News talk 2014-01-19: Celluloid dies

I remember driving to the local Disney film distributor in Denver to get reels for charity showings at my high school. I even ran the projector.

Strangely, if you’ve used any advanced non-linear video editing software, you’ve probably noticed an option to create 24 frames per second, just like most movies. Why? Doesn’t standard TV have a faster frame rate? Yes, the standard definition rate is 30 fps (actually, 29.97), and other TV frame rates are even higher.

But it was thought that aa 24-fps movie created the right mood for escapism, because people were familiar with it. Thus, some software added a movie-mood option to digital production. I’m skeptical of the value of this and doubt that many among most audiences would be disappointed by faster frame rates. Anyway, I’m bringing this up, because I’m wondering how quickly the 24 fps trend will vanish along with film itself.

So, no more scratches flashing on the screen and no more missed change overs when reels are swiched (which has been automated for a long time, anyway), and no more rare waits for broken film to be spliced. In fact, no more film, period. It’s the end of the old magic. But the new magic is better. — MC