20 Camera Shot for 6 Seconds of Film
Remarks on cinema of the 90s. Excerpt from the book 'Movies of the 90s', by Jürgen Müller
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The growth in the numbers of Hong Kong movie fans is in no small part due to the fact that video makes it possible to appreciate their technical brilliance. Of course, we have never been able to see many of these films in the cinema, viewing them only on video right from the start.
When a director like David Fincher now asks that his films be watched not once but four or five times, this need present no problem for the viewer. Video can never replace the cinema, of course, but it does enable different forms of perception. Lavish Hollywood productions are created with the aim of making them suitable not only for the one-off cinema experience, but also for repeated viewing on video. The more details intentionally concealed in a film, the more fun you will have in repeated viewings.
In that respect, most films nowadays have three premieres. First they appear in the cinema, then they are brought out on video, and finally they are shown on one of the many television channels. It is doubtful that any development of the last few decades has had a greater influence on filmmaking than videotape. As its use has become more widespread, film and television have come closer together. The video recorder has become the mediating element between the two - and television is certainly no longer second best. With Star Trek (from 1979), The X-Files (1998), Mission: Impossible (1996, p. 358) and The Fugitive (1993, p. 188), films for the cinema were modelled on famous television series. The same was true of David Lynch's cult series Twin Peaks (1989-91), which the director subsequently used as the basis for a film (1992, p. 94). The barriers between the two media have become permeable. Helen Hunt and George Clooney were popular TV actors long before they became celebrated Hollywood stars, and several of today's prominent directors made music videos or worked for television before they were able to make a full-length feature film.
Seeing and hearing
Technical developments also demonstrate how natural the connection between television and film is today. Televisions are now made with a screen format (16:9) that corresponds to the wide-screen format of the cinema. Larger and larger televisions are being produced and it is now a long time since the cinema screen was the only way of presenting a film. Dolby surround sound systems mean that even at home, the sound and music of a film can be perceived spatially. It is remarkable how far the TV experience has been transformed through developments in technology. Video represents a kind of home movie, not to mention the further development in the form of DVD technology.
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
The growth in the numbers of Hong Kong movie fans is in no small part due to the fact that video makes it possible to appreciate their technical brilliance. Of course, we have never been able to see many of these films in the cinema, viewing them only on video right from the start.
When a director like David Fincher now asks that his films be watched not once but four or five times, this need present no problem for the viewer. Video can never replace the cinema, of course, but it does enable different forms of perception. Lavish Hollywood productions are created with the aim of making them suitable not only for the one-off cinema experience, but also for repeated viewing on video. The more details intentionally concealed in a film, the more fun you will have in repeated viewings.
In that respect, most films nowadays have three premieres. First they appear in the cinema, then they are brought out on video, and finally they are shown on one of the many television channels. It is doubtful that any development of the last few decades has had a greater influence on filmmaking than videotape. As its use has become more widespread, film and television have come closer together. The video recorder has become the mediating element between the two - and television is certainly no longer second best. With Star Trek (from 1979), The X-Files (1998), Mission: Impossible (1996, p. 358) and The Fugitive (1993, p. 188), films for the cinema were modelled on famous television series. The same was true of David Lynch's cult series Twin Peaks (1989-91), which the director subsequently used as the basis for a film (1992, p. 94). The barriers between the two media have become permeable. Helen Hunt and George Clooney were popular TV actors long before they became celebrated Hollywood stars, and several of today's prominent directors made music videos or worked for television before they were able to make a full-length feature film.
Seeing and hearing
Technical developments also demonstrate how natural the connection between television and film is today. Televisions are now made with a screen format (16:9) that corresponds to the wide-screen format of the cinema. Larger and larger televisions are being produced and it is now a long time since the cinema screen was the only way of presenting a film. Dolby surround sound systems mean that even at home, the sound and music of a film can be perceived spatially. It is remarkable how far the TV experience has been transformed through developments in technology. Video represents a kind of home movie, not to mention the further development in the form of DVD technology.
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