So I was cruising the net this morning, looking for some insights towards the continued usage and evolution of HD in movies. Sure enough, the new Nicolas Cage film "Next" is claimed by its producers as the first to be shot in HD using a specific codec:
Avid's DNxHD codec
Now, what does this mean to us? Codec is a codec, right? Well, according to the article:
"Avid's codec delivers high-quality compressed HD images in the bandwidth of uncompressed SD, which enabled Next-generation innovation like putting a 1080p video projector in the cutting room so Christian Wagner could see how his edits played out on a big screen without packing up and heading for the screening room."
That's pretty damned impressive to me. It's definitely shows the acceptance Hollywood has placed on HD and the slow (or perhaps not so slow anymore?)acclimation into mainstream motion pictures.
We do have to remember, however, that Robert Rodriguez was the first to incorporate to film an entire project in DV (Once Upon a Time in Mexico), not HD. I, at first, confused the two together.
Here's the entire article , including interviews about the editing process
1 comment:
Nice catch--this article is especially useful at beginning to draw us into the technical specificity of technology, something we'll hopefully get to in even more detail later in the summer.
I want to dwell on something you said, though, about the use of HD for this film:
"...shows the acceptance Hollywood has placed on HD and the slow (or perhaps not so slow anymore?) acclimation into mainstream motion pictures".
I tend to agree with you that such a development is one no one would have considered ten years ago and by extension marks yet another moment in the somewhat rapid changes in motion picture tech employed by professional filmmakers.
Having said that, though, I believe there are significant pockets among working film professionals for whom either a) this change is not a good one and they will never relent to it, or b) this change is not good but it is "the way of the world" and their resistance, while sometimes significant, is futile.
What does this mean for us? Your task will be to try to compile from among as many different and varied sources as possible what the current state of the industry is regarding these technologies: not just the radical "fors" and the equally radical "againsts", but also the vast, silent middle who have somewhat complex and even contradictory feelings about the shift.
This is a good first start and I'm looking forward to seeing what your research uncovers.
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