Why Shooting on Film is still important?

Most people thought that when Kodak’s stock price hit below a dollar in 2013, that was it for the film market. The notion that digital cameras had officially killed their dinosaur film competitors was not entirely off base. However recent years have seen a resurgence in demand for film cameras from decades prior. Prices are soaring and a new generation of filmmakers are leading the way.

Some people might tell you it’s the grain or the color or those trendy borders you get from scanning film that makes it different from digital. For me it’s the process. Film was never going to truly die. There are too many directors and filmmakers who’s hard on for film never went away with the advancements in digital technology. But why even shoot on film when you can find a camera with higher quality in your pocket.

What Makes Film Different: 

First, while what a phone camera can do is beyond impressive, it cannot really compare to the capabilities of even a 16mm cinema camera. Sure, it’s become cliché, but there is something to be said about the color and grain of shooting on film. But what people are really alluding to when talking about these qualities is how film makes the viewer feel. Whether it’s video or stills, there is a certain emotion that is hard to replicate when shooting digital. Everything looks a little nicer.

But why not just shoot it digitally and make those adjustments in post? It seems safer right. Sure, that’s an option and in a sense it’s safer, but it’s also worse. You’re not going to be able to find a preset or filter that will make your footage look like it was shot on film. The people who can do that kind of work are experienced color artists. What usually happens when you do this is you end up with an image that just looks gimmicky.

Why Everyone Should be Shooting on Film:

With the hipster arguments aside, I truly believe that every filmmaker should be shooting on film in some capacity of there life. Even if it’s stills, shooting on film makes you a better filmmaker. Aside from forcing you to learn camera basics like ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed, it changes the way you think about the camera. On a digital camera you can fire off 100 shots in 30 seconds or do 100 takes of whatever shot you want. You don’t have that luxury with a film camera.  

Most 35mm film rolls give you 36 shots and each one of them costs you money. What happens is you are forced to slow down your process. You must think about your shot. Think about your composition and be confident in your decisions. Where you might take 30 pictures of a subject on a digital camera you will likely only take 2 or 3 on a film camera. But what happens is you will probably like those 3 pictures more than any of the 30 you took digitally. When you put the time into each shot you become a better photographer, cinematographer, and overall filmmaker.