 Yo, what up welcome back to another episode from my closet where I store my finest furs. I'm hiding out from Monica because I'm pretending like I didn't just blow our rainy day fund on three new film cameras. Today's episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Well, as we all know, 2020 was a sh** it show of a year. Huge fires all over the world, a global pandemic, and Disney's weak-ass attempt to remake one of the greatest movies of all time, but 2021 doesn't have to be so bad. Here are a few reasons you might want to consider shooting film in the coming year. Let's start with the biggest reason anyone shoots film. Aesthetic. It's no secret, film just looks good across the board, but what is it exactly that makes it look so good? Well, I think it boils down to texture, and this romantic idea that a lot of us have about film. Let's dissect that, starting with texture. Film grain is just the bee's testicles. A lot of video creators and video productions want to emulate it. Hell, even Lightroom wants a piece of that action. Let's zoom in on some shots I've taken here with 35mm. And oh boy, does that grain porn look borderline not safe for work? Better browse these shots in incognito mode. In my opinion, this is probably the biggest reason why I shoot film, as well as older lenses. When I peep the scan, I see grain, film, lens softness, and character. From an artistic perspective, it's almost like I'm looking at a memory. Not to s**t on digital sensors, but I'm still gonna s**t on them anyway. When I look at my digital RAW files, they're a bit too clinical, sharp, and frankly a bit sterile in my opinion. They seem to lack expression or feeling. Digital grain also looks like digital ass in my opinion. Here's some 8mm footage I shot in Montana. Now you may notice that the grain in these clips just slaps you straight up side the head, but me personally, I don't mind it. When I watch it back, it makes me feel like I've captured something special and sentimental for some reason. But if you don't like an overabundance of grain, you can just shoot a higher resolution, like 16mm or in still photography 120 film. Film also has these really awesome artifacts called halations. Halations appear when light comes through the film, bounces off the back of the camera, comes back, and imprints itself onto the film. This is an effect that is really pronounced on certain film stocks like Cinestill 800T, but a little more subdued on others. On most motion picture film, there's actually an anti-halation layer, but it doesn't outright kill all the halation. In fact, in my opinion, I think you get an awesome subdued look, especially an 8mm. I think film is somewhat romanticized, maybe to its own detriment, but who knows. A lot of big Hollywood directors prefer to shoot film because of the look and the feeling. There is something visually appealing about movies that are shot with film across the board. Nolan and Quentin Tarantino famously shoot all their work on motion picture film. In fact, there are a lot of people that actually make short films as well as feature films on 16mm because they want the look. And why not? In case you weren't aware, movies and photographs are heavily visual mediums, so it makes sense to invest in something that's going to affect the outcome of that and achieve an awesome look. This is definitely going to be a hotly debated take, and frankly I don't give a rat's furry ass what you think of the movie, but Darren Aronofsky's movie Mother was shot on 16mm film and I think it's very beautiful. A large part of why I shoot film for still photography is because of the colors. Film stocks like Portra 400 or Fujipro 400H will render these very pastel like colors that I think are very pleasing. Now, an argument could be made that with digital, you could just copy these colors and move on. But personally, I'm not 100% convinced that you can actually reproduce the feel of film. And why would you want an imitation when you can have the real thing? Furthermore, there are a ton of different film stocks out there that you can choose from. And we even saw the introduction and reintroduction of Lomography's Metropolis as well as Kodak's Ektachrome respectively. And let me tell you, Ektachrome can look very painterly. Let's talk about the actual shooting part of film and how it makes you think differently. If you're using a finite amount of film in your camera and film costs money, you can't just blast away shots like you would on a digital camera. Well, I mean, you can do that. Nothing's stopping you. The hope is that you would slow down and actually start to think critically about what it is you're going to shoot and if it's actually something you want to shoot. This is definitely something I've learned from this process. Because each shot costs X amount of dollars, there's more pressure on you to get it right. It's kind of like the Dark Knight Rises when Bruce Wayne is trying to climb out of the pit with the rope harness, but he can't escape the pit until he gives up the rope harness altogether and lets the fear of death guide him to success. So I guess what I'm saying is, let the fear of death push you to take good photos. You have to be very intentional if you shoot film. It forces you to. And I personally think that's something that's missing from the digital sensor workflow. With a digital camera, you could easily fire 100 shots of the same thing. You can even take a photo if you don't like it. Just delete it later. But