The termination of yet a other film was announced by none other than Kodak on June 22, 2009. Kodak had to completely end the manufacture of the famous Kodachrome which was preferred by many professional photographers in its prime. Pentax and Nikon are also ending their production of almost the entire film line. This is the dawn of a new era in photography.
This can only make you wonder if we will enter a new era in cinematography where the usage of film products are no longer needed.
The digital world is growing in a rapid form. What we considered as groundbreaking technology just 7 years ago with HDV 720p, has become a merely stepping stone for what we have now with the coming of red epic 5K. The red epic 5K is the most fears contender from the digital side against the film. This new technology enters the ring with a resolution that exceeds the best HD camcorders over 5 times their resolution and this is just the tip of the iceberg. I cannot even dream of what is coming after this invention in the cinematography if this is also merely a stepping stone.
Before we get to a result in the match of digital versus film, we have to start at the beginning of cinematography and work our way up to the present. One has to know where one been to know where one is going. With the history we can determine what the most relevant technical differences are between digital and film cinematography. Film cinematography is our present day standard, the differences can illustrate if digital cinematography will or will not be capable to contend.
Budget is a great issue when one is in the cinematography business. So great of an issues that the factor of budget have to be a subject to take in account on its own, despite the fact that budget can be classified as differences.
Researching why film products became obsolete with the evolution of the digital world in photography is important. The answers we find will assist us comprehend the situation and evaluate if this is applicable in the cinematography.
A view in the developments of both digital and film products is necessary to make a educated guess. What makes either digital cinematography and film cinematography popular, is a good way to see what the public s opinion on this is. Does the public notice a difference when a film is shot on digital or film camcorders? If so what are their perception on this subject and what will they choose? With the growing demand on innovative motion pictures, the question what would be the best way to fulfill this demand also needs to be answered.
Thru intensive research and interviews I will make a conclusion on this matter.
HISTORY OF CINEMATOGRAPHY
(Photographic)Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures is considered by many as an art form (I am fascinated by directing films; I love computer-generated art. William Shatner); films entertain, educate, enlighten and inspire audiences. The visual elements of cinema need no translation, giving motion picture a universal power of communication.
Films are produced by recording actual people and objects with cameras, or by creating them using animation techniques and/or special effects. They comprise a series of frames, but when these images are shown rapidly in succession, the illusion of motion is given to the viewer. The eye remains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the image is removed. The psychological effect of the perception of motion is called beta movement. In the last two decades there have been enormous changes in the policy and economic contest in Hollywood to streamline and remove federal regulations from the way that creative businesses work. A big change in the film making is the other D word Digital . Digitalization and the internet have so profoundly change both the production and distribution.
"The cinema is an invention without a future" - Louis Lumi re
The Frenchman Louis Lumi re is habitually credited as creator of the first motion picture camera in 1895. however quite a few others had made comparable inventions about the same time as Louis Lumi re. What Louis Lumi re created was a portable motion picture camera, film processing unit and projector called the Cinematographe, three functions in one device. The earliest mechanism patented in the United States that displayed motion pictures was a gadget called the "wheel of life" or "zoopraxiscope". In 1867, moving drawings or photographs were watched through a slit in the zoopraxiscope this was patented by William Lincoln. However, this was a long way from motion pictures as we know them nowadays. The Cinematographe made motion pictures incredibly popular. One could say that Louis Lumi re 's invention began the motion picture era. In 1895, Lumi re and his brother were the first to project moving pictures to a paying audience of more than one person. The Edison company effectively reviled the Kinetoscope in 1891, which made it possible for one person at a time to watch moving pictures. Making Edison the first to project film. Edison showed his enhanced Vitascope projector in 1896. It was the first commercially projector in the United states of America.
In the first 30 years of motion picture productions there was no synchronized sound accompanying the film. As this technology was not invented yet most of the motion pictures where presented with live music, commentary and effects. After 1929 the silent era was coming to a end with invention and development of sound on film technology with devises as photophone from RCA, movietone and phonofilm. We were entering a new are of sound accompanied motion pictures. These motion pictures where called talkies.
With the ending of one era begins another era. With the introduction of sound in the motion pictures the audience grew in a rapid tempo. Only the major motion picture corporations who could invest in this innovative invention were able to satisfy the audience curiosity, leaving the smaller motion pictures corporations behind. And so we entered the new talkie era called the golden age of hollywood
The 1950s-Widescreen, 70mm, and even 3D.
