Now if you've got any audio geek in you... you know about the death of dynamic range in modern recordings... stuff from the 60's wasn't BRICKWALLED to DEATH like most everything is today... Now its LOUD LOUD or QUIET QUIET... BLACK or WHITE no beautiful subtle shades of grey... in my mind DOE I see how this has happened in film as well and I'm not talkin about the sound though you could argue that film mixes have suffered the same fate...BUT I'm talking about the things in the film itself... the characters... they are either GOOD or BAD... none of those tweeny people who are MORE REALISTIC and 9000 times more interesting... the stories are also missing those shades of gray...its all black and white and wrapped up in plastic for you by the time the end credits roll... what happened to the dynamic range? The play? The breaths? The subtly? Its all like this now .... BANG EXPLOSION...EXPOSITION... BEST LIVE EVAR BANG EXPLOSION FROM BAD GUY and so on...
Alas the ART is in the GREY... the space in between love and hate... light and dark...
Watch some 80's movies and pay attention to the "bit parts" the random lil roles... even those characters are unique and have they own idiosyncrasies...
NOW by taking out all the dynamic range in life you are dumbing things down... making them simpler... in this culture of brevity everyone wants everything to be recognizable or understandable at a glance...a cliff note experience... thatS what I believe has happened... everyone has read the cliff notes on EVERYTHING but if you ask them to give you a detailed answer of description of a person, place, thing, or event it will usually draw a blank stare.... as they "don't have time for that" Many of the greatest and most beautiful things to be discovered in this life or on the way to yer destination whether that is an idea that is forming about WTF this film yer watching is about OR a physical place... if yer too much in a hurry you'll miss all the details and you will NEVER make ART EVAR...
So before you compress and limit yourself give it a little time and pay attention to the details... sit and watch the leaves of that tree sway in the wind... the more attention you pay to the subtleties in everything.... the more power you will be given to wield that same power in your works...
This BLACK and WHITE trend... truncating...compressing and limiting everything makes for a shitty world...boring things and boring people.
Be definable today and forgotten tomorrow.... the business world wants you to define everything in one sentence...thats fine if you yearn obsolescence...
Be undefinable today and irresistible tomorrow ^_^
Everyone loves mysteries...
Alas the ART is in the GREY... the space in between love and hate... light and dark...
Watch some 80's movies and pay attention to the "bit parts" the random lil roles... even those characters are unique and have they own idiosyncrasies...
NOW by taking out all the dynamic range in life you are dumbing things down... making them simpler... in this culture of brevity everyone wants everything to be recognizable or understandable at a glance...a cliff note experience... thatS what I believe has happened... everyone has read the cliff notes on EVERYTHING but if you ask them to give you a detailed answer of description of a person, place, thing, or event it will usually draw a blank stare.... as they "don't have time for that" Many of the greatest and most beautiful things to be discovered in this life or on the way to yer destination whether that is an idea that is forming about WTF this film yer watching is about OR a physical place... if yer too much in a hurry you'll miss all the details and you will NEVER make ART EVAR...
So before you compress and limit yourself give it a little time and pay attention to the details... sit and watch the leaves of that tree sway in the wind... the more attention you pay to the subtleties in everything.... the more power you will be given to wield that same power in your works...
This BLACK and WHITE trend... truncating...compressing and limiting everything makes for a shitty world...boring things and boring people.
Be definable today and forgotten tomorrow.... the business world wants you to define everything in one sentence...thats fine if you yearn obsolescence...
Be undefinable today and irresistible tomorrow ^_^
Everyone loves mysteries...
wonderful analogy from sound to life/art. And I've seen that blank look you talk about in many people I've come across who profess to be artists or "into film".
ReplyDeleteToo many people accepting banality and mediocre work. So glad you are around to kick them in the balls and say "start making art"!
When you mean dynamic range in audio..You mean like 3d mixing correct? Making a guy in the back right sound like his voice is coming from the back right and all that?
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned before I was watching that Rurouni Kenshin Ova and the story blew me away! Practically ever character had some complexitys to them! I loved the whole thing ^__^
I'm not gonna spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched it but I will say that the movie really got you into it..Most movies I watch can have as many happy, sad, or angry scenes as they like but I never feel that way...I see an alien world's magical tree catch on fire and I really don't care a bit...
I like movies that make you feel it, the excitement of battle, the loss of loved ones, the anger when a personal crisis unfolds.
and...I got a bit carried away ..lol
i agree. Off topic http://coilhouse.net/2010/07/stephane-halleuxs-first-film-monsieur-hublot/
ReplyDeleteCheck out the "frame sponsering system"
take care
PVD
The reason everything is instantly forgetable is so then they can keep selling you moar and moar and moar. It would be like having a bottle of water which never runs out if water... Sad fact of this world.
ReplyDeleteBirdemic is full of grey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c777BPiEhoo
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
i was searching the other day for ebooks talking about animation as i usually do on my free time. i found this one that at first seemed to be pretty good, it was about tips in animation, and it started with such great statements, that your art must be alive, moving, touching, something that inspire the masses, and then it comes with this shit. YOU ARE A TOOL,
ReplyDeletethat's right, you have no voice, o opinion in an actual business, u r the minion of the director in order to fulfill HIS vision. And i read this and was like WtFaRt!, it says you can't fall in love with your characters or your shots or whatever, cause the director might Not LIKE IT, but i think that there's no caise doing something that u don't do with true love and happiness, you're work will never be sincere because it isn't your work, and if it isn't sincere, it will never reach anyone's heart, so there's no creativity, no love, Oonly PlasTic. In situations like this, i totally agree with M, animators shouldn't die, the single minded jurassic comercial companies that kill any single spark of creativity are the ones who should die. Anyway i just wanted to share this cause it has to do with this "Black & White" mentality that most film companies have. No love, No braveness, No glory...