Talking and making sense in this forum in 2026

[Ted Hoppe]

I took a few years away from on cinematography and filmmaking forums, Upon returning -  i see it takes some wading through this sea of noise. When you just want to talk about actual craft, lighting ratios, or workflows and ultimately budget saving productions and  higher resulting incomes of paid wages and profitability (or reduced loss when accounting is taken to full reading).

Cinematography is an art form rooted in technical execution. Because there is no single "right" way to light a scene or expose a frame, people tend to disguise their personal aesthetic preferences as objective technical facts. When someone tries to argue or promote a specific new tool for that a specific look or objective based on a rigid interpretations, the really valuable conversation point is ignored or quickly devolves into academic nonsense over production performance and great  budget savings through creative techniques and application.

In my opinion written in italics...:

The Dunning-Kruger Effect - Filmmaking has a low barrier to entry but an incredibly high ceiling for mastery. Forums are packed with content written in absolute, unearned authority often fueled by YouTube influences or paid product promotion. They repeat or ignore theories about color science, exposure tools, or compression algorithms as if they are hard rules, spreading misinformation that leaves experienced production folks shaking their heads. The "Gear Over Craft" Trap (Techno-Babble) is a massive chunk of this forum 's culture dominated by gear fetishism rather than actual cinematography. We see posts arguing passionately about technical minutiae or technical advancements. It sounds like  a bit of nonsense because, in the practical world of production, it often is. It is not getting any better since many here use faulty Ai to do their research or use Reddit as  the experts.

Like any corner of the internet, anonymity breeds keyboard courage. Some of the forum users are more interested in looking smart and gatekeeping the industry than actually being helpful. They will openly seek to justify new gear first over real direct work, skip simple concepts or use dense jargon just to make themselves feel like part of an elite club, which kills genuine, practical discussion. The Reality Check: The people who are busiest working on actual sets are rarely the ones posting multiple times a day on a forum. 

It usually takes a lot of filtering to find those rare, golden threads where actual working DPs share real-world, practical wisdom.

Edited June 9 by Ted Hoppe

[Jeff Bernstein]

☛ The above post explains why, for one reason, Scrooby posts here ancient literary texts, in Scrooby translation and sometimes with Scrooby commentary : to assist responsible contemporary storytellers in the contemplation of story principles that are relevant to all kinds of storytelling, including, indeed, filmmaking. 

 

SPIELBERG : “I think it's time to renew our romance with the written word. . . .” (Thalberg Award Acceptance Speech, 1986). 

 

CAROL LITTLETON  : “The most important thing is learning how to analyze a story.” (Interview with Medium, 2017)

[David Mullen ASC]

This site just doesn't have the traffic it used to a decade ago -- I've been here since almost the beginning, almost 23 years ago. I used to post long analysis of older movies and personal production diaries (though now I sign too many NDAs when I start a show to allow that...) but it hardly seems worth the effort if only six people are going to read it and maybe one person responds if any.

I'm a bit surprised that in 2026 we're still engaging in film vs. digital arguments at the reductive "digital will never be as good as film" level of discourse.

I don't think anyone here is "gatekeeping" though, it seems contradictory to participate in a forum if one doesn't want to participate in spreading knowledge and information.

The only thing I own are some filters, so I have no vested interest in pushing any new technology onto people.

[Gautam Valluri]

3 hours ago, David Mullen ASC said:

'm a bit surprised that in 2026 we're still engaging in film vs. digital arguments at the reductive "digital will never be as good as film" level of discourse.

Yes, this film vs digital debate is getting tiring and should be relegated to one single dedicated thread for those who enjoy it.

For me personally, this forum is a treasure trove of knowledge. I screenshot important posts regularly for reference and I even ended up using so much of this knowledge in my recently concluded first feature. For example, @Aapo Lettinen's advice on taking a waterproof blanket for changing mags in the forest was so so useful! I would've never thought of it myself. Or finding a 15+ year old thread where Dirk Dejonghe contact printed colour negative onto sound stock for The Red Dwarf, which I ended up trying successfully.

This forum is the Library of Alexandria for the patient, knowledge-seeking young cinematographer.

[George Hill]

I think every forum like this has its one or two controversial topics that get endlessly discussed for ever and ever, that’s just how the internet works.

As someone who is just starting out, this forum has been incredibly helpful. YouTube is full of clickbaiters and influencers, and Reddit is mostly people who are just as clueless as I am. Really appreciate everyone who has taken the time to give me advice

[Jon O'Brien]

4 hours ago, David Mullen ASC said:

I'm a bit surprised that in 2026 we're still engaging in film vs. digital arguments at the reductive "digital will never be as good as film" level of discourse.

