Kodak: A film standard

Kodak is congratulating itself (again) because, to no surprise to myself, all five best picture Oscar nominees were shot on Kodak film. Babel, The Departed, The Queen, Letters From Iwo Jima & even Little Miss Sunshine were all shot on 35mm kodak brand film. And all the cinematography nominated films were as well. That’s like saying you know all NBA MVPs wore nike shoes! Of course, they do because it’s the best, it’s what the professionals use. And wouldn’t you expect movies being honored by the Academy to use the best possible film?

It got me thinking about minidv and HDV. Is there an industry, respected brand of digital video? Sony’s a good brand that I’ve used, but I didn’t see much difference when using a JVC tape. I feel that with camcorders it’s more about the actual camcorder itself and less about the videotape brand. It sort of compares to compact discs. I don’t care what brand my Michael Jackson cd is pressed on, just that’s it’s up to quality. If you use a Canon GL2 instead of a personal dvd camcorder, you are going to see a difference because the ccd chip differs. It’s the technology of the actual that makes the most difference.

With film, it’s more complex. There are more variables to deal with because you have to process and develop the film. I get that and you get different results with other types of film. It’s a more organic and precise format to use. It’s a skill that you must learn, which is why they have such prestigious prizes for cinematography.

Still, I wonder if this little story about kodak film is their way of re-assuring themselves that they’re still on top. Like maybe they’re a bit threatened by video and need to pump themselves up a little. It’s not like film is going anywhere, clearly since it’s still the preferred format for professional movies. They’re sticking to film because it’s what they’re good at (and Sony kinda has a corner on the DV market). They make digital cameras with video recording capabilities, but there’s no blank dv tapes made by kodak. And with digital prints, they’re also excelling with kodak paper.

Kodak’s not really in the camcorder market. At first, I thought it to be strange, but I feel they want to stick with what works. And it’s working well since year after year filmmakers choose to use kodak 35mm. They do school and student incentives to get young filmmakers to use it in their learning years. And once you’ve done that, you get at least a small percentage of people who will be loyal to your brand.

Related posts:

1. A Kodak Camcorder Moment
2. How to make DV look like Film
3. Personal Touch
4. The Professional Line
5. Self-Evaluation