Next up;
Added 2025-10-28 13:01:04 +0000 UTCHey everyone! Up next is a video I've been thinking about for quite some time, and it's about why movies look kind of fake/bland now. I know this might not sound like the most original subject, but most of the discussions I've seen so far tend to focus on technical reasons only to explain this problem (bad CGI, digital cameras, bad color grading...etc.). But what I want to do is dig a little deeper into the philosophical/film theory concepts that lie at their root, that explain more thoroughly the meaning and dynamics of cinematic immersion, and in doing so, hopefully arrive at a more holistic framework that offers some answers.
Comments
I'll add my own thoughts. I'm a former Pixar technical director, and I'm on an ex-Pixar Discord where we continue to discuss all things animation. One person posted an article about how the Aardman toothy grin didn't read properly at certain angles, and listed specific characteristics needed for proper emotional facial read by the audience. My own takeaway was that having rules and criteria like this means there's an "optimum" style for maximum emotional read....and this would push out _artistic style._ Aerodynamics did similar to automobiles. They all look the same now. If every art director optimized to these animation rules, every character would be the equivalent of a silver sedan. And I think it's more than just "you have to know the rules to break the rules." I think knowing the rules can smother an artist's artistic _weaknesses_ which is part of what creates artistic style. It made me wonder if adolescent budding artists having so much access to how films are made might actually result in all budding artists sinking to the ground state of optimized characters. The results are higher quality, but also suffocatingly similar. Anyway, I found that I threw up a little in my mouth when I heard about the article, and how it was directed at the Pixar movie Luka. I loved that movie and loved the style - which was Aardman-like, but also not. I also miss fins on cars.
Kiki
2025-10-28 13:59:58 +0000 UTCI think with the state of the world any work of fiction measured against that seems lacking , we are overstimulated and worried and fiction is not doing its job as an escape and it all seems bland in comparison to reality. That’s my 2 cents on the subject. BTW thanks for everything Tom!
Nacho
2025-10-28 13:36:52 +0000 UTC
