Gaming World Forums
General Category => Entertainment and Media => Topic started by: Roman on January 18, 2008, 12:45:29 am
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hey guys i want to show you something:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wKiIroiCvZ0&feature=related
haha you fucking guy!
i was watching this video and i thought, hey, maybe this topic of MOVIES ON THE GO could (hopefully) produce a pretty interesting discussion! there are too many HEY GUYS THIS IS A MOVIE topics in this forum which isn't really a bad thing except for the fact that the replies are usually little more than YEAH I LIKED IT TWO THUMBS UP, unless the movie in question actually sucks like The Man From Earth in which case somebody will come in and say SORRY GUYS TURNS OUT IT SUCKS HERE'S WHY. but, i mean, that's not the point. the point is that this forum is pretty boring. so i'm going to try to spice it up a little bit. maybe? i don't know we'll see how it turns out.
ANYWAY: What do you think about David Lynch's claim that you can't truly experience a movie on your FUCKING telephone, or, for that matter, your PSP?
IN MY HUMBLE OPINION: i don't know why you would ever want to watch a movie on your iphone or, even worse, your ipod, and i really don't know who thought the UMD was a good idea! yeah ok HEY ROMAN MAYBE I WANT TO WATCH A MOVIE ON A PLANE OR A LONG CAR RIDE (MAYBE YOU SHOULD GET OFF OF DAVID LYNCH'S NUTS (YEAH I SEE YOUR AVATAR)) and that's cool and all but it's just not the same as watching it on your TV or, better yet, THE BIG SCREEN, with better sound quality and all that shit. i know im not making a compelling argument so hopefully someone will come in and say NO YOU'RE WRONG HERE'S WHY and then we can get something going right. HERE'S TO A GREAT DISCUSSION huh.
actually i can see a lot of substanceless posts coming out of this oh well do your best guys
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I really think this guy is pretty badass and makes really good points and such.
But at the same time I think he's like those guys who are hardcore oldschool jazz fans who are cursing out rap. It's a new concept that people refuse to accept as credible.
David Lynch is fucking awesome btw.
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the real issue is that you can't say you watched the movie really.
the musical equivalent of watching a movie on an ipod is like listening to a muffled 64k rip of something you can tell is supposed to be clearer.
HOWEVER: if the movie does nothing, and there's no reason to watch the movie as opposed to listen to it or if watching it is completely worthless as opposed to hearing it, I guess I don't care but who gives a fuck about that anyways, that's like listening to Nickelback in 64k its still shit.
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i watch most movies on the TV or computer (idk if there's an argument about computers here...i hope not)
but there are a few things i've watched on my ipod. i watched Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima on it, both very deep/great movies. i still have them though, and plan to watch them again some time.
also, i watched the whole dexter season 1 on my ipod. i don't see what's wrong with it. i agree it might not be better than TV etc, but it's just another way to watch them.
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i watch most movies on the TV or computer (idk if there's an argument about computers here...i hope not)
but there are a few things i've watched on my ipod. i watched Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima on it, both very deep/great movies. i still have them though, and plan to watch them again some time.
also, i watched the whole dexter season 1 on my ipod. i don't see what's wrong with it. i agree it might not be better than TV etc, but it's just another way to watch them.
I have to disagree with saying it's just "another way". it's an inferior way, and I'd have to argue a vastly inferior way.
like, look at the screen of the videoipod; it's 3.5 inches. and that's DIAGONAL. so a medium that should live and die by its visual component reduced to that small strikes me as pretty bad!
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When I worked at a branch of a massive chain electronics store for a while, I had a special face for people who came in for UMD movies for their PSPs.
edit: just to clarify, it wasn't a friendly face
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i couldn't imagine watching a movie on an ipod/whatever unless you were on a long trip or something.
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I've watched movies and shows on my ipod. There great for late at night when your bored or on road trips, and although the screen is small, the resolution is good enough that its not horrible, and you can actually see most details.
The sound isn't as good, but its like listening to an MP3, or a real CD. Sure there is a difference, and watching it on a bigger screen is great, but ipods are portable.
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When I worked at a branch of a massive chain electronics store for a while, I had a special face for people who came in for UMD movies for their PSPs.
edit: just to clarify, it wasn't a friendly face
Man UMD was really helpful for me. I did a lot of travelling last year and it turned boring 6 hour train rides into relaxing nights at the movies. I'm not saying I would ever prefer UMD over DVD on a widescreen TV but I don't think it's fair to say ALL UMD IS SHIT because it's actually really helpful to be able to watch a whole movie on your PSP, portable in those kind of situations. The choice of movies that were available were not that great and I had seen them all before so I don't think I was spoiling my movie experience either but yeah when the only thing you can get in your hotel room is shitty french TV or you are stuck in uncomfortable train carriage with loud shouting kids being able to just zone out and watch a movie was really cool.
