James Cameron and 48fps
April 13th, 2008 § Leave a Comment
In a recent Variety interview, James Cameron says he would love to see the film industry shoot movies at 48 fps and adopt 2K/48fps as the new display standard, eliminating the motion judder that is characteristically associated with movies. Apparently, Cameron is highly annoyed by this motion artifact that is a result of shooting and projecting at 24fps. I’m not going to rant about how 24fps is the sacred look of film and should never be changed. In fact, I’d really like to see what a 48fps movie actually looks like before passing judgment. The earliest films were shot at frame rates less than 24fps, so maybe it’s time to move forward. And maybe choosing a frame rate will become an artistic choice, the same as choosing a film stock or a lens, because 48fps footage will look different than 24fps footage.
During his interview, Cameron says:
The 48 fps negative or digital master can be skip-printed to generate a 24 fps 35mm DI negative for making release prints, so 48 is the magic number because it remains compatible with the film-based platform which will still be with us for some time, especially internationally.
What Cameron fails to mention is that if you shoot at 48fps, you will have less motion blur in the moving parts of your image than if you had shot at 24fps. So skip-printing (ie. printing every other frame) at 48fps to make it 24fps will result in MORE strobing since you won’t have the extra blur to smooth things out. One way to compensate could be to shoot at 48fps with a 360-degree shutter, but that requires a digital camera (like the Panavision Genesis)
One more take.
March 25th, 2007 § 1 Comment
Let’s say you’re directing a movie and you’ve just completed a shot. You were happy with the acting, but then your actor comes to you and expresses concern over his performance and wonders if you can do another take. What should you do? Do everything you can to give the actor another take. The camera is already set, it won’t use that much film, and your actor will thank you. It’s the most concrete demonstration of your support for the actor, and it will create a trust that will elevate every other performance in the movie.
Say Thank You.
March 12th, 2007 § Leave a Comment
This directing principle is very simple: always say thank you. It doesn’t matter how small the task or how insignificant the favor, if somebody does something for you, then you should acknowledge his effort. Furthermore, you should mean it when you say it. You’ll not only become a more effective director, but you’ll also become a better human being.
