CAPTURED ON FILM

I recently met up with a film director/client. After discussing a potential project, topic of conversation switched to film and its visual superiority over digital. He said that he would never use digital video as a medium for his movie masterpieces.

Hmmm…

My mind started rewinding six months back, where at the ski resort town of Sundance, Nancy Schreiber was awarded best cinematography (drama) for the psychological thriller November, a movie that was not captured on film but entirely on Mini-DV using Panasonic’s 3 CCD AG-DVX100, a consumer camera.

It’s Nancy’s win in the reputable indie-fest Sundance that proved DV’s worth as an artistic medium and I'm glad more and more directors, producers and cinematographers are starting to realize this. With a limited amount of money and the right screenplay, the DV is a perfect medium. Here’s some proof:

Baise Moi (2000) - directed by VIRGINIE DESPENTES and CORALIE TRINH THI; cinematography by BENOIT CHAMAILLARD and JULIAN PAMART
Tadpole (2002) – written and directed by GARY WINICK (2002 Sundance Best Director/Drama); cinematography by GARY WINICK
Personal Velocity (2002) – written and directed by REBECCA MILLER; cinematography by ELLEN KURAS
Kill The Poor (2003) – directed by ALLAN TAYLOR; cinematography by HARLAN BOSMAJIAN
Pieces of April (2003) – written and directed by PETER HEDGES; cinematography by TAMI REIKER

These movies make clear that visual artistry is possible with digital video. What is important is a clear understanding of the technology, its advantages and limitations. The screenplays...well, that’s to blog about in a future blog.

I am not a film-hater. In fact I love film’s visual beauty and the 24fps (frames per second) standard that other DV technologies have emulated, but to believe that your movie artistry can be achieved only through film is nonsense.

“Regardless of any new technologies or what might happen in the future, cinematographers have always found ways to adapt. What’s more important is you get the image you want up there where others can share it. Only the artistry matters.” - William A Fraker (5 Academy Award nominee, ASC Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Camerimage Golden Frog for Lifetime Achievement Award)