This is the follow on of the previous entry which, because of the way the internet works, is of course published below. I split them up to make it easier to digest and because they are clearly two halves of a single point so it’s up to you, you can either scroll drown and read the first one first or start here and do your own private version of Memento…

Perhaps now the vanilla version of the NPA has crumbled something more vocal and useful could rise from its ashes? After all, whilst so much has changed in the way we make and watch films the real change in our cinematic landscape remains about to happen, as it has done for years. It is a landslide that has been threatened for a decade or more so I’m cautious to shout now but spring is in the air and change is on the wind. The launch of 24/25p for the Canon 5D is not that change – but it is doubtlessly part of it.

The 5D Mk II was quietly released last year as an expected upgrade to one of Canon’s top end Digital SLRs. For stills photographers it included a bunch of improvements and the quirky add on of being able to shoot full HD movies. A year on and this feature has become the film industry buzz to beat all. With the release of the firmware update that enables the camera to shoot in film industry standard time rates of 24 and 25 frames per second (where previously it only shot at 30 for reasons a geek will explain to you if are desperate to know) the 5D takes another step towards being the weapon of choice for every independent filmmaker and a complete revolution in the way we make films.

This sounds like hyperbole but we really are on the brink of something. A wave of digital cameras that emulate film better than ever before is already breaking all around us. Of these the 5D is certainly not the best. The Red, the groundbreaking camera in this field has stolen a march on its competitors and it was clear from the directors and producers I spoke to at Ecu over the weekend that it has become the digital camera that 35mm snobs can finally fall in love with. My brother spent the weekend at the British Cinematographers Road Show which put all the new digital cameras through their paces and he says that the Arri and the Panasonic both look damn fine too, in fact, anything that offers you 35mm depth of field is basically sex in a box.

However to buy full Red package you’ll need to pay £70k, the rest are that price just for the body. This is still no comparison to the cost of owning and running a 35mm film camera but it is still beyond the budget of anyone who is not already a dedicated, experienced and well remunerated professional. The 5D gives you better than 35mm depth of field for £2k. You can go to town on lenses and other goodies and still have change from £6k and a package that can give you genuinely astounding results. You may not have the flexibility of the Red and you certainly don’t get a 4k image out of it but with careful handling you can still get an image of real beauty.

For a very long time people have heralded digital technology as a new age in cinema. For a long time this has meant James Cameron spending billions to make things exactly as he wanted them to be, whilst billions of filmmakers churn out ugly looking sketches as to what their films might have been. The clever people have used the dirty dv look to their stories advantage, the less clever have just seen their budget image fall short of their vision.

The result was that even whilst talking about empowering “new visions”, digital technology really did little more than underline the gap between rich and poor. Previously, back in the days when the NPA was founded, you had to have serious money to make films and if you didn’t you got a different job. Now digital technology has enabled everyone to make a film but in order for it to be a commercial proposition you still need to be seriously funded, you still need to be part of the club. As with so much else in the digital age, we can all now be seen and heard but getting listened to and noticed is just as hard as ever it was.

Could the 5D be about to change this? By enabling passionate people to make beautiful pictures for significantly less money than ever before, could this device finally be the one that actually changes the way we make a living from making films?

Proof that times are indeed changing… not only is my brother about to cut his hair, he is going to do so in HD thanks to the Canon 5D… if you can’t see this video click here… http://shootingpeople.org/blog/category/bensblog/2010/03/load-the-canon/