Cinematography - 'The Art of Film with Christopher Nolan, Colin Trevorrow, and Rachel Morrison'

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<p>Join Christopher Nolan, Colin Trevorrow, Rachel Morrison, and moderator Alex Ross Perry for a discussion on the aesthetics of film, its intrinsic qualities, and its appeal to filmmakers who have made the artistic choice to use film as a shooting format.</p>

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(1:29:21)</p>

<p>It's a long video but some of the comments are quite interesting.</p>

<p>I had to jump ahead searching for one specific detail on what is different about the look of film vs digital. All I heard were analogies. No specifics except about process flow during filming.</p>

<p>A complete waste of time. No new information was derived for me. I've heard it all before going back ten years.</p>

<p>I actually saw a movie recently where I swore it was shot digitally because it had strange chalky gradations of diminished color on the shadow side of faces in low lit scenes only to find out on IMDB full specs that it was shot on film.</p>

<p>It's always about the story. Whether one uses film or digital medium, they both can be tweaked and resemble one another....maybe with some limitations. Side by side, however, film (per feature) is way more costly...carries more inherent risks (loading/unloading, etc) and many producers or folks that fund the project look from that angle (all about profits). Also, digital permits instant review; therefore, it allows for quicker changes, re-shoots, changing set locations, etc. </p>

<p>I think they (the panel) should have been honest enough to make these comparisons vs just elevating film.</p>

<p>Les</p>

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<p>Besides that there are already seasoned cinematographers and directors who see no difference with digital vs film. Roger Deacons is one and I hang out at his forum on occasion. Very informative place for both photography and cinematography.</p>

<p>I did like in the linked video hearing one of the three mentioning getting into a heated argument over this subject with famed and infamous director William Friedkin (The Exorcist) who said "Kodak is closed!" Got a good laugh out of that.</p>

<p>Why can't filmmakers just do their job by admitting the final look of a film is controlled by so many other talented individuals (have you seen the length of the credits in Mad Max Fury Road?...nearly 15 minute crawl) and the variables that entails that there's no way to parse which is attributed to film vs some dude twiddling knobs and sliders in a closed off studio on the other side of the world.</p>

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<p>Also, digital permits instant review; therefore, it allows for quicker changes, re-shoots, changing set locations, etc.</p>

<p>I think they (the panel) should have been honest enough to make these comparisons vs just elevating film.<br>

Les</p>

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<p>Actually Chris Nolan did say something along those lines about film but it was so wishy washy lacking any specifics that he ended up making him sound like he was in a cult.</p>

<p>He said film is immediate, it's right their in front of you or something to that effect. He was actually describing his work habits having to change going from film to digital from what I could gather from his fluffy explanation.</p>

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<p>Also, digital permits instant review; therefore, it allows for quicker changes, re-shoots, changing set locations, etc.</p>

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<p>That's one big reason why it's so popular. Don't forget the advantage of longer takes, too. But some directors have found that this is a disadvantage - the film set equivalent of chimping is quite irritating for some.<br>

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<p>I think they (the panel) should have been honest enough to make these comparisons vs just elevating film.</p>

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Is a panel of pro-film people less honest than a panel of pro-digital people? They don't need to point out the flaws of film - everyone knows them.

 

 

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Roger Deacons

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Roger <strong>Deakins</strong>.

<p>Yep I misspelled Roger's last name. Do it every time because hearing it in my head I'm reminded of Steely Dan's "Deacon Blues" song. Both very cool names and words no matter how they're spelt.</p>

<p>At least I reference two great artists at the same time. </p>

<p>Quentin Tarantino works with film and Imax movies are shot on film. I believe the Walking Dead is shot on film.</p>