I live in a place where something like 99.9% of filmmakers think very strongly that film was never as good as digital. Of those, perhaps something like half don't even know that film is still being used by filmmakers. I'm not exaggerating. Of the general populace with whom I sometimes discuss filmmaking, about 99% believe that film no longer exists, and was discontinued back in the last century. It's not just a "level of discourse" in my experience. It equates to no work, as I specialise in film, not digital. Not one enquiry. Film is dead where I am. Excuse me for my rather in-depth interest in this topic. You know, I really wouldn't mind some paid film work. I have the gear, I have the talent, I've invested a lot of time, I studied cinematography at a respected tertiary institution in Brisbane. I do do other things for a living, but yes I would like some work as a cinematographer or operator. I don't see why I must silently accept the passive takeover of digital which, truly, I find less than satisfactory for most narrative projects on the big screen. I see you disagree. That's fine.

Edited June 9 by Jon O'Brien

[Jon O'Brien]

Actually, sorry, I made a mistake. I have had one genuine enquiry, from a filmmaker on the Sunshine Coast, to film a 10 minute short film on 16mm later this year. She is currently fund raising.

[Jon O'Brien]

I even met up for coffee with a guy from work, who had been a feature movie director in the UK, to talk filmmaking. He didn't know that film was still being shot. He thought everything was digitally shot now. His mind couldn't seem to comprehend why film would even still exist. To say I nearly choked on my coffee was an understatement.

As a filmmaker I live and breath film, and always did. I don't like digital. To me, it sucks, for many narrative features in the cinema which would have looked so much nicer and had a much more entertaining vibe if they'd been shot on film. The cinema vibe just isn't in it. It lacks the right soul. I don't get how so many big shot cinematographers don't see a problem.

Even the guy who shot a very well known Hollywood film released in the mid 80s, directed by an Australian, a film I adore for its look and for its direction, doesn't seem to understand why film is still around. I went to see him speak. Someone in the audience asked about shooting on real film. You could have heard a pin drop in the auditorium after he gave his answer. I'm just dumbfounded how so many of the older generation couldn't give a stuff if film died and never came back. It's like not caring about using a traditional classical instrument. Something not right there.

Edited June 10 by Jon O'Brien

[Jon O'Brien]

So yeah, I'm going to keep writing about it, and talking about it.

[Gautam Valluri]

4 hours ago, Jon O'Brien said:

So yeah, I'm going to keep writing about it, and talking about it.

I think Jon, you're preaching to the choir here on this forum. About half of the new topics discussed here are about celluloid film. 

I think you'd be better off spreading the message in real life in your city and perhaps be the pioneer of renewed interest in the format there. And also its useless discussing film with people who are unaware or uninterested. Taking the evangelical approach will mostly only turn people off.

The issue, in my opinion, is that shooting on film is no longer accessible for the self-financed, independent filmmaker. As you said yourself, the director who contacted you to shoot her short on film is busy raising the funds. The only alternative is to find your nearest artist-run film lab and share resources there. That's how we do it in Europe. 

We have a couple of Australian artist-run film spaces signed up on the Filmlabs network, you'll surely find like-minded, film enthusiasts to connect with there:

Artist Film Workshop (Melbourne): https://www.artistfilmworkshop.org/

Workshop for Potential Cinema (Sydney): https://workshopforpotentialcinema.org/

And there does seem to be some renewed interest in shooting film in Australia: https://filmcentralmagazine.com/2024/07/meet-the-young-australian-filmmakers-turning-their-love-of-celluloid-into-a-calling/

Also, you CAN get people interested in film without putting digital down. The best way to do this is to SHOW your work and let people see for themselves. That's the approach we take at our artist-run film lab and it has been working. Apart from making films, we also organise a lot of 16mm and 35mm projections and these screenings are always packed. 

[Brandon Paterno]

god yes AFW rocks… and you guys in australia have richard tuohy and dianne barrie, and carl looper. they’re keeping all sorts of film FX equipment alive and usable!!

filmlabs.org /the film labs network is also generally a great resource for working with film contemporarily outside of the studio system, which there has been some renewed interest in. 

[Dom Jaeger]

4 hours ago, Gautam Valluri said:

And there does seem to be some renewed interest in shooting film in Australia: https://filmcentralmagazine.com/2024/07/meet-the-young-australian-filmmakers-turning-their-love-of-celluloid-into-a-calling/

There’s tons of interest in film in Australia. 

