By Garrison Thomas
Adapt or Die.
For over one hundred years, celluloid film was the only medium through which movies were made. Directors, cinematographers, and editors swore by film, but their worlds were slowly upended by the advent of digital video, a cheaper and easier method of creating a film. Digital filmmaking started out as a niche hobby, but it has dominated the landscape over the last twenty-five years while celluloid has been fighting to stay alive.
While I knew these two methods existed, I never really cared about the argument of film vs. digital until listening to one of my favorite film critics, Kevin McCarthy, talk about how film is better than digital and how some of his favorite directors like Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino still use film and refuse to touch digital. It did not seem like there was that much of a difference, but I decided to do some homework to see why there was such a vehement debate over the two media.
The documentary Side by Side studies the evolution of film vs. digital and interviews directors to see why they prefer one over the other or why they switched from film to digital. The beginning of the film notes the pros and cons of both.
While I knew these two methods existed, I never really cared about the argument of film vs. digital until listening to one of my favorite film critics, Kevin McCarthy, talk about how film is better than digital and how some of his favorite directors like Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino still use film and refuse to touch digital. It did not seem like there was that much of a difference, but I decided to do some homework to see why there was such a vehement debate over the two media.
The documentary Side by Side studies the evolution of film vs. digital and interviews directors to see why they prefer one over the other or why they switched from film to digital. The beginning of the film notes the pros and cons of both.
Film must get developed overnight. Then it is printed and brought to the crew the following day when they watch dailies to see what the scenes actually look like. With digital, you can see the scene immediately and fix whatever might be wrong with the scene immediately. The cinematographers that are film purists lament the power they once held when using celluloid. They felt like genies because only they could see what the shot truly looked like. They developed the film and brought the dailies to the director so he could see. Using celluloid comes with a lot of risk because a director can’t see the dailies until a day later so if something in the background was off, they would have to film the scene again. Cinematographer Reed Morano likens it to a leap of faith and says there’s “something romantic about that.”
Robert Rodriguez and David Fincher were not shy to mention their hatred of the length of the film development process and the uncertainty involved. Rodriguez and Fincher have a point since they are the director and the people in charge of their respective projects. They should not have to succumb to the power fantasies of cinematographers because they want to use celluloid.
Robert Rodriguez and David Fincher were not shy to mention their hatred of the length of the film development process and the uncertainty involved. Rodriguez and Fincher have a point since they are the director and the people in charge of their respective projects. They should not have to succumb to the power fantasies of cinematographers because they want to use celluloid.
Innovators - Dogme 95 filmmakers
In 1995, Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg utilized digital technology to make their films because of ease-of-use and the immediacy of the hand held cameras to catch sudden continuous action. The digital medium also allowed the Dogme 95 collective to make their films on very small budgets which gave them creative freedom and final cut.
They were fighting the widely held belief that if you shot on digital video, your work was amateur and you were not serious about filmmaking. Digital video was used for porn, documentaries and news footage - “This isn’t cinema,” said one cinematographer.
In 1995, Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg utilized digital technology to make their films because of ease-of-use and the immediacy of the hand held cameras to catch sudden continuous action. The digital medium also allowed the Dogme 95 collective to make their films on very small budgets which gave them creative freedom and final cut.
They were fighting the widely held belief that if you shot on digital video, your work was amateur and you were not serious about filmmaking. Digital video was used for porn, documentaries and news footage - “This isn’t cinema,” said one cinematographer.
Early Adopters - Danny Boyle, George Lucas, Steven Soderbergh, Robert Rodriguez, David Fincher, James Cameron
After completing Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), George Lucas was tired of converting film to digital in order to add visual effects so he decided to film all of Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) digitally, making it the first major film to be shot in high definition. Lucas faced pushback from fellow directors when he said he would never shoot on film again.
Danny Boyle recruited Dogme 95 cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle in order to shoot 28 Days Later after seeing Dod Mantle’s work in The Celebration. Shot on an $8 million budget, Boyle could not afford to use multiple film cameras for the different angles used in the film nor could he afford to stop traffic in London for half a day. Since digital cameras were so cheap, they bought ten camcorders and made the movie. The quality wasn’t great but they got the shots they wanted. Six years later, Danny Boyle collaborated with Anthony Dod Mantle on Slumdog Millionaire which won Best Picture and was the first digitally shot film to win Best Cinematography.
Steven Soderbergh finds it depressing to see a film print because it’s dirty and not as sharp. There’s no “snap” in the picture. Soderbergh was one of the first directors to use Jim Jannard’s 4K RED Digital Camera when he used two prototype cameras to film Che.
David Fincher has also filmed digitally since 2007’s Zodiac and he used five-pound carbon fiber RED Cameras in The Social Network for the rowing scenes involving Armie Hammer and Josh Pence as the Winklevoss twins.
James Cameron is always trying to push the boundaries of technology when it comes to filmmaking so he fully embraced the digital revolution. He tells a story about how Titanic played in theaters for so long that the film prints actually fell apart which would not happen with digital because everything is on a hard drive.
After completing Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), George Lucas was tired of converting film to digital in order to add visual effects so he decided to film all of Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) digitally, making it the first major film to be shot in high definition. Lucas faced pushback from fellow directors when he said he would never shoot on film again.
