Rolling with film cameras
The film camera (also referred to as the motion-picture film camera) has been
around since the late 1800s. Because the film camera runs film stock through
its housing, it’s a much bigger and heavier piece of equipment than a video
camcorder. Film cameras generally rely on manual focus, exposure, and
settings.
Film has a nostalgic feel to it, creating the illusion of something that’s
happened in the past — the feeling of reflecting on a cherished memory. Film
photographs a softer, more surreal image than the sharp, sometimes harsh
and unflattering picture that video camcorders present.
Film cameras come in various formats that use different film stock sizes,
depending on which camera you choose to shoot with:
Super 8: Film stock that’s 8mm in width. This small format is usually
used for home movies and documentaries, and it has a flatter image than
other film types. It’s the least expensive route when shooting with film
and costs approximately $10 per minute of film, including developing.
Check out Pro8mm (www.pro8mm.com), the leader in professional Super
8 services.
16mm: Film stock that’s 16mm in width. This film allows for more depth
in picture quality than does Super 8. It’s often used for TV, low-budget
features, student films, and documentaries. The cost is approximately
$15 per minute of film, including developing.
My friend Anthony Santa Croce produces the television series Monk
starring Tony Shalhoub, and they shoot their episodes on Super 16mm.
Shooting Super 16mm is an ideal format if the final product is going to
television broadcast and DVD rather than to the large theatrical screen.
It’s also more affordable for productions on limited budgets. Anthony
also produced Tales from the Darkside. When I directed an episode back
in the late ’80s, we shot on 16mm on extremely tight budgets.
35mm: Film stock that’s 35mm in width. It’s used for TV and feature
films. Considered a professional format, 35mm film is the most
commonly used film stock by motion-picture studios. The cost is
approximately $65 per minute of film, including developing.
Recording with digital camcorders
Video images are captured by a video camera that’s connected to a recording
deck or by a camcorder that houses both the camera and recorder (hence
the name camcorder) in one unit and records images in an electronic environment. When using a digital camera, you also have several types of digital formats, which can determine how the final image looks:
Digital camcorders: These cameras are better than analog video
camcorders because the digital technology records a sharper picture
image that doesn’t degrade during copying to other digital tapes. Digital
camcorders have exceptional image quality (especially if they record
in high definition) and can be used in most professional applications
that are appropriate for video recording, such as news footage, documentaries, and entertainment programming. Digital camcorders can
record to different types of tape formats including mini-DV, digital
betacam, and DVCAM. Certain digital camcorders record in high definition directly to memory cards or an external hard drive. There are a
few consumer camcorders that record directly to DVD discs.
Digital 24p cinema camcorder: This is also a digital camcorder, but it
can closely emulate the look of a film camera without the expense of film
stock, lab and printing costs, or telecine (transferring-to-video) costs. By
recording the equivalent of 24 frames per second, this type of camera
gives the video image more of the soft and pleasing look associated with
film. Digital 24p camcorders share many of the same tape and digital formats as non-24-frame digital camcorders, and many can also record in
high definition for exceptional image quality.