This year we have two new labs opening, we’re currently prepping the first major feature shot on film in this country in well over a decade, and I’m turning away film camera repair jobs because I can’t keep up with the demand. I’ve had three Arriflex SR2 overhauls just in the last few weeks, tomorrow I’m sending a repaired Bolex back to its owner in Bangalow, a bit south of Brisbane where Jon lives. Six more Bolexes are sitting on my repair shelf. 

For a small population, we’re riddled with filmmakers quietly loading their cameras and shooting film. 

1 hour ago, Brandon Paterno said:

god yes AFW rocks… and you guys in australia have richard tuohy and dianne barrie,

It’s funny, Richard and Dianna are superstars in the experimental scene worldwide, just won the Best of the Festival Award at Ann Arbor Festival but are pretty much unknown here. We do tend to celebrate our sports people more than our artists.. 

[Gautam Valluri]

1 hour ago, Brandon Paterno said:

god yes AFW rocks… and you guys in australia have richard tuohy and dianne barrie, and carl looper. they’re keeping all sorts of film FX equipment alive and usable!!

filmlabs.org /the film labs network is also generally a great resource for working with film contemporarily outside of the studio system, which there has been some renewed interest in. 

Richard is awesome!  

Filmlabs.org was setup precisely to reach out to people living in areas without access to film labs to be able to setup their own lab and get things going. Big budget commercial productions are limited to only shooting on film but keeping film alive means keeping lab practices going at the grassroots level, training the next generation of enthusiasts, experimenting with new (and old) possibilities and last but not the least, projecting film where possible.

[Tyler Purcell]

Like David said, I feel the technical posts don't go anywhere, if they don't have comments, they go to the back of the list. 

Few years ago, I was making posts about my projects on a regular basis, explaining lighting rigs, lensing, camera decisions, a whole host of cool information. When I got zero feedback over and over again, I just gave up. 

I have way more feedback on Youtube, Facebook and Instagram. People actually engage in meaningful conversation on platforms not designed for it at all. I feel forums like this have a negative vibe and people just don't want to be part of it because it's time consuming. So many people come on here for the first time, make a few posts and disappear forever. Meanwhile, I've seen those same people on other platforms continue conversations. 

So yea, I think the fact there are other avenues today for connecting people, including videos about how things were made, that it drives the value of a text-only group like this down a bit more than it should be. I personally like forms, so it's 2nd nature, but many people don't. 

 

[Ted Hoppe]

20 hours ago, Tyler Purcell said:

Like David said, I feel the technical posts don't go anywhere, if they don't have comments, they go to the back of the list. 

Few years ago, I was making posts about my projects on a regular basis, explaining lighting rigs, lensing, camera decisions, a whole host of cool information. When I got zero feedback over and over again, I just gave up. 

I have way more feedback on Youtube, Facebook and Instagram. People actually engage in meaningful conversation on platforms not designed for it at all. I feel forums like this have a negative vibe and people just don't want to be part of it because it's time consuming. So many people come on here for the first time, make a few posts and disappear forever. Meanwhile, I've seen those same people on other platforms continue conversations. 

So yea, I think the fact there are other avenues today for connecting people, including videos about how things were made, that it drives the value of a text-only group like this down a bit more than it should be. I personally like forms, so it's 2nd nature, but many people don't. 

 

I am sorry that you  saw no follow up - that was a loss to everyone.  I can understand holding on to how the secret sauce is made too. I also understand that there are many filmmakers who try to do more with new tools that may or may not get them the results with fewer people.

Let's see if we can fix that. Maybe, perhaps we have a chance to build a better mentorship program from this forum which is often far different than those who post who are seeking to build a personal brand on YouTube, facebook and instagram. 

 

Edited June 11 by Ted Hoppe

[Tyler Purcell]

4 hours ago, Ted Hoppe said:

Let's see if we can fix that. Maybe, perhaps we have a chance to build a better mentorship program from this forum which is often far different than those who post who are seeking to build a personal brand on YouTube, facebook and instagram. 

If you got the time and want to put in the work, I feel people would be appreciative. 

I also feel the direct connection between DP and DP is more important than posting some technical stuff from other random people. So if you DO make posts about production, it shouldn't just be from American Cinematographer or something. It should come from your own productions or something you're directly connected with. That will bring more value to the conversation. 

