The Down Low on Downloading...

The way people view movies has certainly come along way. Thanks to videopodcasts and streaming videos, watching a short film or video (and soon feature films) is now as simple as a click of a button. But is this the best way to truly experience a film?

I’ve always been reluctant to viewing films online. Sure when traveling, I’ve used my computer to watch DVDs and even borrowed a friend’s video iPod to catch a missed episode of Lost. But this week, I found out about a short film, A Supermarket Love Song, by filmmaker Daniel Outram. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and will be making it rounds at a few festivals this summer. At present, I wouldn’t be able to attend the festival so I thought I’d view it online on the Sundance website.

So I pulled up the link on my Mac G3 laptop and tried to watch the film. Slowly the film started to load. Although the film is only 13 minutes long, it took me about 25 minutes to view with the stopping and starting or pixilated view. By the film’s end , my first thought, I bet that would be great in a theater.

Maybe I’m being too much of a purist, but for me, the best part of the watching a film is the entire experience. Hunching down in your comfy seat of a large dark theater, with the images dancing on a huge screen is your only view and the sound enveloping you. That way I can truly escape. Watching films online, I feel like I’m given the information but am robbed of the emotional experience.

Maybe this will all be solved when I can get an even higher, high-speed connection plus a new G5 computer with surround sound speakers. But until then, I think I’ll stick to it old style.


Long live indie film,
Michelle

P.S. Check out Daniel's film, A Supermarket Love Song this summer at the Seattle, Atlanta, or the Los Angeles Film Festival, or at the Kodak Short Film Showcase at BAFTA in London!