Much has been made in recent years about the film industry’s transition from shooting photochemically to shooting digitally but what’s often missed in the discussion about changing formats is how the camera itself has always been in a state of flux. To that point, a new video from The Society of Camera Operators takes us through cinematic history, focusing on the tools that filmmakers have used to record iconic images.
From “Battleship Potemkin” to “2001: A Space Odyssey” to “Skyfall,” the four-minute long video tracks the camera as it changes forms throughout the century from large static boxes to behemoths shooting in VistaVision to the Red Epic and even iPhones. It’s a great and surprisingly touching tribute to the machines that are used to create something decidely un-machine-like.
Outside of getting lost in a Wikipedia blackhole or stopping by New York’s Museum of the Moving Image, there’s no easier way to watch the rise of the camera. Watch the video below. [Film School Rejects]
