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I'm a big fan of Kodak's products for my photography, both snapshot and 'artistic' and am saddened by the dwindling market for film and the impact that has on the pool of products I have to choose from. In light of the immense attention on the film "The Dark Knight" particularly regarding the scenes shot on 65mm film, I'm wondering why Kodak did not make an attempt to do a marketing tie-in? In my work at a 1-hour lab many customers are surprised to find out that film is even being made any more! While the motion picture industry has always dwarfed consumer still photography in its use of film, the drop in sales has surely been a significant part of Kodak's decline. With this film being THE motion picture event of 2008, highly anticipated even since the release of its predecessor, it seems to me that Kodak missed out on a HUGE opportunity to bring your products back in to the spotlight. Imagine a television ad with the grandiosity of "The Dark Knight" and then proclaiming to the world that it was shot on Kodak film... For the health of your company, and the health of my hobby and livelihood, please tell me why Kodak does not take advantage of opportunities like this!
Kind regards,
Justin Silber
(user of Kodachrome 64 and 400TX in 35mm and 320TXP in 4x5)
Either this year, or last, Kodak ran an ad at "Academy Award" time pointing out that throughout the history of the "Academy Awards", every movie that has won the best movie of the year "Oscar" was shot on Kodak film.
Matt
You just have to go back to 2006 to find a Best Picture winner shot on a film other than Kodak.
'07 - No Country for Old Men - 35 mm (Kodak Vision2 100T 5212, Vision2 200T 5217, Vision2 500T 5218)
'06 - The Departed - 35 mm (anamorphic) (Fuji)
Courtesy of IMDB.com. I would speculate that the vast majority have been shot on Kodak throughout cinematic history.
Most productions with any sort of budget shoot film; theatrical and television. The industry in general knows at this point that it simply looks better than digital. There may come a day when that is not the case, but for now, it is not. They use film to capture the scene, then digital to edit and manipulate it. The best of both worlds: the huge advantages of film upon capture, but with the non-destructive editing and lack of generation loss of digital.
The main disadvantage of shooting film these days is that it is *expensive* as all get out. The smaller productions can't afford the cost of processing the stuff, so they are usually the ones who fully embrace a 100% digital workflow. There are many exceptions, of course; large budget movies that have been shot partly or fully in digital.
I do not hold much hope for film. I definitely do not have any faith in Kodak to do anything other than act like a corporation. Individuals have souls and consciouses and can make decisions that are not self serving...but not groups. When cameras get to the point when they are close enough looking to film that most people can't tell the difference, film will be dropped almost overnight, just like it was when the press went digital. There will be one new camera that someone decides is the breaking point, then one large studio will jump ship. The others will follow, wanting to stay on par. Then it will be over. Film types will gradually be cut until there are just a few varieties...etc., etc. The same thing that has happened with still film. There is no hope for film in the end, as money is the only thing that talks...or screams, rather.
I feel it is important to look at final results rather than a technical concern such as medium. If there truly is a point when digital looks as good as film, and can do everything that I need it to do, I will embrace it. I feel that this will be forced upon me far before I can make this decision willingly, though, meaning that film will go away before digital has even matched it.
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