Film is dead - production of film cameras to end

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Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 17/10/2011 1:47:41 PM

dreddhead123

Posts: 282
Joined: 23/7/2010

quote:

technology website Creative Cow reports that the three major manufacturers of motion picture film cameras � Aaton, ARRI and Panavision � have all ceased production of new cameras within the last year, and will only make digital movie cameras from now on.

http://www.salon.com/2011/10/13/r_i_p_the_movie_camera_1888_2011/singleton/

quote:

One of the first motion-picture film cameras was designed by Louis Le Prince in 1888. It still exists with the National Media Museum, England. Le Prince employed paper bands and celluloid film from John Carbutt and or Blair & Eastman in 1� inch width. The first motion picture camera that actually worked was created by Thomas Alva Edison.

RIP film 1888 - 2011

Post #: 1

RE: Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 17/10/2011 2:40:04 PM

Spaldron

Posts: 10487
Joined: 6/10/2006
From: Chair

Well that's brightened up my day. Inevitable but sad.

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Post #: 2

RE: Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 17/10/2011 3:23:16 PM

JIm R

Posts: 9185
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Surrey

Think of the cutting of costs people, it means more Uwe Boll films

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Post #: 3

RE: Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 17/10/2011 3:48:31 PM

shool

Posts: 9612
Joined: 24/3/2006
From: In The Pipe, Five by Five.

Lets face it most things are shot on digital these days and no-one can tell the difference.

did you cry when people stopped making VHS?

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Post #: 4

RE: Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 17/10/2011 4:06:32 PM

Spaldron

Posts: 10487
Joined: 6/10/2006
From: Chair

quote:

ORIGINAL: shool

Lets face it most things are shot on digital these days and no-one can tell the difference.

did you cry when people stopped making VHS?

There's a big difference between what format a film is shot on and on what format we watch it on at home. And tbh most films are probably still shot on film even if they are then digitally transferred in post but I acknowledge those numbers are getting smaller. Chris Nolan and JJ Abrams still use film.

EDIT: And it is possible to tell the difference between film and digital. Film still looks better imo.

< Message edited by Spaldron -- 17/10/2011 4:08:11 PM >

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And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts
And I looked and behold, a pale horse
And his name that sat on him was Death
And Hell followed with him.

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Post #: 5

RE: Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 17/10/2011 4:29:42 PM

Angelus

Posts: 721
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Black Mesa

Film isn't dead. Not yet, anyway. If it wasn't good business for Kodak and Fuji to continue manufacturing motion picture film stock, they wouldn't do it.

Edit: Plus, I'm sure there are plenty of perfectly good film cameras out there. They won't all stop working at once.

< Message edited by Angelus -- 17/10/2011 4:33:58 PM >

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Post #: 6

RE: Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 17/10/2011 4:40:24 PM

Darth Marenghi

Posts: 2948
Joined: 10/10/2010
From: Manchester

Someone should check in on directorscut - y'know, just to see if he's okay.

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Post #: 7

RE: Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 17/10/2011 4:51:58 PM

Emyr Thy King

Posts: 2153
Joined: 13/4/2006
From: The Grid

quote:

ORIGINAL: shool
did you cry when people stopped making VHS?

That's a bit sharp.

I think the more types of film used, the more diversity in terms of screen quality we'll have.

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Post #: 8

RE: Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 17/10/2011 5:20:02 PM

Darth Marenghi

Posts: 2948
Joined: 10/10/2010
From: Manchester

quote:

ORIGINAL: Emyr Thy King

quote:

ORIGINAL: shool
did you cry when people stopped making VHS?

That's a bit sharp.

Indeed - a rather silly post, shool. VHS was simply one not-very high quality home format that was inevitably going to be replaced by something with higher fidelity. This is one of the biggest changes to cinema in its history.

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Post #: 9

RE: Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 17/10/2011 5:24:34 PM

Spaldron

Posts: 10487
Joined: 6/10/2006
From: Chair

Someone switch on the Dpp signal.

