"28 Days Later" shot in DV

Question

I saw a rave review of 28 Days Later that mentioned it was shot in digital video. The review also mentioned the benefits of shooting in DV.
Just interesting to note that major studio releases are being created in DV.
Mitch

Answer 1

I saw this film last week but have been to busy to comment on it until now.
I couldn't stop thinking about it the next day. 28 Days Later is incredible. I could write a whole lot of stuff about it, but basically just take Gregory Miskin's review and turn it the other way around.
When they killed someone, it was either a total surprise or a total heartbraker. The relationship development in this film is so well done. And they don't just have shakey cameras and quick cuts, they
i use
them to enhance their telling of the story in a very effective way - who says you always have to see the action to be affected by it? In a horror context what you don't see is often the scariest part of all. I never once found myself going "hey, look at that shakey camera". All the while I was seeing the film, creaking my neck to try and see around the corner of the frame at what was coming, wincing from the fear of not being able to tell who was being killed and who was doing the killing until the deed was done and someone was left standing, the other mangled and wet...
The look of DV blown up onto a big screen is definately not the same as what we see on our TVs. Its basically 720x480 pixels stretched across a screen meant for resolutions 10 times that, so what you see are giant pixles that more or less take the shape of things. Sometimes its clearer looking than others. Only a few times, for a brief moment, was I not sure what I was supposed to be looking at, and other times things looked perfectly clear. Its a look that works for this film for the most part, but isn't something I would expect to see in a slew of films to come, especially any type of standard drama or comedy.
There are artistic elements in this film that really set it apart as well. Little moments that speak to those of us who are have become fully integrated into the film while we are watching it in ways that go beyond the standard conventions, and because we have been drawn so deep inside the movie we can understand these moments without having to take the time to think about them. Afterwords our minds are flooded with the afterthoughts of what we saw and how we were affected and we shake our heads in disbelief thinking, how did they do that?
One final note. Just because this movie was shot on DV don't think for a second that they shot a cheap film. There appeared to be no expense spared in the stuff that filled the screen in this movie, the same as any other blockbuster summer movie. The only difference is that the stuff in this movie isn't just tacked on to make it look more expensive and exciting like most of the candy-coated flicks that are in the theatres now. This film has substence, and it is long lasting in the effect it will have on you.
Darcy