R.I.P., the movie camera: 1888-2011

[dark_b]

http://www.salon.com/2011/10/13/r_i_p_the_movie_camera_1888_2011/singleton/

poor Wally

 

[DACrowe]

It will still be a gradual disappearance from Hollywood, but this is sad to hear as it's another milestone on the way to digital dominance. I truly do prefer 35mm over even the nicest Red One HD digital camera image.

Very sad.

 

[Teelie]

It's ridiculous really. Did people react like this when color film took precedence over black and white? Or when film actually started to have audio with it instead of slides explaining what was said? This isn't the end of filmmaking, it's the evolution to another process. Just because film is no longer on actual film doesn't make it less significant.

 

[terry78]

When the caveman discovered fire, I'm sure there was one guy who was like, "why need mammoth meat be HOT? Just another fad, me no like change."

 

[jaymes_e06]

This is kind of crazy flakes. I've never been the hugest fan of digital but now like it or not it's taking over. It's kind of sad :/

 

[dark_b]

David Fincher,Jackons,Cameron are making sure that digital looks cinematic.

 

[Project862006]

it is for the better digital is the future quit looking at the past

 

[Ultra Lantern]

R.I.P.,the movie camera.

 

[Boom]

Christopher Nolan and Wally Pfister are going to hit the roof.

 

[Mandalore464]

We could probably use a merge...

http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=348181

 

[Secret Fawful]

For those of you who are saying this is immediately for the better, there are a lot of factors to consider.

Read this-

The Most Poignant Article On This You Will Ever READ

Except for the fact it runs on pure speculation...

 

[amazingfantasy15]

I felt it was all over once the cameras didn't have to be cranked by hand anymore.

 

[Soapy]

When the caveman discovered fire, I'm sure there was one guy who was like, "why need mammoth meat be HOT? Just another fad, me no like change."

Ha!

 

[Rocketman]

As long as Wally still has access to film, I'm fine, since Nolan and Wally are among the few people still making good movies anymore. Michael Bay and every other hack can go knock themselves out.

 

[Punisher Rising]

Nothing beats a good old-fashioned camera, sad to hear this.

 

[mclay18]

Christopher Nolan and Wally Pfister are going to hit the roof.

Why would they hit the roof? Most movie productions rent film cameras and safe to say, they'll be dandy as long as companies like Chapman/Leonard continue renting them. Film purists like Nolan, Spielberg and Tarantino won't hit the roof until companies like Kodak and Fujifilm stop producing film stock (speaking of these companies, they haven't even branched out into digital movie cameras yet).

 

[Spidermatrix53]

You know, I read this article and became depressed. And then I realized that the name of this website was "Salon" so I'm going to go ahead and assume that they have no idea what they're talking about.

 

[DACrowe]

It's ridiculous really. Did people react like this when color film took precedence over black and white? Or when film actually started to have audio with it instead of slides explaining what was said? This isn't the end of filmmaking, it's the evolution to another process. Just because film is no longer on actual film doesn't make it less significant.

I wouldn't compare it to sound or b/w. Video is cheaper and easier to use, but the aesthetic it produces is inferior. Color and sound were both more costly and difficult to use at their onsets, but improved the aesthetic. If you can't afford film, then video is great. But to pretend HD video looks better than 35mm is a form of rationalizing using cheaper and more accessible cameras, IMO.


And yes btw, sound caused a huge upheaval that some thought was "ghastly" and offensive and ended careers in Hollywood in the 1920s. Orson Wells, director of Citizen Kane and A Touch of Evil, once famously said, "You can't name a great movie that's not in black and white."

However, I'm not saying video will ruin filmmaking. I just find the aesthetic to be found wanting and see little reason, other than money, for Hollywood and major studios to make a switch.

 

[DACrowe]

David Fincher,Jackons,Cameron are making sure that digital looks cinematic.

And Scorsese, Tarantino, Nolan, Soderbergh, and Spielberg do not.

I'm not saying one is more right than the other, but I am saying there is a difference of consensus among many of the auteurs fans want to listen to on this issue.

 

[Franklin Richards]

We lost the warmth and nostalgic aspects of film long ago. It's not like films have looked like The Ten Commandments, Gone With the Wind, or Ben Hur in a long while. They don't even look like The French Connection or Taxi Driver.

Last commercial film I saw that had a "filmy" look was Down With Love. Looked like an old Doris Day film. Such a nice job.


They all look either generic or overly filtered these days. Might as well commit to the digital.

 

[DACrowe]

We lost the warmth and nostalgic aspects of film long ago. It's not like films have looked like The Ten Commandments, Gone With the Wind, or Ben Hur in a long while. They don't even look like The French Connection or Taxi Driver.

Last commercial film I saw that had a "filmy" look was Down With Love. Looked like an old Doris Day film. Such a nice job.


They all look either generic or overly filtered these days. Might as well commit to the digital.

Check out Munich, The Aviator, There Will Be Blood, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Atonement, Sweeney Todd, The Prestige, True Grit, No Country For Old Men, Kingdom of Heaven, American Gangster, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Contagion, The Departed, Good Night and Goodluck or Inglorious Basterds to name but a few.

 

[Franklin Richards]

You ever taste Bud Light Lime?


Now hear me out.

Whenever you taste those beers with the lime taste already added, it just isn't the same as a cerveza with lime. The Bud has the lime taste in it, but something just ain't right.

That's how I feel about a lot of these modern films where things just look either too good or altered with a filter or something.

I know it's not very concrete but it's honest.

 

[Anubis]

I honestly never noticed the difference, so, you know.....I don't care.

 

[Mace Bloodstone]

What's next, polaroid and disposable cameras will be gone too?

 

[DACrowe]

You ever taste Bud Light Lime?


Now hear me out.

Whenever you taste those beers with the lime taste already added, it just isn't the same as a cerveza with lime. The Bud has the lime taste in it, but something just ain't right.

That's how I feel about a lot of these modern films where things just look either too good or altered with a filter or something.

I know it's not very concrete but it's honest.

But you see the problem isn't just the lime, it's the Bud Light itself. Go to a microbrew and away from the tent poles/Anheuser-Busch and you'll be fine.