The Dynamic Range

James N. Kienitz Wilkins
,
US
,
2018
,
colour
,
18'

The Dynamic Range is a speculative essay film, presented in a Virtual Reality version, that explores the limits of perception through advances in camera technology, and the accompanying human presumptions which fuel such advancements. The ‘dynamic range’ refers to the ratio of the brightest light to the darkest shadows in an image. Made up of sequence information from a lightless image — a video camera filming with the lens cap on — it is a photographic film that does not feel at all photographic. Delivered by a Morgan Freeman impersonator, the narrative troubles the fundamentals of truth and belief through a reflection on the conditions of cinema today. Poking fun at audio-visual fetishism in particular, this reaches an absurd crescendo in the digital kiosk of B&H Photo in New York City.