Here’s a surprising fact that independent producers may want to consider before they write off film as “too expensive”: There were 120 films in competition at Sundance this year. Based on our research and conversations with Kodak and Fuji only 5% were shot on film… and yet that small minority took 100% of the most coveted Jury and Grand Jury prizes in the US and World Dramatic competitions, as well as winning the Excellence in Cinematography Award in the US Dramatic category.
It’s true that producers of sub-$1M independent film need to watch the bottom line… but isn’t the ultimate goal to win awards and thereby sell the movie?
And if shooting a dramatic, narrative film costs an indie film an extra $70K over digital acquisition, but has the potential to elevate the performances of the actors, the attitude of the cast and crew on set, and give the film an aesthetic advantage over the sea of digital competitors… isn’t that $70K well spent? Although the producers and director of the Grand Jury Prize winner Beasts of the Southern Wild were unavailable for comment due to meetings with CAA, ICM, and WME after signing their million dollar deal with Fox Searchlight… if asked by fellow producers whether it was worth the extra investment to shoot on film no doubt they’d say with a smile… nah… keep shooting digital.
