The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

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LostInTheMovies
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Re: The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

Post by LostInTheMovies »

I tend to think the "film" portion of MD is much more vivid and striking than the "TV" part. Like the very second it shifts into what was shot for the feature (where Watts is lying in bed, and Harring stands in the doorway) there's a sharper, more, well "cinematic" pallor to it. Granted, I'm not sure how aware of this I'd be if not for the production circumstances. That said, once you've seen it, you can't "un-see" it.
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David Locke
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Re: The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

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David Locke wrote:I think that overall the Entire Mystery transfer of FWWM is the best one. Certainly better than the earlier European blu from a few years before, which had a weird green tint IIRC. The New Line DVD looks pretty good all things considered, but I think the contrast is probably artificially boosted. I am fond of it in certain ways just because I'm used to it, though.
Oh, also I just want to add to this. I just watched FWWM the other night after my recent re-watch of the series, all on the TEM set. And I can't believe how much better the Pink Room sequence is in the TEM transfer; the New Line DVD's volume increase on what everyone's saying absolutely lessens the impact and realism of the scene. The scene as presented on TEM and as I assume as originally presented in theaters, is just twice as good. I also think that the colors -- the red especially -- look just right on TEM transfer.
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Gabriel
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Re: The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

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enumbs wrote: And with all due respect, I can't agree. I fully accept that digital is every bit as artistically legitimate as film (although I've rather tipped my hand regarding my own preference), but the oft-repeated idea that they are now interchangeable simply isn't true. I've never seen a digitally shot film which successfully captures the look of Days of Heaven, The Master, The Sweet Hereafter, or even that clip of Mad Men I provided. It's all very well saying that it's impossible to tell the difference, but I know full well that I can. Better Call Saul looks quite different from Breaking Bad, Fear the Walking Dead looks very different from The Walking Dead etc. The difference is even more marked when it comes to lower end cinematography - just look at the difference between Dumb and Dumber and Dumb and Dumber To! The original looks perfectly serviceable, the latter simply looks hideous.

Now there are plenty of beautiful films shot on digital (Mr. Turner, Ida, Sicario) and I would argue that those movies would be impossible to replicate on celluloid. While I think it is harder to make digital look good than film, this is obviously entirely subjective. But I do think it important to acknowledge that the two mediums are distinct from one another, and the continued insistence that film has been completely superseded should stop.
I prefer the 'Side By Side' option (great film!) I don't want film to go away; I regard digital as an expansion of the filmmaking palette. But Better Call Saul was never intended to look like Breaking Bad and Fear the Walking Dead isn't meant to look like The Walking Dead.

As I say, Mad Men's look changed dramatically across its run, reflecting the changing feel of the decade. The early seasons were set in the early sixties, which were really very much a hangover from the 1950s, with the 'sixties' that most people think of not starting until the mid-sixties. While budget cuts necessitated the move to digital capture, I suspect there'd be little difference in look had they remained with film.

And, indeed, if the likes of the Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul team admit they sometimes couldn't tell the difference between film stocks and digital capture when they were working out how to shoot the sequel, then that's worth listening to with respect to their knowledge and experience.

For most television, digital makes sense. Certainly the stability of digital makes FX work easier – shows such as Mad Men have a fair amount of painting out to do to get rid of anachronisms on exteriors and sci-fi/fantasy series have a lot of FX to add.

Lynch said in Side By Side: 'Don't hold me to it, but I think I'm done with film.' Lynch is the kind of filmmaker who always looks forward and, while he flirted with returning to film for Twin Peaks, it's clear that, in consultation with his cinematographer, he made a decision to shoot the script using digital acquisition. As Lynch has already proved, if he didn't have passion for an aspect of the project, he'd have walked away. So I think we'll see the new show embrace the opportunities presented by digital, particularly with regard to the nighttime material.

