Another popular film camera is the Arricam Lite. “I love the Arricam Lite, it’s an almost perfect camera,” says cinematographer Steve Fierberg, ASC. “The viewing is great, but most importantly, it’s the best handholding camera since the 35 BL1. On a series like Entourage ─ which is 90 percent handheld ─ it would have been much more difficult to do this series with any other cameras. It is so well-balanced, that when I operate ─ even with the 1000 ft mag ─ I sometimes keep it on my shoulder between takes. It has a broad range of frame rates that can make it a workhorse for 90 percent of a production’s needs ─ or even 100 percent ─ depending on how much slow motion is needed. I just finished the action movie Days of Wrath and it was a great camera, only necessitating 435 rentals a few times for extreme slow-motion shots. The Arricam Lite is a great camera. I love it!”

Bob Fisher, owner of CCS Communications, and tireless champion of film preservation and cinematography, chimed in on the digital-film intrigue. “We haven't seen an MPAA report for 2007 yet, but the 2006 report said 91 percent of the nearly 500 films released to U.S. cinemas were originated in 35 mm format, about three percent in Super 16, and six percent in one of the various digitals formats. For The Dark Knight (the upcoming and latest installment in the re-imagined Batman series), all the action sequences were filmed in 65 mm IMAX format because the filmmakers wanted the ultimate movie-going experience.”

Even Super 8 (talk about retro) is making a comeback. Swedish firm Ikonoskop is reportedly going to introduce the first new Super 8 film camera design in over 20 years. With a retail price set at $6,764 ─ about the price of a high-end mini-DV camera ─ this product is sure to raise a few eyebrows and cause salivations for those eager cinema auteurs still wanting their first chance to shoot on film.

The most common answer as to why people still prefer film is that it looks and feels more organic. According to a recent research project by ARRI and a report they issued called 4K-Plus ─ in addition to higher resolution ─ film also sees and records details deeper into shadows and highlights. And like I mentioned previously ─ as counter-intuitive as it may seem ─ there are also economic rationales. Cinematographers say that film enables them to work faster for various reasons, ranging from latitude (they don't have to stop to gel windows, allowing high keylight into a dark room) to less technical gear. Director of Photography-turned director, Richard Crudo, ASC, addressed this issue head on using his film Last Night as an example. He shot the movie in 21 days, averaging 40 to 50 set ups daily. Crudo says that breakneck pace would have been impossible with digital cameras.

For the newly completed indie film, Henry Poole is Here ─ starring Luke Wilson in the title role ─ cinematographer Eric Schmidt says film was the only way to go. “We shot a lot of this film handheld. The ARRI cameras were great for that; with a battery belt on, you just go and shoot and bang. We didn’t want to be booting up digital cameras and having to be tethered by cables. Film was more organic and faster for us ─ more immediate.”

And as mentioned previously, film has a 100-plus year track record as a proven archival medium. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently issued a report called, “The Digital Dilemma,” which has raised concerns about archiving digital media. I am not trying to scare anyone away from video, just trying to make a point: no matter how you look at it, film is not dead.

CONTACTS

ARRI
www.arri.com

Bolex
www.bolex.ch/NEW/index.php

CCS Communications
www.ccspr.com

MPAA
www.mpaa.org

NAB
www.nab.org

Panavision
www.panavision.com