The Value of Camera - Essay Example

Insert Introduction Many people ponder about the quality of a movie or a film but make the quick mistake of attributing the quality of the same film to technological advancement which determines the value of the camera. However, as technological provisions, the effectiveness and clarity of a film, the camera or its lens is a culmination of technological and non-technological factors such as ethics and anthropocentricity (being geared towards the good of man). The technological aspect of the advent and development of the camera is informed by the introduction of the practical photographic system in Daguerre Studio and improvements that were later made thereto while the ethical aspect was largely founded on ethical issues that accompanied a lack of uniformity in the interpretation of works of art such as drawings. Like any other invention, photography and filming exist to help capture images or ideas for aesthetic, economic, religious or social reasons. This underscores the idea that photography, filming, drawing, carving and other works of art exist and are done for human good. All these are expounded on in the ensuing discourse. Enthymeme Premise 1: Technological advancement ensures that better techniques (filming and photography) replace older and less efficient ones (older forms of art such as drawing, carving and sculpturing) Premise 2: Technological advancement is also propounded by economic and ethical reasons Conclusion: Therefore, photography and filming are more efficient, superior and refined forms of art and technology Prior to the emergence of photography and camera techniques, drawings, paintings, carvings and sculpturing were the only incentives that existed. This informed the preponderance of drawings by artists such as such as Michelangelo during the renaissance era and the period preceding it. Nevertheless, the entrance of photography brought about radical changes in art and also paved way for cinematography. According to Kinkle and Toscano, one of the ways in which photography and cinematography has revolutionized art is by fundamentally making artistry more convenient. One of the ways by which drawing has been made more convenient is by helping in developing contrast and intensity. Initially, it was the mandate of the artist to determine the amount of light that would be allowed on the surface of the object against the shadow that would fall on the background and surrounding areas. For instance, it can be seen that the drawing by Frans Hals (1580-1666) Regentesses of the Old Men’s Alms House was a product of the balancing of the light, its intensity and the shadow that makes the background. In this work of art depicting governors and governesses, individuals in the foreground have their faces accorded greater intensity, unlike their counterparts whose faces appear more darkened. This informs the audience that the drawing is made from an extreme close-up point of view so that the audience is able to glean on the faces of the individuals depicted, to tell their emotions and the artist’s position (Kinkle and Toscano, 39, 40-4 and 50-1). According to Harner, the advent of the camera technology and cinematography can be traced back to 1837, in France where Louis Jacques-Mande Daguerre and Niepce collaborated to come up with the world’s most primordial practical photographic system. The culmination of this was the production of clearer, sharper and silverized plates that were produced in Daguerre Studio. This development had nevertheless been preceded by the introduction of the technique that would make positive prints from negative prints by William H. Fox in the 1830s. This development would then be followed up by Eastman’s Dry Plates which had the ability to keep their intensity and sensitivity to light (Harner, 188-90). 1872 marked the revolutionizing of the film and the introduction of cinematography. This followed the migration of Eadweard Muybridge to California, where he would record his oldest motion picture. The Governor of California, Mr. Leland Stanford had hired Muybridge to assist him in winning a bet by clearly demonstrating that there are instances wherein all four of horses’ feet are in the air during a horse race. It is therefore true that technology has played a very important and indispensible part in the development of the camera and cinematography. Another factor that has played a pivotal role in the popularization of the camera technology and cinematography is the accordance of the same technological provision, increased importance. At the time the camera made its first advent, little financial regard was accorded to artists. As a matter of fact, it is interesting that Hals died unpopular, financial distressed and with works not so well known. As the world got the chance to relook into Hals and his contemporaries’ works of art, the gravity of their works became more pronounced as elements such as clarity began to be appreciated. To show the extent to which Hals’ work revolutionized art and drawing, it must be appreciated that Hals was adept at drawing at different points of the lens’ focus. The lens in this case refers to Hals’ angle or point of view. From Hals’ Regentesses of the Old Men’s Alms House, he extensively uses intensity, contrast and close-ups to the point that the audience is able to determine the emotions and occupation of the people presented in the drawing. This technique or presentation is referred to as penetrating characterization. In regard to the immediately above standpoint, specifically, people began to ponder about the magnitude of penetrating characterization. It is against the backdrop of Hals’ use of penetrating characterization that the audience and the society at large began to reconsider ethical issues behind the presentation of art. At one end, penetrating characterization was presenting the artist with the chance to vividly portray and characterize their characters through drawing. At the other end, the society as the larger target audience began to appreciate the fact that the drawings were not being accepted innocently by the audience. Instead, the audience only accepts and views the drawings or paintings in correspondence with the audience’s personal observations of people, institutions, gestures and faces. The inevitability of this standpoint was informed by the fact that people live in a society