[Jon O'Brien]

I've pretty much given up as a filmmaker, I have to admit. Waaaayyyy to slow to get anywhere. People say oh just make some films or even just a film but does anyone realise how difficult that is to do entirely on your own? (I'm talking a narrative film --- what i was interested in). I can't get anyone interested in writing a script, looking for locations, helping with wardrobe, or in fact anything at all. I'm required to do it all. I pretty much give up. I will continue as an amateur for now. I'm becoming increasingly busy in my other life, which is music, so maybe that's what I concentrate on from here. I am so sick of people telling me that film is too expensive. Great. Go film something with your phone. Go live with your dreams of art.

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

Ted, from what I gather, much of the discussion here is more about gear and not practice. 

The working DP's are too busy being working DP's and have to time for forums.

We used to have a lot more interesting contributions from the old timers. But they died or left.

Edited June 13 by Daniel D. Teoli Jr.

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

On 6/9/2026 at 3:08 PM, David Mullen ASC said:

This site just doesn't have the traffic it used to a decade ago -- I've been here since almost the beginning, almost 23 years ago. I used to post long analysis of older movies and personal production diaries (though now I sign too many NDAs when I start a show to allow that...) but it hardly seems worth the effort if only six people are going to read it and maybe one person responds if any.

I'm a bit surprised that in 2026 we're still engaging in film vs. digital arguments at the reductive "digital will never be as good as film" level of discourse.

I don't think anyone here is "gatekeeping" though, it seems contradictory to participate in a forum if one doesn't want to participate in spreading knowledge and information.

The only thing I own are some filters, so I have no vested interest in pushing any new technology onto people.

Didn't know about the NDAs. Always learning.

Also amazing you only own a set of filters. Good for you, that you are not all cluttered up with gear sitting around.

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

On 6/12/2026 at 3:38 AM, Jon O'Brien said:

I've pretty much given up as a filmmaker, I have to admit. Waaaayyyy to slow to get anywhere. People say oh just make some films or even just a film but does anyone realise how difficult that is to do entirely on your own? (I'm talking a narrative film --- what i was interested in). I can't get anyone interested in writing a script, looking for locations, helping with wardrobe, or in fact anything at all. I'm required to do it all. I pretty much give up. I will continue as an amateur for now. I'm becoming increasingly busy in my other life, which is music, so maybe that's what I concentrate on from here. I am so sick of people telling me that film is too expensive. Great. Go film something with your phone. Go live with your dreams of art.

Well, if you like filmmaking, find something you can do to express what art you have within you. It all depends on if you like it enough to pay to do it or you want to be paid. That is the acid test for love. Are there a lot of people on this forum that will quit rather than use digital? Drop your ego people. Gelatin film or digital are just tools in the toolbox. 

Edited June 13 by Daniel D. Teoli Jr.

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

On 6/10/2026 at 4:20 AM, Gautam Valluri said:

I think Jon, you're preaching to the choir here on this forum. About half of the new topics discussed here are about celluloid film. 

I think you'd be better off spreading the message in real life in your city and perhaps be the pioneer of renewed interest in the format there. And also its useless discussing film with people who are unaware or uninterested. Taking the evangelical approach will mostly only turn people off.

The issue, in my opinion, is that shooting on film is no longer accessible for the self-financed, independent filmmaker. As you said yourself, the director who contacted you to shoot her short on film is busy raising the funds. The only alternative is to find your nearest artist-run film lab and share resources there. That's how we do it in Europe. 

We have a couple of Australian artist-run film spaces signed up on the Filmlabs network, you'll surely find like-minded, film enthusiasts to connect with there:

Artist Film Workshop (Melbourne): https://www.artistfilmworkshop.org/

Workshop for Potential Cinema (Sydney): https://workshopforpotentialcinema.org/

And there does seem to be some renewed interest in shooting film in Australia: https://filmcentralmagazine.com/2024/07/meet-the-young-australian-filmmakers-turning-their-love-of-celluloid-into-a-calling/

Also, you CAN get people interested in film without putting digital down. The best way to do this is to SHOW your work and let people see for themselves. That's the approach we take at our artist-run film lab and it has been working. Apart from making films, we also organise a lot of 16mm and 35mm projections and these screenings are always packed. 

 

Yes, but are they doing anything with this celluloid film? I see very few film shorts or longs being uploaded here by the celluloid film devotees. Or are they just interested in the 'idea' of shooting film or gear discussion? 

Edited June 13 by Daniel D. Teoli Jr.

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

On 6/9/2026 at 6:48 PM, Gautam Valluri said:

Yes, this film vs digital debate is getting tiring and should be relegated to one single dedicated thread for those who enjoy it.

