Film or Digital for Student Learning

[anamexis]

Now before you dismiss this for having "film or digital" in the title, which I understand is a bit of a worn topic here, read on, as I believe my problem allows for at least a bit of new insight.

 

I just wanted to bring a dilemma I've been having recently to the light of much more experienced people than I.

I am in love with movies and cinematography, and up until this point have just been doing a lot of reading on the subject. I have been hoping to start making my own little films for quite some time. And from this has come my personal dilemma of film vs. digital.

I (as seems to be the mostly unanimous choice of cinematographers) prefer the look and feel of film. Ideally, this is what I would like to work with.

 

 

However, given my quite limited budget, I don't know what to do. My options basically boil down to save up for a long time, and then rent film stuff, shoot a short, and really hope that it turns out decently as my first time. Or, I can save up and buy a decent digital camera. (Probably looking at the DVX or equivalent.) This would allow me much more hands-on learning and filmmaking, but of course lose the film.

 

I really do love film, but I am having trouble justifying it when I could either have 1 shot at shooting a short in film, or have much less limitless options in digital for around the same money.

 

As I see digital becoming more and more prevalent, especially when I look ahead to the time when I will be more in the job market after I plan to go to a film school, it complicates things further. Of course I want to get more experience in film, but will this be relevant when I begin working? And I also understand that film will probably be sticking around in the big budget stuff, but I think that when I am starting out in the low budget, this will be the first niche to go to digital. And should I have the luck and talent to move on, I imagine I would have a bit more money to play with film on my own time then.

 

...but I still love film and would love to work with it.

 

What do others have to say about such decisions?

[David Mullen ASC]

Get the DVX100A and get a Super-8 camera and shoot both digital and film.

[John Pytlak RIP]

Get the DVX100A and get a Super-8 camera and shoot both digital and film.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I agree. Shoot both film and video, for the advantages each offers. A used 16mm MOS camera might also be within your budget, or even a new Krasnogorsk: B)

 

http://www.k3camera.com/k3/k3pdfs/2004k3man.pdf

 

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/16mm/cam...d=0.1.4.9&lc=en

[David Cox]

My tip would be ?don't let the technology get in the way?. Your "film" is about story, characterisation, tension, plot, emotion etc etc. It?s not about DV, HD, 16 or 35mm.

 

Here's the deal. You'll make mistakes making your first film. Everyone does and they are the sort of subjective mistakes you can only see afterwards - maybe months afterwards. So you can spend the rest of you're life saving up to shoot those mistakes on 65mm or you can make them tomorrow with the first camera you can get hold of.

 

By all means make yourself aware of the benefits of digits and film and by all means learn the techniques involved in handling both. They will both be around for a long time so you're learning time will not be wasted. But they are only means to an end. They are not the reason we make "films".

 

So the moral of the story - stop procrastinating and get shooting!

 

Good luck.

 

David Cox

Baraka Post Production

www.baraka.co.uk