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IrelandThe Parent Trap lights up Patrick Tomasso's movie-look argument
His essay has passed five million views, with Dean Cundey's lighting supplying the starting point for a case against flat imagery.
Patrick Tomasso
Story of Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.
Why don't movies look like *movies* anymore?
Things we can learn from the video
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- 0:00The Parent Trap supplies an example of deliberate lighting and visual depth.
- 1:43Tomasso argues that misuse of high dynamic range, rather than digital cameras themselves, contributes to flat images.
- 2:44Superbad demonstrates how contrast and purposeful production design can give digital footage a distinctive look.
- 3:47He argues that effects-heavy workflows can discourage filmmakers from committing to bold lighting on set.
- 5:13Fincher's films illustrate how revealing extra shadow detail in remasters can diminish the original contrast.
Lindsay Lohan's summer-camp comedy might not be the obvious place to begin a debate about modern cinematography. For Patrick Tomasso, though, The Parent Trap offers exactly the lesson he wants: images shaped by deliberate lighting, not simply a camera capable of seeing everything.
No new uploads arrived this week. Instead, "Why don't movies look like *movies* anymore?" remains the channel's busiest video, drawing several thousand views a day. It is also his most-watched regular upload, with more than five million views.
Tomasso's argument isn't that digital cameras ruined cinema. He points to Superbad as an example of digital filmmaking with purposeful contrast and production design, then questions whether the flexibility of modern cameras and effects workflows makes it easier to postpone visual decisions. "Just because you can see everything, doesn't mean you should," he says. His discussion of David Fincher's films goes further: revealing more detail in a remaster's shadows can change the image's original balance.
Across the channel, daily viewing is a little above its usual level, while subscribers were unchanged over the week. The archive added roughly 33,000 views, a modest week beside nearby film commentators such as Oliver Harper and Dan Murrell.
There is a constructive companion to the critique in "Why MARTY SUPREME looks so good," another upload gathering views. Tomasso examines tight close-ups, textured locations and production design, with Jack Fisk explaining how a film's environments can support its performances rather than merely decorate the frame.
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The videos drawing views on Patrick Tomasso right now
- Channel
- Patrick Tomasso
- Subscribers
- 243,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 32,805
- Videos published this week
- 0
The numbers
Here is how Patrick Tomasso's archive and audience moved this week.
💡 Test your knowledge
Who directed the 1998 version of The Parent Trap?
Nancy Meyers directed the 1998 film starring Lindsay Lohan in dual roles.