writer/reader/filmmaker
is it the title that caught your attention? which part of it? filemaking? it couldn’t be a typo, could it? since countless books and umpteen websites have already told us all there is to know about digital technology, does adopting a new moniker for filmmaking really make any difference? or was it the idea of resurrection that intrigued you? to be sure, the word connotes both the notion of a cinema in dire trouble and the possibility of breathing life back into it.
either way, you extended your arm and are now flipping through the pages. you can tell pretty quickly that there is no tech talk in it: nothing about sensors, resolution, exposure latitude, sensitivity, frame rate, or shooting raw. and the book’s general appearance is rather odd. what is it then? in truth, no more than a bunch of reflections on the state of film practice: what we are doing that is no longer working and what we could possibly replace it with.
what i’m saying in this book is controversial, sometimes even radical. but am i to be trusted? let’s face it: there is no way for you to know for sure. so the text will have to speak for itself. my hope is that you’ll learn to trust my voice over time. what’s more, i would like this book to be not just a bridge between us but a catapult for your own creativity.
writing this book is thus not unlike enclosing a message in a bottle, throwing it into the ocean, and counting on fate that it will end up in the right hands, your hands. you, because you are still reading this. you, because i’m certain by this point that we have something in common: we don’t follow the crowd and we share a passion for the art. but let there be no misunderstanding: i cannot tell you how to make great films. no one can. what i can do though is clear up the creative space surrounding movies from the hype that has cluttered it through the years. most of all, in the following pages, i want to convince you that there is still an open field out there where everything remains possible. your job will be to venture in this uncharted territory and forge the bold projects that will bring the spirit of cinema back to life.