ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

4 years, 6 months ago - John Lubran

I presume you're talking about 35mm film. It's very expensive and requires a lot more demanding pre, filming and post production process. s35 has been compared with 5K in terms of perceived quality. Such comparisons are technically subjective, it's an apples against oranges thing.

Most high production today is digital, especially as digital just keeps getting better. 6K is already with us and 8k is going to be common shortly. But pixel counts are not everything. Latitude in terms of contrast motion and colour has been what has kept film in competition, but digital has caught up and even surpassed 35mm for all practical purposes. For film to do better, much bigger frames at huge cost is still perceived as being the best, but it's a pyric victory for film.

There seems little to prefer film over digital these days. We used to think of film as a purist thing up until a couple of years ago but now such a notion is more emotional than empirical. There are textural differences but the pallets available to digital are cheap and powerful enough to replicate film if that's what anyone wants. At least five years ago a survey suggested that younger people where less impressed with film textures than their elders, even for dramatic fiction. It was suggested that the purity of viewing as if through a window was preferred over the misnomer of the purity of film. It's a cultural evolution thing.

It's content that's king rather than recording format.

But why do you regard the issue as pertinent?

4 years, 6 months ago - John Heavey

Thank you for that, reason I ask is that although I’ve written 4 completed screenplays, lI am currently writing an indie script with a view to trying to get it made within the next year or so, ( some hoops to jump through first though) low budget and to a timeline, so just enquiring so as to ensure we have the best quality possible and so from your answer digital is the way.

4 years, 6 months ago - John Lubran

As they say 'other realities are available'. Hope all your aspirations flourish. The current nuisance will pass.

4 years, 6 months ago - John Heavey

Thanks for the knowledge , yeah hopefully we can get past this and make something positive

4 years, 6 months ago - Daniel Miller

35mm cameras are heavy and filmm-stock is expensive. For an indie film you really need to limit your shooting ratio (ie rushes shot to final film). ON the French New Wave it was often 3:1, that's crazy low and a digital indie film would probably shoot way more takes than even Hollywood movies shot on film.

Having said that it is an interesting experience, perhaps try shooting a short or music video on film: super 16mm or even 8mm just for the experience, especially if you can get Kodak or Fuji to sponsor you somehow. That discipline is really worth learning and you will then appreciate the luxury of digital filming. You will also learn the joy of finding a "hair in the gate" on your favourite take.

Nearly all big movies now are shot on an Arri Alexa digital cinema camera or similar., there are a few shot on film (Baby Driver was one I worked on) but even then they are digitally scanned for VFX, colour grading and online and will nearly always be seen on DCP.

Far more important is your choice of DOP and Art Director and budget for sets, costumes, lights and grip equipment to giving it a "film look" (having a decent script is a given obviously).

4 years, 6 months ago - John Heavey

Thanks for that really useful info, it’s for a pretty unique project where there won’t be any sets, all on location outside or in currently used/ lived in locations. So it presents a few challenges, that being said, there’s nothing that can’t be overcome

4 years, 5 months ago - George Brian Glennon

You can get an extremely filmic look at this point with the right digital camera and lenses. The right DoP is also a crucial choice, not just the camera. We’ve shot exterior night scenes with a Sony A7sII with cinema primes that are nearly indistinguishable on the big screen than if we had used an Epic. We also saved a great deal on lighting by using that particular camera for those scenes.

4 years, 5 months ago - Franz von Habsburg FBKS MSc

If you want 35mm then the cheapest option is 2perf which was made famous as Techniscope for the Fistfull of Dollars spaghetti westerns! You’re using half the stock and shorter shortends too. I’m using it and Arri have the cameras in stock! Easy to hire! Kodak will do a deal too!

4 years, 5 months ago - Alex Bieraugel

Capture digital, shoot like you're using film stock. There's a bit more pressure on everyone when film is used (which is a good thing), except on the wallet.
If it's low budget, concentrate your cash on locations, lights, costume and props etc... If you get a decent performance, in a decent location with a decent DOP, that's what will visually shine through more than something being shot on film.

4 years, 5 months ago - John Heavey

Thank you all, much appreciated, great info and plenty of food for thought, cheers

4 years, 5 months ago - Franz von Habsburg FBKS MSc

Tony - at franz@imperialfilmproductions.com

4 years, 5 months ago - Patrick Thimbleby

35mm was THE standard for cinema projection. 65mm and 70mm as I understand were rare.
Now projection is digital mostly and if the digitisation is done well it captures the film aesthetic still.
35mm film remains excellent today, not as good as 65 or 70mm and digital has a different feel.
Apples and Oranges and film is so much more costly than digital ...
Let the arguments rage on

4 years, 5 months ago - Mohammed Tahir

‘No Time to Die,’ ‘Tenet,’ ‘Wonder Woman 1984,’ ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,’ Little Women,’ ‘Marriage Story,’ ‘The Irishman’ [digital-film hybrid]... all shot on film. They're tools. Mix and match as you see fit.