I’m siting here watching North by Northwest, and it occurs to me for the umpteenth time that you can identify the general era of a film from just the image quality.
What is it about the film stock and color capture that has changed? And what is it with these super saturated colors that you see on the music videos these days? It can’t just be the lighting. Has the film technology been progressing as much as it seems over the decades?
And while I’m at it, does anyone know a name for the color scheme that Microsoft is using in their ads? It’s not pastels, but that’s the kind of category I mean. Any art majors out there?
yes film stock and just as important, the developing process, has been improved greatley. the emulsive backing has changed formulas several times and is currently settled with silver nitrate. also, film of old was very heat sensitive, so exposure to the elements has probably depreciated the quality.
in 89’fuji released a film that changed everything (velvia). try the film sometime, use reala for color prints. it has the same effect instead of using slide film.
the color was so saturaded and unrealistic that it was called disny-chrome.
what the hell does this have to do with anyrhing?
simple, in survey after survey, people react better to over-saturated film instead of color accuracy shots. so what do the studios use, that’s right, oversaturated film.
also, all of the pros want anythig to make their photos, or reels to have color that “jump out” at the viewer. so they us velvia or a varient of it.
It is just a trend in cinimaphotography,
Will it last, Idunno
BTW, music “videos” are still shot on film, but that just tweek the colors with filters and computers after they transfer it to video.
Don’t forget that film deteriorates over time. Heat and humidity are the biggest culprits of deteriorated film.
Remember, George Lucas just remastered all three of the origional Star Wars movies. I read somewhere that the remaining copies of all the films (the oldest being almost 20 years old) had to be cleaned, scanned, and touched up on computer before being transferred back to film.