Raissa Contreras

I'm a Baltimore based cinematographer who shoots in 16mm film if you are ever interested...https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3342068/

There are so many but here's 2 recent favorites...

Saw The Edge of the City today on TCM - gorgeous B&W cinematography. Looked up cinematographer - Joseph Brun. He had been nominated for an earlier film (Martin Luther). A little off topic but I bring it up because the beauty of not only the light and compositions but of the rich grain - and there was a comment on the beauty of grain on this thread.

I'm so happy to see this thread. I didn't know that Old Man With a Gun was shot with 16mm! I love 16 mm and use it personally. I was unaware it's becoming a "thing" and thought I was sort of a lone throw back. I was also under the impression that if a larger production film was shot on 16 mm it was due to budget...Kathryn Bigelow's Hurt Locker I believe was shot on 16 mm & I thought it was because it was cheaper. This is all very interesting. Of course digital can be beautiful too and love the cinematography in Roma which if I'm not mistaken was shot with Alexa 65. Also very happy to see David Mullen did The Marvelous Mrs Maisel! Congratulations!! I have already praised the look of Love Witch was was very cool. It was lush, beautiful and campy all simultaneously. Haven't seen Mrs Maisel yet but will definitely check it out!

I said Roger Deakins is a great cinematographer & it is fine that he migrated to digital. He discussed his reasons and it seemed a thoughtful choice. I imagine he can see the difference. Glad you can too. My point discussing the old print of Ozu's film is that an old imperfect print is still beautiful. More recent works shot on film don't necessarily have scratches etc. They are beautiful too. I have also said REPEATEDLY that I have seen beautiful films shot on digital. I'm thinking at this point you are enjoying arguing and I've had enough.

I compared the two because Avatar used 3d to seem alive and it was highly touted for its digital breakthroughs. I was comparing the effect of an "imperfect" celluloid image to the supposed hyper real "perfect" digital one. I found the "imperfect" celluloid image more alive. I keep saying maybe not everyone sees a difference between celluloid and digital but I do. I didn't attribute ALL the differences in the experience to the "capture" medium.

I said I had seen beautiful films that were digital. Please read my comments thoroughly. I also think Roger Deakins is a great cinematographer. I said a serious cinematographer should consider what medium she/he uses not that a serious cinematographer must always use film. My point has been film is beautiful even with "flaws" and I pray digital does not kill film. I firmly believe we will be losing something important if that happens. I notice a difference between celluloid & digital maybe you don't. I notice a difference and I think keeping celluloid alive is important.

I disagree that what a film is created with is low on the list. I consider film an art form, like painting, and feel its medium extremely important. I would assume any serious cinematographer would. I didn't call Early Summer a flawed movie. I said the old print was flawed - had a few scratches etc - but still beautiful. And yes vinyl is making a comeback. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jan/03/record-sales-vinyl-hits-25-year-high-and-outstrips-streaming

I never claimed that Early Summer was great simply because it was shot on film. However, I'm sure Ozu would be a proponent of keeping film around. My point was that a "flawed" celluloid experience can feel more alive than a digital one using 3d to heighten its impact. Celluloid is alive perhaps because of its imperfections...much like life itself. People are saying something similar about vinyl as it's making a come back. Certainly, I have seen digital films that are beautiful and digital can be sublime - Life of Pi comes to mind - but humanity will be losing something precious if it loses celluloid as a medium.

Well I just saw a very old print of Ozu's Early Summer (black & white) - full of scratches and flaws and it was beautifully ALIVE. The characters were so alive I felt I was in the room with them. I felt nothing like that in Avatar even as multi colored 3d bugs flew out at me. I left the theater again praying we don't lose film. Someone noted that film is like a painting because it exists in the physical realm...it is like a painting in other ways too.

I liked Collateral a lot too and looked up the DP when I watched it.

Loved Murder on Orient Express shot on 65 mm. Honestly, couldn't tell if it was sharper, but it was gorgeous.

