Question of the week: Is film dead? Should film die?

2 July 2012 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

So the news broke last week that Martin Scorsese is going to abandon film to shoot his movies digitally from now:

Thelma Schoonmaker, an editor who has worked with Scorsese for 40 years, said: “It’s just impossible to fight it anymore, the collapse of film,” before adding: “Marty and I are very depressed about it. It would appear that we have lost the battle.”

It’s worth reading the rest of the article I’ve just quoted from because Schoonmaker says that 3D is the driver for the move and smaller cinemas are being devastated by it. She also makes the point that older films are no longer having prints made and that digital media need to be constantly upgraded (cf the BBC’s Domesday Project).

Of course, film decays, too, and there are many films from the start of the 20th century that are in urgent need of restoration or that have decayed totally. Digital, provided it’s in a format that has mass appeal and provided there are decent back-up and migration strategies, could theoretically continue in perfect condition for the rest of eternity (although future archaeologists might have trouble understanding the formats in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, something that isn’t true of analogue media. Assuming you’re planning for that eventuality).

Digital also has other advantages: it’s cheaper to shoot with, requires much lighter equipment, allows for 3D ‘filming’, can be edited quickly without the need for an intermediate digitisation process – almost no one actually edits with film anymore – and can be downloaded to as many cinema projectors as you like, almost instantaneously, unlike film, which only supports a limited number of prints, which have to travel from cinema to cinema around the world like nomads. You can also back up digital and it’s virtually immune from defects.

Others, however, argue that the look of film is something that digital struggles with: the harshness of the picture quality in Michael Mann’s Collateral compared poorly with his previous films’ greater depth, for example.

So today’s question is:

Is film dead as a medium? Are we right to bemoan its demise since it offers something digital doesn’t or are the advantages of digital so great that we might as well be upset about the demise of the zoetrope? Could we even keep it on, just as there are still niches for black and white movies and film processing?

Arthur Mathews’ The Golden Age is coming to Radio 4

2 July 2012 Rob Buckley Post a comment

This one looks interesting – good cast, great writer, interesting set-up. It’s going to be on Radio 4:

The Golden Age
The Golden Age is a brand new sitcom written by Arthur Mathews (Father Ted, Big Train) and set in the rarefied world of BBC Broadcasting House in the 1930s.

Featuring an all-star cast including Robert Bathurst (Downton Abbey, Hut 33) and Vicky McClure (This Is England, BAFTA Best Actress 2011). Also starring Ford Kiernan, Kevin Bishop, Malcolm Tierney and Pippa Evans.

The Golden Age documents the various challenges faced by the BBC’s Director of Programmes, John Tharb (Robert Bathurst) and his strong-willed young assistant Mabel (Vicky McClure), as they struggle with the day to day problems of dealing with the foibles and fragile egos of radio’s biggest stars. This includes managing the sexual ambitions of Ronaldo, the flamboyant band-leader and keeping up the spirits of Roger Eves, the most depressed newsreader in history. And all this is done whilst trying to politely navigate increasingly bizarre orders from the irascible Lord Reith (Ford Keirnan).

Tharb and Mabel face many problems, such as when the police visit Broadcasting House, concerned by the discovery of people dying in front of their wireless sets – what or who could be behind the mystery? Likewise, how does Tharb negotiate his way out of broadcasting Lord Reith’s controversial new pastime: grouse-hunting with artillery guns? And what about that real hot-button topic – how does the 1930s BBC go about making programmes for women?!

To hear the answers to these silly questions and much more, please join us at the BBC Radio Theatre on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 July. Doors open at 7.15pm.

To apply for tickets, visit the BBC Tickets Website.

Will you all be watching ITV, now David Tennant and Arthur Darvill are in Broadchurch?

2 July 2012 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Oh wait. It’s written by Chris Chibnall.

Frome one of those ITV press release things.

A new eight part ITV ensemble drama series, Broadchurch, led by David Tennant, Olivia Colman and Vicky McClure will explore what happens to a small community when it suddenly becomes the focus of a major event and is subjected to the full glare of the media spotlight.

