you depending on how far you're willing to go to correct it. If you read that Anime on DVD thread, you'll see that people said some of the problem could be fixed by adjusting your color settings on your TV. Frankly, I find this a joke, as I don't want to reset everything everytime I watch this disc.
There's been talk that this was intentional on Miyazaki's part, but I find that hard to believe. The trailers look the way you'd expect the film to look: bright, gorgeous, and with balanced colors. The art book for the film looks exactly the same way. So why do this to the film? I tend to think it was a screw-up, and now they're simply covering up by claiming it was supposed to be that way. There would be millions of discs to replace, and that would be a nightmare for Buena Vista Japan (aka Di$ney). The whole thing has killed any inclination I have to pre-order any further Ghibli titles; from here on out, I'll wait until reviews come out.
The movie is great, by the way, and for those who have to have it, go for the cheaper HK option at this point. There's always the US disc that will come down the line, but it's doubtful as to whether they'd do another transfer to correct the problem.
There's been talk that this was intentional on Miyazaki's part, but I find that hard to believe. The trailers look the way you'd expect the film to look: bright, gorgeous, and with balanced colors. The art book for the film looks exactly the same way. So why do this to the film? I tend to think it was a screw-up, and now they're simply covering up by claiming it was supposed to be that way. There would be millions of discs to replace, and that would be a nightmare for Buena Vista Japan (aka Di$ney). The whole thing has killed any inclination I have to pre-order any further Ghibli titles; from here on out, I'll wait until reviews come out.
The movie is great, by the way, and for those who have to have it, go for the cheaper HK option at this point. There's always the US disc that will come down the line, but it's doubtful as to whether they'd do another transfer to correct the problem.
07-22-02, 06:46 PM
#6
DVD Talk Gold Edition
It's pretty noticeable and I don't think I want to tweak my TV set every time I want to watch this movie. I cancelled my preorder with Amazon Japan until I hear something further about this issue.
07-22-02, 09:49 PM
#7
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it takes about 3 seconds to change your tint and reset it back, just move the tint slider over slightly and you're good to go (depending on how you want the picture, I did this and it looks great.) most tvs store settings now so it's no big deal.
And yeah I have to agree, it's a great film. If Ice Age gets nominated for "Best animated feature" over this, heads will roll.
-Rich
And yeah I have to agree, it's a great film. If Ice Age gets nominated for "Best animated feature" over this, heads will roll.
-Rich
07-23-02, 10:44 AM
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Shiv Shankly:
The trailer *on kiki's dvd* looks bright, the one on "mimi wo sumaseba" was already red, and they would have had more than two month to discover the problem and to correct it.
The fact that it didn't happen makes me think it really was intentional, even if I still don't understand what were they hopeing to achieve with it.
The trailer *on kiki's dvd* looks bright, the one on "mimi wo sumaseba" was already red, and they would have had more than two month to discover the problem and to correct it.
The fact that it didn't happen makes me think it really was intentional, even if I still don't understand what were they hopeing to achieve with it.
07-23-02, 10:39 PM
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After all these net reports I was expecting the worst upon popping the Japanese pressing into my Malata.
And why yes this reddish tint is there it's far from worth dwelling on. I have read such things as boycot? "Well I'm not buying that crap now etc"(nothing here from your fine folks but said none same) and all I can do is sit back in shock.
This reddish tint is also now present in all clips (Sen and otherwise) featured in the Ghibli Collection montage on the 2nd platter. I have watched this promo many times on previous titles and now it has been redone to bring it up to speed and showcase Spirited Away. Anyone else think the trailer for Laputa is reddish as well?
The Japanese are about as tech as it comes and nothing like this would go to press without getting the green light from the top. As strange as it may seem it has to have been what they were going after.
If a film of this caliber was made let's say ten year ago us in the west still would have creamed our jeans over a blurry 5th gen bootleg cassette so this is hardly worth carrying on about. After all these negative posts, and petitions no less on some forums I was expecting a image of horrible clarity, but instead was left awe and inspiration. My daughter and I talked were left talking about the film not hues.