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If I'm in a boring store with my mom or something, I might pull out my iPod to watch episodes of things or something, which is fine, but I can't really watch an actual movie on things like that. If I need to watch movies that bad, I'll bring my laptop. Before I sold my PSP, I only had one movie for it, and I never watched it. I tried two or three times, but I could never make it through the first few minutes before I got tired of watching it that way. Also I remember there being a TERRIBLE glare on it because I was in a car at the time. From then on I just spent long car trips listening to podcasts, because at an hour or so for each one the time goes by pretty fast.
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Me and my sister have watched whole anime series on her iPod when we're bored or on the go (Azumanga Daioh comes to mind). In some ways, portable media is superior to DVDs or the big screen. You can't exactly lug those around with you, can you? You'll never be able to whip a television and a stack of DVDs out of your pocket and start watching at any random moment. On the bus, during a boring class.... it's incredibly convenient. The PSP is also great for sharing videos, too. When I wanted to show my friend the ending for Haruhi Suzumiya (and she could never remember to go on YouTube to find it), all I had to do was load it up on my PSP, whip it out at school, and then show it to her. Infinitely easier than burning a CD or buying the DVD boxset so I could show her the just the opening on a television.
It's ridiculous to say watching movies on iPods or PSPs is stupid. I've watched series on my PSP as well, and it works quite well, actually (plus, wider screen than the iPod). I don't think there's anything wrong with entertaining yourself while on the go, and people certainly shouldn't be ashamed to watch or buy UMDs. I mean, if there was a TV and a PSP/iPod with the same movie in it, doubtless I'm going to watch it on TV, but the simple fact is that iPods and PSPs work as pretty good media players while you're traveling/on the go.
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Portable movie devices are bad because:
+ bad quality
+ small screen
They are pretty great because:
+ you can watch a movie anywhere
that's why I'd like one just for long journeys. I can live with a small screen if it gives me something to do for an hour and a half on an otherwise boring journey. For any other use they're pretty much useless, though.
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i dont think this tv argument works too well. tv is about 20 minutes. you can also pause tv and pick it up whenever, because it has to conclude in 20 minutes. long plot threads dont exist.
for me, and for many people, film is an experience. I think that a screen that small already makes the experience rather lackluster. I also think something like an ipod or iphone are very interruption prone. I mean, in one case, you are watching ON YOUR PHONE, if it rings, the movie is disrupted.
it just strikes me as so unnecessary, unless you are watching a shitty movie or one that doesn't require attention, to watch on the iphone. would I watch Mulholland Drive or To Kill a Mockingbird on an iphone or an ipod? hell no. and that's Lynch's argument, really. good movies are almost proportional to the medium they are viewed in.
if you're watching Anchorman or Next or something, who gives a shit. you dont' experience shit in those movies, you watch them for entertainment (much like the majority of tv) and visual acuity plus just the factor of not being disturbed in front of the tv or computer monitor doesn't matter so much. but for movies (dare I say FILMS) it seems like a completely terrible experience.
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I think the idea of watching a movie, a tv show - whatever - on any of these handhelds is pretty juvenile. It's this whole idea that you must have this convenience, and you must have it on the go because you are such a busy go getter! It's a load of corporate bullshit, and really it's just not that cool once the novelty of HEY LOOK JACK BAUER HE IS KICKING ASS IN MY HAND wears off.
If you're watching things on a handheld for the first time, you don't really give a shit and that's fine for some things i.e. say you had some clips of The Colbert Report or something and you are sitting on the train flick it on oh ha ha good joke okay moving on! Because it's just a quick little bit of entertainment, some fluff to distract you during one of the day uneventful moments.
I have heard about UMD, but I never thought twice about it. Now that I have it just seems gross, to pay for such a stupid format of movie. If you've done this, jeez you were totally cheated. And if it were me I would be pretty pissed off about it. It's another way brands are trying to exploit people. Just because everyone wants life to be as convenient, simple and unobtrusive as possible, the brands keep succeeding with bullshit no-one really wants.
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For all those people that are bored commuting... why don't you just read a book? A paperback novel is pretty damn portable.
