[Frameworks] Quo Vadis Celluloid?

[D Dawson]

We are unfortunately/fotunetly in one of the rare disciplines that is part
art, part entertainment.  In addition it is also one of the rare disciplines
who¹s art is also part science.  The wonderful beautiful technical
experimentation and innovation that has occurred in the world of motion
pictures is astounding, driven by one part art, a lot of parts entertainment
and some parts science.

What may happen, if when and who knows... Is that the ³entertainment²
portion of our discipline may branch off and start working exclusively in
video ‹ it is a financially driven industry, and for most reasons makes
sense.  Along with it (and we have seen over the years by eliminated
filmstocks and choices) so goes the major cash flow for the ³motion picture²
discipline.  Which means like usual, the artists are left in the dust.

As long as an artist who draws has pencils he doesn¹t need to worry about
the ad agencies going digital, as pencils will still be produced for a
variety of other uses.   In our discipline however, as soon as the cash cow
entertainment industry goes exclusively to digital there really isn¹t a
substantial demand for a major corporation to provide product.   I agree
that smaller labs manufactures will appear.

I live in Winnipeg, we used to have a lab that processed film, black and
white and colour.  Years ago they packed it up.   Then we had to send the
film to Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto or Montreal.  Now Edmonton¹s lab is
gone, another in Vancouver is gone, two over there have merged.  Two more
mergers in Toroton.  It seemed like B/W Film Factory was the only place for
black and white, and Exclusive the only place for reversal... Exclusive just
packed it up, and so is B/WFF.  However Technicolour and Niagara Custom lab
are doing more work than before.

What happens is that it becomes specialized, from one or three labs in every
city, down to one, down to none.  Now you essentially have three choices
across the whole country... Until there is one (like Dwaynes was for
Kodachorme) the single lab will be working full time pushing out processing,
but you¹d have to send it there, not just drop it off like we were once used
to.   It may become the same for film.   We adapt and we endure.

I don¹t care if it is one small plant in Rochester that puts out only four
stocks for a big price, I will still buy it, I am an artist and am lucky the
entertainment industry had kept my discipline a float for so many years ‹
they have been essentially subsidizing the cost for me.   Once they step
away, the prices will jump right up, the supply will be less, but someone
will keep making it for that small fraction of the discipline that is not
entertainment nor science, but is purely art.

I should mention however, that I was at a specialty post lab a few years ago
in Calgary and their entire business was doing frame by frame 35mm arri
laser printing of Warner Brothers Batman (CG-digital) cartoons.  Seems like
Pip mentioned, even WB knows that 35mm is the only safe archival medium and
although they were producing crappy limited run TV cartoons, they made 35mm
negs of every frame of their work to store in the vault...  Something tells
me the industry is on top of this and knows more than they let on.


Deco



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