I read this terrific article on the rise of digital camera technology in cinema, by Samuel Wigley for Sight and Sound. Above are some really interesting quotes and passages, about some of the first filmmakers to try and address its potential as a cinematic tool (namely Zhangke Jia and David Lynch!).
Now that we live in a world where digital cameras are taken for granted — both as a feature of everyday life and as the standard in the film industry — it’s easy to forget that there was a time in very recent history where it was unexplored territory. Filmmakers explored both its pros and cons through pure trial and error.
As these follow-up quotes point out, the state of digital filmmaking today — now synonymous with “the film industry in general”, to a large extent — couldn’t be further from its often experimental origins. At the same time, digital camera technology’s raw power has increased in sync with its democratisation. More of us than ever are creating moving pictures — it’s just that the kinds of moving pictures most of us create aren’t really considered “cinema”.