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enumbs
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Re: The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

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LostInTheMovies wrote:It seems like for Lynch the point of film is how beautiful it looks, and the point of digital is how easy it is to use. With that in mind, rather than chose something that balances both maybe he would rather err on one extreme or the other.
"“Film is organic, it’s beautiful, no two ways about it, it has a quality that I don’t think has been surpassed, but there’s so many drawbacks to it... Digital has gotten to a good point where you can get a pretty beautiful thing, and there’s a million things you can do with it. And even if you shoot on film, you’re going to end up transferring it onto a digital format eventually. So digital is pretty beautiful, and it assures you you’re going to have a chance of everybody seeing the same thing.”

http://ew.com/tv/2017/03/30/twin-peaks- ... ow_twitter

Seems you were right, alas.
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enumbs
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Re: The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

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I was really hoping that this new season was going to be as beautiful as anything Lynch had brought us in his career. Seems like he's been willing to settle for something "pretty beautiful" over the medium which he still deems unsurpassable, and which has served him so well in the past. Kind of a bummer.
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enumbs
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Re: The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

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I mean just look at this gorgeous trailer, for a film largely shot for TV, no less. I suppose this will be the last we'll see from Lynch working in this wonderful style.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbZJ487oJlY[/youtube]
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secretlettermkr
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Re: The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

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LostInTheMovies wrote:I tend to think the "film" portion of MD is much more vivid and striking than the "TV" part. Like the very second it shifts into what was shot for the feature (where Watts is lying in bed, and Harring stands in the doorway) there's a sharper, more, well "cinematic" pallor to it. Granted, I'm not sure how aware of this I'd be if not for the production circumstances. That said, once you've seen it, you can't "un-see" it.
the dream sequence at winkies with the Bum jumpscare is part of the FILM part, is part of what lynch filmed after it became a feature... the same with the old couple at the limo smiling
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Adolphus
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Re: The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

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enumbs wrote:I was really hoping that this new season was going to be as beautiful as anything Lynch had brought us in his career. Seems like he's been willing to settle for something "pretty beautiful" over the medium which he still deems unsurpassable, and which has served him so well in the past. Kind of a bummer.
Have you seen the stills from the new season? They look great- I was wondering how the Arri Amira was going to look ( compared to the Alexa- which I've seen several films that have used it- and they're excellent looking films ) but based on those stills TP Season 3 is going to match up to Lynch's high visual standards. I think IE is going to be the only blip in that regard in the context of his career ( I'm not counting short films or projects which may have used similiar technology to IE ).
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secretlettermkr
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Re: The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

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i think that the EW photos are photographs taken on set, not actual frames from the series,
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Adolphus
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Re: The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

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secretlettermkr wrote:i think that the EW photos are photographs taken on set, not actual frames from the series,
I thought they were actual frames- I wonder who is right?
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secretlettermkr
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Re: The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

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I think is safe to say that Lynch went back to the idea of digital for budget reasons. When new Twin Peaks was anounced, Lynch spoke of how he fell back in love with film during the making of THE MISSING PIECES, looking at those scenes, he said it was such a beauty, and theres an interview where he says that back in the day, TP was made with the best quality possible, and that celluloid still is THE BEST. Then, he left the project, and after he came back, begin to talk about the choice of digital again. So, to me is very obvious that budget was a very strong reason for doin the series with digital instead of celulloid
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Re: The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

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Adolphus wrote:
secretlettermkr wrote:i think that the EW photos are photographs taken on set, not actual frames from the series,
I thought they were actual frames- I wonder who is right?
It says in the article "shots taken on the set of the revival"...
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Re: The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

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LostInTheMovies wrote:I tend to think the "film" portion of MD is much more vivid and striking than the "TV" part. Like the very second it shifts into what was shot for the feature (where Watts is lying in bed, and Harring stands in the doorway) there's a sharper, more, well "cinematic" pallor to it. Granted, I'm not sure how aware of this I'd be if not for the production circumstances. That said, once you've seen it, you can't "un-see" it.
Normally that kind of thing would drive me crazy and take me out of the moment (like Laura's wig in FWWM - that definitely takes up more of my attention than I would like it to when watching the film), but I honestly have never really noticed the visual "shift" in Mulholland Drive, at least not enough for it to bother me. In fact, I find that it really suits the story - the emotional/sexual tension between the characters rises, and thus the increased intensity in the visuals seems appropriate.
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Re: The visual aesthetic of the new Twin Peaks

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