Kodak continues to produce Film :)

jagraphics said:
As I keep saying this has Nothing to do with the look, ethics, ethos or quality of film. Simply the cold hard facts on the economics of production of the stock. No matter what a Director thinks it is the suits with the money (who are not in the movie business) who will close the factories.
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Yeah, I have my 4x5 and 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 view cameras in my closet for that very reason... I also have a room full of manual typewriters... the Wife went on a collection binge... So I'm set for the post apocalyptic world of much reduced industrial capability... (I've even made paper in the past... gratia artis... and all...).
 
Manual type writers... DO they still makes ribbons for those? I saw a item that last week the last ever typewriter made in the UK came off the production line. However I think this was the re-run of a quiz program that could have been up to 10 years old.... It is not that the typewriters or the 35mm still film cameras will cease to work it is just that the consumables will no longer be available.

That said I suppose it will be possible to reasonably easily re-ink ribbons. Even replace the fabric of the ribbon. It does not require a huge factory like roll film does.
 
I've read the whole thread and I would suggest that the film advocates are whistling past the graveyard. Last night I was re-watching a Deakins interview around the time he shot True Grit (I know, on film) where he suggests that he would only be interested in shooting digitally now, that the advantages made it the right choice. Among those he enumerated are the ability to know that you've got it on set without waiting for dailies and the ability to work more effectively in lower light for night exteriors. He asserts that "with the digital camera he's shooting with now" that he cannot discern an appreciable difference in quality to film. His opinions are so practical and free of pretension that it's a great watch if you haven't seen it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hzlDmlE0wA

For the film advocates the Hollywood Reporter Cinematographer round table discussion includes DelBonnel and Papamichael and they wish for film not to go away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RkNvxo42D0

My opinion is that we're there with digital acquisition and that it's only going to improve. I agree with those on this thread who have asserted that film will be an esoteric choice for specialists and only have a very small place in the world in the next few years. The examples where you can't tell the difference, even Papamichael in B&W in Nebraska admits it is so after grain was applied in post, are too prevalent to deny. I cannot tell the difference anymore between Alexa, some RED, some F55 and 65 and film. It's a done deal. The infrastructure for film is already depleted past the point to ensure its eventual demise. I feel no joy in that but it's true.
 
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jagraphics said:
Manual type writers... DO they still makes ribbons for those?
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We repurpose printer ribbons, which still are made, for hopelessly damaged/deteriorated ones we run across. I think manual typewriters are still made in China, but the largest buyer, India, has been moving towards electronic methods for some time, has greatly reduced the last major market for manual typewriters. I think domestic indian production ended a couple of years ago.

In electronics there are zillions of miles of 'tape' with sprocket holes used to hold parts that are placed on circuit boards, I don't know if some enterprising person could repurpose clear acetate strips with emulsion to produce some form of 'film' in the future...
 
The Word Processor will NEVER replace the Type Writer. It just does not have the same look and feel as ink jet or laser, besides the quality of the paper is not as good. I will stop using a manual typewriter when they prize it from my cold dead [arthritic] fingers


Sorry.... I was confused I thought it was Friday afternoon :happy:



Manual typewriters don't need electricity or much else besides paper and a ribbon they will go in for a while yet even is manufacturing ceases.
 
David W. Jones said:
Man I was on top of the world back when I got my newfangled IBM Selectric II.
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Some of the then major manual typewriter manufacturers were 'late to the electrified' party, and disappeared. IBM which wasn't a manual typewriter major name brand... won...

In the case of Kodak, it was a major developer of some amount of digital sensor technology, producing an early DSLR... but just didn't quite make the lightspeed jump to digital Film as a mass market in the pro sector...
 
I go on and on about shooting film, but my latest project is def going to be shot on a DSLR, even though I was originally planning on shooting it on super 8. I shot a test roll and it just didn't look good enough for what I wanted. I guess you could call me a hypocrite. I do shoot plenty of 35mm still film though. I recently found a ton of it for a couple bucks at a thrift store, and there are still some drug stores in my area that develop it.
 
j1clark@ucsd.edu said:
A random search yields one place in Culver City that has $700/day for an Alexa, and on their web page one could get a camera + some lenses for about 1K a day. There was also a week option at about $2100.
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Adorama in NY rents Alexas starting at $725/day $1995/week with pretty much everything you need except the glass. Pricing goes up depending on the model & accessories.
 
This whole discussion will soon be moot, as there will be no places left to process the film you shoot. Labs have been closing down at an alarming rate, and even Technicolor & Deluxe have both closed their LA labs.

Seriously, if Tech & Deluxe can't make it in LA, who can support a lab business anywhere?
 
j1clark@ucsd.edu said:
Damn, after 45 years still too expensive...
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Actually, not a bad price considering that you could use all of those lenses on a Black Magic Pocket Cinema camera. I'd be interested in buying this myself if I wasn't a Bell and Howell Filmo guy : ) Sadly, I sold mine in a pinch a couple years back and haven't found one on ebay to my liking since. One of these days...
 
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