Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

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The Narrator Returns
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Re: Steven Soderbergh

#2 Post by The Narrator Returns » Tue Nov 14, 2017 4:20 pm

Unsane comes out March 23, in wide release.

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bainbridgezu
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Re: Steven Soderbergh

#3 Post by bainbridgezu » Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:36 am

First images from Unsane. Really looking forward to this one.


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hearthesilence
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#5 Post by hearthesilence » Mon Jan 29, 2018 2:40 pm

I'm glad iPhones are now another useful tool in filmmaking, but I still hate that crummy texture the sensor gives everything. It's often obvious that a photo's taken from an iPhone unless it's been shrunken down quite a bit to hide that texture.

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mfunk9786
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#6 Post by mfunk9786 » Mon Jan 29, 2018 4:40 pm

The Narrator Returns wrote:Trailer
Well this looks absolutely great

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Oedipax
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#7 Post by Oedipax » Mon Jan 29, 2018 5:40 pm

Yeah, I can see the potential aesthetic benefits of the iPhone 'look' for a project like this that has a strong claustrophobic/edge of sanity style vibe, but... it very much still looks like an iPhone to my eyes. Which is to say, not something I'd want every Soderbergh film from this point shot on.

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furbicide
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#8 Post by furbicide » Mon Jan 29, 2018 8:41 pm

I hate the genre (protagonist suffers from paranoid delusions or do they!?!?) but I do love when Soderbergh gets experimental.

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domino harvey
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#9 Post by domino harvey » Mon Jan 29, 2018 9:15 pm

Looks incredible, and it's trending too-- maybe this ultra low budget secret project will grace Soderbergh with higher box office returns

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The Narrator Returns
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#10 Post by The Narrator Returns » Mon Jan 29, 2018 9:47 pm

Yeah, I was thinking this was a smart move after Logan Lucky's failure, because buzzy, low-budget horror is as good a recipe as any for instant profits, even if it's bad or, like some of Soderbergh's other genre exercises, something weirder and more challenging than the trailer makes it seem.

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Big Ben
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#11 Post by Big Ben » Mon Jan 29, 2018 9:53 pm

Low budget horror is absolutely a money maker. Blumhouse has made just over a two hundred and fifty percent profit before so it's not an unrealistic goal. But this is Soderbergh so I'm not convinced he's doing this to make big bucks.

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Roger Ryan
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#12 Post by Roger Ryan » Tue Jan 30, 2018 9:20 am

Since the iPhone captures video in a 16:9 ratio, I'm surprised that the aspect ratio of Unsane is closer to 1.37:1 (actually, 1.56:1 according to IMDb). I suppose this might be Soderbergh trying to avoid a more traditional cinematic look that Apple has been attempting to emulate with each version of its product.

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mfunk9786
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#13 Post by mfunk9786 » Tue Jan 30, 2018 9:59 am

I can’t say I follow your logic there.

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djproject
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#14 Post by djproject » Tue Jan 30, 2018 10:57 am

Roger Ryan wrote:Since the iPhone captures video in a 16:9 ratio, I'm surprised that the aspect ratio of Unsane is closer to 1.37:1 (actually, 1.56:1 according to IMDb). I suppose this might be Soderbergh trying to avoid a more traditional cinematic look that Apple has been attempting to emulate with each version of its product.
I saw it updated to 1.60:1. When I saw the trailer, I assumed it was 1.66:1.

This might also be a way of conveying paranoia since it is narrower image length.

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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#15 Post by Zot! » Tue Jan 30, 2018 11:14 am

hearthesilence wrote:I'm glad iPhones are now another useful tool in filmmaking, but I still hate that crummy texture the sensor gives everything. It's often obvious that a photo's taken from an iPhone unless it's been shrunken down quite a bit to hide that texture.

Is there any info on this "texture"? I cant see it on my....iphone. I don't know why iPhone would be any worse than similar consumer digital sensor cameras. On a similar note, while I love a wide angle lens....this might be pushing it for me.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#16 Post by hearthesilence » Tue Jan 30, 2018 11:49 am

It's easier to see on your phone if you're looking at a photo and zooming in to 100% resolution, but otherwise just put it up on a desktop or laptop computer with a good-sized screen. In full resolution, it looks powdery, especially if you're trying to look at the details of someone's face. If you throw in a TON of light and shoot really, really close, it gets much better, but once you know what to look for, it's hard not to see it.