_____________________________

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts
And I looked and behold, a pale horse
And his name that sat on him was Death
And Hell followed with him.

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Post #: 10

RE: Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 17/10/2011 5:49:41 PM

Deviation

Posts: 26908
Joined: 2/6/2006
From: Enemies of Film HQ

Which is the last movie to be made on film? I remember reading that Uncle Bonmee who can Recall his past Lives was one of the last, if so, what a way to go.

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ORIGINAL: Dpp1978
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Post #: 11

RE: Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 17/10/2011 5:51:56 PM

Emyr Thy King

Posts: 2153
Joined: 13/4/2006
From: The Grid

DPP signal (click)

< Message edited by Emyr Thy King -- 17/10/2011 5:52:30 PM >

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Post #: 12

RE: Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 17/10/2011 5:58:01 PM

Spaldron

Posts: 10487
Joined: 6/10/2006
From: Chair

quote:

ORIGINAL: Deviation

Which is the last movie to be made on film? I remember reading that Uncle Bonmee who can Recall his past Lives was one of the last, if so, what a way to go.

Super 8 was shot on film. As is TDKR currently in production as far as I'm aware.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Emyr Thy King

DPP signal (click)

That's the one.

_____________________________

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts
And I looked and behold, a pale horse
And his name that sat on him was Death
And Hell followed with him.

(in reply to Deviation)

Post #: 13

RE: Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 17/10/2011 7:25:15 PM

Dpp1978

Posts: 1007
Joined: 2/4/2006

As Angelus noted the cameras which exist won't suddenly self destruct. Properly maintained they should happily work for as long as anyone needs them to.

In any case it isn't like there is much further film cameras can be taken. They have pretty much reached their technological zenith. Improvements in film stock and lenses, which I'm assuming will continue is far more important than new camera bodies.

Look at it this way. Arguably the best ever 35mm stills camera ever made was the Leica M3. It was made between 1955 and 1967. A good one on the second hand market would cost you about a grand without lenses. If you put the latest Kodak stock in it and know how to use it you will be able to take pictures which equal or better anything from a digital SLR. If you were to move up to a vintage medium format camera (like a Hasselblad 500C, which are ridiculously cheap for what they are) you will blow any prosumer digital camera out of the water.

Similarly a vintage motion picture film camera with modern lenses and stock will perform favourably with a digital camera.

Digital motion picture cameras are only now approaching the quality of film based ones. If the reports are to be believed the new one from Sony might be the first to offer true 4K resolution which is a massive milestone. RED, whose cameras are being used extensively in Hollywood, not least on The Hobbit, has to fudge its numbers a little when it claims true 4K resolution. This is important as 4K is widely regarded as the upper resolution limit for standard 35mm motion picture film.

Of course the effort required to get results on old film cameras (no autofocus, no automatic metering, you have to wait 'till you get the negatives back to see if you got the exposure right; none of this LCD screen to check and adjust your shots malarkey) is far far higher, so for most people not worth the effort.

This brings me to what will be the death of film. Most up and coming photographers, be they working in still or motion pictures, will only experience digital. It is very easy to go from film to digital. I'm not sure the reverse is true. Give it a generation or so and film capture will be for considered artistic effect only, much as black and white is now.

That's if the Hollywood bean counters don't kill it off on financial grounds first. This isn't the death of film, but it is a nail in its coffin.

(in reply to Spaldron)

Post #: 14

RE: Film is dead - production of film cameras to end - 18/10/2011 9:14:41 AM

JIm R

Posts: 9185
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Surrey

quote:

ORIGINAL: Spaldron

quote:

ORIGINAL: shool

Lets face it most things are shot on digital these days and no-one can tell the difference.

did you cry when people stopped making VHS?

There's a big difference between what format a film is shot on and on what format we watch it on at home. And tbh most films are probably still shot on film even if they are then digitally transferred in post but I acknowledge those numbers are getting smaller. Chris Nolan and JJ Abrams still use film.

EDIT: And it is possible to tell the difference between film and digital. Film still looks better imo.