S,M,L,XL: feature film across the screenscape

Contemporary screen culture is characterised by dramatic variations in screen scale: from portable devices such as the iPod and PSP, through larger and larger televisions to cinema screens in megaplexes and IMAX screens as big as a house. The author looks at the creative responses by filmmakers to these changes in screen size in S.M.L.XL: Feature Film Across the Screenscape. For example, the diversified contexts for displaying films have been exploited by the producers of the film Four Eyed Monsters, who posted the film to YouTube, and sold it for download. The author shows that the shifting contexts of screen culture are apparent in the film itself, with an autobiographical narrative featuring relationships mediated through computers, mobile devices and pop culture references. Munt also explores how art house directors such as Soderbergh and Lars von Trier, as well as megaplex blockbusters such as Casino Royale and Mission Impossible III, have changed spectacle and narrative in the context of changing screen ecologies.