Produced by Kudos Film and Television, Broadchurch features an amazing array of British acting talent including Jodie Whittaker as Beth, Andrew Buchan as Mark, Will Mellor playing Stephen Turner and Arthur Darvill as the town priest Paul Coates.

Bloodied and dirty, Danny Price has been found dead on an idyllic beach, surrounded by rocks and a jutting cliff-face from where he may have fallen. Whilst his death remains unresolved, the picturesque coastal town of Broadchurch is at the heart of a major police investigation and a national media frenzy.

Written and created by Chris Chibnall, whose previous work includes United, Torchwood, Law & Order: UK and Doctor Who, Broadchurch is a story Chris has wanted to tell for some time.

“Broadchurch focuses on a small British community which finds itself at the eye of a storm. In the wake of one boy’s death, the residents of Broadchurch come under scrutiny and suspicion,” said Chris. “It’s a story of scale and intimacy, as the lives of the characters are laid bare,” he added.

The sadness of losing a child consumes Danny’s family, Beth and Mark Price (Jodie Whittaker and Andrew Buchan), their daughter 15 year old Lara and Beth’s mum, Liz as they attempt to cope with their grief. Understandably they struggle to cope with the unwarranted attention heaped upon them. Devastated by their loss, they struggle to relate to their friends, neighbours, the church, the press, and the police.   

David Tennant takes the role of DI Alec Hardy; an out-of-town, newly promoted police detective who takes the job local girl DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) believes should have been hers.

Ellie has to find reserves of patience and toughness to negotiate a professional relationship with the difficult and unyielding Hardy. Yet as the drama progresses, Hardy’s own secrets are laid bare.

Ellie is also emotionally involved with this case. Ellie’s son Tom was the dead boy’s best friend and she’s known Danny all his young life. How could she not be drawn in? But Hardy’s clinical methods force Ellie to see the community she grew up in through a different prism.

One by one the community of Broadchurch are drawn into the police enquiry. Local hoteliers and business people are implicated as the effects of a death in the community begins to impact on their hard-earned livelihoods. But can the town survive such a seismic shock during its economically crucial summer months? As the case drags on, the whole town will come under pressure: personal, economic, professional and emotional.

Broadchurch has been commissioned for ITV1 by drama commissioning team, Laura Mackie and Sally Haynes.

“Broadchurch tells the story of a small community and the devastating emotional repercussions for everyone caught up in the mysterious death of a young boy,” said Laura. “It’s not a ‘whodunit’ or a traditional police drama. Chris Chibnall’s superb scripts have attracted a stellar cast,” she added.

James Strong (United, Downton Abbey, Silent Witness, Doctor Who) will direct the first two episodes and episodes seven and eight of the series. Richard Stokes (Silk, Law & Order: UK, Torchwood) will produce the drama and Jane Featherstone (The Hour, Life on Mars, Law & Order: UK) will executive produce with Chris Chibnall.

The drama will be filmed on location in Portishead near Bristol and Dorset and filming begins from mid August and will continue until the end of November.

“We’re proud to have cast an outstanding array of Britain’s finest performers to appear in Broadchurch,” said executive producer Jane Featherstone. “The drama is a snapshot of modern Britain. Its community represents a microcosm of life as we know it with the character of Ellie part of the fabric of Broadchurch. She’s lived amidst the people in this coastal town all her life so when the fabric begins to tear it’s Ellie who will feel the impact the hardest,” added Jane.

Inspector Spacetime gets his own series! Except he doesn’t!

2 July 2012 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

If you watch Community, you’ll know it features a Doctor Who spoof called Inspector Spacetime. Even Karen Gillan wants to be in it.

Well now, Inspector Spacetime has his own six-part web series, in which he’s accompanied by his faithful associate Piper Tate on his adventures to stop his arch-nemesis Boyish The Extraordinary.

Except he doesn’t, because for legal reasons he can’t. So instead of Inspector Spacetime, may I present to you a trailer for Untitled Web Series About A Space Traveler Who Can Also Travel Through Time!

Admittedly, it would probably be funnier if Dan Harmon were writing it.

[via]