To many folks today, Film is practically dead. A quaint memory from the last century. Everybody it seems has done digital. When did you last see an advert for Film or film cameras ?
Yet film is still being used, albeit in much smaller quantities. How long then before Film disappears ?
Digital has certain advantages that have made it a runaway success, not least the speed in seeing your results. A great boon for press and wedding photographers, but not necessarily for all forms of photography. While you're looking at that tiny screen, which may not tell you everything about the picture, you could be missing your next shot. Anyway, a competent photographer surely knows if he or she has got the desired image, without having to peep.
That Film Look
Many serious photographers still prefer the look of film, in fact some digital photographers have gone back to it. One reason could be the enormous cost savings on used professional equipment. Another little-publicised reason is the fact that film technology has made big strides in recent years. Some new film emulsions are virtually grainless, well surpassing the resolution of digital photographs. Then there's that elusive 'film look' that is so hard to put into words.
History
All through the years, we have been persuaded to part with our cash to buy the latest photographic gear, regardless of whether we actually need it to take better photos. Look at the stunning quality images they turned out in Victorian times.... In the 1950s and early 60s many folks were working with medium format Rolleiflexes, then everyone was persuaded to buy 35mm SLRs, and the lower cost of film won the day. But did the photos get that much better ? Quality-wise they took a nose-dive. Because 35 mm was that much smaller, and therefore grainier. Fast-forwarding to today, the resolution of 35mm film now out-performs what we used to admire in medium format. Even a humble Zenith costing less than £10 can turn in stunning images.
But once again, the hype tells us to move on... not live in the past but embrace all things digital. Film is an out-dated medium. So, will Film disappear ? And how long has it got ?
The Movies
Sofar we've looked at 35mm stills. But remember, 35mm is really cine film. Apart from minor differences it's the same stuff they use for making Hollywood blockbusters. Kodak and Fuji have always sold far more film to the cinema film industry than to still photographers. Therefore, as long as features and TV commercials continue to use 35mm film, it will be available for still photography. And don't forget 16mm film, still very popular for TV dramas and documentaries. Steven Spielberg and many younger directors, are totally committed to film. Others are gradually moving over to digital filming as the quality improves. Digital Intermediates are used now on nearly all features, enabling special effects to be added more cheaply, prior to scanning back onto film. Unfortunately, a DI if done at too low a resolution makes the quality of the film suffer. And digital projection at 2K looks like another step in the wrong direction. It looks so much better projected on film. However, Film continues to be the top origination medium for movies.
Apart from ascetic reasons, why do film-makers go for old-fashioned chemical film ? A powerful reason is: it's future-proof. So many digital and video formats have come and gone. (Looks as if Super-8 will outlive old VHS that nearly killed it ! ) More video formats in the future will no doubt bite the dust, as we're persuaded to buy more and more to keep up. How many times in the next 50 years will video films have to be transferred to new formats ? But the basically simple technology of film remains almost unchanged, because it doesn't have to change. It's proved itself for more than a century, getting on for two I suppose, for still images. Those stunning Victorian plates, remember ?
Where's the Guarantee ?
Digital photography has a bit of a question-mark over it simply because it's so young. An archivist told me recently that he photographs important documents on old-fashioned slide film. Digital is still too risky, he says, for long-term storage. We know that the colours of Kodachrome, properly stored, last maybe a century or more. Kodak have stopped making Kodachrome unfortunately. But they reckon that their latest Ektachrome films will not fade for at least 80 years.
Film-makers, having spent so much effort on a production, are similarly anxious about their film's long term survival. With black and white there is little problem because we now know that the film will last for perhaps 5 centuries or more as long as it has been archivally processed and stored. Digital sound-tracks can also be safely preserved in this way, optically on film. But is there a way that colour films can be protected down the centuries ? Yes... It's expensive, but worth doing on the classic movies. Using high resolution black and white film, you make 3 'separation positives' from the original colour negative. Separate magenta, cyan and yellow filters are employed. From these 3 black and white archival masters, you can print off a new full-colour intermediate... anytime in the next 500 years. Simple ! Does digital offer this lengthy guarantee ?
Survival
Back to basics though. Will Film get through the economic slump ? However good a product.... if people fail to buy it, through lack of advertising by Kodak's financial people, or for any other reason, it's unlikely to survive. In normal times, how long such a film product holds on does vary alot. With Super-8 Kodachrome they pulled the plug as soon as sales dropped to 100,000 films a year. Fuji already had a much smaller share of the movie market with their excellent Single-8 films. They followed suit. However, in Japan there was uproar from artists and film-makers, and true to Japanese honour, Fuji was persuaded to carry on. Strangely, when things get really bad, smaller firms step in. 9.5mm movie film died officially many years ago, yet a handful of enthusiasts carry on buying films, now with the modern Fuji emulsions. You can even buy a black and white roll of 127 film for your Kodak Brownie !
Over the years we've seen some of the more exotic film emulsions disappear. Remember Scotch 1000, the slide film with the golf-ball grains ? At the other end of the scale, Ektachrome Duplicating Film (daylight variety) that gave amazingly subtle results where its 8asa speed allowed. I hope Kodak and the other manufacturers keep having a good variety of film types, ignoring the pressure to axe the slower sellers. Choice is so important in creating the image you are after. And it's surely better to see the light doing its work on the film, without having to resort to computer effects later. So if you like the effect of a particular kind of film, use it as much as possible, and tell other photographers how good it is. Use it or lose it.... And remember, in real terms the cost of film has never been lower. In the 1960s, a roll of 35mm Kodachrome cost as much as filling your car up.
What of the general situation then.... Is the game up ? I have a feeling ( I don't think it's wishful thinking) that Film is just that bit too special to disappear from our world. Commonsense surely dictates that both Film and Digital images have their rightful place in the 21st century.
