B0041VYHGW EBOK by David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson Read Free Book Online

remained the most widely used standard in Hollywood. The digital camera Michael Mann used in making
Collateral
delivered 1080p images. (See 1.1 .)
    The company that introduced the first 4K camera, Red One, commissioned Peter Jackson to make a short,
Crossing the Line,
which was used in 2008 as a demonstration film at industry conventions. Steven Soderbergh used the same cameras for
Che
(2008), and the technology was quickly adopted. Many have claimed that 4K images are the equal in visual quality to those of 35mm.
    Although research on and development of 6K systems is ongoing, it seems unlikely that film production will move beyond 4K in the near future. For one thing, digital exhibition has not spread widely, and most digital projectors are 2K or less. For another thing, beyond about the sixth row of a theater, the difference in detail between 2K and 4K is not visible to the human eye. Moreover, filming and projecting at high resolution produces staggering quantities of data that need to be transferred, manipulated, and stored.
    During the 1990s, low-budget filmmakers were drawn to the low costs and flexibility of DV. Lit by an experienced cinematographer, even consumer format video can look attractive, as in Spike Lee’s
Bamboozled,
shot by Ellen Kuras. Perhaps most important, audiences don’t notice shortcomings in image quality if the story is engrossing. Strong plots and performances helped carry
Chuck and Buck, Pieces of April, Personal Velocity: Three Portraits,
and other independent films shot on DV.
    Some filmmakers have also seized upon DV’s distinctive pictorial qualities. Lars von Trier’s
Dancer in the Dark
uses saturated DV imagery to suggest the fantasy world of a young mother going blind. Harmony Korine shot
julien donkey-boy
with mini-DV consumer cameras, transferred the footage to film, and reprinted it several times ( 1.23 ).
     
    1.23 In
julien donkey-boy,
pixels and grain yield a unique texture, and the high contrast exaggerates pure colors and shapes to create a hallucinatory image.
     
     
    Some directors making big-budget films have embraced HD digital formats wholeheartedly. Lucas claimed that apart from creating spectacular special effects, using HD for
Attack of the Clones
and
Revenge of the Sith
saved millions of dollars. A comparable system was used for
Sin City,
which combined HD footage of the actors with graphic landscapes created in postproduction. Basing the entire project on digital technology allowed director Robert Rodriguez to edit, mix sound, and create special effects in his home studio in Austin, Texas. These two prominent directors thoroughly embraced the new format and vowed never to shoot on film again. Rodriguez declared, “I’ve abandoned film forever. You can’t go back. It’s like trying to go back to vinyl after you’ve got recordable DVD.”
    Within mainstream Hollywood filmmaking, however, these directors remain in the minority. The complexity of digital filming technology, the incompatibility among various makes of camera, and innovations in equipment have led many cinematographers and directors to stick with tried-and-true 35mm systems. They may also use both 35mm cameras and digital ones for the same film, exploiting the best capabilities of each. Despite shooting most of
Collateral
with digital cameras, for instance, Michael Mann chose 35mm for some interiors and for slow motion shots.
    Some cinematographers dispute the notion that digital filmmaking saves money, citing extra time spent on the set solving glitches. Christian Berger, who shot Michael Haneke’s
Caché,
complained, “We ended up using six cameras because they kept breaking, and we
still
had focus problems two or three times a day…. It all worked out in the end, but shooting digitally was definitely
not
cheaper for the producer.”
    The debate will no doubt continue, but for now, most directors and cinematographers are relying chiefly on film and turning to HD only for occasional scenes.
    Most