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We are one step closer to the death of film


Jay

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The studios need to make serious effort to restore as many "films" as possible so that a digital transfer is from the best possible source.

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Studios should make a film negative for every digitally-shot film they produce, just for a backup in case the digital master file goes kaput. When properly stored, film lasts for decades. When a digital file goes corrupt or erased, you can't get it back.

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Studios should make a film negative for every digitally-shot film they produce, just for a backup in case the digital master file goes kaput. When properly stored, film lasts for decades. When a digital file goes corrupt or erased, you can't get it back.

Film deteriorates fast. Even a 15 year old film like Titanic(15 at that time) needed serious work.

Studios have a duty of film preservation even on the low budget productions.

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Digital archival is at least equally (perhaps considerably more) fragile than any analogue medium as has already been proven by a number of expansions of 'recent' digitally-recorded scores.

The difference is: Digital can be backed up without data loss. Its longevity just depends on having enough backups and converting to new formats in time.

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Yes. It's just easier to copy, and therefore easier to backup. If you lose the master, any backup is a perfect replacement. If you lose all backups, you probably did something wrong.

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Digital archival is at least equally (perhaps considerably more) fragile than any analogue medium as has already been proven by a number of expansions of 'recent' digitally-recorded scores.

The difference is: Digital can be backed up without data loss. Its longevity just depends on having enough backups and converting to new formats in time.

Yes - it's not all bad!

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Yes. It's just easier to copy, and therefore easier to backup. If you lose the master, any backup is a perfect replacement. If you lose all backups, you probably did something wrong.

Human error is a factor that can never be ruled out. Not even in digital preservation.

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Studios should make a film negative for every digitally-shot film they produce, just for a backup in case the digital master file goes kaput. When properly stored, film lasts for decades. When a digital file goes corrupt or erased, you can't get it back.

Film deteriorates fast. Even a 15 year old film like Titanic(15 at that time) needed serious work.

Studios have a duty of film preservation even on the low budget productions.

Nitrate, sure. But with careful maintenance and a cold storage unit, 35mm can last for years.

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well at least it seems 'films' will be easier to store and more difficult to destroy by time...

is film music stored digitally also, right? No more 'master tapes' disaster in the future...

Digital archival is at least equally (perhaps considerably more) fragile than any analogue medium as has already been proven by a number of expansions of 'recent' digitally-recorded scores.

This could be solved with quartz inspired techniques sometime in the following decades, changing completely how information is stored. Allowing information to last thousands of years intact and withstanding great temperatures like its nothing.

http://www.kurzweilai.net/5d-nanostructured-quartz-glass-optical-memory-could-provide-unlimited-data-storage-for-a-million-years

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Paramount will make some 'exceptions' to their digital-only route. One such exception is Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, which will be released on both 35mm and digital prints.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-paramount-pictures-digital-20140128,0,276668.story#axzz2rilVTVne

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The film stipulations are likely included in the contracts they sign. I didn't know Nolan had the power to say, "There should be a 35mm release for every film I do" but apparently he does.

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Certainly he's earned the right to put his arguments across.

But even people with clout have to adapt. I would hope that exclusion was made from a discussion, and not just the studio afraid that Nolan won't work with them again (and make them shitloads of money) if they abandon film.

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Depends.

You dont think Spielberg has earned the right to make the film the way he wants too?

Again... The Paramount thing has nothing to do with how the films are MADE, just how the final product is DISTRIBUTED.

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You're the one who changed the subject. Matt C posted an article saying Interstellar would still be DISTRIBUTED on 35mm. Then you said that Spielberg has the right to MAKE his films anyway he wants. Two completely different and unrelated things.

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A good question to post, but...

did sound signal the death of film, or colour, or 1:85, or CinemaScope, or 70mm, or Todd AO, or Cinerama, or Dolby Stereo, or DTS?

Film will go on, and films will continue to be made. Older, more scrupulous eyes will learn to adapt. The rest won't care.

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That's right, Richard. I think most photographers/cinematographers have no problem with digital. Some members of the audience tend to be more nostalgic, it's as if digital renders their analog past obselete, or something.

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We still "dial" a telephone number though it's probably older people saying that.

Things change but stay the same.

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#Plus c'est chance,

Plus c'est le meme chose-

The more that things change,

The more they stay the same#


That's right, Richard. I think most photographers/cinematographers have no problem with digital. Some members of the audience tend to be more nostalgic, it's as if digital renders their analog past obselete, or something.

Heck, even Mike Leigh has gone digital. Time to ditch that Moviola, Steve!

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Roger Deakins, one of my favorites and I know that many here respect him too, is an apostle of the digital format. That includes shooting and processing.

Alex

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Roger Deakins, one of my favorites and I know that many here respect him too, is an apostle of the digital format. That includes shooting and processing.

Alex

Have you seen Skyfall Alex? Say about it what you want. Deakins work on it is first rate, and digital!

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  • 2 months later...

Then tell me why has he never won a Cinematography Oscar after 11 nominations?

Because we all know the Oscars are the ultimate bench mark for excellence. Gustavo Santaolalla won two of those things.

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Digital will never look like film from the past and even film today will never look like films from the past. I think the only film stock that is still produced and has been since the 1950s is the Eastman Double-X 5222, which Spielberg used for SCHINDLER'S LIST. Even today, if a filmmaker wants to use that film stock, studio heads will try to persuade them to go for either color film or digital, just so there can be a colorized version of the film if they want to release it. Alexander Payne wanted to shoot with that black and white film stock, but studios said no, so he had to go digital so that the studios would be comforted that there's the possibility of releasing a colorized version.

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