The Artist

[Ray Flynn]

agreed on the film shooting film. though i think that EPIC is perhaps the best DC camera at capturing B&W images. I feel the organic textural and temporal qualities of shooting celluloid remain superior, partly because cultural context of film images flickering in the dark and special "holy of holies" the theater. The emotional and aesthetic response of an audience to stills shot on my XPan and exhibited seems different than those shot with even the best of DSLRs.
congratulations to RED Studios on their participation in this fine film, especially, since my impression was that the studio served as the backyard testing ground for RED's fine and innovative products.

 

[Vadim Bobkovsky]

I'm sure if they'd went with EPIC, add that lcd global shutter thing in front of a matte box PLUS some careful tweaks in postproduction it'd be possible to emulate most of the B/W 35mm nostalgic looks. They choose 35mm film for acquisition and I respect that choice with all my heart, but what I'm trying to say - if you are young (read: poor) filmmaker, you don't have to be forced to use film anymore to get the nostalgic period look, especially in B/W and with decent image manipulation in post (and i'm not even talking flares, grain, scratches, dust and gate shake things here). As the DR and the color reproduction of modern digital cameras gets better it will be easier to emulate look&feel of memorable time periods captured with any color film stock too, without it being too forced and obvious.

It's actually feels right somehow, the motion picture, that pays honor to the roots of cinema itself, actually uses motion picture film to capture these magical moments. I won't say it would've looked worse if shot on RED, but it's just feels natural being as it is.

 

[Tom Lowe]

I saw this movie again tonight at the cinema. I love this film.

A lot of reviewers have described "The Artist" as "a breath of fresh air." I think that is accurate.

 

[Marc Wielage]

I agree, Tom. It's a surprisingly moving film -- I just caught it for the second time at a screening last week, and just looking at the story and performances, found it a very touching, poignant film. I admire the fact that anybody could manage to sell just the idea of making a new film in 4x3 and black & white... let alone a "silent movie"!

The dog might be the best actor in the whole film. (And that's not an insult to the human characters.)

 

[Nuka Wølk]

I saw the Artist right after the GWDT. Not comparing the two films, but with the b/w low tech and all vs. modern 4k whiz bang technology, there was no comparison for me. The Artist, great storytelling, just like movies should be...

Great comment. When it all comes down to it, it's all about the art