After watching this film I can say 100 percent I have no regrets on paying the higher tag for such a treasure.
And why yes this reddish tint is there it's far from worth dwelling on. I have read such things as boycot? "Well I'm not buying that crap now etc"(nothing here from your fine folks but said none same) and all I can do is sit back in shock.
This reddish tint is also now present in all clips (Sen and otherwise) featured in the Ghibli Collection montage on the 2nd platter. I have watched this promo many times on previous titles and now it has been redone to bring it up to speed and showcase Spirited Away. Anyone else think the trailer for Laputa is reddish as well?
The Japanese are about as tech as it comes and nothing like this would go to press without getting the green light from the top. As strange as it may seem it has to have been what they were going after.
If a film of this caliber was made let's say ten year ago us in the west still would have creamed our jeans over a blurry 5th gen bootleg cassette so this is hardly worth carrying on about. After all these negative posts, and petitions no less on some forums I was expecting a image of horrible clarity, but instead was left awe and inspiration. My daughter and I talked were left talking about the film not hues.
After watching this film I can say 100 percent I have no regrets on paying the higher tag for such a treasure.
07-24-02, 01:37 AM
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I recall reading somewhere that the reddish tint was indeed intentional, being done to give the film less of a hard edge (as is apparent in the original trailers) and more of a soft dreamlike quality (supposedly sanctioned by the man himself - Miyazaki).
regards, Tim...
regards, Tim...
07-24-02, 01:53 AM
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If it was intentional, fine, I just think they went too far if so. I don't want to adjust my TV settings everytime I watch this disc, in order to make it look more "normal." Whites should be white, not pink. Regardless, it is a great film, and I'm glad I have it. If there is no repressing, I'll be happy to keep it, but I'll also be happy to get a version with truer colors.
07-24-02, 07:53 AM
#12
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Sure I tweaked my television, but when comparing it to the trailer, the reddish tent actually gave the human characters and pigs a more natural skin colour. So, essentially the theatrical version looked like what we saw in the trailer?
07-24-02, 08:08 AM
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Here is a paste of an email I just got from
Japan this morning
Here is my email to them
"Is there any talk in Japan about the very bright Red colors on this DVD?
When you compare footage found in the trailers to that on the actual dvd
the movie plays with a great deal of red color"
RESPONSE STARTS HERE
For your inquiry to these technical issues on "Spirits Away"DVD, we have made
official inquiries to both Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Studio Ghbli,
to which they answered as follows:
Buena Vista Home Entertainment and its source said, "Spirits Away" and its
cell frames are designed and produced with full-digital composite. Making
and striking the master for the dvd was strictly supervised by the studio and
Director of Photography. Therefore they believe the quality contained in the
dvd and video is the best one they could get under the given circumstances.
Studio Ghbli said that they did not use the data that was used in theatrical
releasing prints of the film, but they used the newly mastered DVD/Video
digital data in consideration with the fact that the DVD should be played on
Liquid Crystal TV or Plasma TV, so should be no problem for its quality. As
for the trailers on the DVD, it might not be color corrected for the DVD
format so it might slightly be different from what you see in the DVD feature
it they are the same scene.
As you see, those people responsible for the creation of the DVD said they
themselves were supervising the color correction and decided it should be OK.
We cannot do anything about it.
Hope this could help you understand and clear up the doubt that you have
right now.
Best Regards,
Panorama Communications
Japan this morning
Here is my email to them
"Is there any talk in Japan about the very bright Red colors on this DVD?
When you compare footage found in the trailers to that on the actual dvd
the movie plays with a great deal of red color"
RESPONSE STARTS HERE
For your inquiry to these technical issues on "Spirits Away"DVD, we have made
official inquiries to both Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Studio Ghbli,
to which they answered as follows:
Buena Vista Home Entertainment and its source said, "Spirits Away" and its
cell frames are designed and produced with full-digital composite. Making
and striking the master for the dvd was strictly supervised by the studio and
Director of Photography. Therefore they believe the quality contained in the
dvd and video is the best one they could get under the given circumstances.