Danny Boyle recruited Dogme 95 cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle in order to shoot 28 Days Later after seeing Dod Mantle’s work in The Celebration. Shot on an $8 million budget, Boyle could not afford to use multiple film cameras for the different angles used in the film nor could he afford to stop traffic in London for half a day. Since digital cameras were so cheap, they bought ten camcorders and made the movie. The quality wasn’t great but they got the shots they wanted. Six years later, Danny Boyle collaborated with Anthony Dod Mantle on Slumdog Millionaire which won Best Picture and was the first digitally shot film to win Best Cinematography.
Steven Soderbergh finds it depressing to see a film print because it’s dirty and not as sharp. There’s no “snap” in the picture. Soderbergh was one of the first directors to use Jim Jannard’s 4K RED Digital Camera when he used two prototype cameras to film Che.
David Fincher has also filmed digitally since 2007’s Zodiac and he used five-pound carbon fiber RED Cameras in The Social Network for the rowing scenes involving Armie Hammer and Josh Pence as the Winklevoss twins.
James Cameron is always trying to push the boundaries of technology when it comes to filmmaking so he fully embraced the digital revolution. He tells a story about how Titanic played in theaters for so long that the film prints actually fell apart which would not happen with digital because everything is on a hard drive.
Early Majority - Most directors working today (especially independent filmmakers)
Late Majority - Martin Scorsese, Roger Deakins, David Lynch
Scorsese still very much supports film over digital, but his 2011 effort Hugo was filmed digitally. When discussing film’s fading presence, the director said, "Younger generations won’t believe anything anymore. It’s not real.” James Cameron notes that nothing about a film set is ever real.
Roger Deakins, one of the greatest cinematographers in film history, used to be a fervent supporter film, but after switching to digital in 2011, he doesn’t know if he would ever go back. For O Brother Where Art Thou, Deakins used digital color correction in order to get the aesthetic he wanted. He has frequently stated that he doesn’t care about the debate as long as he gets the best shot for the movie. He loves the freedom that digital allows him with his packed schedule.
At the beginning of Side by Side, David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, The Elephant Man) said that he is probably done with film because of the pressure that it puts on the set. Film is so finite with its ten minute reels and you have to be careful when filming different takes of scenes so you aren’t wasting any celluloid. Digital relieves that pressure.
Late Majority - Martin Scorsese, Roger Deakins, David Lynch
Scorsese still very much supports film over digital, but his 2011 effort Hugo was filmed digitally. When discussing film’s fading presence, the director said, "Younger generations won’t believe anything anymore. It’s not real.” James Cameron notes that nothing about a film set is ever real.
Roger Deakins, one of the greatest cinematographers in film history, used to be a fervent supporter film, but after switching to digital in 2011, he doesn’t know if he would ever go back. For O Brother Where Art Thou, Deakins used digital color correction in order to get the aesthetic he wanted. He has frequently stated that he doesn’t care about the debate as long as he gets the best shot for the movie. He loves the freedom that digital allows him with his packed schedule.
At the beginning of Side by Side, David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, The Elephant Man) said that he is probably done with film because of the pressure that it puts on the set. Film is so finite with its ten minute reels and you have to be careful when filming different takes of scenes so you aren’t wasting any celluloid. Digital relieves that pressure.
Laggards - Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, Wally Pfister, Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Spielberg
These are the filmmakers that have sworn to never use the digital medium for their movies. Christopher Nolan dismisses the notion that looking on a monitor to see dailies immediately helps directors. “If you think you know what you’re seeing, you’re fooling yourself,” says The Dark Knight director. To Nolan, a monitor is not the same as a theater screen.
Tarantino partially attributes his desire to end his career after ten films to the growing presence of digital filmmaking and the disappearance of theaters that actually play film reels.
These are the filmmakers that have sworn to never use the digital medium for their movies. Christopher Nolan dismisses the notion that looking on a monitor to see dailies immediately helps directors. “If you think you know what you’re seeing, you’re fooling yourself,” says The Dark Knight director. To Nolan, a monitor is not the same as a theater screen.
Tarantino partially attributes his desire to end his career after ten films to the growing presence of digital filmmaking and the disappearance of theaters that actually play film reels.
The laggards can stand on their soapboxes, but they must recognize the benefits of digital filmmaking. Any of their films that utilize CGI are digitally converted so the computer images can be added to the final cut. Also, virtually all theaters in the United States use digital projectors so even though you filmed using celluloid, your film will still be converted into a digital file in a hard drive.
Finally, the digital format allows independent filmmaking to flourish. Sean Baker made the critically acclaimed Tangerine using iPhones and $100,000 and Steven Soderbergh did the same thing when he made Unsane and High Flying Bird.
Film celluloid will probably always have a place in archives because digital formats are always evolving. If you store a hard drive full of movies somewhere for twenty years and come back to it, the hard drive may not work and if it does, you may not be able to play it because the format is way out of date.
Finally, the digital format allows independent filmmaking to flourish. Sean Baker made the critically acclaimed Tangerine using iPhones and $100,000 and Steven Soderbergh did the same thing when he made Unsane and High Flying Bird.
Film celluloid will probably always have a place in archives because digital formats are always evolving. If you store a hard drive full of movies somewhere for twenty years and come back to it, the hard drive may not work and if it does, you may not be able to play it because the format is way out of date.