Here's some good Kodak news

[Scotness]

http://if.com.au/2011/10/31/article/Kod ... TDMRCTXDPR

[Pj]

Amdist the doom and gloom there is hope and that is good news, but no replies maybe people don't like good news.

P

[grainy]

Right! And last time I checked it was STILL a sign of a "prestige" show on TV if they shot on film rather than video.
I've said this before, but I'll believe the actual demise of Kodak/film when I see it, and not as it's reported by the press, which has become very tech focused due to the enormous amout of tech-based writers.
I still remember vividly back in 2000 when my colleagues said "why are you shooting on film? We'll have streaming broadband wide screen in every home in the next three years."
Whether or not video is "good enough" doesn't matter. It's like telling a painter to put down the brushes because color photography has arrived.
Maybe this will not be the case in 2050, but I also see the trend-setting hipster set gravitating toward still film photography.

Unless the cost of manufacturing film is completely prohibitive, I doubt it will actually go away any time soon. Artists like it. Go figure!

G

[woods01]

IIRC both HBO and AMC have stipulated that their dramas be shot on 35mm Kodak colour film and there
are still plenty of features being shot on film (but obviously the 3-D ones are HD originated).

The big blow for 35mm film in dramatic television came a few years ago (2008 I think) when there was a
threat of possible SAG strike. The networks discovered a loophole where they could hire a different
actors union that covered video production (ie the old soap opera daytime serials) and shoot their prime
time dramas on HD. The strike never happened but the result was that all network drama switched to
video at the end of that season. Since then there have been closures and layoffs at all the major film labs.

PS Anyone else experiencing strange sizing issues with the forum? The right side of the screen is cut off.
I'm using Firefox on an old Mac.

[Scotness]

I think the rise of video has done two things:

Allowed alot of people with no real money to shoot things - but most of them wouldn't have done so on film anyway

Allowed alot of mid range companies to save money by shooting on video rather than film

It hasn't stopped big budget companies from shooting on film, or hardcore fans.

Maybe the rest of Kodak will fall off but there's still a good business case for film manufacture itself as far as I can see

Scot