Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Filmmaking today is....
Filmmaking today is accessible to a wider range of people than ever before and the internet makes delivery possible for almost anyone.
journal reading-part 2
In the archives of the sensesofcinema website is an article by Wheeler Winston Dixon called "Vanishing Point: The Last Days of Film". Dixon goes into detail about the economics involved in the transition taking place from film to digital video and how different people are impacted by it. Much of the article discusses how distributors are affected by newer digital technology. He also mentions that movie houses are on the decline and some multi-plex theatres are incorporating multi-player video games into their shows. Dixon doesn't lament the passing of film as some do and he elaborates on how DV and film can work together in a new way. For the most part he writes about the economic impact that the switch to DV has on everyone.
One of the most interesting part of his article comes from the observations of young viewers who grew up solely in the digital era. It seems they are acutely aware of color shifts when watching something that was shot on film originally. According to Dixon; In an article written for the New York Times, A.O. Scott quotes his daughter as saying, " Why are they purple?" when watching a movie from 1961. Scott's son, when watching a movie from the same year could point out the subtle color shifts from sepia to silver and also wanted to know it was happening. Those of us who grew up in the analog era of old black and white movies and unpredictable television sets might be more aware of lighting techniques, or lack thereof, than the younger generation. Everyone's perception of what they see or hear is certainly affected by the technology available to them at any particular time.
One thing noticeably absent from Dixon's article is mention of the huge market for software that can simulate different "film looks". Everything from various tints, grains and blurs can be found and are commonly used to take some of the edge off of DV. Still, he brings up what is perhaps DV's greatest strength, "I would argue that the digitisation of our visual culture will lead to the further preservation of it's filmic source materials, rather than the other way around." He concludes, "Perhaps film isn't disappearing after all. Perhaps it is coming back to life." In his article Dixon does an admirable job of summing up many of the attributes of digital video and how it benefits the vast amount of aging film stock that will simply disintigrate if not transferred to the new medium. The ability to make exact copies of digital information makes infinite storage of old source material a reality for the first time.
One of the most interesting part of his article comes from the observations of young viewers who grew up solely in the digital era. It seems they are acutely aware of color shifts when watching something that was shot on film originally. According to Dixon; In an article written for the New York Times, A.O. Scott quotes his daughter as saying, " Why are they purple?" when watching a movie from 1961. Scott's son, when watching a movie from the same year could point out the subtle color shifts from sepia to silver and also wanted to know it was happening. Those of us who grew up in the analog era of old black and white movies and unpredictable television sets might be more aware of lighting techniques, or lack thereof, than the younger generation. Everyone's perception of what they see or hear is certainly affected by the technology available to them at any particular time.
One thing noticeably absent from Dixon's article is mention of the huge market for software that can simulate different "film looks". Everything from various tints, grains and blurs can be found and are commonly used to take some of the edge off of DV. Still, he brings up what is perhaps DV's greatest strength, "I would argue that the digitisation of our visual culture will lead to the further preservation of it's filmic source materials, rather than the other way around." He concludes, "Perhaps film isn't disappearing after all. Perhaps it is coming back to life." In his article Dixon does an admirable job of summing up many of the attributes of digital video and how it benefits the vast amount of aging film stock that will simply disintigrate if not transferred to the new medium. The ability to make exact copies of digital information makes infinite storage of old source material a reality for the first time.
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