This discussion is so interesting because I have never found anything shot on film excessively sharp no matter the format or lenses. I have found digital excessively sharp.

Jon O'Brien - Interesting to hear digital referred to as an old guy's format! LOL. Vittorio Storaro shot Wonder Wheel and Cafe Society w digital so I thought of him after reading your comment. He's a brilliant cinematographer & both are beautiful but I have to say I like the look of Magic in the Moonlight better. I'm a film person tho I understand the advantages of digital and why it might actually be better sometimes. Still, I have always felt like a dinosaur. It's nice for someone to comment otherwise. Would also like to say I thought Murder on Orient Express cinematography fabulous and loved that it was shot on film.

Oh & I can't wait to hear more!!

WOW!!! That's all so fascinating! Thank you for filling me in!!! V interesting re: Warner Bros and Kodak deal & Kodak becoming a landlord. Also interesting re: labs. It's hard to feel sorry for the big studios having to spend on processing but I can see how it would worry smaller filmmakers & totally understand their predicament. I show a doc to my students Side by Side comparing digital to film & Nolan is the main film advocate in it. My students of course are all for digital…digital and CGI and then more CGI…LOL. But I digress…it is also v cool that Nolan figured out a way with Warner Bros to make money thru film presentations. And like I mentioned prev so happy Patty Jenkins has spoken out and that Wonder Woman has been such a huge financial success. Really appreciate this thread & this dialogue!

Oh I didn't realize editing was v nearly free. I was referring to Satsuki's comment "And if there's a DIT with their full-size cart on set, transcoding and grading everything and going into hours and hours of overtime to do it, I can't imagine that ends up being any cheaper than shipping a bunch of film cans to the lab for processing and scanning." And I would think editing costs. But maybe I am wrong. And it's interesting but not at all surprising that many producers feel film is almost gone…sigh. ​I had read that Tarantino & Scorcese thankfully struck a deal to save film in the 11th hr. This article is 2015 - don't know what has transpired since. http://www.indiewire.com/2015/02/film-is-here-to-stay-studios-and-kodak-strike-a-deal-65440/

I agree completely tho at this pt just happy to see anything still shot on film. Maybe if it can just hang on it'll make a comeback. Just saw a new theater owned by Tarantino, the Beverly, in LA has film projectors. Both mediums have their advantages and disadvantages. I wish we could just embrace that. I find a dismissive attitude toward film very upsetting. Satsuki made a great pt in that digital is marketed as inexpensive but the irony is once you've edited 100s of hrs of digital footage have you really saved money?

Wow great work everyone!! Thank you Satsuki for starting this post and I love your Sutro Baths...Clint's flower, T Sanders' Lake House & Mack's Self Portrait w Audio Equipment are great too!! Here's one of mine.

I recall hearing one of the editors for Mad Max Fury Road - I think it was Margaret Sixel - saying they had about 400 hrs of footage to edit - mind boggling. I was happy to see Wonder Woman was shot on film and Patty Jenkins is real advocate for film. I think it is so impt that film remains in play for a variety reasons and the topic of this discussion is one of them.

Interesting - Anna Biller's Viva is also playing in Baltimore this wk at the newly renovated historic Parkway Theater.

Just saw Love Witch last night here in Baltimore at arthouse theater The Charles. It was packed and the audience was cracking up. Saw glimmers of so many influences including the Mary Tyler Moore show and Twin Peaks. Wacky and truthful. So much fun. I even saw Trump in it. The neighbor enjoying a sensuous slice of chocolate cake in her kitsch apartment going on about his sexual fantasies totally made me think of Trump at Mar-a-lago and the chocolate cake he shared with Chinese President Xi. It was a hot night in B-town & the colors and images invaded my dreams.

The Love Witch is coming back to Baltimore! YAY!!! May 18 at The Charles - Baltimore's arthouse. Excited to see it on the big screen!!

Wow! Excellent!! Congratulations!!