For me personally, this forum is a treasure trove of knowledge. I screenshot important posts regularly for reference and I even ended up using so much of this knowledge in my recently concluded first feature. For example, @Aapo Lettinen's advice on taking a waterproof blanket for changing mags in the forest was so so useful! I would've never thought of it myself. Or finding a 15+ year old thread where Dirk Dejonghe contact printed colour negative onto sound stock for The Red Dwarf, which I ended up trying successfully.

This forum is the Library of Alexandria for the patient, knowledge-seeking young cinematographer.

Well, things change. Films change and digital change. So, nothing wrong with keeping up with things. We used to have similar debates all the time on the photo forums. Color vs. B&W, digital vs. film, this camera vs. that camera. 

Although he is talking about color, Ernst Hass sums things up to this discussion at hand …

“There are black and white snobs, as well as colour snobs. Because of their inability to use both well, they act on the defensive and create camps. We should never judge a photographer by what film he uses- only by how he uses it.”

 

[Gautam Valluri]

7 hours ago, Daniel D. Teoli Jr. said:

 

Yes, but are they doing anything with this celluloid film? I see very few film shorts or longs being uploaded here by the celluloid film devotees. Or are they just interested in the 'idea' of shooting film or gear discussion? 

If you're asking if the film labs artists are doing something with their celluloid film, there is a LOT happening in Europe. Just go on the filmlabs website and you'll find links to hundreds of works from artists all over the world working at the member labs. Sure, these are experimental films but they don't get talked about enough. We might be a fringe, insignificant underground movement for most people but we've played a quiet yet significant part in keeping film alive. Next weekend we have an extensive expanded cinema event, with performances on film projectors and installations. Film projection is something that doesn't get discussed a lot on forums like these and there is so much happening with it. We have regular film screenings on 16mm, 35mm and 70mm in Paris, Brussels, London and Berlin. Then there's the "White Cube" set films (art galleries, museums). I just went to see Rosa Barba's outdoor installation that she did here on a 70mm projector. Earlier this week we had several of Anthony McCall's light sculptures presented in his presence.

And this is the result of small groups of adamant film artists keeping the tradition alive when it all seemed futile. Some of us are building a free knowledge base for everyone to access, some of us are experimenting with ecological developing processes, some of us are using modern tools to upgrade legacy equipment, some of us are teaching Super8 workshops in schools. Everything is open source, everything is free for everyone.

Maybe this forum is too industry-centered, especially the US film industry? The art of cinematography does go beyond just that, geographically and spiritually.

[Tyler Purcell]

10 hours ago, Daniel D. Teoli Jr. said:

Yes, but are they doing anything with this celluloid film? I see very few film shorts or longs being uploaded here by the celluloid film devotees. Or are they just interested in the 'idea' of shooting film or gear discussion? 

There are a lot actually, but it's still a very small amount of film. Most are one or two rolls of 50ft S8mm or 100ft 16mm. Large scale projects with multiple days, dozens of 400ft loads of 16mm or 1000ft loads of 35mm, that's just not as popular. 

Sadly the experimental guys aren't saving anything because those smaller jobs, actually don't make the labs consistent money. Many use older film or process at home, none of that is actually helping the industry. Most labs are just floating, mostly off bigger projects, with lots of money behind them like music videos, commercials and short/features. I'll say one thing, this year I've shot around 18 rolls of 400ft 16mm thus far and I'm for sure not even making a dent compared to some of the guys I service cameras for. They're shooting 18 rolls a day. 

So the people shooting film exist, I just don't know if they spend any time promoting their projects or even finishing them. Frankly, I have 3 projects I shot on 35mm which have never been released to anyone. I just shot another project Friday on 35mm and who knows if the footage is even used. I'm in the process of making a series of 16mm shorts that may take years to release. The sporadic nature of releasing is not indicative of anything unusual, but I do feel the push to shoot film is real. 

Edited June 14 by Tyler Purcell

[Jon O'Brien]

11 hours ago, Daniel D. Teoli Jr. said:

... But they died or left.

That's what really happened to the film industry. All the greats retired or died. People sit around talking about it. In fact this morning I was speaking with an older retired lady and she basically said films at the cinema suck now. She said it much more politely though, of course. But that was the gist.

I'm convinced that so many of the 'big' filmmakers now are not filmmakers. They are tech heads or gamers or some strange alien type of beast. But a filmmaker? They wouldn't know what a good film was if their life depended on it. They're gamers. They are not artists.

P.S. please note my posts are always in reference to theatrical release narrative cinema, of the traditional variety. I am never referring to documentary, experimental/postmodernist art, etc, or TV, or streaming, or Youtube influencer videos.

Edited June 14 by Jon O'Brien