The DV Revolution

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
Mohandas Gandhi

You can see the writing on the wall. There was that first thrust, that of the Dogme 95 movement, the Celebration, which first gave DV some legitimacy. Then there was the formation of InDigEnt, an American celebrator of DV, who made Pieces of April, Tadpole, and Tape.

But none of these films were huge financial hits, so while everyone appreciated the artistry associated with the work, there was always that fallback reactionary position of "well, they didn't make money...money talks and bullshit walks." Of course, they leave out the fact that they probably didn't COST a ton of money, either, but what does Hollywood care for a $500,000 movie grossing $1,000,000. They obviously prefer the $80,000,000 picture grossing $90,000,000. How else can they pay all the agents and executives?

But then there was 28 Days Later, a horror-zombie apocalypic film, which made a lot of money. The "film" lovers argued, well, it's had the right CONTENT for video, ie apocalyptic themes. You couldn't film a romantic comedy with video...

But beyond these points, these were all "independent" pictures. Of course you'd expect weirdo "arty directors" to experiment. I mean, who cares that David Lynch is shooting Inland Empire on DV - and promises never to shoot film again. But it does give you pause, doesn't it?

But deep down the seeds of video are now sown. And what ought to be scaring Hollywood isn't David Lynch, but itself. Tony Scott's new film, Domino is shot on film, but film meant to look like video. The extreme coloration and zoomy handheld camera work - that's video, man. And what about Collateral, shot mostly HD, but give me a break, the damn film reveled in it's video-ness, the grain, the night.

When computers took over the post-production world, it was over a very short time span, like three years when 20% of films were edited with computers and 80% flatbed to the exact opposite ratio - 80% computer to 20% flatbed. Could something similar happen in the production phase? Are we one step away from a video technology that makes film obsolete?

Here's the prediction: Within the next 5-7 years there will be a few huge DV hits. One or two will come from David Lynch like directors, auters experimenting with a new medium. There will be others, like Napolean Dynamite, some type of comedy that hits the right beat and grosses a TON of money - probably by someone my age with my type of resources (this day I'm going to be really jealous), and there will probably continue to be a few horror films that are majorly successful.

Will that be the death knell of film? Of Hollywood? Surely not. Of course, I wonder what the French monarchs were thinking in 1776 when the watched the American Revolution....