Will Guardians Of The Galaxy Sequel Be The First Feature Film Shot in 8K?

RED Digital Cinema announced via press release that Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be the first feature film to be shot with it’s bleeding edge WEAPON camera rig.

WEAPON is packed into a deceptively small frame but is able to capture 8K at 75 fps, 6K at 100 fps, or 4K at 150 fps with RED’s proprietary REDCODE® RAW file format.

The price of admission to see a 4K flick is still a hard sell among moviegoers so we won’t be seeing any 8K cinemas crop up in time for GotG 2‘s theatrical release.

However, shooting at a higher resolution than necessary would grant filmmakers the option to reframe and stabilise images without compromising 4K picture quality; what’s more, filming in 8K can present an even sharper and clearer 4K image.

“The large sensor size and super high resolution offered by the new WEAPON 8K, combined with its lightweight and compact size open up a whole range of new creative possibilities.” – Nik Korda, Executive Producer

With news of GotG 2‘s team-up with RED spreading, director James Gunn decided to respond on Facebook about why he chose not to shoot on film.

“…when shooting on a format like the Red Weapon 8K or the Alexa 65, the amount of data is so massive…it gives you more freedom in production and post production to create exactly the film you want…”

https://www.facebook.com/jgunn/posts/10153095262726157

“…I think sometimes that the love of actual film is based in nostalgia more than it is in objective beauty…I’m interested in being one of the many who help to create a new kind of magic that will usher the cinematic experience into the future.”

RED’s press release doesn’t confirm whether the entire movie will be filmed on WEAPON or even if the camera’s 8K capture setting will be used but—for the bragging rights alone—it’s a safe bet GotG 2 will be shot in 8K.

With a WEAPON that’s essentially 4K on steroids I’ll be very interested in seeing how far James Gunn will push the visual fidelity of his sci-fi space epic come 2017!

“It’s got better resolution than the real world.”

Title photo via Marvel Entertainment, image via RED WEAPON product page