Remember when movies used to look good?
Rich shadows, bold colors, and depth. But now? A lot of films and shows look flat, dull, and lifeless. In this video, I break down why modern cinematography feels so uninspired, and it’s NOT digital’s fault. Let’s talk about dynamic range, lighting, and why intentional choices matter more than ever.
What you’ll learn: • Why older movies look better than modern ones • How dynamic range & contrast affect the cinematic look • The role of VFX, lighting, and production design in the decline of movie aesthetics
I have a completely different view on this.
I HATE when we take a “camera perspective” instead of an “eye perspective”. I don’t like exaggerated contrast, because that’s what cameras do, not what eyes do. The world doesn’t look like that, unless you view it through a camera. For the same reason, I can’t stand lens-flares and I’m really not a fan of focus-shifts unless they’re natural. I don’t like abberation, because my eyes don’t do that. Motion blur is even worse, and having it absolutely minimized is preferable. It’s especially bad when first-person videogames do it, and then add film-grain on top. I don’t understand why films are still mostly shot at 24fps, I love the rare few films that are shown at 60fps. It’s basically the only redeeming feature of the new Avatar movie.
I don’t want to see someone work a camera, I want to see the scene. That doesn’t mean I like grey, because the world has a TON of colour, but it also doesn’t mean I like the unrealistically high contrasts.
See, while I think this a valid perspective, I am baffled by the need people have to see movies look realistic. You live in realism every day. I want to movies to look interesting, otherworldly, and beautiful. I want every frame to look like a painting. Realism’s fucking boring. Like, it’s a visual medium, why accept anything short of visually stunning?
Every time I watch In The Mood For Love, I’m bummed that all movies don’t look like that, you know?
Interesting! To each their own I guess, I enjoy most of these things when used in intelligently. Kind of like what an artist’s style in a painting adds to the scene.
I had a different experience with avatar 2, saw it in 3d and apparently variable framerate and my eyes were getting lost everytime the framerate changed by a noticeable amount.