iPhone
Aesthetic
All formats have limitations. For
the most part, my iPhone 4S and GoPro cameras did what they did and I went with
it. The image I had in the editing room was the image I worked with. All the shots were pre-visualized and I began
planning shots as I always do, by asking myself, “If I’m sitting in the editing
room, what are the shots I want to see?”
Using an iPhone creates an aesthetic with its own calculus, especially
for such an image-driven project like Holiday.
What might be considered a disadvantage, however, can be turned into an
advantage. For example, the “reality
show/documentary” style of shooting via a hand-held phone creates an immediacy
that disturbs audiences. They prefer a
more “cinematic peril” disconnected from the reality of kidnapping and selling
human beings as entertainment opportunities. That style meant that sometimes
the phone image was high quality and sometimes the light contrast was more than
the phone could handle. Or the focus
drifted. Or I couldn’t see what I was shooting. For example, the GoPro was great for
wide-angle shots, car shots, and tight spaces, but for most set-ups, I couldn’t
see the shot as the camera rolled. In
the end, however, these “flaws” became features of the aesthetic.
I avoided less than technically well-executed images whenever possible,
but included them when needed. The most important question was: "Does
the image effectively convey the emotion of the moment?" Emotional
content supersedes image quality, especially at this level of filmmaking.
The iPhone aesthetic is still most certainly an
"outsider aesthetic", due to certain technical specifications that,
when compared to studio output simply can’t measure up. However, phone imagery is rapidly becoming
the norm. With the transition from scheduled network television to
internet-based delivery there is a growing appetite for content—but with a
production value acceptance level much lower than in the past. We are
already at the point where people spend far more time consuming free cat videos
on social media than purchasing tentpole movies.
Fulcrum
Moment
With the development of digital technology we have hit a major fulcrum
point in the history of filmmaking. Holiday is but a single marker of that
fulcrum.
The studio sees in Holiday the future problem of generating
revenue in a market flooded with product. With billions of people owning
a cell phone and their children growing up with that technology and its
constant improvements, they will be taught how to make videos in grade
school. As this next generation becomes
adults there will be an endless supply of product out there. Most of that product will be of modest
quality and the studios will continue to release a few tentpoles a year. On the upside, in twenty years there will be
endless opportunities to promote your digital feature work on-line. Unfortunately, it will be very difficult to distinguish
your product as anything more than a drop of water in a vast, unforgiving ocean.
Also keep in mind that popularity is currently measured in digital
“likes” and the internet favors the lowest common denominator. Almost all projects are guaranteed to
generate some revenue in the future, the problem will be making a living
creating something other than funny cat videos. This flood of product has already happened in
the professional photo world and the music industry. Instagrammers can reach ever-wider audiences
while the ability to make a living as a photographer rapidly disappears. Spotify bands can record and upload new
tracks, but seeing any revenue is rare. The
same will happen with filmmaking. Soon.
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