The Medium Is The Message: Film Vs. Digital

Summary

This script explores the impact of medium on cinematic storytelling, echoing Marshall McLuhan's 'medium is the message' theory. It delves into the technicalities of film versus digital, highlighting how each medium's unique characteristics—like film grain and digital clarity—affect audience perception. The script uses examples from 'Phantom Thread' and 'Ex Machina' to illustrate how the choice of medium can reinforce a film's narrative and thematic elements, emphasizing the importance of selecting the right tool for the story's visual expression.

Takeaways

• 🎥 The script discusses the ongoing debate between film and digital in cinema, emphasizing that the medium can influence the message and audience perception.
• 📚 Marshall McLuhan's theory 'the medium is the message' is introduced, suggesting that the medium of presentation is crucial to the impact of the content.
• 🎞️ Film is described as a photochemical process that captures images on an emulsion and projects them through a projector, which was the dominant medium until the early 2000s.
• 📹 Digital cinema cameras capture light in pixels and store it digitally, becoming the dominant medium post-2010s, with footage shown via digital projectors.
• 🌟 The script argues for the psychological impact of the choice between film and digital on audience interpretation of a movie's story.
• 📏 The differences between film and digital are categorized into texture, practical differences, and base characteristics of the mediums.
• 📽️ Film grain is highlighted as a desirable texture in film, associated with nostalgia and sentimentality, contrasting with the predictable digital noise.
• 💰 The practical limitations and costs of shooting on film are discussed, including the price of film stock and development, versus the extended roll capabilities of digital cameras.
• 🌈 Film stocks have fixed ASAs and color temperatures, influencing the look of the film, while digital offers flexibility with adjustable settings and post-production adjustments.
• 🎨 Examples are given to illustrate how different mediums can enhance the storytelling in genres like period films (Phantom Thread) and science fiction (Ex Machina).
• 🤹‍♂️ The script concludes that there is no superior medium, but rather different tools for storytelling, and filmmakers should choose the medium that best conveys the intended message.

Q & A

What is the main argument presented in the script regarding the debate between film and digital in cinema?

The script argues that the medium of film or digital is not just a technical choice but is intrinsically linked to the message of the film, affecting how the audience interprets the story on a subconscious level.

Who is Marshall McLuhan and what theory does he propose in relation to media and message?

Marshall McLuhan is a theorist who, in his 1964 book 'Understanding Media', proposed the idea that 'the medium is the message', suggesting that the medium in which content is presented is as important as, if not more important than, the content itself.

What is the basic principle behind traditional film photography as described in the script?

Traditional film photography involves a photochemical gelatin emulsion that absorbs and imprints light rays onto the film when exposed. After exposure, the film is developed using chemicals to fix the image, usually creating a negative that is then turned into a positive for projection.

How does the script differentiate between film and digital in terms of texture?

The script describes film texture as having a random and visually desirable grain due to its chemical nature, while digital texture or noise is predictable and patterned, often viewed as undesirable, leading to the use of de-noising software.

What are some of the practical differences between shooting on film and digital as outlined in the script?

Shooting on film is more costly due to the price of film stock and its development, and typically results in fewer takes due to these costs. Digital cameras can roll for longer periods with the main cost being hard drive storage, allowing for more takes and options.

How do the inherent characteristics of film and digital cameras differ according to the script?

Film stocks have set ASAs and color temperatures, producing colors with beautiful contrast without being overly saturated. Digital cameras can adjust ASA and color temperature easily, and when shooting in raw, allow for large adjustments in post-production, unlike film which 'bakes in' the look of the captured light.

What is the significance of the medium choice in the context of the film 'Phantom Thread' as discussed in the script?

In 'Phantom Thread', shooting on film with increased textural grain through push processing was used to create a 'dirtied up' look, contrasting the polished conventions of period films, thus reinforcing the old-world storytelling.

How does the script relate the choice of medium to the film 'Ex Machina'?

For 'Ex Machina', a cleaner, digital medium with 16-bit color science shot at 4k was chosen to visually support the futuristic and clinical message of the film about artificial intelligence.

What is the argument made in the script regarding the medium choice for character studies in films like 'The Wrestler' and 'The Joker'?

