"You have to learn from where ever you can and keep pushing yourself out of any comfort zones. Video is a lot cheaper than even 8mm film and film making also includes writing."
This is exactly why I took the plunge and bought some high end super 8mm cameras recently. I felt that I've learned all I could from the digital medium (perhaps save for 10,000 hours of actual hands-on time, although I'm probably halfway there) and decided to learn about working with film by starting from scratch. I've worked on indie movies being shot on 16mm, S16, 35mm, etc., but never in the camera department, which to me does make a difference. My goal is to be a DP/cam op who can work on any format.
I've read that shooting on film, especially with a camera with no video tap, will make you better at lighting scenes because you will learn to get it right the first time, not by fiddling, checking the monitor, fiddling, checking the monitor, and so on. This to me seems like quite the learning experience and although it's going to be way more expensive, I'm really looking forward to it.
