Analyzing the Reality Effect in Dogma Films

A certain challenge for contemporary film theory is presented by the fact that recent Scandinavian film production, especially the works of those Danish filmmakers associated with the well-known Dogma '95 manifesto, has attracted considerable attention among cineastes. The fascination with these films cannot be explained simply by their contents, for instance that they show contradictory and often emotional forms of spontaneous behavior. Instead, it seems to rest in the particular appeal, as difficult as it is to define, that emanates from the discovery or renewal of specific cinematic forms that are being used in these films to portray fine nuances in human emotions and actions. Certain distinctive forms of cinematic representation that had long been neglected are now suddenly in the center of attention and demand a more exact explanation. What at first glance seems to be just an unconventional form of filmmaking, characterized by the forced use of handheld cameras, proves on closer inspection to have important consequences for the movies as a whole: the camera does not just tell a story, but rather the actions it captures visually gain a value of their own, without which it is difficult to understand the story. (http://www.uca.edu)

Film and Television Articles

This section contains links to Reports, Articles, Essay's and Speeches designed to help Filmmakers become more informed about the creative and technical aspects of Film and TV Production.

A Brief, Early History of Computer Graphics in Film

The first feature film to use digital image processing was Westworld, in 1973--the same year as the first SIGGRAPH conference. John Whitney Jr. and Gary Demos at Information International Inc. (III; aka "Triple I") provided digitally processed, pixellated versions of motion photography to portray an android point of view. The same group used digital compositing to materialize characters over a background in the 1976 sequel, Futureworld. These efforts were recognized with a Scientific & Engineering Academy Award in 1994.(http://www.beanblossom.in.us)