Part III , Why are movie roads all wet?
Why are movie roads all wet? Part III ?
Part III?
Can a topic on an internet forum even have a sequel, or a remake?
It’s an interesting question; at least it’s got you thinking.
Movies can be remade (just as well for that!, the Spiderman remake being far better that the 80’s sunglasses version), songs can be remade, and even the performers themselves continually reinvent themselves to appear fresh. Why not internet topics?
We might be thankful that (when George Lucas went to make Star Wars) the studio didn’t say to him "JEDYFYFED!", Just go and re watch the black and white King Features Flash Gordon cliff-hangers again?
So, with that bloated introduction, I introduce "WET ROADS III: The day after the last crusade".
I didn’t really notice how many wet roads there were in movies (and on T.V.) until the "Wet Roads I" topic appeared here on the RPF. Several theories were thrown up at the time, ranging from the aesthetic value of all those pretty lights to the practical need of getting extra light onto the 35 mm film - to trigger those lazy grains of silver into action.
But as I listen to a yet another song on the radio with the lead vocal electronically clipped and the base cut out, I realise the answer to the great wet roads enigma.
Fashion, the fashion of the time steers the look of things.
Innovative artists use a particular technique to create novelty and convey meaning… then as soon as you can say "Batman Returns" every other contemporary artist jumps onto the bandwagon. Shortly thereafter that technique is adopted into the grammar of that particular medium.
Will I use wet roads in my cinematographic excursions? You betcha! Why? Because all light has it's place on film, even the reflected stuff, the result is similar but strangly different from the initial image.
Drop back later for "WET ROADS IIII: I may have been wrong about that last thing".
In the meantime, I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts on how water is used in movies in interesting ways.
:thumbsup