Post
10023
Visionary Walter Murch (editor for Francis Ford Coppola), in 1999:
“ So let's suppose a technical apotheosis some time in the middle of the 21st century, when it somehow becomes possible for one person to make an entire feature film, with virtual actors. Would this be a good thing?
If the history of oil painting is any guide, the broadest answer would be yes, with the obvious caution to keep a wary eye on the destabilizing effect of following too intently a hermetically personal vision. One need only look at the unraveling of painting or classical music in the 20th century to see the risks.
Let's go even further, and force the issue to its ultimate conclusion by supposing the diabolical invention of a black box that could directly convert a single person's thoughts into a viewable cinematic reality. You would attach a series of electrodes to various points on your skull and simply think the film into existence.
And since we are time-traveling, let us present this hypothetical invention as a Faustian bargain to the future filmmakers of the 21st century. If this box were offered by some mysterious cloaked figure in exchange for your eternal soul, would you take it?
The kind of filmmakers who would accept, even leap, at the offer are driven by the desire to see their own vision on screen in as pure a form as possible. They accept present levels of collaboration as the evil necessary to achieve this vision. Alfred Hitchcock, I imagine, would be one of them, judging from his description of the creative process: "The film is already made in my head before we start shooting."”
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Read "A Digital Cinema of the Mind? Could Be" by Walter Murch: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/050299future-film.html
“ So let's suppose a technical apotheosis some time in the middle of the 21st century, when it somehow becomes possible for one person to make an entire feature film, with virtual actors. Would this be a good thing?
If the history of oil painting is any guide, the broadest answer would be yes, with the obvious caution to keep a wary eye on the destabilizing effect of following too intently a hermetically personal vision. One need only look at the unraveling of painting or classical music in the 20th century to see the risks.
Let's go even further, and force the issue to its ultimate conclusion by supposing the diabolical invention of a black box that could directly convert a single person's thoughts into a viewable cinematic reality. You would attach a series of electrodes to various points on your skull and simply think the film into existence.
And since we are time-traveling, let us present this hypothetical invention as a Faustian bargain to the future filmmakers of the 21st century. If this box were offered by some mysterious cloaked figure in exchange for your eternal soul, would you take it?
The kind of filmmakers who would accept, even leap, at the offer are driven by the desire to see their own vision on screen in as pure a form as possible. They accept present levels of collaboration as the evil necessary to achieve this vision. Alfred Hitchcock, I imagine, would be one of them, judging from his description of the creative process: "The film is already made in my head before we start shooting."”
—
Read "A Digital Cinema of the Mind? Could Be" by Walter Murch: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/050299future-film.html