Back in my day, we didn't have all these fancy-schmancy portable media players!
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Man who needs to watch a movie to occupy their time
I guess MAYBE on a vacation but usually I just look at the scenery or think about fractals or something
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For all those people that are bored commuting... why don't you just read a book? A paperback novel is pretty damn portable.
Back in my day, we didn't have all these fancy-schmancy portable media players!
that's a salient point actually. people already argue that those ebooks aren't the same as paper books and you deny yourself the pleasure of the real book.
and here you have that "real" aspect, plus the whole screen being tiny as shit!
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I think the idea of watching a movie, a tv show - whatever - on any of these handhelds is pretty juvenile. It's this whole idea that you must have this convenience, and you must have it on the go because you are such a busy go getter! It's a load of corporate bullshit, and really it's just not that cool once the novelty of HEY LOOK JACK BAUER HE IS KICKING ASS IN MY HAND wears off.
If you're watching things on a handheld for the first time, you don't really give a shit and that's fine for some things i.e. say you had some clips of The Colbert Report or something and you are sitting on the train flick it on oh ha ha good joke okay moving on! Because it's just a quick little bit of entertainment, some fluff to distract you during one of the day uneventful moments.
I have heard about UMD, but I never thought twice about it. Now that I have it just seems gross, to pay for such a stupid format of movie. If you've done this, jeez you were totally cheated. And if it were me I would be pretty pissed off about it. It's another way brands are trying to exploit people. Just because everyone wants life to be as convenient, simple and unobtrusive as possible, the brands keep succeeding with bullshit no-one really wants.
god this is a dumb post. i like how you completely ignore the fact that a lot of people travel and like to have ways to pass the time besides reading since a lot of people get motion sickness when reading while in a moving vehicle and lighting is notoriously bad in trains/planes/buses/cars and instead focus on SEEING THROUGH THE CORPORATE BULLSHIT. but yeah i agree once the novelty wears off the idea of watching things you like while you're waiting for shit gets old pretty quickly.
here's an idea jamicus: why don't you try to maybe stop sucking your own dick long enough to acknowledge the fact that this, you know, fills an actual, legitimate need (need is a stretch but w/e). i like how you call people who use this type of shit juvenile for no reason other than the fact that they want convenience, especially because i'm assuming you're doing it from a computer with a broadband internet connection, and especially because i'd be surprised if you didn't own any sort of mp3 player, whose sole reason for existing to begin with is convenience. but yeah, fuck em.........and their consumerism-fueled desire to have commutes and other stretches of waiting pass more quickly and be less boring. honestly, you are such a fucking righteous hypocrite motherfucker that i'm having trouble believing you even posted this garbage with a straight face.
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edit: bleh forget all this. i barely know what i'm talking about.
bazookatooth - i'm not saying i think you're right. i think most of your argument is totally irrelevant, and you are also acting like a big prick for no reason, even if my post was really hacknyed, it's not like i'm trying to impress someone.
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man
did you really type up some crazily long post and then delete it? i skimmed it and refreshed and the shit was gone!
i saw you replied and was getting pumped about coming in and posting some dickish reply where i broke whatever you said down and tried to tear it apart! i'm actually kind of surprised, because steel said your post was unusually dumb and he thought you might have been drunkposting, but it seemed oddly coherent and well formatted for a DRUNKPOST.
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yeah i sat there for like 15 minutes trying to come up with a way to defend myself and then i just realised that what i said wasn't based on any actual facts.
sometimes, i think i know more than i do and go on autopilot.
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okay well that is pretty boring actually but
i do not understand how what i said was irrelevant. it was a direct reply to YOUR direct reply to the topic. what part of that could be off-topic? unless you mean i am making a bunch of irrelevant comments about you being a cocksucker in which case SURE i'd have to agree. but if that's not what you mean, and it doesn't seem like it, then i don't understand how my post is somehow not relevant!
are you sure you are using the right word bud???
ps i am acting like a giant prick, but it's not for no reason. it is because SMUG CONDESCENDING TEENAGERS rate way up there on things that actually make me pretty fucking annoyed. also it is kind of fun.
