B0041VYHGW EBOK (9 page)

The sound track runs down along the side of the filmstrip. The sound track may be either
magnetic
or
optical.
In the magnetic type (
1.20
), one or more strips of magnetic recording tape run along the film’s edges. During projection, the film’s track is “read” by a sound head similar to that on a tape recorder. Magnetic tracks are nearly obsolete in theaters today.

Most filmstrips have an optical sound track, which encodes sonic information in the form of patches of light and dark running down along the frames. During production, electrical impulses from a microphone are translated into pulsations of light, which are photographically inscribed on the moving filmstrip. When the film is projected, the optical track produces varying intensities of light that are translated back into electrical impulses and then into sound waves. The optical sound track of 16mm film is on the right side (
1.17
), whereas 35mm puts an optical track on the left (
1.18
,
1.19
). In each, the sound is encoded as
variable-area,
a wavy contour of black and white along the picture strip.

A film’s sound track may be
monophonic
or
stereophonic.
The 16mm filmstrip (
1.17
) and the first 35mm film strip (
1.18
) have monophonic optical tracks. Stereophonic optical sound is registered as a pair of squiggles running down the left side (
1.19
). For digital sound, a string of dots and dashes running along the film’s perforations, or between the perforations, or close to the very left edge of the frames provides the sound-track information. The projector scans these marks as if reading a bar code.

It’s odd to think that our memories of the films we love have their origins in something as inert-looking as a strip of perforated celluloid. With all their appeals to our emotions and imagination, movies depend on some very tangible materials and machines. Without them, the filmmaker would be as lost as a painter without paint. Much of the artistry we’ll be examining in the chapters to come depends on how filmmakers choose to use the palette provided by technology.

Digital cinema cameras gradually came into common use in the 1990s and early 2000s, about a hundred years after the initial spread of filmmaking. Some predicted that the digital revolution would soon make 35mm film obsolete. That didn’t happen, because 35mm has many advantages that even high-end, high-definition (HD) video cannot duplicate.

Instead, a few filmmakers enthusiastically embraced HD, finding it cheaper, easier, and more flexible to use at every stage of production. Yet within the movie industry, most filmmakers have continued shooting on film, then taking advantage of digital tools for editing, special effects, and sound mixing.

In some ways, digital motion picture cameras are not that different from 35mm ones. They record scenes by using a lens to gather light. They have a viewer for the operator to frame the scene and controls to manipulate factors like the amount of light entering through the lens and the speed of recording. A casual observer probably couldn’t tell the difference between a 35mm camera and a digital one. Indeed, manufacturers have tried to make digital cameras as familiar as possible to cinematographers reluctant to embrace the new technology. Some of these cameras can even use lenses made for traditional 35mm cameras.

The most important difference in a digital camera is the medium it records on. As the light passes through the lens, it hits a computer chip functioning as a sensor to convey visual information digitally, encoded as a complex series of 0’s and 1’s, onto digital tape, discs, memory cards, or hard drives. The material on these storage media can be loaded into computers after shooting ends, leaving the media free to be used again—thus eliminating the considerable cost of film stock. Even here, the recording unit that holds the tape and attaches to the camera looks something like a traditional film magazine that attaches to a 35mm camera
(
1.22
).

As with film, there are different image formats of digital video (DV), and they are shot on different types of cameras.
Consumer
cameras are more or less the equivalent of Super 8mm. They give relatively low-resolution images and are mainly used by amateurs. These are the little cameras the fit in the palm of a hand and are used to record a birthday party or a baseball game. Using consumer cameras, children can shoot and edit their own films with simple computer programs.

The next step up is the
prosumer
camera, comparable to 16mm. As the name implies, this type of camera appeals to both professionals and those amateurs enthusiastic enough to pay for a camera yielding better image quality. Independent filmmakers also use such cameras, which are cheaper than high-end ones but yield good enough results to show in festivals or sell on DVD.

Finally there are the professional HD digital cameras (
1.22
). These cameras have two big advantages over prosumer and consumer models: (1) they primarily use files with low or no compression, and (2) they shoot at 24 fps. (Non-professional DV is shot at higher rates per second.) These factors make for higher image quality and ease of transfer onto 35mm film stock for release to theaters. Such cameras also have larger sensors behind the lenses, capturing higher-resolution images. Often these sensors are about the same size as a frame of 35mm film.

As with all digital technology, the storage capacity for digital files is constantly increasing. Digital recording capacities are measured in
pixels
(short for “picture elements”), the tiny dots that make up the electronic image on TVs and monitors. There are now four commonly used levels of resolution in professional digital recording: 720p, 1080p, 2K, and 4K. Since the information carried on each image increases both vertically and horizontally, each step up multiplies the resolution: 4K carries not twice, but four times the amount of information as 2K.

The 720p formula is used mainly in broadcast television and Internet distribution of HD video. George Lucas commissioned Sony to make a high-quality digital camera for
Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones.
It used the 1080p format, which has 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
).

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 professional filmmaking, both 35mm and digital, is done on rented cameras. Older models continue to be available. The Viper model used for
Collateral
is still available, and 2K and 4K are not likely to make these obsolete. All yield an image of high enough quality to be acceptable to audiences when projected in theaters.

Important as technology is, films are part of social institutions as well. Sometimes the social context is very intimate, as when a family records their lives on film to show friends and relations. But films that aim at the public enter a wider range of institutions. A movie typically goes through three phases:
production, distribution,
and
exhibition.
A group or company makes the film, a distribution company rents copies to theater chains, and local theaters exhibit the film. Later, the DVD version is distributed to chain stores or rental shops, and it’s exhibited on TV monitors, computer screens, or portable displays. For video on demand and many amateur videos, the Internet serves as a distribution medium.

The whole system depends on having movies to circulate, so let’s start by considering the process of production. Most films go through four distinct phases:

1. Scriptwriting and funding.
   The idea for the film is developed and a screenplay is written. The filmmakers also acquire financial support for the project.
   
2. Preparation for filming.
   Once a script is more or less complete and at least some funding is assured, the filmmakers plan the physical production.
   
3. Shooting.
   The filmmakers create the film’s images and sounds.
   
4. Assembly.
   The images and sounds are combined in their final form. This involves cutting picture and sound, executing special effects, inserting music or extra dialogue, and adding titles.