by doing so, there's no limitation and it's entirely possible that you're not being forced to think critically about the composition, the look, or even if it's a worthwhile photo to take because you can just change it later. Therefore, I think if you're not being challenged by it, you're not improving as a photographer. In my opinion, the digital photography workflow takes away the fear of death if you want to keep using that term. Now, limitations is kind of a frightening word because it's so close to the word litigation. Me personally, I find that I thrive under limitations. If I have two shots left on a roll, I might try and find two different ways to shoot the same thing, or at least carefully choose my next two photos. Through the limitation of film trial and error, I've actually found what it is that I like to shoot and how I like to shoot it. And best of all, no more chimping like you're picking particles out of another monkey's ass. The biggest argument going against film is that it's expensive. Yeah, there's no debating it. The prices are very inflated. Let's ballpark everything and say that you as a photographer spend about $2,000 every four years on a new digital camera. And let's say in comparison, it costs about $14 to buy a roll of film and have it processed and scanned. So that $2,000 is about 143 rolls of film in four years on 35 millimeter equivalent to about 5,148 shots. Now personally, I shoot a lot of film, but I don't think I've shot anywhere near 5,000 photos in four years. The most that I think I've ever shot was the three weeks I drunkenly froliced around Iceland. And in that case, I only shot 360 film shots in total. Now, if you're like, yeah, I might actually pass that 5,000 shot quota in four years, then I suppose you could just shoot with a half frame camera, which doubles up the amount to 10,000 shots. Half frame cameras still produce really excellent results. Speaking of cameras, what about them? They've gone up in price to shriek the shadowy masses ready to destroy the comment section of this video. Yes, a lot of film cameras have become somewhat pricey in the past few years, but generally those are the premium cameras. There are still a lot of cameras out there in the wilderness that are perfectly capable. Cough, Nikon FE2 cough. You might just have to accept the fact that you'll have to use a different camera than your favorite celebrity or YouTube commentator. For a long ass time, film was the only photographic medium, which means that they made a lot of different cameras for it. You just gotta do some research or ask a friend or make some friends and then ask them. And guess what the best part is? All these old 35 millimeter cameras will still produce the same resolution image, regardless of brand. And their history is cemented in the tombstone of time, so they won't surprise you and change the lens mount every eight years for a desperate cash grab. Hell, Nikon had virtually the same lens mount for 50 years during its film days. If you want a brand spanking new film camera, you can even get those two. Nikon literally just ceased production on the F6 and Leica still makes the MA and MP from what I hear. But let's be honest, old film cameras just look cool regardless. Finally, I'd like to thank Squarespace for being today's sponsor. If you're looking to build a website and you have no experience in the slightest, Squarespace has got your back. They provide clean and professional templates for you to customize all under the hood of a sleek and very user-friendly interface. Squarespace is an all-in-one website building platform. That means you don't need to download any plugins, patches, or complicated web code that makes you have an existential breakdown and ponder if we truly are just living in a simulation. If you're a photographer and need somewhere to stash an online portfolio, Squarespace is the answer. Personally, I've been using Squarespace for four years now and it's simply just been the easiest setup to exhibit my work, as well as create an all-in-one hub for access to everything I do. If you're ready to build a website, you can start a free trial today at squarespace.com slash grainydays. And if you use the code grainydays at checkout, you can get 10% off your first purchase. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I guess in the end, do whatever you want. I may have sh** all over digital cameras, but that's only because that's how I feel and they suck. However, digital cameras do have their applications. Obviously, I couldn't make this video without a digital camera and I think at the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference. There really doesn't need to be this war between the two, even though I perpetuated because I think it's hilarious and I just want to watch the world burn. If shooting digital gets you out there and making cool work, then who cares? More power to you. A lot of people asked me to make this opinion video, so there you have it. To me, it's like equating paint to colored pencils. Neither form is superior. Just simply different tools and processes for different ends. If you do decide to take the plunge into film, let me know your thoughts. It's not that scary. And if you need help, I made a whole video breaking down how to get started. The link will be in the description. So that's it. I'll see you all next time. And as per usual, I can't wait to see how many dislikes this video gets. Jason, what the hell? Oh crap, she's back.