There's always been a big debate about whether which format is better; film or video? Both have advantages and disadvantages, ranging from visual quality, light sensitivity and other factors like how each format is used/operated. This debate has become quite heated in the past couple of years, with the introduction of new video cameras such as RED, and the increase in technical specifications within the latest HD DSLR cameras. With the development of these cameras, video quality is fastly overtaking film stock and film cameras, and is making filmmaking much easier and more accessible for many more people.
I've been lucky to be able to shoot on a number of formats, including the RED One video camera, Super8 film, Super16 film and most recently the Canon 550D. I love the nostalgia and 'vintage' style to the film stocks used, making it more of an artistic direction to shoot on that film rather than a technical decision. Since working on a shoot that used the RED One camera, I've fallen in love with it. It has the look of film, whilst being shot on video, which I personally feel that to be the better outcome in this digital day and age.
Video still isn't perfect however, with problems such as 'Rolling Shutter' and 'Anti-Aliasing' being a couple of the most common and heard of problems on digital cameras with a CMOS sensor. Since using the 550D I've frequently come across the rolling shutter, on simple things such as a shot of someone opening a door or cupboard at a fast pace, making a solid object seem somewhat like jelly. Below is a key example of this. Rolling shutter occurs because the way the camera's sensor intakes the image. It reads from left to right, top to bottom, which in this case distorts the helicopters propeller due to it moving at such a high speed that the sensor cannot intake the information fast enough. But, having said that, I now know what I can and cannot do with this camera, and work around this problem using various methods. There are fixes for this, such as in the latest copy of iMovie, but within the coming years I can see this problem being eradicated.
Rolling Shutter issue with video cameras (that have a CMOS sensor)
My main problems with shooting on film is price, workflow issues and complexity of loading film into cameras. Oh, and did I mention price? I don't see why someone would purchase or rent a film camera, purchase film stock that can only be exposed once (meaning everything has to be perfect on the day), not being able to see what is being recorded or played back once it has been recorded (this of course can be changed as you can easily connect a monitor to view what is being exposed) and also then having to wait for the reels and reels of film to be sent off to be correctly developed. I think the problem for this is laziness and simplicity. Within this digital day and age, everyone wants everything yesterday. With video, you can shoot something, play it back and if it's not to the standard you want it to be, record it again. With film you can't do this, as you have to ensure everything is perfect before the director shots "ACTION!". But I don't know if that is a good thing either, as with video you could then be more relaxed on shoot and not pay as much attention to detail, whereas you are on your toes when shooting on film, making sure EVERYTHING goes as planned and that all shots are correctly exposed, each actor knows exactly what they are to be doing and all crew members are clear on what needs to be done in order to get the take that is needed.
This debate will carry on I feel, for many many more years to come. Video will constantly be improved, yet film will no doubt still be the leader in the filmmaking world.
This debate will carry on I feel, for many many more years to come. Video will constantly be improved, yet film will no doubt still be the leader in the filmmaking world.
I came across a very impressive video documentary test presented by Zacuto, featuring some of the leaders in today's digital filmmaking community. They conduct various tests including low light tests, ISO tests and much more to find out which camera is the best and closest to what film is today. The testing is similar to the kind of thing I am conducting at the minute, testing which ISO is best suited for my camera, depending on how much grain is visible in shots etc, as well as which f stop is most suitable for letting in the correct level of light.
ZACUTO - 'THE GREAT CAMERA SHOOTOUT 2010'
It's definitely worth checking out, and although I will be definitely be shooting my final assignment piece on a DSLR, it's always interesting to check out how far video technology has developed in the past few years.
ZACUTO - 'THE GREAT CAMERA SHOOTOUT 2010'
It's definitely worth checking out, and although I will be definitely be shooting my final assignment piece on a DSLR, it's always interesting to check out how far video technology has developed in the past few years.