The script argues that the medium should support the storytelling and character portrayal. 'The Wrestler' uses 16mm film to convey a gritty, personal story, while 'The Joker' uses large format digital capture to provide an intimate perspective connecting the audience to the character.

What conclusion does the script draw about the debate between film and digital mediums in cinema?

The script concludes that there is no superior medium; both film and digital are different tools that filmmakers can use to tell stories effectively. The choice of medium should be guided by which one best conveys the intended visual idea and supports the story's message.

What is the script's stance on the importance of considering the impact of technology on the audience when choosing a medium?

The script emphasizes that regardless of whether the film is shot on a phone or 70mm film, it is crucial to consider the psychological impact of the technology on the audience, as it can influence how they perceive and interpret the story.

Outlines

00:00

🎞️ The Medium is the Message in Cinematography

The video script begins by challenging the cliché debate between film and digital media in cinema, emphasizing the importance of story over medium. However, it introduces Marshall McLuhan's theory that the medium itself conveys the message and can influence audience perception subconsciously. The script provides a historical context of film, from its photochemical origins to the digital revolution, and outlines the technical differences between film and digital, including texture, practical limitations, and base characteristics. It argues that the choice of medium can profoundly affect how a story is interpreted, using examples from popular cinema to illustrate the impact of medium on storytelling.

05:01

📹 The Impact of Medium on Genre and Storytelling

The second paragraph delves into the practical and inherent characteristics of film and digital mediums, discussing how these affect the storytelling process. It contrasts the romantic and nostalgic texture of film grain with the sharp, clean appearance of digital images. The paragraph also touches on the cost and limitations of shooting on film versus the flexibility and adjustability of digital cameras. Using specific examples from 'Phantom Thread' and 'Ex Machina,' the script illustrates how the choice of medium can reinforce the narrative and thematic elements of a film. It further explores how different mediums can be chosen for character studies, such as 'The Wrestler' shot on 16mm film and 'The Joker' on a large format digital camera, to best convey the intended emotional and psychological impact on the audience. The script concludes by advocating for the thoughtful selection of medium based on the story's needs rather than a blanket preference for film or digital.

Keywords

💡Cliche

A cliche refers to an idea or element that has been overused to the point of losing its original impact or meaning. In the context of the video, the phrase 'over argued cliche' is used to describe the common yet tired debate between film and digital mediums in cinema, suggesting that the focus should instead be on the story and message conveyed through the medium.

💡Marshall McLuhan

Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian philosopher and scholar who is known for his theories on media and communication. His famous assertion 'the medium is the message' is central to the video's argument, suggesting that the medium through which a story is told is as significant as the story itself, influencing audience perception on a subconscious level.

💡Celluloid

Celluloid is a type of plastic film base that was historically used for photographic film. In the video, 'celluloid vs pixels' refers to the traditional film medium versus the modern digital medium, emphasizing the debate over which is superior for capturing and presenting cinematic stories.

💡Film Emulsion

Film emulsion is the light-sensitive chemical layer on photographic film that captures and records images when exposed to light. The script explains how this process works in traditional film, highlighting the unique characteristics and impact of this medium on the final cinematic product.

💡Digital Cinema Cameras

Digital cinema cameras are modern devices that capture images using digital sensors instead of film emulsion. The video discusses how these cameras have become the dominant medium for capturing images in the 21st century, contrasting them with traditional film cameras and their impact on storytelling.

💡Texture

In the context of the video, texture refers to the visual quality of film grain in analog film or digital noise in digital footage. The script explains how film grain is seen as desirable and nostalgic, while digital noise is often viewed as undesirable, affecting the audience's perception of the film's aesthetic.

💡Practical Differences

Practical differences refer to the tangible aspects and limitations of using film versus digital mediums in filmmaking. The video mentions the cost of film stock and development, the ability to shoot more takes with digital, and the discipline or flexibility these options provide to filmmakers.

💡Inherent Characteristics

Inherent characteristics describe the natural and intrinsic qualities of a medium. The video discusses how film has set ASAs and color temperatures, leading to a specific look that is 'baked in' during filming, whereas digital cameras offer adjustable settings and greater flexibility in post-production.

💡Phantom Thread

Phantom Thread is a film by Paul Thomas Anderson that was shot on film. The video uses it as an example to illustrate how the choice of medium can reinforce the film's message and aesthetic, such as the 'dirtied up' look achieved through push processing the film stock.

