The death of film - better, right?

I was looking at another blog the other day for THESE AMAZING SHADOWS, and the post was interesting the from the filmmakers point of view. They had commented on how they had seen their film at a few places, and they were surprised at how the material they spent hours colour correcting material and it looked different every place they saw it.

The comment they made that got me thinking was "as filmmakers we have to accept that we have no control over the final product". I disagree with that. Here's why:

Back in the days of film, I could see the presentation being different.. There were a lot of variables.. The projectors, the lab making the prints, the handling of the print. The projectionist.

However film is now out of the equation, and the chain is smaller.. The digital print, the projectors. There is no degradation over time of the product. Each digital presentation should look exactly the SAME as the final cut as created by the filmmakers, no matter where you see it.

See, theres this thing called standards .. The thing where projectors are set up by. The only reason that presentation is not consistent from venue to venue is because those standards aren't being followed. It is the laziness of the theatres, who don't care about presentation - making sure that their customers just get the bare minimum in quality.

The only place that this doesn't apply is when a film is shown on television. The tv station can make sure that the film is properly adjusted, but no one can really make a person at home calibrate their televisions.

Filmmakers SHOULD be able to make sure that in this digital age, their product is consistent from venue, and it should be up to the theatre owners to make sure that their projection equipment is up to 21st century standards.

 

Star Wars.. Again

So, I was out having dinner with some friends, and we were discussing THE PEOPLE VS. GEORGE LUCAS , the disturbing movie where people spend the entire time complaining about how Lucas has destroyed their childhood by changing his original trilogy and then making 3 new movies.

Eventually there were about 6 people involved in the conversation and one of them said "I am embarrassed to let my 6 year olds see Star Wars in this new form," and there was a slight pause in the conversation, and I pondered the statement for a few minutes, and we started to change the subject.. Now that I've had a few days to think about it here's my response:

Your 6 year old kids... really don't give a shit about what you think about Star Wars. 6 year olds aren't looking at the film and picking it apart, they just don't care - They care about what's on the screen.

I'm sure when you were 6 years old you liked watching stuff that your parents rolled their eyes at.

Now, Lucas has always said that the movies were for kids. Here's a news flash for everyone over the age of 25… you aren't a kid. Your kids, Especially 6 year olds, are getting the SAME experience you did from the films because they are NEW to them, just like the original trilogy was new to you.

I can appreciate Lucas updating the series for the new generation, much like Hollywood is remaking every film under the sun for the new film going demographic.

I'm sorry your childhood has been raped, but for the new generation being introduced to Star Wars, they just don't care.