Studio Ghbli said that they did not use the data that was used in theatrical
releasing prints of the film, but they used the newly mastered DVD/Video
digital data in consideration with the fact that the DVD should be played on
Liquid Crystal TV or Plasma TV, so should be no problem for its quality. As
for the trailers on the DVD, it might not be color corrected for the DVD
format so it might slightly be different from what you see in the DVD feature
it they are the same scene.
As you see, those people responsible for the creation of the DVD said they
themselves were supervising the color correction and decided it should be OK.
We cannot do anything about it.
Hope this could help you understand and clear up the doubt that you have
right now.
Best Regards,
Panorama Communications
07-24-02, 06:00 PM
#14
DVD Talk Legend
There's been a lot of talk on the DVD on Japanese TV recently. Nothing conclusive yet.
I ordered the region 3 from HK and am waiting to see how that one looks. (Less than half the price of the over-inflated prices they charge for Japanese movies in Japan)
I ordered the region 3 from HK and am waiting to see how that one looks. (Less than half the price of the over-inflated prices they charge for Japanese movies in Japan)
07-26-02, 09:52 AM
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Here is the response I received from CDJapan:
Some TVs suffer from what is called "red push." This is when the color red is overemphasized in the color decoder. Assuming the DVD is correct as the above email asserts, then the red backgroud will come through much more if the TVs color decoder is not in balance. Check out HomeTheaterSpot for more information about "red push."
Dear Customer,
Hello.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment Japan has posted an official statement on their website in answer to the inquiries concerning some technical issues on "Spirited Away" DVD/VHS. We have tried our best to present a faithful translation of the text.
-----------------------------
We have received some inquiries on the coloration of "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" on DVD and VHS released on July 19, 2002. With this announcement, we'd like to clarify the matter by provi
ding the following explanation.
"Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away)" is a digitally-animated movie produced by Studio Ghilbli, and its full-digital frames were designed and produced on computers. The coloration of the master for the DVD and VHS was strictly supervised/approved by Studio Ghibli's color designers and DP/Cinematographer.
The "Spirited Away" DVD/VHS was produced through an entirely novel procedure in mastering, and both Studio Ghibli and Buena Vista Home Entertainment Japan believe the quality of the DVD/VHS to be the best and the most faithful in terms of reproducing the original movie under the given circumstances.
As for the trailers on Disc 2, they have been included solely for the purpose of providing necessary information on the film, and because of this nature, it was not specifically color-corrected. Consequently, some differences in coloration may be detected between the same scene on the trailers on Disc 2 and the main feature on Disc 1.
We assure the highest standard of quality control has been maintained on the manufacturing of both DVD and VHS, but differences in coloration may be detected depending on the type of equipment and/or the settings of the system being used.
-----------------------------
According to what we have been told, there will not be any further
announcement regarding this matter.
We apologize for interrupting you with total of two e-mails
related to the DVD.
Sincerely,
Toshi Makiya
CDJapan
Hello.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment Japan has posted an official statement on their website in answer to the inquiries concerning some technical issues on "Spirited Away" DVD/VHS. We have tried our best to present a faithful translation of the text.
-----------------------------
We have received some inquiries on the coloration of "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" on DVD and VHS released on July 19, 2002. With this announcement, we'd like to clarify the matter by provi
ding the following explanation.
"Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away)" is a digitally-animated movie produced by Studio Ghilbli, and its full-digital frames were designed and produced on computers. The coloration of the master for the DVD and VHS was strictly supervised/approved by Studio Ghibli's color designers and DP/Cinematographer.
The "Spirited Away" DVD/VHS was produced through an entirely novel procedure in mastering, and both Studio Ghibli and Buena Vista Home Entertainment Japan believe the quality of the DVD/VHS to be the best and the most faithful in terms of reproducing the original movie under the given circumstances.
