Something is changing. In the past few years, advances in camera and computer technologies have converged in a way that is sending shockwaves out into the world of visual arts. While it is too soon to tell where all of this is leading, what is clear is that nothing will remain the same. Well, that and the very delightful fact that we are already witnessing an unprecedented burst of visual arts creativity. Care to take a look?
What I thought I'd do here is start a Sunday series to highlight some of this — to briefly describe some of the technological advances and then show you some short "films" that make use of them. It's not my intention to wade too deeply into geek territory, although there are some pretty exciting things to talk about along those lines. Really, the things that interest me (and what I hope interest you) are what visual artists are starting to do.
[Note: I know that a number of you are going to have difficulty viewing the embedded videos here at all let alone in high-def, fullscreen mode which is where they really shine. There's no way around the fact that you'll need a fairly recent computer and a good (fast) internet connection to get the most out of what follows. For those who don't, I'm sorry if I've whetted an appetite that can't be satisfied ...]
One of the more significant technological convergences in the past few years has been the addition of high-def (HD) video recording capabilities to regular digital cameras. It doesn't seem like that should be such a big deal. I mean we already had tons of very capable video cameras alongside even more tons of regular old still-shot cameras so how big a difference would it make to have cameras that can also shoot HD video? But this is the thing about convergence. Sometimes the results are way bigger than the sum of the parts ...
One of the cooler results (in my humble opinion) has been the emergence of a new hybrid art form — something that sits somewhere between the arts of still photography and cinematography. In the best examples of this hybrid, you see films that look somewhat like slideshows except that the slides are motion pictures rather than still photos. One of my favorite examples is the short film Pan Asia—Receiving Impressions by an Austrian music producer (and self-professed "semipro" photographer), Paul Wex. (Note: click on the little white X-like symbol between HD and vimeo at the lower right to go fullscreen.)
Paul's film was shot using a Canon 7D — a semi-pro (or so-called prosumer) — camera while on vacation.
Part of what's happened as a result of adding HD video capabilities to cameras is that there are now a whole lot more people walking around with the ability to shoot high quality video. It should be no surprise, then, that new markets were also created for film-making technologies normally available only to professional cinematographers (with deep, deep pockets). It would probably also not surprise you to find out that the established manufacturers for such technology were mostly asleep at the wheel, so to speak. As a result, new businesses sprang up to fill the void creating a variety of comparatively low-cost tools designed for people making films with their video-enabled cameras.
Several companies, for example, created "time-lapse dollies" that move a camera along a track and, at very precise intervals, take photos with it (you can, if you'd care to, see what one looks like here). This, in turn, resulted in some absolutely gorgeous films, like the following by Tom Lowe.
This was also shot with a Canon, this time a 5D Mk II, a professional level Digital SLR (DSLR) with HD Video capability (making it an HDSLR). It could easily have been done using the 7D (or any number of other HDSLR cameras). You'd be very hard pressed, though, to create the above film with a plain old video camera, and certainly not with one affordable to a non-pro. It takes a camera with good low-light capabilities and lenses that are "fast" (able to let in a lot of light) to get time lapse footage of the Milky Way.
Another area of convergence less evident in the above films is with computer software that is capable of editing and manipulating video footage. But the technological advancements in computers and software don't stop with just editing. Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) has made phenomenal progress in the past decade, such that in many instances there is no need for a real camera. No film better illustrates this than Alex Roman's tour de force, The Third & The Seventh. Ninety-five percent of what you'll see watching it was never filmed. Instead, it was generated by his computer (at home, no less). Granted, he was using high quality hardware and software, and it took him over a year to finish it, but the fact remains that he was able to by himself.
Until next time, enjoy!