Toward an Historical Poetics of Digital Cinema

Abstract

In this paper, I argue for a new approach to thinking about digital cinema that takes into account its aesthetic, as well as its technological and industrial, dimensions. This approach is rooted in the work of noted film scholar David Bordwell, who has developed a method for studying the evolution of film style over time—a method that produces what he calls an “historical poetics of cinema.” Bordwell is particularly interested in the way in which film style is affected during periods of technological overhaul in cinema; at such moments, filmmakers try to exploit the unique features of new technologies while still integrating them into standard work practices. Such has been the case, I suggest, with the digital technologies that have transformed most areas of American filmmaking over the past two decades. Tracing the impact of these technologies in the realm of cinematography, in particular, I begin the work of establishing a taxonomy of digital film style, paying special attention to recent movies like Miami Vice (2006) and Inland Empire (2006), which exploit the distinctive capabilities and limitations of digital video cameras to create new aesthetics. Ultimately, my goal is to make a small contribution toward the larger project of producing an historical poetics of digital cinema.