consisting of comparable moral values and social relations. This kind of argument argued that it is this quality which gives drawings and paintings social and psychological urgency. The import of this is that it is this psychosocial urgency which convinces the audience the conviction of the ability to know the people being portrayed, and not the painter’s skills or prowess. Again, the import of the argument above is that there are critics of penetrating characterization who describe the same technique as libel. What informs this argument is that in Hals’ Regentesses of the Old Men’s Alms House, there is a Regent who is depicted in a tipped slouch hat barely covering his long and lank hair. The Regent’s eyes curiously do not focus as is shown in the drawing and thereby giving the impression of the Regent being in a drunken stupor. It is for this reason that there are those who accuse Hals’ use of penetrating characterization as libelous. On the contrary, there are those such as Hals and his protégés who defend the use of penetrating characterization as fitting and reflective of social realities. For instance, Hals argued in favor of his presentation of the Regent by explaining that at the time, it was fashionable to put on hats on one side of the head. There are those who take the standpoint that Hals’ work was a depiction of facial paralysis. Later, the same ethical issues would then be extended to the camera, filming and photography. Since photography and filming are less cohesive with artistic preferences because they are less manipulable, concerns over the use of penetrating characterization have been greatly assuaged. Nevertheless, concerns arise over the inability of the society as the larger audience to draw the line of interpretation still abound. It is for this reason that in some works of art, photography and filming, drawing the line between creativity and blasphemy and art, nudity and pornography has become significantly difficult. Counterargument There are those who would still gainsay the statement above by stating that however much the film and cinema industry becomes advanced, digitized and user-friendly. The crux of the matter herein is that there are instances wherein works of art, specifically, drawing cannot be faced out by camera lens. An example of this area where drawing enjoys a steady application is in the deconstruction of memory in (areas such as) criminal investigation. After a crime, first hand witnesses are always urged and encouraged to describe the facial and physical appearance and stature of the suspect or the person who committed the crime. As the witness describes the suspect’s physical appearance, there would be an artist employed by the CID department sketching the witness’s details as a way of reconstructing the suspect’s face. The drawing would then be confirmed with the witness to ensure conformity, before the suspect’s mugshot and physical details are entered into the databank and availed to the public. In this case, it is rightly argued that artistic drawing is irreplaceable in this case. In respect to the foregoing, the argument above may be compounded by other examples such as cartoons, educational curriculum and human choice. Human choice has it that there are individuals who will embrace drawing as a hobby or as a way of earning a living. Educational curriculum at some point (such as children’s educational curriculum and architecture) will make drawing inevitable (Mills, 20-4). Aesthetics also rule out the chances for the camera and advances in cinematography to take over traditional arts such as sculpturing and carving. It is impossible that photographs are used for street beautification in lieu of monuments or sculptures or carvings, due to the susceptibility of photos to the elements of nature and weather, on the one hand. On the other hand, it is common practice, the world over, to have streets, buildings and public amenities being named after people who have contributed greatly to nation-building. Some works of art are also made for people who have made immense contributions to human civilization- not just a particular nation or state. For instance, there is a cenotaph of Karl H. Marx in London, a memorial to Marx in Moscow and a memorial of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in Berlin-Mitte. There is also a very popular and inspiring sculpture of the founding fathers of the United States (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln) in Mount Rushmore Memorial National Museum. The statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro exemplifies the veneration of a universal contributor to the world’s welfare. Definitely, it would be preposterous to think of a situation whereby cinematography or the lens would dethrone these immortalized works of art. Conclusion In respect to the foregoing, it is clear that camera and photography and filming have been anteceded by other works of art such as drawing and sculpturing. As technological advancement became more pronounced in the renaissance age, photography and filming came to the stage, respectively. However, other factors also triggered the advent and improvements on filming and photography such as ethical considerations and the extension of art, greater financial and socio-economic importance. Nevertheless, even with the advent and phenomenal growth and popularity of filming and photography, the place of art (sculptures and drawings) remain unshaken due to historic, aesthetics and socio-cultural reasons. The import of this argument is that it explains (technological) advancement as not only being inevitable, but also being informed by ethical values and anthropocentricity. The anthropocentric aspect of development is seen in the fact that photography and filming are incorporated into areas in which they are only able to serve human good. The corollary to this is that in areas where art and drawing are needed, photography and filming have not been able to overthrow art and drawing. Works Cited Harner, Gary W. “The Kalem Company, Travel and On-Location Filming: The Forging of an Identity.” Film History, 10.2 (2004): 188 – 207. Print Kinkle, Jeff and Toscano, Alberto. “Filming the Crisis: A Survey.” Film Quarterly, 65.1 (2011): 39 – 51. Print Mills, Kathy A. “Filming in Progress”: New spaces for multimodal designing.” Linguistics and Education, 21.1 (2010): 14 – 28. Print Read More