In the last 20 years, technology in Hollywood has experienced a groundbreaking evolution; from photochemical film development being standard practice to Slumdog Millionaire (2009) being the first entirely digital film to win an Academy Award for best cinematography, the advancements are changing the industry completely.
Chris Kenneally’s documentary Side By Side tours the past and future of filmmaking, the invention of cinema and the impact of the digital medium via in-depth discussion with the biggest auteurs in Hollywood right now.
Keanu Reeves leads directing heavyweights – including Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, James Cameron, George Lucas, and Steven Soderbergh – through the arguments for and against digital filmmaking being overthrowing photochemical film creation.
IMAX film negative – still from Side By Side. Photo courtesy Company Films LLC
Producer Justin Szlasa – a director himself, known best for critically acclaimed documentary 759: Boy Scouts of Harlem (2009) – decided, after seeing the quiet revolution of digital film unfold, that it was time to examine the future of the film industry.
“Over the last decade, movies shot, edited, and distributed digitally have become an acceptable alternative to a photochemical process with over one hundred years of history,” he says. “At this moment in time, the digital world and the photochemical world exist side by side in the movie industry – from image capture to visual effects to colour correction to exhibition.”
That notion is the inspiration behind the documentary – which was screened for Australian audiences at the 2012 Sydney Film Festival in June – can digital and photochemical film processing exist in harmony or is the hundred-year-old technology becoming obsolete.
The biggest name in the move to digital film is undoubtedly James Cameron. Winner of the Best Film Academy Award at the 2010 Oscars, Cameron’s Avatar is the perfect example of the advancements digital film technology has brought to Hollywood.
James Cameron in Side By Side. Photo courtesy Company Films LLC
Countering Cameron’s critically acclaimed digital masterpiece is the likes of Martin Scorsese; an auteur who has seen the technology of film through it’s biggest changes.
Szlasa notes though, that telling both sides of the coin was the aim of Side By Side.
“Everyone wanted to tell the story with a lot of integrity and honesty, without a lot of manipulation. This isn’t a gotcha doc, this is a documentary with a lot of respect and varied opinions on film, which makes it a challenge.”
What is especially challenging though, is the question of which direction to take for film students in the midst of a changing industry.
22-year-old Melbourne film student Kristian Manabat, who is on his way into a year of honours in film study, says that for the time being, the technologies are living in near harmony.
“We’re given the option of using both,” he says. “16mm film is a really common student film medium choice, although I’ve noticed a big rise in the number of students choosing to go digital this year.”
Film student Kristian Manabat working with digital film. Photo courtesy Kristian Manabat.
Kodak introduced 16mm film in the early 1920’s as an alternative to the more expensive 35mm film format. It has since become standard choice for amateur filmmakers and professionals alike.
“I’ve just shot my Director of Photography graduate piece on 16mm film,” Manabat continues. “I’m looking at doing more 16mm pieces for honours next year, as well as experimenting with 2perf and 3perf 35mm.”
He continues, “More than anything, for the purely recognizable aesthetics film offers. Digital is obviously preferred by some audiences, especially now with blu-ray gaining popularity, but the visuals of photochemical film are far more appealing to me.”
Despite the popularity of photochemical film among classic auteurs, film companies have recognized that to stay relevant, they need to adjust to technological changes.
The Arri Group, the world’s largest supplier of motion picture film equipment, launched the Arri Alexa in early 2010; a film-style digital camera that marked the company’s first move into the digital world.
“I have assisted in the camera department with the Arri Alexa,” Manabat says. “The similarity it has to film is amazing. Joss Whedon used it for The Avengers and the quality of the picture is just incredible, but it still has the feel of the film aesthetic.”
technicolour film developing lab. still from Side By Side. Photo courtesy Company Films LLC
Though Whedon, Soderbergh, Cameron and many producers alike are making the permanent move toward digital film, many of the biggest names in film are adamant that classic photochemical processing will always be the superior medium.
“Producers love digital, it tends to be more economical – that is, cheaper – these days. But real directors and directors of photography will never stop trying to use film. Paul Thomas Anderson shot his latest movie on 65mm film, and it is being garnered a religious experience in cinema viewing.”
Digital filmmaking is cheaper, particularly on an amateur scale, but Manabat notes that contrary to popular belief, Kodak is not broke.
“Kodak and their involvement in film is not over, but it is true that the telecine laboratories for film development are becoming obsolete.”
What Szlasa notes is interesting, though, is the number of filmmakers who have managed to make film and digital technologies exist together to create arguably the best films in recent years.
“The documentary really shows what artists and filmmakers have been able to accomplish with both film and digital,” he says. “How their needs and innovations have helped push filmmaking in new directions.”
“A lot of the time budget and what will serve the story better factor into what a filmmaker will choose, so it really depends,” he continues. “But I have seen this quiet revolution unfold in front of me on sets, in edit rooms, and post-production facilities and on screens around the world.”
He concludes, “Directors, cinematographers, colourists, scientists, engineers, and artists all come together in our film to reveal their experiences and feelings about working with film and digital, where we are now, how we got here, and what the future may bring.”
Side By Side is currently doing rounds at international film festivals around the world, showing next at Amsterdam Film Week on November 6. It is also available for online at tribecafilm.com and at limited cinemas across the United States.
View the trailer below.
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