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okay, i guess. i kind of feel like SOMETHING STINKS HERE - ABANDON TOPIC but I don't want to just run away cos I talked myself into a wall.
i like how you call people who use this type of shit juvenile for no reason other than the fact that they want convenience, especially because i'm assuming you're doing it from a computer with a broadband internet connection, and especially because i'd be surprised if you didn't own any sort of mp3 player, whose sole reason for existing to begin with is convenience.
this stuff - it's based on uninformed assumptions about me, which don't really matter here anyway. the purpose of an mp3 player, for example, is to listen to music and listening to music on an mp3 player is no different than listening to it on a cd player. it's still the same old experience and really the only argument against that is that you want the nice case and booklet. broadband is just faster internet - it does the same thing better. a movie on a palm-sized screen isn't really the same thing, because it can easily be argued that it's a much less impressive experience.
but me saying this part of your post is irrelevant doesn't make my post (which i have officially disowned as of now) any more worthwhile.
so, what i think i want to say is that it's a shitty idea to watch movies like this but really it just comes down to personal opinion. i'd rather read, listen to music or just sit and think quietly for a while than watch a movie while i'm travelling to work, especially if it's a good one.
i've still got this sense that the whole act of buying a movie for your handheld and watching it during downtime is really...pff, i dunno - degenerative, and probably gives some people money who shouldn't be getting it. but i've got absolutely no way to argue for that so i shut up now.
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well, i guess they're assumptions, but they're not uninformed ones. most people at gw have broadband, i think, and it's not especially rare for a teenager to own an mp3 player at this point, either. i'm not assuming that much here!
i actually steered clear of this topic initially because i had a rather lengthy conversation with steel about it and felt that was enough, but i might as well make a big dumb post about it here too. one could argue that you don't need broadband over dial-up, or that you don't need a pricey mp3 player over a discman, was my point. you badmouth convenience and yet clearly aren't too threatened by the advent of new technology allowing people to do shit on the go easier, and more quickly. it seemed hypocritical.
anyway, on the topic in general, what i said to steel was that i thought it was unfair to judge things by their screen size alone. size itself, in this context, is almost totally relative. have you ever viewed a big screen television from like five feet? it's ridiculous. put it way across the room? more acceptable, and even ideal. saying "ugh 4" screen......... how am i supposed to enjoy this" i think is kind of a skewed way of looking at it, because 4" sounds a lot smaller than the screen is when it's sitting one foot from your face. what's more, there's also other things to factor in, such as the tendency of watching a video on ANY screen to draw your focus into it, and kind of inhibit peripheral vision. the screen, regardless of how small it is, fills a decent portion of your field of vision at the length you hold it from your face. all this shit combines to imo sort of make the "screen's too small to enjoy anything" a bogus argument.
he also brought up another point, which was overall experience, and this is something other people have had issues with as well. i admit that for some movies, this is a big deal, and for ALL movies the potential pausing/unpausing that might go on would definitely hamper the experience (but this is why you wouldn't watch MOVIES specifically on things that aren't long commutes). however!! for television shows, this has little effect, and even on most movies, the experience isn't really ruined or anything. what about having a bigger screen DEFINES the movie-going experience? is jurassic park 3 any better of a movie in theaters than it would be on an iphone? does having a larger screen enhance the experience that much?
honestly, i do feel that watching shit in theaters makes for a better, more encompassing experience, but that's not what i'm arguing about, really. i sort of see a double standard here, is all. is it true that watching LORD OF THE RINGS or some big epic fuck of a movie on your ipod won't be as enjoyable an experience as watching it in the theaters? yeah, almost assuredly. but, couldn't the same be said of the difference between the same theater and, you know, normal-sized home televisions and monitors? i know for a fact that a ton of people at this site and for SURE at least a few in this topic alone regularly watch shit on their computers. if quality is such an issue, why is it no one seems to apply the same "UGH DESTROYS THE MOVIE" attitude towards avi file divx movies which definitely don't look as good as they would in a theater or if you bought them on dvd and viewed them on your television. on one hand, you're okay with going from a theater to a television/monitor, and enduring the loss of quality that comes with ripping shit and even cams sometimes; but on the other hand, you object to the loss of quality you have to deal with when viewing it on a screen that, while smaller, is substantially closer to your eyes? it's odd, because a movie probably suffers more when going from the theater to the tv/monitor than from the tv/monitor to the ipod.
