Name : I Gusti Agus Wirashika

NIM : 2001541006

Class : A

Film vs. Digital: Which One Is Better?

In this era of filmmaking, there are many ways to produce a film. The filmmakers even
can use their mobile phone to shoot nowadays. But some filmmakers believe that the film
camera, that the result of the recording is stored in the celluloid tape, is still relevant. The issue
of whether the film (celluloid) is the best way to shoot a film than digital camera is still become
an important topic, especially for filmmakers. The importance of this topic is film requires a
different cinematic style and process during the production, so this debate can compare which
device is more effective and still remain the authenticity of the film itself. Since there are many
arguments about this topic, this essay will focus on the visual aesthetic and the efficiency of
each devices.

Some filmmakers believe that when they shoot on film camera, they will get the
authenticity of the film itself. Wes Anderson, the director of The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
use the film cameras to achieve the 1930’s look. The other director, Pablo Larraín, use the
16mm Kodak film Arriflex Camera to capture the emotion and psychological condition of each
character in Jackie (2016). Quentin Tarantino, the director of Pulp Fiction, argues that “There
is a softness that is difficult to achieve in digital.” He has been working with film camera since
his first feature, Reservoir Dogs (1992) which shot on 35mm Panavision Film Camera. On the
other hand, the award winning cinematographer, Roger Deakins, state that the film look can
achieve with digital camera if it is edited correctly. If the filmmaker want it to look like a film
shot, they can add some grainy texture and other old camera technique like shutter in post-
production.

Since the film camera needs more preparation to shoot and heavier than digital one, it
is clear that shoot on film is more difficult than digital. If we shoot on film, we have to precisely
look at the blocking, composition, and lighting. The result is not appear until the film is scanned
in laboratory. One of the greatest Hollywood director, Christopher Nolan, claimed that shooting
on film is cheaper and more reliable. Interstellar, one of the Nolan’s feature film, he used the
heavy 70mm IMAX camera and shot it with handheld. This process was very hard and needed
more effort since he only use one camera for the dialog scene (other filmmakers usually use
two cameras for this scene). However, Steven Soderbergh argues that the digital camera is the
future of cinema. His film, Unsane (2018), was shot on iPhone. He believes that nobody who
does not know the backstory will realize that his film was shot on iPhone. It seems more
effective than the film cameras. His cast and crew also love his approach in filmmaking. He
considered as effective and efficient contemporary director.

In conclusion, the digital camera is more effective and efficient than film camera. If we
want to achieve the film look, we can add it in post-production by doing it in editing process.
Even though the digital process is more easy to use, the celluloid film equipment gives the
filmmaker more authenticity and the sense of effort while doing it. Finding perfect light and
composition gives them time to think and more appreciate the filmmaking process with the cast
and crew, especially the cinematographer.
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