dustino
Well-known member
http://www.iraqinfragments.com/
Saw this film yesterday. I'm not even going to offer ANY type of opinion about the content of the film in the hopes that no one will invoke politics and shut down this thread. What I really want to discuss is the formal aspects of the film. It was shot on the DVX and was a one-man band doc that won several festival awards (big festivals - Sundance, etc.) which I find really inspiring as a one-man band doc maker myself.
First of all, I saw this on a medium-sized screen and it looked ok. All of the problems with video are, of course, amplified when blown up - especially the chromatic abberation - lots o' purple fringing. Also, anytime something in the film was heavily textured and patterned and NOT in focus, it looked pretty bad (like a painted brick wall in the background). Didn't bother me in the context of this film, though.
I did love one aspect of this film that I'm guessing was somewhat unintended during production but exploited very craftily and that was the cadence of fast moving images in 24p. There were countless shots where people or objects would pass by the screen in the foreground very quickly and as a result the "strobing" effect would occur somewhat similar to Saving Private Ryan but more intensely. The effect felt more immediate and effective in a gritty way in this film than in SPRyan. For one thing, I'm pretty sure it wasn't a matter of a fast shutter speed, but simply the result of objects moving "too fast" across the screen in 24p because the camera operator had no way of controlling a chaotic environment.
This "strobing effect" heightened the sense of chaos, but in a way that was really hypnotic lending a surreal aspect to the film. I can't remember noticing this in other docs I've seen shot on the DVX. Anyhow, I'd love to here other opinions about the formal aspects of this film if anyone has seen it.
Saw this film yesterday. I'm not even going to offer ANY type of opinion about the content of the film in the hopes that no one will invoke politics and shut down this thread. What I really want to discuss is the formal aspects of the film. It was shot on the DVX and was a one-man band doc that won several festival awards (big festivals - Sundance, etc.) which I find really inspiring as a one-man band doc maker myself.
First of all, I saw this on a medium-sized screen and it looked ok. All of the problems with video are, of course, amplified when blown up - especially the chromatic abberation - lots o' purple fringing. Also, anytime something in the film was heavily textured and patterned and NOT in focus, it looked pretty bad (like a painted brick wall in the background). Didn't bother me in the context of this film, though.
I did love one aspect of this film that I'm guessing was somewhat unintended during production but exploited very craftily and that was the cadence of fast moving images in 24p. There were countless shots where people or objects would pass by the screen in the foreground very quickly and as a result the "strobing" effect would occur somewhat similar to Saving Private Ryan but more intensely. The effect felt more immediate and effective in a gritty way in this film than in SPRyan. For one thing, I'm pretty sure it wasn't a matter of a fast shutter speed, but simply the result of objects moving "too fast" across the screen in 24p because the camera operator had no way of controlling a chaotic environment.
This "strobing effect" heightened the sense of chaos, but in a way that was really hypnotic lending a surreal aspect to the film. I can't remember noticing this in other docs I've seen shot on the DVX. Anyhow, I'd love to here other opinions about the formal aspects of this film if anyone has seen it.
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