Culture & Religion — November 27, 2010

Digital Film Triumphs

At a time when digital shooting offers lower cost and greater artistic control, it’s fascinating to watch our most acclaimed filmmakers hasten the demise of actual film.

bigthinkeditor

What do Fair Game, The Social Network, Jackass 3D and the upcoming drama Rabbit Hole have in common? All of them were shot with the RED ONE digital camera, a game-changing device that’s revolutionizing the way films are made. The RED is the first digital cinema camera to achieve 4k resolution, twice as good as high-definition and on par with 35-mm film, the traditional gold standard in image-making. The RED isn’t the only one of its kind but its 4.5 kilogram size, reasonable cost and high resolution have made it a favourite toy of contemporary filmmakers.

a computer generated image of a human brain.

Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

a collage of photos of a man with a hat and a book.

High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

a group of five matches on a pink background.

The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

▸

7 min

—

with

Laurie Santos

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Royal Wedding on a Shoestring

The royal nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton is welcomed by Britons—but most say they want a more modest affair that doesn’t drain the public purse.