Friday, July 19, 2013

Side by Side (2012)

Director: Christopher Kenneally
Writer:    Christopher Kenneally
Features:Keanu Reeves, David Lynch, David Fincher, Martin Scorsese, Derek Ambrosi

The documentary investigates the history, process and workflow of  both digital and photo-chemical film creation.

I was under the impression that the film vs digital film was all about the difference in quality and the cost associated with the two. Never thought about how big a difference digital film making is having on the entire process of making a film. The size of the camera, length of a single shoot (limited to 10 mins in traditional films), ability to see what you have shot instantly; all of this is a sea change from the days of film cameras. All the post production levels have undergone seismic change with the arrival of digital;be it editing, coloring and archiving. With all these changes the power is also shifting within the Director, DP, Editor and colorist. 

The directors and technicians who are getting interviewed for this documentary can be classified as those who are in favor of digital (David Fincher, Robert Rodriguez, Soderbergh), those who are against it (Christopher Nolan) and those who are kind of neutral (Scorsese). Keanu Reeves who is doing the interviews is kind of neutral but is a bit nostalgic about the films. It is fascinating to see the reactions of various people to the big change that their industry is experiencing. A must watch for those who are fascinated by this medium.

Would have liked to see Quentin Tarantino getting interviewed as he is one who is so pissed off with digital and the change that is happening in the industry that he is planning to retire after making his tenth film.

Rating: 4.5/5

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