Many movies are being filmed in digital these days. Why? Well for starters filming digital is a lot easier than film in the sense that it is more accessible. For example a budding cinematographer can go to a camera shop and pick up a DSLR camera which can shoot very nicely in digital. Finding a camera that shoots video in film is not so easy, and probably won’t be cheap as well.
In fact movie studio Paramount had announced earlier this year that they will soon start distributing all their films in the digital format for the US market, with other markets to follow after. Interestingly enough it seems that while digital does seem like the way to go and is probably the future, it seems that some big names in Hollywood will be teaming up with Kodak in a bid to help keep the film format alive.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, several directors and movie studios have come to an agreement with Kodak in which it will see studios committed to purchasing film from Kodak in set quantities in the years to come. Whether or not they actually shoot with it remains to be seen, but it is an effort to help keep the film format alive and relevant in today’s digital world.
One of the directors who announced his commitment, Quentin Tarantino, was quoted as saying at this year’s Cannes festival, “I believe that digital format represents the death of cinema as I know it. Screening in digital format is like turning on the television. That’s not what film is about.” Judd Apatow, another famous director said that both film and digital “are valid choices, but it would be a tragedy if suddenly directors didn’t have the opportunity to shoot on film.”
In a way it is sort of like how film cameras are still around and are still favored by professional photographers. There is a certain warmth and tone that one can capture on film that is hard or impossible to replicate on digital, but what do you guys think? Any cinematographers want to weigh in on this development in Hollywood?
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