digital invasion

[SALLYNABIL]

hi,

firstky, i apologise for leaving a very long interval of time between each message and the other but actually i'm very busy. besides, i'm an elementary to that field so i prefer to listen/read rather than talk. yet, there is a question that preoccupies me: is the traditional way of cinematography going to collapse before the digital invasion? do you consider the digital camera an advantage or a diadvantage to the motion picture?

i also like to have some details about the post-and pre-production techniques.

 

[David Mullen ASC]

Well, the camera and film stock is only one aspect of the "traditional way" of cinematography. In some ways, a transition to digital cameras will only be complete when it causes very little change to the traditional look of movies; you look at a number of high-end dramatic productions shot on HD instead of film and they are usually going for the same look they would have had they chosen film. For example, "Star Trek: Enterprise" switched this season to shooting in HD but the overall visual look of the series has not been changed aesthetically to accomplish it. Of course, it looks slightly different now but it's not "untraditional" now that they are shooting digitally.

There are advantages and disadvantages to modern digital movie cameras, plus cost and post issues.

35mm film is not going to go away soon.

 

[deathxcold]

Re: digital invasion

hi,

firstky, i apologise for leaving a very long interval of time between each message and the other but actually i'm very busy. besides, i'm an elementary to that field so i prefer to listen/read rather than talk. yet, there is a question that preoccupies me: is the traditional way of cinematography going to collapse before the digital invasion? do you consider the digital camera an advantage or a diadvantage to the motion picture?

i also like to have some details about the post-and pre-production techniques.

That really depends on what you mean by 'using' a digital camera. At the college I attend, digital to me has represented more of mindset than the actual format. When you say the word "digital", it often connotates magic to a lot of people. Hell, some films use nothing BUT computer generated special effects to tell the story. The students who use digital here generally make very poor quality projects; not so much because of the medium, but because digital technology makes "film" making almost idiot proof.

STudents who use film here at this school tend to make more intriguing and better produced products; again, not because of the medium, more of the mindset knowing that they have to plan better and are working with cameras that are totally manual instead of automated. That's not to say that all films shot on film are going to be fantastic, it's just knowing that you have more at stake that keeps you sharp. This is one of the reasons I like 2001 space odyssey so much. Despite it being over 30 years old and used no computer generated effects, it's amazing how much work went into it. It's really about the process to me.