so yeah i guess for some movies the LOSS OF EXPERIENCE might be a factor, but i feel like if a movie's experience is really engineered around the fact that it will be viewed in a movie theater, then the same would apply to dvds and movies you torrent, which definitely do not get the same amount of flack even though they're essentially based, at least in part, on the same principle (loss of quality/experience vs convenience), which strikes me as odd. furthermore, that's still not ALL movies, and ones that are not WHOAA EPIC BATTLE SCENE do not even really suffer from the transition if you do not maintain some narrow-minded conception of a screen having to be a certain size for something to be conveyed. also!! none of this applies to television at all, and that fact alone makes it a pretty feasible technology imo, as watching an episode of arrested development on the bus is still appealing to me. so i guess i am kind of confused as to why some of you bitches are so vehemently opposed to the idea. i've watched a few movies/random shows on my zune in boring circumstances and unlike what steel seems to be saying i wasn't astounded at the lack of quality/detail it showed. once you let your attention get sucked into the screen to the point where it's basically all you are paying attention to, at such a distance, it really isn't that much worse than watching something on your computer or television. quality-wise, compressed dvd rips still look like... compressed dvd rips. the limited amount of pixels the small screens have do hinder special effects and shit a lot of the time, but aside from that it's mostly the same level of quality.
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yeah forget it, you're right.
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Man UMD was really helpful for me. I did a lot of travelling last year and it turned boring 6 hour train rides into relaxing nights at the movies. I'm not saying I would ever prefer UMD over DVD on a widescreen TV but I don't think it's fair to say ALL UMD IS SHIT because it's actually really helpful to be able to watch a whole movie on your PSP, portable in those kind of situations. The choice of movies that were available were not that great and I had seen them all before so I don't think I was spoiling my movie experience either but yeah when the only thing you can get in your hotel room is shitty french TV or you are stuck in uncomfortable train carriage with loud shouting kids being able to just zone out and watch a movie was really cool.
Pretty much this. It takes me 9 hours on a train to get home. I can buy like 3 UMDs for what, £10? While I agree it's certainly not as comfortable and enjoyable experience as watching it on a fucking surround sound dogs bollocks DVD system, for severely boring journeys I'm absolutely delighted I have it.
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man so reading a book would give you motion sickness but watching TRANSFORMERS in a moving vehicle wouldn't do it?
Edit: I guess I can see how a movie would kill boredom like that but then again I'm ADD and I can barely get into a portable game even, just because everything else is kind of distracting, like not in a direct way but I can't really get in the zone or whatever
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I never thought of that, I sleep on trains.
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on one hand, you're okay with going from a theater to a television/monitor, and enduring the loss of quality that comes with ripping shit and even cams sometimes; but on the other hand, you object to the loss of quality you have to deal with when viewing it on a screen that, while smaller, is substantially closer to your eyes? it's odd, because a movie probably suffers more when going from the theater to the tv/monitor than from the tv/monitor to the ipod.
I mentioned this earlier, but yeah dude, I held my ipod sideways and pretended the whole thing was a screen and held it a foot away from my face and it still was a fourth of the size of my laptop screen which was more than two feet away. it's not that there's some hypocrisy about watching movies on a laptop but honestly at that point it's kind of getting a little too small and a little more into the realm of insanely small.
I think Lynch's statement has to do with an idea that you glossed over in favor of talking about tv; the idea of film as something ON THE GO, this concept of flash, sellable, entertainment. for someone like Lynch, who wouldn't even put a chapter by chapter menu in his movie, the idea of stop and go movies no doubt is repulsive.
that and Lynch has been around the block to see how technology has affected film. when DVD became popular, we started seeing not just director's commentaries but occasionally movies almost DESIGNED for director's commentaries. the feature affected the film. I bet he percieves the creation of these micro movie players as a trend towards flash entertainment; movies you don't need to be invested in and can just watch while waiting for class to start and pause as you go.
now my head hurts for some reason I hope I made sense.
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I think I see what Steel is saying, and if so I agree with it. Like I said, I usually watch short videos or episodes of things or something when I'm watching something on my iPod. I would never use something like that for a legitimate movie or something that REQUIRES I WATCH THE WHOLE THING AND PAY ATTENTION, I just use it as an easy timewaster when I need one. Sure, you can watch and legitimately enjoy the experience of a movie on one of these, but the fact is that almost everyone who is watching something on a PSP or iPod or something similar is watching it on the go, and is not looking for anything more than something to occupy your time. Unless it is a very long trip, where you know you have time to invest in the whole thing with no distractions, most of these daily situations are just not good for watching actual films. They're perfectly legitimate if you want to watch an episode of some show or a short video podcast or something, but I don't see anyone being able to focus on an entire movie every day while on the school bus or anything.
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I have to disagree with saying it's just "another way". it's an inferior way, and I'd have to argue a vastly inferior way.
like, look at the screen of the videoipod; it's 3.5 inches. and that's DIAGONAL. so a medium that should live and die by its visual component reduced to that small strikes me as pretty bad!
