Nostalgia for Film: The Shift from Mechanical to Digital Cinema Projection

Today, cinema is digital: 95 percent of all movie theatres worldwide are equipped with digital projection, and, to an overwhelmingly high degree, the films are shot with digital cameras. But still, among filmmakers and critics, the debate on whether photochemical film stock and mechanical projection of film prints are aesthetically superior continues, since there is little scientific evidence to back up either point of view. To date the question as to whether narrative films are perceived in different ways by a cinema audience depending on the projection or recording technology used, has hardly been examined. This paper focuses on the influence of analog mechanical projection and digital projection on the audience. Empirical data gained from audience experiments show that mechanical projection of film prints produced higher levels of emotional reactions. The results suggest that the specific characteristics of mechanical projection – flickering lights and image instability – has a nostalgic effect which seems related to the viewer’s memory of a traditional cinema experience

Nostalgia for Film: The Shift from Mechanical to Digital Cinema Projection

Today, cinema is digital: 95 percent of all movie theatres worldwide are equipped with digital projection, and, to an overwhelmingly high degree, the films are shot with digital cameras. But still, among filmmakers and critics, the debate on whether photochemical film stock and mechanical projection of film prints are aesthetically superior continues, since there is little scientific evidence to back up either point of view. To date the question as to whether narrative films are perceived in different ways by a cinema audience depending on the projection or recording technology used, has hardly been examined. This paper focuses on the influence of analog mechanical projection and digital projection on the audience. Empirical data gained from audience experiments show that mechanical projection of film prints produced higher levels of emotional reactions. The results suggest that the specific characteristics of mechanical projection – flickering lights and image instability – has a nostalgic effect which seems related to the viewer’s memory of a traditional cinema experience

As Film Goes Byte: The Change From Analog to Digital Film Perception

The digital revolution changed film production in many ways. Until the end of the 20th century, most film professionals and critics preferred celluloid film. However, no previous empirical study compared complete narrative films recorded with analog and digital cinematography. Three short narrative films were produced with an analog and a digital camera attached to a 3D rig in order to control all optical parameters. In postproduction, a third version of a digital film was created to mimic the analog film aesthetics. In a cinema experiment with 356 participants, we tested whether the three film versions are perceived differently. The two capturing technologies produced similar emotional and immersive experiences during digital projection. The study revealed significant differences in the memory of visual details, with higher recall scores for the digitally captured versions. By contrast, preference ratings of very short scenes and the comparison of projection types revealed different results. The mechanical projection of celluloid film produced higher levels of emotional reactions. The results might be of interest to film professionals and audience in general. This study shows that the gap between analog and digital aesthetics has been closed with today’s advanced digital technology

Analog versus digital: How human perception adapts to new film aesthetics

The digital revolution changed film production in many ways. But so far, nobody has com- pared complete narrative films captured with analog and digital cinematography empir- ically. In two cinema experiments (356 participants in experiment 1, 137 participants in experiment 2), we tested whether digital and analog recording methods are perceived dif- ferently. Eye tracking analysis of 67 participants was carried out to compare the perception of typical film scenes. The two capturing technologies produced similar emotional and im- mersive experiences during digital projection. The study revealed significant differences in the memory of visual details with higher recall scores for the digitally captured versions. Moreover, the mechanical projection of celluloid film produced higher levels of emotional reactions. New possibilities of analyzing film perception are discussed

Espaços de subjetividade e transgressão nas paisagens fílmicas Subjectivity and transgression in filmic landscapes

Neste artigo objetiva-se discutir a questão da representação fílmica da paisagem urbana, entendendo que o cinema influencia as relações espaciais a partir da construção de novas formas de percepção do espaço urbano. Ênfase aqui é dada à construção da paisagem urbana considerada sob diferentes perspectivas teóricas, na intenção de discutir sobre a noção geográfica do "palpável" - aquilo que normalmente se conhece pelo "real" -, relacionando-a à premissa da paisagem urbana, como espaço de experiência (em sua concretude), e da paisagem fílmica, como construtora de uma dinâmica da subjetividade. A proposta deste capítulo é também pensar uma "geografia cinemática específica" que surge no contexto de certas experiências urbanas relacionadas às diversas formas de marginalidade e que são associadas à contemporaneidade. Diferença, fragmentação, pluralidade e conflito são partes indissociáveis e intrinsecamente conectadas a uma relação de causa-efeito e que, pelo menos no que se refere ao espaço urbano contemporâneo, estão relacionadas ao processo de marginalização crescente nas grandes metrópoles em todo o mundo. Exemplos tomados da produção cinematográfica brasileira contemporânea servirão aqui como contraponto na reflexão sobre a construção de uma "geografia" em que os mais diferentes formatos de diferenças, fragmentações, pluralidade e conflitos entram em ação no espaço fílmico para representar, em um determinado "formato", a sociedade urbana contemporânea.<br>This article is aimed-sat discussing filmic representation of urban landscape taking into account the influence of cinema on spatial relations from the creation of new forms of urban space perception. Emphasis will be given to the idea of filmic construction of urban landscape considered in different theoretical frameworks, in order to discuss the notion of concrete geography - which concerns physical reality - in relation to the dynamics that connects experienced and subjective cinematic urban spaces. The approach of this article is also a 'specific cinematic geography' which is evident in some urban experiences related to several forms of marginality that are related to the contemporary urban context. Difference, fragmentation, plurality and conflict are indissociable parts of a whole and they are closely interconnected are related to the crescent marginalization process in big cities around the world. Some film examples taken from the Brazilian cinematographic production will be used here to help the thinking about the appearance of a kind of 'geography' within which different forms of difference, fragmentation, plurality and conflicts take action in the filmic sphere, to represent the contemporary urban society in a specific way