Mike Figgis on digital filmmaking

The further that I went into the digital world the more intrigued I became with the possibilities of this new and unexplored technology. What started out as a marriage of convenience turned into a love affair. My dissatisfaction with the mainstream cinema scene stems from a deep frustration with the stranglehold that technology has in the 35mm, studio-based film business. Visit any set and you can observe the bullshit at first hand.Observe the reverence with which the camera is treated. The iconic status of the crane and the Steadycam; the vast armada of trucks and motor homes; the platoons of young men and women carrying clip boards and wearing status clothing with walkie talkies and hi-tech communication devices; the sense of self importance and Godliness that seems to permeate everyone involved with the process of pretence and fabrication; the deadly trios of execs and agents feeding their faces at the food table whilst talking on their mobiles to other execs on other films at other food tables. One year later the results of this “holy” labor can be seen in a multiplex anywhere in the world. Another Hollywood film about nothing in particular.

Unpublished interview with Mike Figgis at the Dramatic Institute, Sweden.

And taken from the book I am reading: Directing, film techniques and aesthetics by Michael Rabinger. A reading that I strongly recommend to anyone who wants to make films.

Mike Figgis.