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DIGITALLY SPEAKING:
Richard Linklater's
Waking Life and Tape
By Craig Modderno
Richard Linklater (right) during the filming of The Newton Boys.
(Photo: Deana Newcomb ©1998 Twentieth Century Fox)
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Filmmaker Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise, Dazed and Confused and The Newton Boys) is on the front lines of the digital video movement among the directors. He's recently shot two movies, Waking Life and Tape, both made under the DGA's Low Budget Agreement, in this format.
Linklater found that going digital was the perfect answer for his unique projects. "With Waking Life we used live actors and then animated them," the director explained. "Bob Sabiston, a friend of mine in Austin, Texas, where I live, came up with the software program for the animation process. He and producer Tom Pallota and I partnered and started a little animation studio.
"We had up to 30 artists working on the film. It was very labor intensive and took up to a year to animate it. I shot it digitally, edited it, then oversaw the animation."
During the animation process, Linklater also shot Tape. "Waking Life is about one guy trying to find out who the hell he is," he said. "Tape is about three characters in a hotel room. I shot that in six days, done in real time in one room. I've always fantasized about rehearsing a small cast and then 'Boom' we shoot it. Directors think like that - shoot the hell out of it quickly, but be all rehearsed and planned. We were able to do this using the digital format. It was fun to actually get the chance to do it."
Tape, which will be at the Sundance Film Festival along with Waking Life, is a strong example of the freedom digital video offers filmmakers. "In many ways, Tape is a traditional film. Another reason that I chose to shoot it on digital video was that we were shooting an intimate drama in close quarters. Since the film was 84 minutes in real time, this was the kind of movie best suited for the format.
"Mind you, I am not as sold on the prospects of digital video as others are, but I think it works well with movies that cover a short time span in an intimate setting. With The Newton Boys being the exception, I feel that all of my previous films would have warranted shooting in digital video had that format been available. I could have done some of The Newton Boys scenes, like those in hotels, on digital video, but the epic scope of the story wouldn't fit that format."
The Austin-based Linklater isn't caught up in how the Hollywood community perceives his work. The candid director, whose 1991 film Slacker is often cited as one of the major works of modern independent filmmaking, isn't sure what a truly independent film is anymore.
"When I see a film and think it could have been shot on digital or it should have been shot on digital, I realize that it doesn't mean that much to me," he said. "On a purely economic level, digital video is a major asset. I'm sure many so-called independent films like Tape wouldn't have been made without it. At the end of the day Tape only cost $100,000 and that's with building a set and shooting over a week.
"I had two cameras on Tape, one which I operated myself. Maryse Alberti, my director of photography, operated the other. Having already shot Waking Life, I was already conscious of the advantages of digital video. I really wanted to take advantage of the medium through these really lightweight cameras that allowed me to experiment on every take with a seemingly new camera angle. Though I shot Tape takes just like any other movie, digital video allowed me to shoot more film because of the mobility of the cameras. I had an enormous amount of coverage. Even though we rehearsed for three weeks and didn't improvise on film, I'm certain that digital video would be a major asset for the coverage reason alone to filmmakers who enjoy working in a freer, non-scripted style."
For Linklater, the limitations - focus and image quality - aren't enough to discourage anyone from trying to work in the format. "I see digital as a tool, and I really look forward to getting the Panavision package back out. I think that very soon high definition will be the norm, but digital video is an important step in getting there. Ten years ago, the first film I ever made, It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books, was shot on Super 8. I made it for $3,000 then, but with digital video I could probably make that same film today for $500 and have more coverage to chose from."
Linklater made both films under the DGA's Low Budget Agreement and credits Dan Moore, the DGA's Midwestern Executive Director, with a major role in helping get the films made. "Given the limited scope of the two projects, I wasn't required to have a production manager or assistant director which I didn't really have. We had a six-person crew and shot very cheaply. Dan was very good in working with me to resolve the issues. This is a whole different kind of filmmaking that thankfully the Guild is supportive of. In many ways, the scope or type of story you're telling will always be the determining factor in how you make your film."
In a basic sense, Linklater concludes that digital technologies "are part of the tools you need to tell your story. What's going to emerge are a lot of mediocre films that were shot digitally that would have been shot much more expensively on film. Digital video is good for spontaneity, ease of operation and working with a small crew. My experience tells me that these are the reasons to use it, and that's something to get excited about."
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