DIGITAL?!?!?

It is the question that every filmmaker ask's himself (or herself). Film or video? Now we all know that the difference is pretty incrediable. You can usually tell the defference between Beta and 35mm, or at least I hope you can.

The film or video question has just recently been brought to Elektrik Coma's attention. With THE HOT ONE in pre-production the question is still up in the air. Film or video? While we break down the budget, the numbers are beginning to make a BIG difference. As of right now, we're still planning on going for Super 16, but things change daily. Anyway, that's not what we're here to talk about. We're going to talk about the reason's why video is better than film.

There are all kinds of format of video; 8mm, High 8mm, VHS, S-VHS, and Beta amongst others. Of them all Beta and S-VHS are considered to be "broadcast" quality. And you can usually tell the difference between Beta and S-VHS when compared to 16 or 35mm format's. But technology is growing faster and quicker. With the FILMLOOK (link to they're page in links section) process now avaliable it makes the video vs. film question a little easier to answer. If you haven't seen anything that's been FILMLOOKED then I recommend calling them and asking for a free demo tape. What they do is amazing, but also costly.

One of the biggest mistakes about shooting on video is the way the picture is shot. If you have a good DP and a good set of lights, you can make your S-VHS or Beta recordings look really good. It all depends on the elements. Now, I've heard two different versions to the BROTHERS McMULLIN theory. I've heard that Wood shot it on Beta and had it blown up to 35. I've also heard that he originally shot on 16. This is a question that still has no set answers. No one's talking. In my personal opinion it looks as if it was shot on Beta and blown up. I mean, it looks very good with the exception of some of the EXT footage. So maybe you can convince yourself that Wood's shot it on Beta and that will be a flower of hope.

Now video is cheaper. We know this. You can expand your budget, but you lose quality. You can expand yout shooting ratio, but you'll lose quality. So really the only thing you lose is quality. I wouldn;t recommend shooting your fitst for real feature in Beta, but hey, it's your money not mine. Some "true" filmmakers will tell you the only way to shoot is to shoot film and they'll probably gie you shit for shooting on video. I've had this happen. Just simpley respond; "Fine, I'll shoot on film. Give me the money asshole." They usually shut up after that.

We encourage you to join this conversation! Just E-mail your thoughts on the subject to us, with the topic line reading "video by video".