 One of the shots you're about to see is shot on 16mm film and the other is shot on digital on the Blackmagic Pocket 6K. Let's play the two clips and see if you can tell the difference. What's up guys and welcome back to our channel. In today's video we talk about film versus digital and whether or not you should be using film for your projects. So we recently did a short talker project where we shot both on film and digital and I thought it would be a great opportunity to make this video since I have footage from the same scenarios and the same scenes from both formats. This is not going to be an essay, we're not going to touch on the history of film and we're also not going to really talk about cinema. We're going to focus more on medium budget productions to give you guys some things to think about for your projects. One thing I'm going to say about the start of my side footage that you're seeing right now is that it's not a 100% accurate comparison since we use different lenses and filters and different camera settings but I think it's going to help us illustrate the points in this video. So the first thing I want to touch on is the price. Shooting on film is expensive. It can cost up to a few thousand dollars just for a few minutes of shooting. Just renting out the camera can be really expensive because it's probably not widely available where you live. You also have to buy film, you have to ship it, you have to get it developed and scanned and all of that can cost quite a lot of money especially since film is not the main format anymore so there's not that many labs, there's not that many places that sell film so everything is more expensive. On the other hand shooting digital can be really cheap whether you have your own camera or you're renting one out, anyone can shoot on digital at any price point. So why would you want to shoot on film if it's so expensive? Well let's talk a little bit about the look of film and why it is so sought after by so many filmmakers. If you've ever talked to any film enthusiasts then you've probably heard about film being organic, natural looking and just aesthetically pleasing. There's just something special about it. When shooting on film there's a chemical process that happens as opposed to a digital process when you're shooting on digital cameras. That inherently creates a different system, a different way of capturing data which results in different effects on the actual footage. First thing I would say is that film has some really intense texture to it and it just feels really dense and you can add grain to digital footage but it just never feels the same. Film also renders out lighting and colors differently which gives out a different look which is not that easy to replicate. The highlights and blown-out areas also seem to look better on film. They have a better roll-off and they just look better. There's also some kind of a blooming effect around highlights and around the edges which personally I really like. Some people don't like it but that's another thing that happens with film. And again this is something you can try to emulate with digital footage but again it's just not exactly the same. And of course there are also things like the film frame itself, some gateweaves, some flickering and of course film burns which all depend on the format and camera you're shooting on. And a lot of the times you would not actually want these things when shooting on film but some people like them and that's the kind of things that people try to do with digital footage to make it look like film. In terms of light sensitivity and dynamic range digital seems to have the edge. With cameras these days the dynamic range is pretty crazy. The things you can get out of the Alexa Mini and more high-end cameras is pretty insane. And when shooting on film you're gonna need a lot of light and it doesn't perform really well in low-light situations. In general when shooting film you really have to be way more precise and you also need to have better technical abilities. On digital it's a little bit easier, you can make mistakes and you have a lot of flexibility to try things out and if something doesn't pan out the way you want it you can just shoot it again. Every second you shoot on film costs money and that's why you have to know exactly what you want and you have to shoot only the scenes you know you need and you have to have a very precise plan because not a lot of room for mistakes or experiments. And in general film is harder to monitor, it's harder to focus, you also have to use a light meter, you have to know how to load the film and there can be a bunch of technical problems that you don't even know how to fix. With film you're never really sure how things are going to turn out when they get processed and scanned. You have to wait for the footage to get back that can be looked at as an advantage for film because it really forces you to be disciplined and know your craft. Having to slow down and really think about every move you make can ultimately make you a better filmmaker but on the other hand it can be really stressful and if you make a mistake it's going to be pretty bad. With digital you can afford to do a lot of takes and take different angles that maybe you didn't think about before you can experiment more and just try out things. You can immediately see what you're doing, you can re-watch the take, make another take, you can see very clearly what you're doing with monitors and things like focus peaking, you can change the settings, change the framing, whatever you want. In terms of ISO, digital of course has a bunch of options 100 ISO, 200 ISO, 400 ISO. While film only gives you a few options like 50, 500, 250 and there's no in-between. And the same goes for white balance, you have only tungsten or daylight, no in-between and that can be quite a problem if you're using mixed lighting. So with all that being said, is film worth shooting on? You're gonna have to answer this question for yourself but if you've never shot on film I think it's something you need to try out at least once. Personally we think there is something special about shooting on film, it's not only the look you're getting but it's also the whole experience that's just something special about not knowing what you're gonna get and just knowing that the whole process is just a chain of chemical reactions and just just something about it. However, film does have a lot of limitations and it can cost quite a lot of money so we're definitely not planning on shooting any project on film. If I was to summarize it and make a pretty big generalization I would say that film looks more organic, it looks more natural, while digital footage looks more, well digital, it looks more sharp, it looks crisp. I will also say that a lot of the film look that people often refer to, a lot of the times comes down to choices like which lenses you're gonna shoot on, are you gonna color grade footage, which color space you're shooting on, things like that that really make more difference in my opinion than the kind of format you shoot on. Personally I think that digital and film can get pretty close to each other. If you look at them as just data collection tools and if you have the same final result in your vision I think you can get pretty close. And that brings us to the end of this video, I really hope you guys enjoyed it. If you did please give this video a like and consider subscribing to never miss another one of our videos. And for today's giveaway one of you guys could win a one year free subscription to the Artlist Music and Sound Effects catalog. All you have to do is tell us down in the comments what do you like better digital or film. Here is the winner for my last giveaway, congratulations to you and till the next time stay creative.