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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Side by Side

Peter McCully

Peter McCully

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Just saw the documentary Side by Side at the Auckland (NZ) Film Festival. A pretty fair and balanced over-view of the transition to digital. A lot of directors, DPs and producers interviewed. Red gets a good look-in. One thing is fairly clear, there is simply no consensus of opinion regarding film vs digital but at least everyone agrees the changeover is a done deal. Keanu Reeves did an ok job fronting (he was also a producer). For industry people and lay-persons alike it's worth a look.
 
Do you know if it is being posted on the internet or being put onto DVDs cause ive been wanting to watch it but ive not seen posted anywhere
 
For information on the release via Video On Demand, check their website:

http://sidebysidethemovie.com/

AbelCine is proud to have assisted in the production of this movie. It's pretty fair and balanced, and for the REDuser community it gives a sizable nod to the impact of RED Digital Cinema.
 
in case you guys are interested, I shot a similar doco a little while ago where I interviewd ACS cinematographers about their experiences with HD and their transition from film to digital, can be viewed here for free: http://inside-hd.com/
one of the most interesting opinions came from Don McAlpine (Moulin Rouge, Rome & Juliet, Predator) who used to shoot big budget films on film but is actually very PRO HD and embraces RED.

not quite the same as side by side but the theme is quite similar so I thought i'd mention it, sorry for the thread hijacking ^^
 
Dominik Muench said:
in case you guys are interested, I shot a similar doco a little while ago where I interviewd ACS cinematographers about their experiences with HD and their transition from film to digital, can be viewed here for free: http://inside-hd.com/
one of the most interesting opinions came from Don McAlpine (Moulin Rouge, Rome & Juliet, Predator) who used to shoot big budget films on film but is actually very PRO HD and embraces RED.

not quite the same as side by side but the theme is quite similar so I thought i'd mention it, sorry for the thread hijacking ^^
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That was such a great thing to watch, thanks for sharing it! and for sharing it for free! I have never shot on film before not even on film home movie camera type things but if I had the option I would like to shoot film for photos but for video I think digital is the way to go and it is a good way for young aspiring camera operators like myself to get into the industry of videoing whether it be for TV or films or whatever its just digital cameras are soo cheap nowadays that you can show a story you thought of with paying much at all.
 
Just saw Side By Side on iTunes. Fantastic! Well balanced, good variety of opinions in all camps. Felt a bit Alexa-centric in the middle but quickly got back on track and gave good screen time and credit to Red.

Thoroughly enjoyed it, check it out on iTunes!
 
had a bit to many old fashions last night and found myself saying that digital is like fake boobs.... once their in your hands they are real!

I watched side by side the other night on my appletv... enjoyed it. Was left with the thought that "change" is what was talked about most. Results are not as important as ones posture in their career.

Personally... I think that if people stopped talking about film-versus-digital, they could get on with turning good ( or bad ) stories into compelling moments on the(a) a screen and get over whatever up their own ass attitude gets them through the door.:)

keywords:

TOOL
WORKFLOW
METHOD
EXPECT
CHANGE
BEST
PARADIGM
STORY
 
John Swift said:
I have never shot on film before not even on film home movie camera type things but if I had the option I would like to shoot film for photos but for video I think digital is the way to go and it is a good way for young aspiring camera operators like myself to get into the industry of videoing whether it be for TV or films or whatever its just digital cameras are soo cheap nowadays that you can show a story you thought of with paying much at all.
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I don't wish to alarm you, John, but I think you might be pregnant: you've missed a couple of periods ... :yikes:

(And yes, I realize you're British, but the joke just doesn't work if you call them "full stops.") :laugh:
 
PatrickFaith said:
Lot of excellent "sound bites" i can use in explaining the evolution to digital. I especially liked Jill Bogdanowicz's explanation of color correction (was using Davinci full panel btw).
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Yes, Jill is very bright, articulate, and does good work. Note that Stefan Sonnenfeld at Company 3/LA was also using the full DaVinci Resolve panel.

I enjoyed the documentary very much, but had a few problems with it overall:

1) the conversion of 24P film clips was filled with horrendous judder and motion artifacts in their conversion to 1080i, making them look terribly jerky. Bad, bad, post job. All the interviews looked fine.

2) Kodak's bankruptcy didn't happen in time to be included in the film, which immediately dates it.

3) Steven Spielberg is notably missing, and I think he would've had some interesting comments. [Maybe they felt they already had several pro-film people covered.]

4) I think they could have illustrated the point about exposure range better with literal side-by-side comparisons: shoot a scene digitally and show it, and shoot the same scene on film and show it. The ASC has done this many times, so the footage already exists.

I also would've enjoyed seeing an expanded segment with Jim Jannard himself, though Ted did a terrific job (as expected) providing the argument for Red and 4K. Soderbergh and Fincher promote Red very well, as you'd expect.

The documentary presents both sides of the film vs. digital issues very well, all the way from George "Digital Is Great" Lucas to Chris "Film Is Best" Nolan to Martin "It's About Storytelling" Scorsese. The highlight for me was cinematographer Geoff Boyle, who is very colorful (no pun intended) and outspoken, and has strong opinions that he expresses very directly. I liked what he had to say -- both pro and con.

It leaves open the question of how long digital files will last. I would have added some real stories about digital motion pictures that were almost lost due to hard drive crashes (like the infamous Toy Story 2 incident).
 
PatrickFaith said:
In the movie, it mentions a RED camera with a carbon fiber body ... i tried to search in google ... but couldn't find a picture of it. Anyone have a link to the RED carbon fiber camera that was mentioned?
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I'd imagine it was the custom lightweight body fabricated for the rowing scene in The Social Network.
 
Just saw this film tonight, it was FANTASTIC. Made me excited for the evolution of digital, and sad for the likely end of film. It treated both mediums evenly and fairly, and it was a much stronger film for doing so. Seeing Christopher Nolan and David Fincher (+ Soderburg) on opposite sides of the "film vs digital" debate was FASCINATING. Even though there were other loud digital proponents (Robert Rodriguez, Goerge Lucas, Danny Boyle), Fincher really "cut through" for me. Hearing him tell the story of how the RED team got him light weight carbon fiber RED ONE camera bodies for his rowing scene in The Social Network was a treat (Jim had them built over a weekend).

Overall, a very classy, very provocative film. Considering the rumors that Fuji was soon stop making film, the timing for this movie couldn't be any better.
 
Saw this doc tonight. Definitely worth checking out. The director and Keanu Reeves did a great job in presenting this subject.
 
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