Spielberg on digital filmmaking...

Speilebrg is my main man but why the "Sadly...' approach ? I respect the pureist attitude but his reluctancy to change is pre-empted with 'Sadly... such and such'

Why is it sad ? Times change. Technology changes; usually for the better; usually for a need.

The most telling Quote and something we repeat around here (especially during the tech talk debates)

Audience members are only concerned about the story, the concept, the bells and whistles and the noise that a popular film starts to make even before it's popular. So audiences will not be drawn to the technology; they'll be drawn to the story. And I hope it always remains that way.

As for the IMAX or 360 degree way of watching feature narrative films ? Ucccckkk. No way. I think IMAX and 3D is good for novelty but not to be taken serious. I know Cameron is investing a lot of time and energy into 3D; I just havent seen the light on that one.

And a lot of it is the social magic of going out to the movies, seeing it with a lot of people you have never met and sharing an experience. I feel there is no substitute for going out to the movies. There is nothing like it.
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I wish I could say the same. The crowds are what generally keeps me away from the cinema; the cell phones, the kids, the talking, the rudeness, the rising cost of even going. Steve is forgetting that Home Theatres are becoming very advanced and are super attractive when considering the alternative.
 
I wish I could say the same. The crowds are what generally keeps me away from the cinema; the cell phones, the kids, the talking, the rudeness, the rising cost of even going. Steve is forgetting that Home Theatres are becoming very advanced and are super attractive when considering the alternative.
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I totally feel you on the crowds ruining the experience. I refuse to go to theaters in alot of areas of the city for that very reason.

However I have never met a home theater yet that can match the experience i get from a theater like the Zeigfield in Manhattan for example. There are certain films which beg to be seen on the big screen and anything else is a poor substitute. Home theaters are getting more impressive every day but unless you have room in your home for a true theatre it will always be just that short of the real cinema experience.

I've always felt theaters should take a more active role in dealing with rude moviegoers who ruin the experience for their fellow patrons. Theater cops anyone?


On another note i read a recent Times article on the digital revolution of cinema. There was a Lucas quote that went something to the effect of "would i use an old fashioned type writer to write my scripts? No i use a computer."

I don't mention this to get into a discussion of Lucas' dependence on the latest Tech for good or bad however I feel it is important to embrace new technology as a means of enhancing your story.

Collateral would have been a completely different picture if shot on film and I think the story only benefits from the digital treatment. However filmmakers like Shyamalan refuse to divert from the tried and true method and will only stick to the old school. While that's not necessarily wrong i feel that as an artist you should be open to using all the available tools when it comes time to create.

Otherwise you may run the risk of dimming your vision.
 
Whatever does the job, period. Like my Dad says about his golf game, "It's usually not about the arrow, it's about the Indian" (No offense meant to any of our Indigenous peoples, of which my wife is one.)
 
i hear ya on the rudeness and talking during movies. i remember my first date w/ my wife watching scream 2 in a ghetto neighborhood w/ graffiti in the theater. w/ the rowdy crowd around us, it felt like we were watching scream in 3D!!?
 
LOL

Good points everyone. I wonder when ole Steven had to go to a real movie theatre and not a screening room or Manns ?
 
John_Hudson said:
LOL

Good points everyone. I wonder when ole Steven had to go to a real movie theatre and not a screening room or Manns ?
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i was thinking the same thing when i read that...

when was the last time he saw an 8 oclock movie at the lowes...bet its been awhile...

even still...i do really like going to the theater...but its usualy at like 1am on a wed after the movie has been out for 6 weeks.
 
