There is a wonderful part in Walter Murch’s book In the Blink of an Eye (written 1999), where he is discussing the future of cinema. He makes the prescent comparison of between change from fresco painting to oil painting to the then current state of cinema and what he was foreseeing as the future of cinema. Fresco painting was a very complex difficult time sensitive process that required a large highly skilled team to mix and prep the work while the artist had a very small window of time each day to apply the material. Only a limited amount could be done in any given day, or the plaster would crack. Before begining a project they would make a map, a plan for how they were going to proceed in the coming months to complete the work. This all changed with the advent of oil paint. Now one person could complete an entire work by themselves and they could proceed through the process in a much more spontaneous manner. This resulted in what we think of as painting today. An artist with a single vision sits in front of a canvas and makes a painting. Of course, there are plenty of painting assistants in the world, and the process of making paintings is just as ikely to be done by a directed team as by an individual. But the point is, if Murakami or Koons wanted to make those paintings by hand, by themselves, they could.

Which brings me to the 5D and what is happening in the world of the moving image today. There have been many times in my career when it has been suggested to me to make a film reel. I never was that interested because of what I saw was the complexity and logistics involved in the moving image making process. Too much stuff, too many people, too much time. It seemed like a constarint on my freedom, when in stills, I could just go out by myself and make pictures any time I felt like it. Which is exactly where we are with the 5D. I quite literally use the camera every day to make motion images, and often all by myself. I have some FC skills, so I can now edit and color correct the footage. Whenever I feel like it, I can post a film on the web. This is just fantastic, really amazing. I hear Shane Hurlbut is reducing his camera dept from 150 on Terminator, down to 5, that is incredable. When anyone who has the enthusiasm to study the workings of the camera for a short period of time can make a full res Hollywood 60ft screen quality film for basically no money, that is just mind boggling. I am old enough that to me this is extraordinary, but to someone who is 17 and just starting art school, this will be the only world they have known. I am so excited about where this is all going. I am also in awe of Walter Murch’s fortune telling abilities.