technological development in film

side by side by Keanu reeves

• 1st step in production process: capturing image in camera
• cinematographer(DP): helps director achieve look of the film --> responsible for knwoing what equipment is needed and how it works
• "cinema today is the mixing of art and technology" --> Vittorio Storaro
• camera records photons of light
• film contains silver halide crystals which react with light, change to silver metal when developed
• digital camera has sensor/chip behind the lens filled with millions of pixels --> light hits the pixels and creates individual electronic charges; charges converted into digital data
• with digital cameras you can see exactly what you are shooting on set --. you can see exactly what they will see in the cinema and make adjustments right there and then
• film--> have to wait the next after it has been developed to see what you shot
• christopher nolan --> think your fooling yourself if ur seeing what u have on a small monitor; in cinema will be much larger
• with digital actors can look back on their performance and adjust but can also make them too critical and eventually self-conscious --> could change their performance (good or bad?)
• in 1969 first CCD chip was created
• early 1970s SONY started investing and developing products using the CCD chip
• mid 1980s SONY was producing first CCD camcorder
• 1990s small standard definition began recording digitally
• celebration 1998 --> recorded on a small camera, could move and get one whole shot, emotional movement of the camera
• celebration, idiots (1998), mifune (1999), julien donkey-boy (1999), the king is alive (2000)
• idea that if shoot digitally its cheap --> anyone could kinda shoot a film; sundance got more and more entries
• expensive to shoot little bursts of film and hope that you get it right --> could do almost 10 min of shooting
• digital could do like 40 mins --> shooting the camera and talking to the actor at the same time (not wasting money) --> also smaller so wouldn't be caught in the shot
• have to reload a film camera so takes time/ digital camera is fast --> take one shot and can immediately go back and do it again
• with film camera have to wait around which can be draining for actors and crew
• with film camera on set people take things more seriously; 'money running through the camera'
• can hear the film running through the camera --> under pressure; each shot counted
• 28 days later (2000) shot on consumer cameras
• can have many cameras to get many shots as they are cheap --> effective way to shoot movies
• during 70s and 80s people worked on ways to make editing film more effective
• for 100 years u had to literally cut and paste film together to get a shot
• filming digitally made the editing process way easier for editors
• when editing film, had to go through dumps of film
• digital editing machine --> film converted into digital
• fear that the technology could delete their work and edits; couldn't happen with physical film
• editing ---> manipulation of images to tell a story
• computers was something to get used to so editing was a little scary as you thought you could delete your work --> older generation a little bit resistant
• editing without computers was noisy and bustling environment
• editing with computers is a more quiet process
• digital challenges you as you wonder if you can think that fast --> don't have the time to sit back and think about what you are doing
• editing with film taught discipline once you physically cut your film that was it --> more decisive with your cuts
• lorenzo di bonaventura --> movies have gotten worse as you have more options with shots, not as decisive, manipulate the film to death
• as technology developed computer generated images (CGI) became more well known
• v effects have to be an artist and a technician at the same time --> knowing how lighting hits or how things explode or the way they will realistically look
• v effects --> the abyss (1989), terminator 2 (1991), jurassic park (1993), babe (1995), the fifth element (1997), starship troopers (1997), titanic (1997), the matrix (1999)
• couldn't shoot the image but were making them
• problems with early digital cameras was resolution (number of pixels a camera can record)
• star wars attack of the clones (2002) was first major feature to be shot digitally
• digital cameras threatened the art of film?
• SONY F900 camera was produced --> image wasn't bad but still didn't produce like film did
• robert rodriguez --> "technology pushes the art, art pushes technology"
• after film is shot, edited and then v affects added --> colour is adjusted by colour timer
• with film --> getting colour was time related (took time to develop)
• wizard of oz (1939)
• colour timers became more involved in the creative process
• colour timer, dp and director decide the final colours of the film that will be seen by the public
• film --> only changes that can be made photochemically are red green blue and brightness
• colour timers would have to manipulate the colour in their mind when given feedback as they couldn't do it right there and then
• digital colour correction tools first used for smaller projects like music videos and ads
• o brother where art thou? (2000) --> first film where basically every shot had a visual effect whether colour timer (first DI)
• eternal sushine of the spotless mind (2004)
• important part of the final product
• could take the power away from the DP
• jim jannard (founder of red digital camera) --> "digital wasn't paying enough respect to film"
• wanted to send film to a retirement home and have it feel good about it
• created a camera that could now shoot in 4K
• che (2008) shot on 4K camera