i'd rather watch a flick at home

i'd rather watch a flick at home

I've never understood the claim that watching a flick with strangers in a movie theater is a special experience. Makes no sense to me. I mean, I've never turned to the stranger sitting next to me and discussed the movie after it was done. I generally dislike sitting next to strangers any way, and I can't stand watching a movie in a crowded theater. I don't go to 'share' my movie experience with strangers. I go to enjoy a good story with as little distraction as possible. In fact, if I do go to the theater, I'll usually try to catch the first showing so as to avoid people. I don't particularly enjoy going to the movie theaters anymore for the same reasons outlined by some of you already--kids, teenagers, cell phones, rudeness, etc. Watching a flick in a movie theater is overrated--way overrated when decent home theater systems can provide the same visceral experience (or very close to it, and that's enough for me.) Moreover, I enjoy rewinding the movie to see a scene I consider splendid. This is gold to me. F the movie theater. Spielberg doesn't know the hell he is talking about.
 
on-topic: Steven Spielberg is an old man. Regardless of what he does and CAN do, he's still old... and technology is scary for an old guy.

off-topic: I love going to the theatre still, despite the annoyances that can arise, despite the high price of tickets (I just paid 21.50 to watch V for Vendetta at the Mann on 3rd Street in Santa Monica, CA). I like hearing reactions from people, to know what I should and SHOULD not be doing when I write. How on earth do you know what the crowd likes if you don't hang around them?

Each their own.
 
$21.50 ? Did it come with a lap-dance?

Spielberg doesn't know the hell he is talking about.
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Let's be honest. He isn't exactly living in reality is he ? I would'nt complain about being in his bubble but I do not think he has a grasp on the real world.

Wait a second; I just realized that not a single film he has ever done has been steeped in 'today's' reality. He either does Sci-Fi future films, Adventure Films or stories from periods in our history.

Is Sugarland Express or Close Encounters the last films that seemed to have touched on the times it was filmed ?

Like he take on celluloid 'Sadly............................'

Sadly ? The hell's he talking about ? And going to the theatre to share an experience is absurd. I want to be lost in the experience, not concious of my sorroundings!
 
I actually like going to the theatre. Granted I am picky about which ones, and I prioritize which films I see there. That's partially due to how expensive it is, and partly because we have kids and don't get out much.

I do like watching at home too though. I like being able to pause to go pee, or talk about something of interest. I can rewind something that I want to see again. All that is cool.

But man, there is just something amazing about that theatre going dark...I am more focused. For those couple of hours there is nothing else in my universe but that movie. It envelopes me. I just don't get that in my family room. Part of it might be the technology or the size of the screen. But the other part is that you go to the movies TO SEE A MOVIE. There's something to be said for that.
 
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John_Hudson said:
$21.50 ? Did it come with a lap-dance?
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No lap dance. LOL. But, it was fun nonetheless.

Sucks, though-- I couldn't watch without sunglasses... my eye is still busted.
 
Hehe.. I dont go to the theatre anymore... last film I paid to see was Castaway and that was a study in 'stranger dynamics'. Folks couldnt handle the silence and made their own audio track to make up for it.

I dont even like seeing stuff I did in theatres... I much prefer creating for
the home theatre :)
 
Sometimes I enjoy going to the theater for movies. Now I am the type of person that if you are sitting near me, eating pop corn or sipping a coke. Plan on wearing those items!! I dont mind some heckling even, but Do not smack your friggin lips on gum around me!!

When you have a decent audience, it can be fun... Like when Arragon sliced off the head of that Orc!! everyone cheered. Now that I can enjoy.

But enough with the Large Diet Coke with lots of IcE Just so you can crunch thru the whole movie!!
 
John_Hudson said:
$21.50 ? Did it come with a lap-dance?



Let's be honest. He isn't exactly living in reality is he ? I would'nt complain about being in his bubble but I do not think he has a grasp on the real world.

Wait a second; I just realized that not a single film he has ever done has been steeped in 'today's' reality. He either does Sci-Fi future films, Adventure Films or stories from periods in our history.

Is Sugarland Express or Close Encounters the last films that seemed to have touched on the times it was filmed ?

Like he take on celluloid 'Sadly............................'

Sadly ? The hell's he talking about ? And going to the theatre to share an experience is absurd. I want to be lost in the experience, not concious of my sorroundings!
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Will Spielberg be Spielberg, if he was doing films steeped in today's reality ?

Jaws was really immersed into reality !! :)

ps : $21.50 is really expensive.
 
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