Sunday, December 5, 2010

Revolution...

Revolution -- the word brings up mental images of Beatles songs and Che Guevara T-shirts.  It also seems to get thrown around a lot any time anything remotely new or different makes its way onto our radar.  But it seems like a pretty safe bet that we are indeed in the middle of a video/film revolution.






I'm talking about the fact that for the first time ever, just about anybody can create HD video that looks comparable to what people are used to seeing in movie theaters.  Check out the Zakuto Shootout 2010.





Zacuto Great Camera Shootout 2010: It's all About Latitude from steve weiss on Vimeo.



Watch all the episodes, because it gets even more interesting.  Also, you might want to check out this video from Philip Bloom at Skywalker Ranch:



Skywalker Ranch from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.
www.philipbloom.co.uk
 ©2009 PhilipBloom.co.uk



What these two videos show is pretty amazing.  I'm not saying that you can grab a T2i from Costco and go out and make a movie that looks as good as a $100 million feature film.  To bring back a phrase from the 80's, "Don't be ridiculous!"  But hey, just to have a sub $1000 camera in the same conversation as $100,000+ 35mm film cameras is pretty revolutionary.


Filmmaking still takes talent, determination and ingenuity, and the tools are never as important as the filmmaker.  People like Robert Rodriguez will always find a way to bring their creative visions to life.  But, the balance between time/money/quality is now becoming easier than ever to juggle.  This is a great time to be a filmmaker.


Consider this:  In 1985 you could buy a VHS camcorder for about a thousand bucks -- and you got VHS quality...  In 1995 you could buy a Sony VX1000 for $4000 and you got DV quality (and probably embarked on an endless quest for the coveted "film look.")  Now you can get a Canon T2i for around $800 or less.  And you get a huge sensor (compared to HD video cameras) and a really huge choice of lenses.  If you learn how to use it in the right way, you can do amazing things.  One look at Mr. Bloom's films shot with DSLR cameras is proof of that.


For me, the coolest thing about this revolution is anybody with a creative spark can fulfill their filmmaking dreams.  You can experiment and try new things.  You and your camera can go places that otherwise might be inaccessible.  You can get looks that were impossible with a normal "video" camera.  And, you can do all this with a very high level of quality.


So, come on and let your creative spark grow to an inferno.  If you think cinematically, if you have creative vision, if you dream of making a film like nobody has ever seen before, then now is the time.  


Join the revolution...

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