💡Ex Machina

Ex Machina is a science fiction film shot digitally, used in the video to contrast with Phantom Thread. The script discusses how the clean, digital medium supports the futuristic and clinical aesthetic needed for a story about artificial intelligence.

💡The Wrestler

The Wrestler is a character study film shot on 16mm film, mentioned in the video to demonstrate how the gritty and textured look of smaller film gauges can support personal storytelling, such as the film's portrayal of an aging wrestler's struggles.

💡The Joker

The Joker is another character study film, but shot on a large format digital camera. The video uses it to show how digital medium can provide an intimate and psychologically connected perspective of the character, through the use of longer lenses and digital composition.

Highlights

The debate over film vs digital in cinema is often considered cliché, but the medium can be as important as the story.

Marshall McLuhan's theory posits that the medium of presentation is integral to the message conveyed.

Filmmaking conventions, such as cuts to show time passing, are argued to impact the audience as much as the story's message.

The medium used in cinematography influences audience interpretation on a subconscious level.

Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan emphasizes the importance of the medium over the content itself.

Film is created through a photochemical process involving light exposure and chemical development.

Digital cinema cameras capture light in pixels, contrasting with the chemical process of film.

The abundance of mediums today, from various film sizes to digital cameras, offers diverse storytelling tools.

Film grain is a desirable texture in film, whereas digital noise is often seen as undesirable and is reduced with software.

Film texture is associated with nostalgia and sentimentality, while digital offers sharp, clean images.

Shooting on film is more costly and limited in take numbers, promoting discipline in filmmaking.

Digital cameras offer flexibility with adjustable ASA and color temperature, and extensive post-production possibilities.

Phantom Thread's use of film with increased grain supports its narrative of a bygone era.

Ex Machina's clean, digital aesthetic reinforces the futuristic theme of artificial intelligence.

The Wrestler's use of 16mm film and documentary style enhances the personal story of an aging wrestler.

The Joker's large format digital cinematography allows for intimate character compositions, connecting the audience psychologically.

The choice of medium in filmmaking should be driven by the story's requirements, not a debate over superiority.

Film and digital are different tools for storytelling, and the impact of technology on the audience should be considered.

Transcripts

The title of film vs digital on the internet has become an over argued cliche.

Article or video responses to this question inevitably conclude that the story, the message,

is the most important thing in cinema, far more important than the question of celluloid

vs pixels, the medium.

However, using a theory from Marshall McLuhan, I’d argue that the medium is the message.

The way films are presented, through their medium of choice, is inextricably linked to

the message or story of the film, and affects how the audience interprets the movie on a

subconscious level.

In 1964 Marshall McLuhan published the book Understanding Media, in which he theorised

that the medium in which content is presented is as important, if not more important, than

the content itself.

Taking film as an example, he’d argue that the conventions of filmmaking which originated

from the medium, such as using a cut to show time passing, had as great an impact as the

message of the story.

Today I’ll take this a step further by arguing that in cinematography, the medium used to

shoot a movie, be it digital or film, has a profound psychological impact on how the

audience interprets a story.

I’ll go over the basics of what film is, illustrate the differences between digital

and film technology, and breakdown the choice of mediums in creative applications from popular

cinema to show the effect that they have on an audience.

There’s a reason that films are called films. When cinema was first created there was only

one medium that enabled the illusion of moving images that we call movies.

Let’s get a little technical.

Film is made from a photochemical gelatin emulsion.

When light hits this emulsion for a short period of time, such as 1/50th of a second,

it absorbs and imprints those light rays onto the emulsion.

After exposure, the film is then developed by passing it through a combination of chemicals.

This fixes and imprints the image onto the piece of film.

Usually negative film is used, which means that when exposed and developed it imprints

an opposite image on the film.

Colours are reversed, the darkest parts of the film appear light and the lightest parts

appear dark.

Later this negative is then turned into a positive.

To screen the film in a cinema a projector is used, which passes light through a positive

image, and projects an enlarged version of the film onto a surface.

From the late 1800s up until the early 2000s this remained the dominant medium for capturing

and presenting motion pictures.

After the 2010s however, digital cinema cameras have become the dominant medium for capturing

images.

Digital cinema cameras use the same concept as film cameras, but the film emulsion is

replaced with a sensor which captures light in pixels, which is stored digitally.

