Posted by Vincent at bg-tc-ppp840.monmouth.com on November 28, 1999 at 22:35:01:
In Reply to: Re: A Q Vincent... posted by Justin Q Ramond on November 28, 1999 at 01:19:07:
: As far as video goes, though, digital is less perfect than film (for now). Despite Vince's misgivings, I think it will dominate very soon. Within a decade at most.
George Lucas is the only filmmaker out there looking to do away with film on the capture end- and let's face it, beyond the STAR WARS series, what has he got to offer us in the future?
I've spoken to people in the industry who have said, flat out, that they expect digital to overtake film as far as DISTRIBUTION is concerned, but they do not think film will be replaced as the capture medium anytime soon. Film is simply a great capture medium, and for every advancement in CCD technology and image capture devices/resolution for digital that come about, Panavision and Kodak will up the ante even more by improving their respective lenses and negative emulsions- so while say, in a couple years digital camera might be able to achieve an image comparable to a negative film image in 35mm of today, by the time that happens they'll have lagged behind film a lot more anyway. Shooting on film is very simple and easy and, in the end, cheap- there really is no reason to change the was films are made as far as filmming is concerned, period. The savings Hollywood sees are in the area of distribution, so that's where they're concentraing their efforts- and even there they are going to be up against theater owners, who I doubt will be very keen on throwing out their tried-and-true and I'm sure paid-for film projectors and replacing them with VERY costly digital projectors, just so Hollywood producers can save some bucks. I mean, really, where is the insentive for them?
But even with the above, I'm sure digital distribution will become common in the next decade, and having seen STAR WARS EP. 1 in digital, I can say, if that level of quality is maintained (or bettered), the experience is better than what we usually get at the multiplex, what with poor quality rushed prints and shoddily maintained projectors. However, I don't see it digital replacing film on the capture end, at least not for a LONG time, if ever. There simply is no reason to abandone film on the capture end, unleess you are a Lucas who plans to post entirely in digital and cut-and-paste takes, etc., but very few major filmmakers are as soulless as he is (or has become).
Vincent