Watching the
digital projection of “Summer Elegy” at the Frye Art Museum last
month marked a turning point. I couldn’t get over how good it
looked on the big screen. With my previous film “When Herons
Dream,” shot on 16mm Plus-X reversal (now abandoned by Kodak), I
always felt disappointed seeing it projected from a DigiBeta
tape, often the highest quality exhibition format for many
festivals. Much of what I loved about the sharpness and high
contrast of that film stock was lost when transferred to
standard definition tape.
“Summer Elegy” was digital all the way. The short was shot in
1080p/24p HD and even though the Frye could only project a 720p
QuickTime file, on the big screen the piece looked just as good
as what I saw on my HD monitor at home. By selecting cinema-like
file settings and shooting at 24 frames, I was able to avoid the
flat, hot video look that I abhor—the terrific work of colorist
John Davidson had a lot to do with it as well. At that moment I
realized it was time to let go of my old-fashioned notions of
always originating on film. “It’s about time,” I could hear
friends say.
But I have not yet completely abandoned film. I’m editing “The
Last Kodachrome Rodeo,” which is about, well, probably the last
rodeo shot on Kodachrome Super 8mm, more specifically about
losing the memory of the brilliant colors of our childhood.
April 2011