This footage is shown in cinemas by digital projectors.

Currently we’re living in a world with an abundance of mediums for capturing images

for cinema.

From different sizes of film, 16mm to Imax, and different digital mediums, iPhone to 8k

cinema cameras, we’re faced with more mediums than ever to tell stories.

I’d break the differences between film and digital down into 3 main categories: texture,

practical differences, and the base characteristics of the two mediums.

When considering the differences between smaller gauge film stocks, like 16mm, and modern digital

cinema cameras, one of the clearest differences is in the texture.

Because of the chemical nature of film it produces a texture, or film grain, which is

random and seen as visually desirable.

The smaller the film size gets the more the grain is accentuated. Which is why the untrained

eye finds it easier to identify whether something was shot on film when viewing 8mm or 16mm

footage, as opposed to fine grain 70mm.

Because it’s made up of 1s and 0s rather than chemicals, digital texture or noise,

is predictable and patterned, meaning it’s usually viewed as undesirable, hence all the

de-noising software out there.

Partly because of its historical connection to the past, film texture is associated with

being romantic, nostalgic and sentimental.

The lack of digital texture means images appear sharp, clean and clinical.

Practically film has many attributes which are commonly viewed as limitations.

Shooting on film is costly. Both the price of purchasing the film stock as well as its

development.

Digital cameras can roll far longer, with the only cost of rolling the camera being

hard drive storage.

This means that typically movies shot on film shoot less takes.

Some enjoy the limitation and discipline that this provides, reasoning that overshooting

can dilute the director’s vision of the film. Others like that digital allows them

to get far more options.

Finally let’s consider the inherent characteristics of film and digital. Film stocks come in set

ASAs with set colour temperatures.

Film typically produces colours which have beautiful levels of contrast without being

overly saturated.

Digital cameras are able to adjust the ASA, or the camera’s sensitivity to light, as

well as the colour temperature with the press of a button.

With digital cameras that shoot in raw, large adjustments to these parameters can also be

made in post production.

Whereas film ‘bakes in’ the look of whatever light is captured onto the negative.

Typically this means that shooting on film establishes the specific colour and exposure

on set, while digital images can be manipulated more in post production.

Let’s take a look at Phantom Thread, shot on film by Paul Thomas Anderson, and Ex Machina,

shot digitally, to see how the mediums they were shot on affected the messages

of the films.

There’s a trend for period movies to utilize film. I’d argue that using the nostalgic,

textural medium of the past that shooting on film provides, enforces the old world storytelling

in period films.

Phantom Thread is set in the 1950s, where the only medium to capture images was through

film photography.

Paul Thomas Anderson wanted to create a look for the film which was ‘dirtied up’, the

opposite of beautifully polished period film conventions.

To achieve this he push processed the film stock which increased the textural grain in

the image.

Science Fiction movie, Ex Machina, went a different route. The production design and

overall look of the film needed to be far more clean.

Dealing with a story about artificial intelligence in a futuristic world, a cleaner, digital

medium with 16 bit colour science shot at 4k, helped visually support the message of

the film.

So different mediums can be used to shoot different genres. But what about two films

which are both character studies: The Wrestler, shot on 16mm film, and The Joker, shot on

a large format digital camera.

The old, gritty, textured look of 16mm film supports the telling of a personal story about

an aging wrestler who is forced to come to terms with his own deterioration.

The Wrestler is shot with a documentary aesthetic using a handheld camera. 16mm film was historically

the medium used for making documentaries, which further supports its choice as the medium

to best tell this story.

For Lawrence Sher, the key to the cinematography of Joker was finding a medium where he could

best compose the character in relation to his environment.

He wanted the audience to be psychologically connected to the character through a close,

intimate perspective.

Through the medium of large format digital capture he was able to shoot on slightly longer

lenses, while maintaining his desired compositional perspective.

There is no medium which should be considered better or worse, they’re just different

tools which we can use to tell stories with.

If the medium does indeed hold as much power as the message of the story, then it’s our

job as filmmaker s to carefully think about which medium works best to convey the right

visual idea.

Whether shooting on a phone or 70mm film, it’s still important to consider the affect

that the technology has on the audience.

The argument shouldn’t be about whether film or digital is better. The argument should

be about which one is right for the story.