The 1960s- Hollywood films largely aimed at big family audience (My fair lady, The sound of music). The French and Italian films like Federico Fellini s la Dolce Vita.
The 1970 s-New generation of film school trained filmmakers Coppola (The Godfather), Spielberg (Jaws) and Lucas(Star Wars).The success of their films lead to the rise of the modern Block Buster, with Hollywood studios making smaller number of very high budget films with massive marketing and promotional backing.
The 1980 s- Shift from seeing movies in theater to watching videos on a VCR.
The 1990 s and new Millennium- Transition from Physical film stock to digital cinema technology. The DVD has become the standard for home video.
2003- High definition (HD) with HD DVD or Sony Blu-ray discs. Theaters will have to innovate to lure people from their home theater systems.
2007- A company called RED introduced a digital camera with ultra high resolution to the market. The camera is called red one and is capable to record up to 4K.
2009- RED announced the introduction of another camera called red epic who is now capable of recording at 5K.
2010- looking back at our development rate, this past decade was a astronomical decade with technology break thru after break thru. Just when people think this is it we cannot push the envelope anymore a new technology comes thru particularly in the cinematography field.
What will the next decade hold for us?
TECHNICAL DIFFERENCES
Creative process of filmmaking is the mysterious transformation of mere glimmers of thought into coherent stories, characters, images and sounds, according to the book, Creative Filmmaking from the Inside Out where, three professors at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television interviewed fifteen outstanding filmmakers, and then distilled those insights into the Five I s of creativity.
Introspection - Uncover your unique creative voice
Inquiry - Work from real-life observations and experience
Intuition - Draw on your nonconscious wells of creativity
Interaction - Strengthen your creative collaborations
Impact - Communicate at the deepest level with your audience
Five I's" are all interwoven throughout the creative process. You may start with an idea of what a film is really about (impact) and find that your idea changes and develops. An essential ingredient of introspection is that you have a personal vision, your point of view which is something you have to uncover to be creative. It seems obvious as a creative filmmaker to work from inside out however we often fall in the mindset of what is the familiar way, or what is easy, or what others expect, or what will sell. The creative process of filmmaking is "mysterious" and a risky, unpredictable, paradoxical process for everyone. There is no such thing as formulas, use camera and lens 'x' and position camera as y for shooting. Since this will not produce inventive or surprising films. The technological tools are advancing in a rapid pace which can help you to achieve your creative goal.
BUDGET BENEFITS
Either in film or digital cinematography the budget stays approximately identical for example pre production, crew, cast, transportation, location and etcetera. In these aspects the budgets are similar if shooting the same motion picture type. The producer would still have to do the pre production, hire a crew, cast actors, arrange for transportation, spot locations and etcetera.
The reason why the budget is approximately identical, with the emphasis on approximately, is that these aspect of a motion picture production do not entirely associate with the type of cinematography. Film or digital cinematography is not defined budget wise in the post production. Naturally there are some minor differences, these differences are that insignificant that we would not have to consider them.
It becomes another issue if the motion pictures where not identical. For example a location and cast in a digital motion picture production could be generated if the motion picture would be a fantasy new world like the movie avatar. These are the loop pole s you can get with digital cinematography. On the other hand the post production of the digital motion pictures takes much more time and equipment.
That is why we have to weigh the motion pictures against the budget with a identical straight forward genre. For example a romantic comedy motion picture, or else we would be talking about different genres of film combined with digital motion pictures.
The greatest differences in budget between the film and digital cinematography are in time, equipment, film roll and post production.
Time
Time is a important part in every project, time is money is one of the most known saying in the world. And time can cost a motion picture production corporation millions of Euros.
