Cinematography : Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Postcards from Earth’ by Geoff Hall

Geoff Hall

Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Postcards from Earth’

Welcome to the Big Sky of Aronofsky’s new film, which recently premiered at the Sphere in Las Vegas, where he tells us the film’s cinematic style is “Shots about everything”, but warns us when thinking of the state of planet Earth, not to “lean into the despair out there.”

Technologically, I wonder what this means for the future of the cinematic experience and for the scope it gives the Cinematographer?

In my mind, it seems a little high-end, but never say never!

Oh, and please forgive the taking heads at the end of the piece. Perhaps we’ve found an actual role that AI could take over?

https://youtu.be/DYyEGxIupfI?si=pAxCpYdrIHZPbNq2

Sam Sokolow

Not sure what the film, or others there, will exactly look and feel like but the Sphere looks SICK!! I do want to see something there one day.

Emily J

Really interesting! Funny he says not to lean into despair, because I feel like that was essentially "Mother!" hahaha

Geoff Hall

Emily J perhaps he has worked on his emotional intelligence!

Gareth Taylor

Thanks for sharing Geoff Hall. The Sphere is a unique environment and no other place on earth is yet equipped to showcase images of this scale. It's like a museum piece. It won't change the way we cinematographers do things. They built a new camera for it so it's very much a niche thing.

I personally think this is the way of the future for giving audiences something they can't experience at home. Theaters are back following the pandemic and rise of streamers. However to keep audiences engaged, we will have to find more immersive ways to exhibit art. We won't see Sphere's pop up all around but I'm sure theaters will come up with new tech to keep audiences interested in coming decades. For example, what Universal Studios has done with some of their rides is spectacular.

I cannot wait to experience the Sphere, although I have a feeling I won't be able to afford it, haha.

Maurice Vaughan

That's incredible, Geoff Hall! I think the Sphere would be great for Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy movies.

Geoff Hall

Maurice Vaughan Indeed Maurice, but it’s got me wondering how animation would fare on the Sphere screen(s).

Maurice Vaughan

I didn't think about Animation, Geoff Hall. I think it'd be great on Sphere screens! The characters, set pieces, action, backgrounds, and colors.

Geoff Hall

Maurice Vaughan I wonder what it would mean for the creators, Maurice. I’m thinking that the resolution and scale of it all must mean a whole load of additional work? But at a cost of $2.3bn for the Sphere, I can’t imagine that there’ll be many more of them built in the world. I think only the US could afford to do this.

Geoff Hall

Gareth Taylor (sorry, tagging isn’t working…again) I wonder what the spec of the new camera is, Gareth. Do you have any information about that?

Maurice Vaughan and I were just talking about animation potential and the Sphere. How do you think that would work?

Maurice Vaughan

Maybe creators will be able to show audiences characters, objects, action scenes, and set pieces in new ways because on the Sphere screens, Geoff Hall. And maybe creators will be able to come up with visuals and scenes that we've never seen before.

Yeah, I think the resolution and scale of the screens would mean a lot of extra work. I see studios and big production companies using the screens. I don't see indie companies and smaller production companies using them.

Ty Strange

Geoff Hall, love the quote, "The Sphere makes IMax look like an iPhone."

Gareth Taylor

Geoff Hall https://theasc.com/articles/sphere-studios-big-sky-camera

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