There has been a lot of high resolution video recording news lately. 8K is quickly becoming the buzzword of 2019 as we’ve seen the unveiling of the Sharp 8K world’s first prosumer video camera, reports of an upcoming 8K Canon EOS R and news of NVIDIA and RED teaming up to make 8K raw post affordable.

And don’t even get us started on 16K and what that could (theoretically) begin to look like on the horizon.

However, when you begin sifting through the feedback and comments on a lot of these new high resolution recording updates, most people seem to be of one of two camps.

  1. Either all for chasing the latest technology and pushing their camera and gear setups, or
  2. Pointing out that your resolution or gear doesn’t matter, it’s the stories and filmmaking that’s important

We’ll chalk up Youtuber Brannigan Carter as being in the latter category. So much so that in this new video essay, he argues that not only is 8K (or 16K) superfluous, but even 4K shooting should be considered unnecessary.

Do You Need High Resolution Video?

Carter lays out his points as an update to his original take on 4K video resolution which he posted almost four years ago (video below). It’s interesting to see how the discussion is still largely much the same. Whether its 4K, 8K or eventually whatever-K, filmmaking isn’t about the technology but about the craft of the story.

Here’s the original video from four years ago...

That being said, it is important to keep an eye on the industry and the technology is a big part of it. Whether they understand it or not, clients and audiences follow many of these advances as well and can often clamour for it. However, it's equally important to have enough of an understanding of both sides to be able to make quality films and projects that look good, but without getting too lost in the latest buzz.

Curious to know everyone else’s thoughts on the subject.

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