Fuji to stop producing movie film

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kittykatro said:
This is great news! Now, maybe digital will become more accepted...
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:huh: (Seriously confused). I understand that this is primarily a digital cinematography community but the lack of attention in this thread and especially some the comments written, are making me even sadder than the fuji announcement itself. How can anybody think that stopping the production of film will be a good thing for cinema?
First of all no one involved in this business was in the recent years ever obliged to shoot a movie in film. Having the opportunity to whether to shoot on film or not is a decision made by the director/producer/dop and not being able to choose between the two formats will only lead to a homogenization of all films produced. Secondly, stating that by stopping the production of film, digital will become more accepted is like creating a moral dilemma where its equivalent would be "It's great news that democracy has been revoked, maybe fascism will become more accepted..."(please do not take this statement as a direct reference to film and video but just as a paradigm to understand the option of free choice).
How could anyone be happy to know that it's not possible to shoot anymore a movie on film, when it is a medium that has been thoroughly tested and accepted as one of the highest quality and still remains on top of its game despite the fact that you can produce a digital film with close to similar results?Also, since costs of producing a film has always been a debate between filmmakers/producers, think in long term that a 70's-80's film camera like arri or eclair are workhorses that you can still use with minimal issues and excellent results, though nowadays you are pretty much obliged to buy a new video camera every 2 years to keep up with the technology improvements. This doesn't seem like it's gonna stop any time soon and the only one profiting from this is the canon's,sony's or whatever and definitely not the filmmakers or the art of cinema. It is time consuming and very cost effective having to search every year what will be a good cam to shoot a feature narrative and how many "extra gadgets" will be needed to make it actually viable.
Every project and every movie has its needs and if for example i wanted to shoot a movie nowadays with a vhs cam i would like to have the opportunity to do it.It would be a personal aesthetic decision not a market driven decision.
Finally, on a more personal thought i have the feeling that cinema in general is taking the downhill like the music industry, although they had the time to learn from their faults. What happened to music in the last 15-20 years?We ended up with sh*ity quality mp3 and same shi*ity pop hits that last for 1 month because music is now produced to be heard on your cheap i phone headphones between going from work to home.No one pretty much care about quality anymore so the industry is just randomly producing mass music in bulk to regain their profits in total. I think that the same thing is happening in cinema with us users staring at vimeo screens and pixel peeping between footage from the GH's and the C's and the likes and wowing this looks awesome, although there will be a new cam in 2 months...

Sorry for the big grant but i truly believe that this is a really sad announcement for anyone involved with the moving image for artistic purposes...
 
The world has gone digital, and that includes movie production. Some may lament the demise of film, but I am not one of them. Sure, technology in HD cameras is ever evolving, but you still can shoot a movie on HDV or a DSLR if you like. Plus, the cameras are getting cheaper. Or you can just rent the latest and greatest cameras. Just use your Google-fu and pick what's best for you. With digital media, the world of movie making is open to a heck of a lot more people. It's the true democratization of movie making. Yes, we get a lot of crap, but we also get a few gems.

The tremendous cost of film production has come way down. I'm not talking about the big Hollywood productions, they can afford to use whatever medium they want. I'm talking about the small productions that couldn't possibly afford the purchase and development of thousands of feet of 16mm film to make their project. People like me, for instance. I could not have made all the short movies I make just for the pure enjoyment of it, if I had to rely on film. Now, anyone can rent/buy a good HD/DSLR camera and use cheap, reusable media to produce their dream. Who can possibly argue against that?

As far as aesthetics, that is in the eye of the film maker and the audience. I have no problem with the look of modern HD cameras, and neither, apparently, does the public. Do you think the movie going public cared whether Avatar and The Avengers was shot on digital media instead of 35mm film? The box office receipts says no.

BTW, this goes even to the viewing of movies at theaters. Personally, I go out of my way to make sure I see a movie in digital projection. I hate watching movies projected from film projectors. All the scratches, dust, audio pops- ugh. Give me digital, every time.

I am not saying the look of film is a bad thing. It's gorgeous - but then so is the look of the Arri Alexa, or RED Epic. Heck, even a Canon 5D. If I were to shoot a big budget Hollywood movie tomorrow, I'd choose the Epic or Alexa over any 35mm film camera in a heartbeat.

Film is dying for a very good reason: it's being replaced with a superior - yes, superior - form of media. You may argue about "the look" and dynamic range, etc. of film, and you would be correct. But I would counter that digital media has equaled, and will soon surpass the dynamic properties of film. Again, we come to your preferred aesthetic, and no one can change your mind on that, and rightly so. But it is obvious that the world has embraced digital media, and soon it will completely envelop it. This thread alone is proof that digital media is preferred over film. If Fuji saw a market for producing film, they would still be making it. And there hasn't been a film movie camera sold since 2009.
Plus, digital media can also be much cheaper to use. And with producers, there's always the bottom line.

As far as music, the people have spoken and have gone to MP3 players and such. Any perceived loss of quality is more than offset by the ease of use and cost savings.

Will I miss film? Not at all. I'm looking ahead, to the future of 4K and 8K.
 
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