Kids today have never experienced the majesty of Technocolor, not that Transformers played on smartphones and tablets really need it. And how many have sat in monster theaters with screens a block long since they were chopped up into shoebox theaters? Film going used to be special. Now, if people leave their home theaters for a movie theater it is more to get out of the house. And, of course, the look of film can be faked on digital video, with out the scratches, combined with significantly lower cost to produce, so why use film?
While the debate has raged over whether or not film is dead, ARRI, Panavision and Aaton have quietly ceased production of film cameras within the last year to focus exclusively on design and manufacture of digital cameras. That’s right: someone, somewhere in the world is now holding the last film camera ever to roll off the line.
[...]
Beauviala believes that that stereoscopic 3D has “accelerated the demise of film.” He says, “It’s a nightmare to synchronize two film cameras.”
[...]
Do camera manufacturers believe film will disappear? “Eventually it will,” says ARRI’s Russell.
It was the invention of the motion picture camera, they killed the Kinetoscopes. Which used a belt of still pictures, flipping into view, as someone cranked the scope. But they didn’t work as projectors for crowd viewing. The Magic Lantern shows served that purpose. Which were just elaborate slide projectors, lit mostly by candles. Perhaps much later by arc lighting. Motion picture film eventually killed off all of that old technology. Just as camera phones and digital camera killed off the self-developing Polaroid film camera.
It would be nice if they could design a 35mm digital image capture replacement, that fit into older cameras. In place of the film rolls. But the market now is mainly for a pocket camera. So you have buy an entire new camera. But it wouldn’t surprise me if there were a retro-fit kit of some kind. For serious camera buffs. To breathe new life into a favorite old Minolta or Olympus.
One of the biggest problems with MP film was temperature control. Filming anything outdoors, usually effected the colors in the film. So a whole new technology of adjusting colors during the printing process, grew up to help correct for this. Early on, it wasn’t always successful. I remember the triple wide screen of “How the West Was Won” movie, had visible differences in colors between the three cameras they used. And fresh reels of unexposed film would start out cold, and warm up towards the end. So uncorrected, they’d go from dark to light, and suddenly back to dark again. Digital tech has done away with all that crap.
Frame rates can be anything you want, not just 24 a second. Same for shutter speeds, if they still exist. I know analog VHS cameras had them. But electronic digital cameras don’t need a physical shutter. An image is stored and recorded, however fast is desired. I don’t know if slowing down a digital camera’s shutter speed, “burns in” an image. It may just take a rapid exposure and then stay off for the rest of the shutter time. Rather than accumulating light exposure, over the time of an open shutter. I’d be guessing how the new movie cameras simulate old film camera’s tricks. If they can.
Hi I’m writing my dissertation on the subject. Would you please be so kind to indicate the source of your quote?
“While the debate has raged over whether or not film is dead, ARRI, Panavision and Aaton have quietly ceased production of film cameras within the last year to focus exclusively on design and manufacture of digital cameras. That’s right: someone, somewhere in the world is now holding the last film camera ever to roll off the line.
[...]
Beauviala believes that that stereoscopic 3D has “accelerated the demise of film.” He says, “It’s a nightmare to synchronize two film cameras.”
[...]
Do camera manufacturers believe film will disappear? “Eventually it will,” says ARRI’s Russell.
A quick answer would be much appreciated.
Thank you