Do They Still Use Film?

May 11, 2020, 04:34 PM

I just got done watching Westworld Season 3. I loved it, by the way. One of the things I really enjoyed was the after-episode segments they did.

It looked to me like the cameras they are using had film reel vaults on top. So, do they still use film (as opposed to digital, I guess) for production? What's the criteria for film vs. digital? Although I'm an amateur photographer who embraces digital, I know nothing about cinema.

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May 11, 2020, 05:15 PM

Kevmo

Westworld was indeed shot on 35mm and you would be surprised how widely it is still used.

May 11, 2020, 05:38 PM

kkina

JJ Abrams surprised everyone when he decided to do The Force Awakens with film, despite the fact that George Lucas himself had pioneered the digital revolution in cinema. Abrams wanted to recapture the look and feel of the original trilogy. All of the last three SW movies were filmed on 35mm.

I believe around 27 movies in 2019 were filmed on celluloid.

May 11, 2020, 05:52 PM

parabellum

Quentin Tarantino refuses to shoot digital, or so I hear. Martin Scorsese still uses film occasionally.

May 11, 2020, 06:54 PM

Skull Leader

Keanu Reeves did a documentary on this called Side By Side discussing digital vs film.

Side By Side Trailer

May 11, 2020, 07:12 PM

oddball

Christopher Nolan makes his movies with film, including his latest, Tenet. He uses a mixture of 70mm and IMAX, been doing this since The Dark Knight.

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May 13, 2020, 10:24 AM

nhtagmember

short answer is yes

one of my clients is Deluxe in Hollywood

May 13, 2020, 10:39 AM

corsair

Seems like those who utilize film/cellulose, appreciate its aesthetic, as they're striving for a specific look in their films.

May 13, 2020, 02:37 PM

nhtagmember

Last time I was at Deluxe they were opening a new production and development track and at that time they were processing around 1 Billion feet of film per year.

May 13, 2020, 09:35 PM

46and2

quote:
Originally posted by corsair:
Seems like those who utilize film/cellulose, appreciate its aesthetic, as they're striving for a specific look in their films.

Indeed.

The same idea exists in music circles, with various folks leaning heavily on Tape and all-Analogue, etc.

May 14, 2020, 05:38 AM

Blume9mm

many years ago... while in high school I got into photography and never stopped... all through high school I took lots of pictures and often someone would say... "you don't have any film in that camera"

Now they would be right...

In college a friend bought an Cannon AE1... that was I think the first 35mm SLR that required a battery to work... not just for the light meter but also for the shutter... I made the statement I would never own a camera that relied on a battery to work... I was wrong....

May 14, 2020, 02:20 PM

Prefontaine

quote:
Originally posted by 46and2:
quote:
Originally posted by corsair:
Seems like those who utilize film/cellulose, appreciate its aesthetic, as they're striving for a specific look in their films.

Indeed.

The same idea exists in music circles, with various folks leaning heavily on Tape and all-Analogue, etc.

Yup. Analog synths produce superior sound to anything digital. But we live in a laptop jockey age with software plug-ins. It's good to see many directors, especially Nolan, fight for film. The doc that Keanu Reeves did on film (mentioned above by Skull) was really good.