Why can’t movies properly recreate “the old timey look” when trying to pass off new footage for old? Newsreels never look right and it just doesn’t blend well, despite a big budget and plenty of other VFX in the movie.
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Computers and modern cameras are very good at doing perfect, while the ‘old-timey’ footage aesthetic is largely is defined by all the flaws present in the camera technology of the time, especially the portable cameras that you reference with news reels.
– Chunky film grain.
– Inconsistent frame rate if were talking old enough to be hand cranked cameras.
– Bad exposure because you just had to guess how much light to let in to the camera and didn’t know if it was too little or too much until you developed the film later.
– Film jutter as the film rattles past the shutter.
– Black and white film stock, which cant just be replicated by desaturating full colour imagery.
Doing all that, adding the imperfections back in to footage that was shot perfectly with digital tools that do things perfectly, requires a lot of artistry and work.
It’s not about accuracy. It’s about informing the audience.
Look I get pissed at 99.9999% depictions of anything electrical in movies, but I get it. They’re doing a thing. Accuracy isn’t the point.
Cus that would be like trying to draw someone’s finger print, getting all the right equipment for that time period, artificially degrading the footage in a realistic way, it would require a huge amount of attention to detail, way more than is worth. Most of the budget goes on the actors and marketing.
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