Saturday, February 9, 2013

More Signs of the end for 35mm Filmmaking?

I know this is a blog about digital still/video hybrid cameras, but I grew up in film school in the '70s shooting on Super 8 and 16mm  - and aspiring to shoot 35mm.  Llife happened, and I never got to shoot my "big 35mm feature", but it is nevertheless sad to see the long, slow death of a century year old technology/art form.

A new blog post from Shane Hurlbut, ASC  brings this into focus - as does a Keanu Reeves-produced documentary called Side-by-Side.

Shane's blog post, "Digital Cinematography vs Film: Tides are Turning" recounts his decision process as he and his director, Scott Waugh, set out to determine whether to go with film or digital on Need for Speed, the  new Michael Keaton vehicle.

The line in this post that jumped out at me was, "What was immediately clear was that film was not the right choice for this project..."

Also interesting is that the list of cameras that Shane tested for use on the picture includes cameras we have written about (and considered buying!) here, on this lowly blog - the BlackMagic Cinema Camera and the Canon C500.

Shane is on the leading edge, along with George Lucas, Jim Cameron and Robert Rodriguez (and the readers of this blog :)).  Not everyone welcomes this revolution, however.  For proof, see Keanu Reeves' excellent documentary, Side-by-Side

For anyone interested in movies or moviemaking, this is an awesome behind the scenes look at the revolution that is transforming Hollywood. Here is the trailer:




Two thumbs up.  Kudos to Executive Producers Keanu Reeves and Justin Szlasa, and Director Christopher Kenneally for this great piece of contemporary film history.

If you like the trailer, you can watch the full length movie on Amazon Instant Video (free for Prime members, $5.99 for everyone else).

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