Moving Pictures
Posted on: 20 April 2010
They said a picture is worth a thousand words. If there's truth in that statement, video certainly has a lot to say, given film (as an example) is captured at 24 frames-per-second. My point? As much as I love photography, I've been fantasising recently about the virtues of video, and the advantages moving pictures have over their still counterparts.
If you were to take an average 90-minute film and did the maths, you'd be looking at the following equation:
24 frames x 60 seconds x 90 minutes = 129,600,000 words
That's a lot of words. The figure is of course, irrelevant, but there's definitely something true in the statement. A photograph captures a moment in time. It is unnatural in this sense, after all, it is impossible to freeze time. For this reason, although a picture can tell a story, it is certainly limited to the information gathered in the split-second at which the photo was taken. Now, video on the other hand, well, that's a whole different ball game.
Video is real life; it's what we see. But at the same time, it can be whatever you want it to be. You can make your own reality and I admire film makers and their amazing ability to create a visual feast for the eyes. Still photos can capture your attention, but only temporarily, for a short space of time. Video grabs your attention, pulls you in and keeps you there for as long as the artist requires.
Although I often like to ramble on about some inane point, not really going anywhere in particular, there is a point to this post. I have a Nikon D40. Great camera, produces great pictures. But as you may have picked up from this post, I want more. The Nikon D90 is the D40's big brother. It does everything the D40 does, but better. And the pièce de résistance... it can capture HD video. Of course being primarily a still-camera, it's really nothing more than a bonus feature, and it certainly does have its drawbacks. But when used correctly, the D90 can produce stunning cinematic-esque video. And boy do I want it.