GLOBAL – UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, FEBRUARY 29, 2012: The Artist has reminded audience all over the world of the forgotten pleasures of silent-era melodrama.
In an odd twist in the 84th Academy Awards, Best Picture winner “The Artist” is only the second silent film to ever win the distinction – the behind 1927’s “Wings” in the very first Academy Awards.
The Artist is a “small souvenir of a bygone cinematic age”, said Guillaume Schiffman, AFC, the cinematographer of the film. Using modern tools and techniques, Schiffman and director Michel Hazanavicius strived to give audiences an idea of the flavor of the old movies and rediscover the pleasure of the “great silent films”. The Artist employs only a handful of words and sounds in two scenes.
Crucial to the overall “old time” look and feel of the movie was the decision to shoot with film – Kodak Vision3 500T Color Negative Film 5219, to be exact. “I made some tests and it was immediately obvious that we needed the texture of film stock,” shared Schiffman, who said he was “fighting against the sharpness”. Lens expert Dan Sasaki and well-known industry gaffer and lighting expert Jim Plannette lent their talents to ensure that the movie echoes the visual trait of the era.
The ten Academy Award nominations came as a pleasant surprise – the five wins, even more so. “We thought we were making a small film that would be appreciated by a select French audience. Now it’s being seen all over the world. That’s amazing,” said Schiffman.
Starring George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and Peppy Martin (Bérénice Bejo), The Artist is the story of the career of a despairing silent-movie star, threatened by the advent of sound and the rise of a young actress’s career.
Source: Kodak
Photo: The Weinstein Company