As for the trailers on Disc 2, they have been included solely for the purpose of providing necessary information on the film, and because of this nature, it was not specifically color-corrected. Consequently, some differences in coloration may be detected between the same scene on the trailers on Disc 2 and the main feature on Disc 1.
We assure the highest standard of quality control has been maintained on the manufacturing of both DVD and VHS, but differences in coloration may be detected depending on the type of equipment and/or the settings of the system being used.
-----------------------------
According to what we have been told, there will not be any further
announcement regarding this matter.
We apologize for interrupting you with total of two e-mails
related to the DVD.
Sincerely,
Toshi Makiya
CDJapan
07-27-02, 01:20 PM
#19
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Here's Buena Vista Japan's response on their website. I have bolded the ridiculous statements.
"We have received some inquiries on the coloration of "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" on DVD and VHS released on July 19, 2002. With this announcement, we'd like to clarify the matter by providing the following explanation.
"Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away)" is a digitally-animated movie produced by Studio Ghilbli, and its full-digital frames were designed and produced on computers. The coloration of the master for the DVD and VHS was strictly supervised/approved by Studio Ghibli's color designers and DP/Cinematographer.
The "Spirited Away" DVD/VHS was produced through an entirely novel procedure in mastering, and both Studio Ghibli and Buena Vista Home Entertainment Japan believe the quality of the DVD/VHS to be the best and the most faithful in terms of reproducing the original movie under the given circumstances.
As for the trailers on Disc 2, they have been included solely for the purpose of providing necessary information on the film, and because of this nature, it was not specifically color-corrected. Consequently, some differences in coloration may be detected between the same scene on the trailers on Disc 2 and the main feature on Disc 1.
We assure the highest standard of quality control has been maintained on the manufacturing of both DVD and VHS, but differences in coloration may be detected depending on the type of equipment and/or the settings of the system being used.
"We have received some inquiries on the coloration of "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" on DVD and VHS released on July 19, 2002. With this announcement, we'd like to clarify the matter by providing the following explanation.
"Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away)" is a digitally-animated movie produced by Studio Ghilbli, and its full-digital frames were designed and produced on computers. The coloration of the master for the DVD and VHS was strictly supervised/approved by Studio Ghibli's color designers and DP/Cinematographer.
The "Spirited Away" DVD/VHS was produced through an entirely novel procedure in mastering, and both Studio Ghibli and Buena Vista Home Entertainment Japan believe the quality of the DVD/VHS to be the best and the most faithful in terms of reproducing the original movie under the given circumstances.
As for the trailers on Disc 2, they have been included solely for the purpose of providing necessary information on the film, and because of this nature, it was not specifically color-corrected. Consequently, some differences in coloration may be detected between the same scene on the trailers on Disc 2 and the main feature on Disc 1.
We assure the highest standard of quality control has been maintained on the manufacturing of both DVD and VHS, but differences in coloration may be detected depending on the type of equipment and/or the settings of the system being used.
07-29-02, 12:52 AM
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Not to add to the madness, but I found (what I consider-just me mind you..) a solution:
Chapter 21 (appx. 1'07:10) the "forest" scene the "red/pink/mauve" can be adjusted to more of a normal hue. I've used this for my TV's calibration & it helped.
Chapter 21 (appx. 1'07:10) the "forest" scene the "red/pink/mauve" can be adjusted to more of a normal hue. I've used this for my TV's calibration & it helped.
Last edited by funkydjmcescher; 07-29-02 at 01:09 AM.
. . .
07-29-02, 10:29 AM
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07-31-02, 06:00 PM
#25
DVD Talk Legend
I got the region 3 disc from Hong Kong yesterday and watched it last night.
The image looked great to me. If there was a bit more red than there should have been, it wasn't noticeable or distracting to me or my wife at all.
Haven't seen the "red" on the Japanese edition so I don't know how the HK release compares.
The image looked great to me. If there was a bit more red than there should have been, it wasn't noticeable or distracting to me or my wife at all.
Haven't seen the "red" on the Japanese edition so I don't know how the HK release compares.