When shooting on film it takes much more time to setup and change film rolls. The digitals cameras of today are intelligent and can execute most of the setups themselves although this is not recommended and changing tape does not take longer than a couple of seconds. The film cameras are often heavier then the digital camera s making them easier to relocate and transport. This can seem as irrelevant when shooting a single scene, one can ask what are those couple of minutes? When one takes in account that a average shooting period of a motion picture is 1 year and a shooting day does not consist of a single scene, angle and location except several ones. Adding all these minutes from all these scenes, angles and locations from all the shooting days over a average period of 1 year. The motion picture production corporations can save allot of money on shooting digital
After the shooting is all done the motion picture production corporation can also save time in capturing the scenes. When shooting on digital the camera can be rigged to record the movie on a external hard disk, therefore eliminating the capturing process in his totality. If the motion picture was shot on digital cameras using tapes it would have to be captured. Even in such case a motion picture production corporation can still safe time. With film one has to load the film roles each time in a machine called telecine and do this again each time a roll ends, this is a time consuming process. On the other side most digital cameras connect to the computer with a fire wire cable and changing tapes can be done in a matter of seconds.
Equipment
The equipment is an incredibly large expense for the motion picture production corporation.
Cameras (only body) Price/EURO
Film (ARRICAM studio st) 164,600.00 EURO
Digital ( RED one 4k) 17,000.00 EURO
This table demonstrates the price differences between a film and digital camera. A difference of almost 150,000.00 EURO per camera can easily lead up to a difference in millions. This is considering the motion pictures will need more than one camera and also different types of cameras.
The prices where just for the body of the camera, the other peripherals for example viewfinders, lenses and etcetera are basically at the same cost level.
Film roll
Post production
DEVELOPMENTS IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Technology + Creativity = Sustainable Business. Every advancement in technology influences and eventually changes society. So the needs of society change, creating more needs, and eventually, creating more technology. (Mc Ginn 1991) .There is two types of effect from the use of technology, main effects and side effects. Main effects are those intended by the technology. Side effects are usually unintended and often unknown prior technology s implementation. Creative, business and technological reasons have all contributed to the growth of the film scene. Creatively is becoming difficult to get studio backing for experimental films. The costs of big budget studio films leads to conservative choices in cast and crew. I prefer the smaller budget versus the bigger budget because the mentality that goes along with big budget filmmaking doesn't really suit me; the mind-set that money is the answer. (Keenen Ivory Wayans) The cost of professional film equipment and stock was a hurdle to produce studio films with film negative cost were in 2003 up 23%. With the arrival of high resolution digital video in the early 1990s has lowered the technological barrier to movie production. Technologies such as DVD, IEEE1394 connections and non-linear editing systems pro level software such as Adobe Premiere and consumer level software as Final Cut pro, Avid Xpress make movie making relatively inexpensive. The means of production has become more democratized. Film makers can shoot, edit, create and edit sound and mix the result on a home computer. Financing, distribution, and marketing remain difficult to accomplish outside the traditional system. Most independent film makers rely on film festivals to get their films noticed and sold for distribution. As William Shatner once noted that movies of the week, and things like that, are more sophisticated than anything that was on in the sixties, with some rare exceptions like STAR TREK . How advances in computer technology can assist filmmakers to realize their creative ideas is clearly expressed by Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (born February 21, 1946) a British stage and screen actor: I couldn't have done the film without computer graphics
As of 2005 the most mayor motion pictures are still recorded on film. The migration to digital is gradual. High profile films such as Terminator 2 and Taxi 3 has used the Windows Media HD format for International DVD release.
Mammoth media companies and makers of electronic devices are still discussing with each other to find ways to protect digital TV broadcast from being copied and sent on the internet. The possible result will restrict consumer s home recording of video and music in the near future. An example of a reaction of the recording association: If only gateway computer firm would devote a little bit of the millions of dollars they re spending on this ad campaign to help stop illegal down loading but that wouldn t help them sell more CD burners, would it?
CONCLUSION
Video production allows for creativity to expand our minds and search deeply and laboriously into a world only few know in the form of writing the story line, setting the scene, filming the shots and directing the camera to make uncountable of edit decisions in a video production packed with opportunities due the advancement in technology. This as an ultimate expression of creativity. Today, creativity forms in some eyes the core activity of a growing section of the global economy the so called creative industries by generating (non-tangible wealth) through the creation an exploitation of intellectual property.
Video creation is nowadays an attractive career through the advancement in technology which is affordable to own everything from camcorder to editing software to computer and all the accessories that can create video that can exceed the quality of broadcast TV.
The market demand for video is on the rise due the fact that the traditional use of business of photographs, brochures and flyers is now moved to internet which is not so rich in communication aspects as video with its moving images and sound. The business community is seriously considering to deliver their message on internet instead using video, not to mention the opportunities of TV commercials, training programs, and event and sport videos.
