Wednesday 4 September 2013

FILM vs DIGITAL: THE DEBATE CONTINUES IN 'SIDE BY SIDE'


Ever since George Lucas changed the face of movie-making with his shooting of EPISODE II completely on digital, the controversy following in its wake between cameramen and directors, as to whether the new format is a better medium than film in order to make valuable cinematic endeavours, remains controversial, and, to put it bluntly, vocally aggressive. Lucas has constantly been attacked and criticised by many of his peers worldwide, though he has had some support from the likes of other visionaries in fantasy and creativity, like James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez.

The terrific documentary film Side by Side, presented and starring a very animated and enthused Keanu Reeves, charts the rise (and soon fall?) of film stock with the very beginnings of cinema and the emergence of digital, plus the controversies and challenges that have followed with the latter. It's well worth catching on the UK's FILM4 channel tonight at 1.25am and includes a candid talk from George Lucas about the future of film-making, accompanied by some rare archival material of the revolutionary production of the Classic and Prequel movies at ILM.

George Lucas talks Digital in Side by Side.

Side by Side Official Trailer (2012) on Vimeo

No comments: