By Ian Caddell Digital video is having a tremendous impact on everyone associated with the film and television industry. Independent producers are looking at saving millions of dollars by avoiding the buying of film stock. Meanwhile, High Definition Television has experts agreeing that it will be a force in the marketplace, but disagreeing on how long that will take. They do agree, however, that everyone from technicians to actors will have to learn how to cope with it. On one set, says Airwaves Sound Design s Alex Downie, they used traditional methods of dressing a tree, but when they saw it in high definition it looked like carpet, because it is carpet.
Film is a romantic medium.
Light goes through it and it is warm and wonderful. Filmmakers have traditionally accepted that making a movie for broadcast or theatres would require film stock. That meant applying for funding that would cover the costs of both the production and the stock. Brian Hammond, of Vancouver s Pilot West Productions, says that, while it is never easy to teach old dogs new tricks, most young filmmakers are embracing digital technology. Educating producers about digital technology is a challenge, but interestingly enough, those quickest to embrace it are the independent filmmakers who are very mindful of how it looks.