Directed by CPU

Lars Von Trier is this Danish film director who seems to always be pushing the envelope, exploring new ways to make movies. And in his case, “new ways” usually means going back to minimalist and old-school techniques, as explained in the Dogme 95 principles (filming must be done on location, on 35mm film, music has to be played live, etc..).

Von Trier’s latest production – called the Boss – takes a radically different direction. Via a process he calls “Automavision”, Von Trier tried to “limit the human influence”, handing some key elements of filming (tilt, pan, zoom) to a computer.

[...] “the technique was that I would frame the picture first and then push a button on the computer. I was not in control – the computer was in control.”

The idea was to make actors lose the sense of comfort that a human being, even hidden behind a camera, gives them. And apparently this resulted in a “refreshing experience”. Is this the other direction technological progress can take in the movie industry? Machines tricking us with crazy visuals on one side, computers as directors on the other?

Link:
The Guardian : I’m a control freak – but I was not in control