The film world is at a crossroads. At the moment we have the ability to produce images, digitally, to match (or beat) the picture quality of 35mm film. What we don’t currently have is the ability to produce a digital image to match the film quality of IMAX film. This is something that, I’m sure, RED is working on.
A documentary about this crossroads is coming this year, produced by Keanu Reeves & Justin Szlasa and directed by Chris Kenneally.
From the website: The documentary investigates the history, process and workflow of both digital and photochemical film creation. We show what artists and filmmakers have been able to accomplish with both film and digital and how their needs and innovations have helped push filmmaking in new directions. Interviews with directors, cinematographers, colorists, scientists, engineers and artists reveal their experiences and feelings about working with film and digital — where we are now, how we got here and what the future may bring.
The film has been out for a while, so perhaps you’ve seen it. I just learned about it, and am hoping to find it.
Movies were shot, edited and projected using photochemical film. But over the last two decades a digital process has emerged to challenge photochemical filmmaking.
SIDE BY SIDE, a new documentary produced by Keanu Reeves, takes an in-depth look at this revolution. Through interviews with directors, cinematographers, film students, producers, technologists, editors, and exhibitors, SIDE BY SIDE examines all aspects of filmmaking — from capture to edit, visual effects to color correction, distribution to archive. At this moment when digital and photochemical filmmaking coexist, SIDE BY SIDE explores what has been gained, what is lost, and what the future might bring.