Thinking recently about the, perhaps deeper and more long term meaning of Nachleben. Prompted by reading Walter Murch’s new book and seeing the error in his calculation about how much time during an analogue film presentation you spend in darkness.
He says, with his bonafide confidence (page 29 – 30) that “For a 2 hour film, you spend 1 hour in darkness”.
Now its easy to see his mis-calculation. He has looked at a film projector blade and seen 3 openings and closings. He has then thought, well each frame is projected 3 times, so 3 x 24 = 72. This is partially right. There is a basic image frequency flicker of 72hz on a 3 bladed shutter BUT, and for me this BUT is a BIG BUT, he has made the incorrect assumption that those shutter blade sections are equal when infact they are not. They will almost certainly have a proportion in terms of light and dark of 3:2.
This is a minor detail. I mean, in a 2 hour film you spend either 1 hour in darkness or 48 minutes! Who cares? In a totally honest way, it only matter to me because of one very critical issue. That is what Nachleben is, after all, an attempt at investigating, the AFTERLIFE of film and how and in what ways in SURVIVES.
My argument, that analogue cinema follows a human centric paradigm is nicely supported by a 3:2 ratio. Read this AI response for instance to the question; Cultural significance of 3:2 ratio?
The ratio 3:2, while seemingly simple, holds cultural significance in various fields, including music, visual arts, and architecture. It’s closely associated with the concept of a perfect fifth in music, as well as the Golden Ratio, which is considered to have aesthetic value in art and design. The 3:2 ratio also finds application in photography and printing, particularly in aspect ratios.
Music. Perfect Fifth: The 3:2 ratio represents the interval of a perfect fifth in music. This is a fundamental musical interval that is considered consonant and harmonious.
Hemiola: In early music theory, the perfect fifth was also known as a hemiola, indicating the relationship between the frequencies of two notes.
Just Intonation: When strings are tuned to the exact 3:2 ratio, the resulting sound is smooth and consonant.Visual Arts and Architecture: Golden Ratio Approximation.
While the Golden Ratio (approximately 1.618) is different from 3:2, it is often seen as a harmonious proportion and is sometimes approximated by the 3:2 ratio in art and architecture.
Aesthetic Value: The Golden Ratio and its approximations have been used by artists and architects throughout history to create visually pleasing and harmonious compositions.Classical Architecture: Examples of architecture utilizing proportions related to the Golden Ratio include the Parthenon and the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Photography and Printing: 3:2 Aspect Ratio: The 3:2 ratio is a common aspect ratio in photography, particularly for 35mm film and digital images, as well as for print sizes like 6″ x 4″. This ratio is widely used for printing photographs, ensuring a natural-looking aspect ratio.In essence, the 3:2 ratio, while not as prominent as the Golden Ratio, still carries cultural weight in various domains, particularly in music and aesthetics. It’s a simple ratio with complex cultural implications, reflecting human understanding and appreciation of harmony and balance.
So, this ratio has been with us for a long time. Im not saying someone said lets put a 3:2 ratio of light and dark into film projection shutters because it gives film or cinema a cultural weight. Rather Im saying we arrive at these proportions when we are in tune or in balance with ourselves, with nature. Nature here being our perception, our comfort, what feels right.
And therefore I am saying that like industrial farming, digital cinema is out of touch with the human being because we have entered a non-human centric paradigm.
And it was the digital erasure of the mechanical properties of analogue projection that started me on the path that lead to the truth of light/dark ratios in cinema shutters. To recap, any digital moving image of born film material will erase, or write out, or ignore, or prosaically destroy, the effect that mechanical delivery will create. So, if we want digital to recreate, or preserve or conserve this effect how many frames of black are there compared to how many frames of image?
Read all about it here, as if you got something better to do…………………………
