Digital dialectics: The paradox of cinema in a studio without walls

Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television

Volumn 19, Issue 3, 1999, Pages 379-397

  McQuire, Scott ^a  

^a DEAKIN UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 61049329488     PISSN: 01439685     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/014396899100226     Document Type: Article

References (43)

1. Quoted in Ron Magid, ILM Breaks New Digital Ground for Gump, American Cinematographer, 75 (10) (1994), p. 47
2. Philip Brophy has argued: 'Next to 3-D, sound recording, mixing and presentation are among the most overlooked aspects of film theory and criticism (both modern and postmodern strands)'. The Architectsonic Object - Stereo Sound, Cinema and Colours, in Philip Hayward, ed., Culture, Technology and Creativity in the Twentieth Century (London, 1990), p. 91
3. Return of the Jedi, Richard Marquand, 20th Century Fox/LucasFilm; USA, 1983
4. Shine, Scott Hicks, Fine Line Features/Momentum Films; Australia, 1996
5. William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Baz Luhrmann, 20th Century Fox/Bazmark, USA, 1996
6. Newsfront, Philip Noyce, Palm Beach Pictures, Australia, 1978
7. Blackrock, Steven Vidler, Palm Beach Pictures, Australia, 1997
8. The Portrait of a Lady, Jane Campion, Grammercy Pictures/Polygram Filmed Entertainment/Propaganda Films; UK/USA, 1996
9. Strictly Ballroom, Baz Luhrmann, M & A Film/Rank; Australia, 1992
10. R. Altman, The Sound of Sound: A Brief History of the Reproduction of Sound in Movie Theatres, Cineaste 21(1/2) (1995) (Supplement: Sound and Music in the Movies)
11. See Les Paul Robley, Digital Offline Video Editing: Expanding Creative Horizons, American Cinematographer, 74(4) (1993), p. 55
12. See Paul Brown, Digital Technology and Motion Pictures, in Ross Harley, ed., New Media Technologies (Sydney, 1993), p. 87
13. Dominic Case, Converging Technologies and Newton's Third Law of Motion, or: The Close-up, the cutaway and the freeze-frame, reprinted in Cinema Papers, 101 (1994), p. 50
14. Oscar and Lucinda, Gillian Armstrong, Dalton Films/Meridian Films/New South Wales Film and Television Office/Australian Film Finance Corporation; Australia/USA, 1997
15. Natural Born Killers, Oliver Stone, Warner Brothers; USA, 1994
16. 'Machines of the Visible', in Stephen Heath and Theresa De Lauretis, eds, The Cinematic Apparatus (London, 1980), p. 130
17. Walter Benjamin, W. Illuminations (trans. H. Zohn) (London, 1973), pp. 234-235
18. This translation is modified in accordance with Miriam Hansen's rendering of the passage, which brings out the ambivalent connotations of Benjamin's final reference to 'immediate reality'. See her Benjamin, Cinema and Experience: 'The Blue Flower in the Land of Technology,' New German Critique, 40 (1987), pp. 203-204
19. On the concept of suture, see the special Dossier on Suture, Screen 18 (4) (1977-78)
20. Jean-Jacques Annaud, Digital Future, Sight and Sound, 6(5) (1996), p. 15
21. Stephen Prince, True Lies: Perceptual Realism, Digital Images and Film Theory, Film Quarterly, 49 (3) (1996), p. 32
22. Quoted in Dominic Case, Flame at Complete Post, Cinema Papers 102 (1994), p. 63. A good example is the description given by compositing supervisor Mike Kanfer of the techniques used for the rocket launch sequence in Apollo 13 (Ron Howard, Universal Pictures; USA, 1995): 'The most challenging aspect of the film was to recreate something real, as if Hollywood was there at the actual launch. We used every trick to create photorealism in the compositing. Our rockets were shot against black, then composited into blue sky backgrounds - usually either entirely fabricated or at least augmented - without black matte lines. Also, we shot the Saturn V with a ProMist filter, which gave us glints of sun off the white sides of the rocket. Once we added all the CG ice, vapor, fire and shake, these shots looked like you were really there. Ultimately every image had all the photographic artifacts of the real event: the glares burn out, there's grain on CG elements and motion blur.'
23. Developed in 1982, the technique of morphing was arguably the first 'signature' digital visual effect. It involves the detailed mapping of an object in one image onto another so that the transition between shots is far more fluid than a traditional dissolve. It was first used in Hollywood in the feature film Willow (Ron Howard, MGM/LucasFilm; USA, 1988)
24. For a discussion of the history of computer graphics, see M. King, Programmed Graphics in Computer Art and Animation, Leonardo, 28(2) (1995), pp. 113-121
25. Brad Fisher, 'Digital Cinematography': A Phrase of the Future? (part 1), American Cinematographer, 74(4) (1993), p. 52
26. R. Baker, Film Technology and Special Effects in Contemporary Cinema, in Philip Hayward and Tana Wollen, eds, Future Visions: New Technologies for the Screen (London, 1993), p. 37
27. The Abyss, James Cameron, Twentieth Century Fox/Lightstorm Entertainment/Pacific Western; USA, 1989
28. Paula Parisi, Cameron Angle, Wired, 5(04) (1996), p. 133
29. Ron Magid, CGI and Special Effects, American Cinematographer, 74(12) (1993), p. 27
30. Ron Magid, George Lucas: Past, Present and Future, American Cinematographer, 78 (2) (1997), p. 49
31. Quoted in John Seabrook, Why Is The Force Still With Us?, The New Yorker, 6 January (1997), p. 53
32. Harryhausen quoted in Ron Magid, Exploring the Future of Special Effects, American Cinematographer, 75 (2) (1994), p. 28
33. Trumbull interviewed by Bob Fisher and Marji Rhea, American Cinematographer, 75 (8) (1994), p. 60
34. Edlund quoted in Ron Magid, CGI Spearheads Brave New World of Special Effects, p. 27
35. Babe, Chris Noonan, Universal Pictures/Kennedy-Miller Productions; Australia/USA, 1995
36. Dale Duguid, The Digital Freight Train is Coming, Cinema Papers, 104 (1995), p. 33
37. Kevin Kelly and Paula Parisi, Beyond Star Wars: What's Next For George Lucas, Wired 5(02) (1997)
38. Ron Magid, George Lucas: Past, Present and Future, p. 50. Discussing the Star Wars prequel, Lucas added: 'If it wasn't going to be a widescreen picture, it would definitely be digital. But we're not there yet.... I think we'll be there in the next eighteen months ... .' (p. 52)
39. Quoted in Ron Magid, CGI Spearheads Brave New World of Special Effects, American Cinematographer, 74 (12) (1993), p. 32
40. Ron Magid, George Lucas: Past, Present and Future, p. 52
41. Ron Magid, Finetuning Radioland Murders, American Cinematographer, 76 (3) (1995), p. 72
42. Toy Story, John Lasseter, Walt Disney Productions/Pixar Animation Studios; USA, 1995
43. Walter Benjamin, One Way Street and Other Writings (trans. E. Jephcott and K. Shorter) (London, 1979), p. 243