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Roger Ryan
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#17 Post by Roger Ryan » Tue Jan 30, 2018 12:12 pm

mfunk9786 wrote:I can’t say I follow your logic there.
Apple has incorporated new features (filters, frame-rate manipulation), in addition to the now-standard 16:9 aspect ratio screen, into each iteration of the iPhone in an apparent attempt to give its users the ability to shoot more cinematic-style videos. By choosing a 1.56:1 or 1.60:1 aspect ratio, I'm suggesting that Soderbergh is pushing against trying to mimic a traditional cinematic-look in favor of one that emphasizes the movie was shot on a device other than a film or HD camera.

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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#18 Post by mfunk9786 » Tue Jan 30, 2018 12:47 pm

Fair enough. I think the fact that it was shot on a phone is likely the last thing on Soderbergh's mind with regard to the way the film is actually delivered to audiences. It's not a selling point in the trailer, and I doubt that most people who go and see it (if it finds mainstream success, that is) will even know what it was shot on. So it just seems strange that any special considerations will be made to differentiate it from something shot on any other digital camera in order to either advertise or not advertise that it was shot on a phone. The aspect ratio could be for a number of different reasons, including compensating for the fact that the edges didn't turn out as well as the rest of the frame.

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Ribs
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#19 Post by Ribs » Tue Jan 30, 2018 12:52 pm

No, I imagine "it was shot on an iPhone!" is actually a big part of this film's commercial hook, despite it not being so up front about it. It was trending worldwide on Twitter yesterday, and I'm sure it wasn't just enthusiasm from rabid Aimee Mullins fans.

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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#20 Post by mfunk9786 » Tue Jan 30, 2018 1:03 pm

Not a single person outside of the Film Twitter bubble that would've seen this anyway is going to buy a ticket to see a movie because it was shot on an iPhone.

Tim Cook, maybe.

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Ribs
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#21 Post by Ribs » Tue Jan 30, 2018 1:15 pm

I... don't agree? People *love* a gimmick, and this is a very simple, easily expressed one that should still impress and pique the curiosity of even the most casual moviegoer. Soderbergh hopes for it to become commonplace so it won't be one, but it's a gimmick all the same.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#22 Post by hearthesilence » Tue Jan 30, 2018 2:00 pm

Gimmicks only go so far. Mosaic was free, and I still haven't used it after downloading it the first week it was available.

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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#23 Post by mfunk9786 » Tue Jan 30, 2018 2:13 pm

Also, if it isn't advertised, someone would have to see a headline about it, etc to even know what it was shot on. And not to beat a dead horse on something that's ultimately just my opinion, but it's doubtful that seeing a "this movie was shot on an iPhone!" is going to move the needle on ticket sales. There have been a lot of technologically gimmicky films released over the last few years, and *maybe* Paranormal Activity is the only example of that being a successful approach when it comes down to box office receipts? And I'd argue that had more to do with the mysterious ads than the unique approach to filmmaking.

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Ribs
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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#24 Post by Ribs » Tue Jan 30, 2018 2:21 pm

I'm expecting when Pharoah and Foy hit the talk show circuit every single host will say "so this was made with an iPhone, what was that like?" and it'll sustain a minute or two of discussion. It's hard not to mention in that type of environment, and so in turn will become part of the film's "story" that is talked about. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think this has a good chance of playing its cards right enough considering the relatively weak competition of Pacific Rim 2 to surpass Logan Lucky's gross and become Bleecker Street's highest grossing film, and theoretically prove Soderbergh's "big idea" about Fingerprint Releasing putting him entirely in charge of marketing right (Logan Lucky *already* proved him right; had WB or whoever released it might have made $10 million more but the advertising cost would almost definitely have been 4x what they spent on it and all the money it did make was pure profit due to the way it was financed, the film probably nearly $20 million in the green even before home video ancillaries are accounted for).

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Re: Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018)

#25 Post by mfunk9786 » Tue Jan 30, 2018 2:26 pm

Someone correct me if it was and I just am too far outside of that world to notice, but Logan Lucky always struck me as something that would have done so much better if it were marketed straight-faced to the south and midwest instead of winkingly at the white urban/cinephile demographic. The latter were going to see it anyway.

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