I've been watching a lot of old movies lately, and one thing that's struck me is just how beautiful they are to look at. Sure, before digital cameras, it was crazy expensive to shoot a movie, but the colors, the angles, and the darkness are really something. Lately, many movies just don't have that classic cinematic look and feel anymore. I really am not sure I was ever able to articulate why this had changed, but then I saw a YouTube video that really blew my mind and opened me up to a possible explanation. Let's dive in. High Dynamic Range Changed Cinema Forever I really dug this video and I felt like it opened my eyes (pun intended) to modern cinematography and why it all looks so different than before. This video uses the 1998 film The Parent Trap as a starting point to discuss the shifts in modern cinematography. It theorizes that the new digital film cameras with High Dynamic Range (HDR) can capture incredible detail, but this capability doesn't automatically translate to better-looking movies. In fact, without intentional choices of how to light things or what to leave in the darkness, it can lead to a gray and boring aesthetic. Because you can see in any light, unlike film, you lose out of the deep shadows, the black contrasts, and the juxtaposition of light and darkness. When you combine this with the rise of Visual Effects (VFX), you get an over-reliance on "fixing it in post." That means...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Thursday, 10 April