Compare the role of digital technology in “Hugo” (Martin Scorsese) and “Mission to Earth” (Lev Manovich), commenting on its relationship to the viewers' sense of immersion. What is special about those films? Support your argument with your own observations (the films' appearance, narrative, the rhythm, the role of sound), as well as the opinion of the filmmakers and others about the films.
Introduction to the work
In the paper I will compare the role of digital technology in "Hugo" (2011) by Martin Scorsese, and "Mission to Earth" (2002) by Lev Manovich, commenting on its relationship to the viewers' sense of immersion.
Watching the above movies is crucial if one wants to fully understand the points made in the essay. Below, the short clips regarding the work of both, Scorsese and Manovich are uploaded. Please, click on them in order to learn more about the way digital technology is used by these artists.
In the paper I will compare the role of digital technology in "Hugo" (2011) by Martin Scorsese, and "Mission to Earth" (2002) by Lev Manovich, commenting on its relationship to the viewers' sense of immersion.
Watching the above movies is crucial if one wants to fully understand the points made in the essay. Below, the short clips regarding the work of both, Scorsese and Manovich are uploaded. Please, click on them in order to learn more about the way digital technology is used by these artists.
The work stems in large part from the idea that
digital technology shapes our perception of art. Nowadays, people are becoming less and less
sensitive toward art due to the constant stimulation they receive. A
gentle stimulus is no longer enough – the younger we are the
stronger we need it to be. Being raised in a digital era, where
brighting colours and fast action is our everyday life, we stopped
noticing more delicate kind of beauty. In
this paper, the role of digital technology in “Hugo” (2011) by Martin
Scorsese and “Mission to Earth” (2002) by Lev Manovich will be compared.
First of all, the notion of digital cinema will be described. Second
of all, I will analyse the above movies in respect of their
appearance, narrative, rhythm and the role of sound. Third of all, I will try to comment
on the effect of digitalisation on viewers' sense of immersion using
my own, as well as others' observations.
According
to Steve Dixon, digital performance is an act in which “computer
technologies play a key role.” (Steve Dixon, Digital Performance (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007), 3. In order to revolutionise the
movie-going experience, filmmakers started realising their fantasy
due to various computer-generated graphics. Shortly after the digital
special effects, film sound went digital. This transformation of the
theatrical experience produced a sense of audience immersion. Surrounded by both, image and sound, the audience entered the world
of the picture. (John Belton, Digital Cinema: A False Revolution, Black and White Photographs, Spring 2002, Issue 100.)
Hugo (2011) by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese in “Hugo” reveals concepts related to the preservation of film history and the nostalgia toward cinema, as well as his profound respect for the work of Georges Méliès, the magician, illusionist and the filmmaker of the world's first science fiction movie “A Trip to the Moon”, 1902.(The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick: http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/about_georges.htm - accessed Nov. 22, 2014).
"It felt like it was the logical extension of filmmaking – that if Méliès was alive, he would have definitely been using 3D", Scorsese said.
"It felt like it was the logical extension of filmmaking – that if Méliès was alive, he would have definitely been using 3D", Scorsese said.
(Hugo:http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/digital/3d/5-things-to-know-about-martin-scorseses-hugo#slide-1 - accessed Nov. 22, 2014).
“Hugo” represents the sphere of magic and dreams, introducing us to the world where image and sound are of primary importance. Inspired by Georges Méliès' films that involved trick photography and elements of fiction, Scorsese used various special effects in service of fantasy. Watching it, we may go back in time in order to truly experience the Parisian culture. Scorsese exerted pressure with regard to his passion and love for film, art and dreams. He applied various digital techniques in pursue of creativity as a value. Scorsese, undoubtely, moves with the times: "I wanted to use 3D as another storytelling element (…)." "The way we're sitting here now is 3D. So, why can't we use that, as we use color, we use sound, we use movement?” (Scorsese on “Hugo”: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/martin-scorsese-on-hugo-a-very-personal-film/ - accessed Nov. 24, 2014).
Mission to Earth (2002) by Lev Manovich
Soft Cinema, according to Manovich, creates new cinema forms through
the use of a digital computer, being a key technology for the
information society. (Lev Manovich on Database Driven Movies: http://seththompson.info/essays/video-interviews/lev-manovich-on-database-driven-movies/ - accessed Nov. 22, 2014). Manovich describes his filmic methodology as being based on the logic
of databases.
Manovich
underlines the complexity of human mind. Memories, reality, future
plans – looking for meaning, searching for love, waiting to forget.
All of these layers seems to confirm Manovich's idea that the best
way to show human mind is to use the interface with a number of
windows. “In "Mission to Earth"
the main window either depicts what the main character perceives or
shows the character herself. Other, smaller windows show other
aspects of her world. This film contains the strongest narrative and
is about an alien sent on an ethnographic mission to Earth to report
on its inhabitants. It conjures up states of mind associated with
alienation, displacement, and migration.” (Leonardo Digital Reviews: http://www.leonardo.info/reviews/june2006/soft_dahlberg.html - accessed Nov. 24, 2014).
An evaluation of work in terms of your specific research question
The
analysis of the both, “Hugo” and “Mission to Earth” reveals
striking contrast between the messages they tend to communicate.
There is, nevertheless, one thing that both these movies have in
common – the influence they leave behind. Both of them are very
demanding and due to the digital technology used, they leave the
viewer with a deep sense of immersion.
John Belton, Digital Cinema: A False Revolution, Black and White Photographs, Spring 2002, Issue 100.
Bibliography:
Hugo: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/digital/3d/5-things-to-know-about-martin-scorseses-hugo#slide-1 (accessed Nov. 22, 2014)
(accessed Nov. 24, 2014).
Lev Manovich on Database Driven Movies:
http://seththompson.info/essays/video-interviews/lev-manovich-on-database-driven-movies/ (accessed Nov. 22, 2014).
http://seththompson.info/essays/video-interviews/lev-manovich-on-database-driven-movies/ (accessed Nov. 22, 2014).
Scorsese on “Hugo”: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/martin-scorsese-on-hugo-a-very-personal-film/ (accessed Nov. 24, 2014).
Steve Dixon, Digital Performance (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007), 3.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick:
http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/about_georges.htm
(accessed Nov. 22, 2014).
http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/about_georges.htm
(accessed Nov. 22, 2014).
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