Okay well I see the disagreement there. It's not truly "another way" to watch movies, but I couldn't find what to say. I'd admit it's inferior (as to why I'm going to rewatch the movie I've watched on it again, like I said earlier) but idk some people like it some don't.
Lynch should act like people are crucifying movies and shit, but yeah I see where he's coming from. Whenever I've watched movies/whatever on my ipod, I've always been in my room by myself with no distractions (when I'm in bed). But if someone is walking around WALMART or something while watching a movie on their ipod (which is quite ridiculous), it loses any and all effect.
Also take note I haven't watched any IN-DEPTH movies on my iPod (I guess Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima could count as the only two though) so I don't really "ruin" my movies.
So idk I see the argument and I don't necessarily disagree but I just say let them not experience the movie if they want.
P.S. The iPhone's a bit of a stretch. I agree all the way there. "When I first met Tyler Durden...*RING**RING*" That would be the most ridiculous shit ever.
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I think a better metaphor for movies on an iPod vs. movies on TV/in the theatre would be like, someone who is willing to hear a song of yours, but they use the seek thingy in Windows Media Player or the fast-forward on a CD/MP3 player to "skim" through it. How do you really get into the song that way?
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steel basically said everything i wanted to but he put it in a much better way than i ever could have so basically i agree with everything steel said (paladinian)
im going to go watch wild at heart by the way MMM DAVID LYNCH
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I've heard good things about The Straight Story, and I'm looking forward to watching it.
excellent a bunch of drunk posts and headaches and I still wrote things good enough to get people to agree : )
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I mentioned this earlier, but yeah dude, I held my ipod sideways and pretended the whole thing was a screen and held it a foot away from my face and it still was a fourth of the size of my laptop screen which was more than two feet away. it's not that there's some hypocrisy about watching movies on a laptop but honestly at that point it's kind of getting a little too small and a little more into the realm of insanely small.
I think Lynch's statement has to do with an idea that you glossed over in favor of talking about tv; the idea of film as something ON THE GO, this concept of flash, sellable, entertainment. for someone like Lynch, who wouldn't even put a chapter by chapter menu in his movie, the idea of stop and go movies no doubt is repulsive.
that and Lynch has been around the block to see how technology has affected film. when DVD became popular, we started seeing not just director's commentaries but occasionally movies almost DESIGNED for director's commentaries. the feature affected the film. I bet he percieves the creation of these micro movie players as a trend towards flash entertainment; movies you don't need to be invested in and can just watch while waiting for class to start and pause as you go.
now my head hurts for some reason I hope I made sense.
this is actually a really good point. but the thing is, at best, this is a niche market of movies. AT BEST. it's something people will always prefer watching things on their televisions or in theaters to. dvd commentary became popular, and what happened? people realized that viewers had an interest in direct actor/director perspective on their own movies and started including it basically all the time. okay! and apparently a few films were sort of made with director commentary foremost in mind. do you truly think that this will affect the movie industry in any real way? MOVIES in any real way? watching things on your psp/iphone? it's purely secondary on all this shit, and like i said it just doesn't seem like it's the same as director commentary. that worked very well because who doesn't own a dvd player, and who doesn't regularly watch movies in their homes? this answer is way way way less than people who do not own ipods and commute or otherwise sit around bored but at the same time do not want to listen to music and as such will watch movies. it doesn't really seem like a large enough market to make a real splash! plus is that really a reason to dislike a technology that works even if you don't factor in movies?
but at the same time, i understand why it's kind of horrifying because OHGOD THE CONDEMNED MINIMOVIES 20 minutes of non-stop action a piece only $5 on umd this week: conrad vs the apes. but on the other hand!! i sort of think the idea of not necessarily hyper-portable short-length media (this is kind of a gross evolution of movies for the sake of travel/convenience/busyshopper on the go i agree!) but of 20- or 30-minute-long movies is kind of cool and something i wish would be explored more. it's true it would lead to a lot of portable-intended garbage but i also think that there are a bunch of cool things you could do for such short movies, especially because the intrinsically lower production cost of something so brief seems like it would lend itself to smaller movie makers with maybe more interesting ideas than JOHN CENA: THE MARINE: PORTABLE or whatever most of the shit hollywood would put out would be who could not ordinarily afford to make entire movies but might be able to swing miniature ones! and that's IF the whole on the go minimovie thing caught on, which again, i really do not think it will.