SIDE BY SIDE (NR) The movie industry is in a state of major transition. Photochemical film, which essentially hasn’t changed in over 100 years, is being phased out, and the cumbersome 35mm cameras regularly used are no longer being made by companies such as Panavision and others. Digital “film” and the lightweight, much less expensive cameras are now primed to be the default for filmmakers. No matter whom you talk to or what you read, the reasons why are predominantly economic, not aesthetic, even though there’s the romance of celluloid to consider. A beam of intense light is projected across a darkened room of strangers to cast a shadowplay on a giant white screen, ensnaring us in its mysterious power for two hours. It’s a magical, alchemical process; something digital simply doesn’t do. No light offers no opportunity for transcendence.
Side by Side, a new documentary (available VOD) by Christopher Kenneally and co-produced and hosted by Keanu Reeves, attempts to chart this dramatic conversion by looking at the science of filmmaking, the economics behind the decision to change, and the art of the film image and how it’s altered with digital technology. At times, it feels like a lament to celluloid, but it also conveys an acceptance of the inevitable and embraces the future. The filmmakers don’t really take a stand on the issue, and their drive to cram as much information and history into the movie comes off as unfocused at times; casual viewers may feel as if they’re drowning in details.
However, this is essential viewing for any serious moviegoer. Reeves visits with a number of digital cheerleaders (George Lucas, James Cameron, Steven Soderbergh, Lars von Trier) and those who are still fighting on against the odds (Christopher Nolan and director of photography Walter Pfister). One of the most absorbing aspects of the movie is its look at the history of video cameras and how filmmakers, most notably the Dogme 95 movement of the late 1990s, embraced the then inferior digital format in order to capture a dynamic emotional immediacy. Side by Side also fascinatingly delves into the rarely discussed process of color correction. Not as dull as it sounds.
Will digital film save the industry? Maybe. It will certainly bulge the coffers of studio fat cats. Better screenplays, however, might be a more solid foundation to win over the hearts and minds of increasingly disinterested audiences. Ultimately, it’s all about storytelling.
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