‘Jack The Giant Slayer’ Trailer: In The HD Era, Can Fantasy Films Ever Look “Real”?
The big argument against Peter Jackson’s use of high frame rate technology forThe Hobbit, when previewed months ago, was that the result didn’t look like “cinema.” Rather, it looks real, which, ironically, means it looks fake. The increased detail presented in the HFR projection made costumes and sets look like mere costumes and sets, said naysayers. The illusion of realism is destroyed by… actual realism.
Bryan SingershotJack the Giant Slayeron state of the art HD cameras — in part for the advantages they offer in low light scenarios, and for shooting 3D — and did not use HFR tech. And yet, this new trailer for the film, which should have the benefit of months of extra effects polish, doesn’t look very convincing at all. It’s not just the effects; the giants look fine, if overly indebted to Jackson. Rather, it’s the fact that none of the actors look like they are anything other than people dressed up in costume, and none of them look like they’re in the same world with the stuff around them. The effect isn’t good.
Take a look below.
The problems here aren’t new — George Lucas fought them with theStar Warsprequels. But those films were among the first to be shot on early digital cameras, and they can be seen as a pointer for the future, albeit not in the way intended. New fantasy films likeJackdon’t just feature a disconnect between actors and effects, but between actors and the sense of realism they’re trying to create, thanks to the all-seeing lens.
In the end, the fact thatJack the Giant Killerlooks pretty bad, as a piece of storytelling, is secondary. Will this movie be remembered months after release? Seems unlikely. The most interesting about Jack might be that it helps argue the notion that as cameras and lenses are increasingly able to capture a perfect vision of reality, the standard approach to making fantasy films has to change.
