16mm Cinema As An Aesthetic And Narrative Choice In Contemporary Fantastic Cinema
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Abstract
16mm cinema reached its peak during the second half of the 20th century as a cost-effective alternative to the 35mm format. Until the arrival of video in the 1980s, 16mm film established itself as one of the various low-budget options for shooting, featuring a narrower frame width that resulted in less image detail and a more noticeable film grain, among other technical characteristics. Nevertheless, 16mm technology has evolved, and today it continues to hold a place within the cinematic medium. Contemporary films such as A Ghost Story (David Lowery, 2017), The Devil’s Doorway (Aislinn Clarke, 2018) and X (Ti West, 2022), analyzed in this article as case studies, deliberately use this format to convey a distinctive aesthetic and narrative within the contemporary fantastic genre.
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