Are Days of Film Numbered?

Now that “Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones” has arrived with all its digital hype (the first major motion picture shot with digital cameras and the first to be digitally projected in nearly 100 theaters worldwide, including eight around town), the real battle begins for cinema supremacy.

But does this really mark the death of film?

It all depends on whom you talk to, of course, but it appears that we’re in for a long coexistence, since most cinematographers are not about to abandon shooting on film and digital projection is still in its infancy. (The studios only recently formed a coalition, renamed NDC, or New Digital Cinema, to standardize the technology.) “It is just a footnote and not the watershed I had hoped for,” remarks “Clones” producer Rick McCallum, who was counting on a few hundred digital installments. But he adds: “The great thing now is that the [antidigital] structure is breaking down and we’re on a juggernaut.”

If the Force is now with digital cinema, you can thank George Lucas and his techno Jedi. It’s to their credit that the digital “Clones” looks superior to the film version on the big screen. Colors are brighter and richer, and the overall image, though not razor sharp, has a lot more zip. The film version is grainier, not surprisingly, but offers better contrast. Shadow detail is very close. Of course, it all depends on your preference, since they represent two different aesthetics.

Indeed, one cinematographer found the digital presentation “too perfect.” He prefers the imperfection of film as a more tactile experience, thank you. And he’s not alone.

Yet “Clones” represents the perfect poster child for digital cinema: a visual effects feast (consisting of 2,200 computer-generated shots) tailor-made for an all-digital pipeline, which is why the new Sony 24P digital camera--containing special Panavision film lenses--was developed specifically for the movie.

“We are not the antichrist; we are not advocating the death of film,” adds McCallum. “But for the kinds of films we make, it makes absolute sense to [go all-digital]. It’s part of the evolutionary change for George, working digitally. A week [before the release], he was still re-shooting a couple of shots that were too late for film but will make it into the digital version.

“If the people respond, if the cameramen and directors understand that they have total control of their work, that it will look exactly as they shot it, then for the first time we’re going to have an aesthetic choice.”

However, unlike editors who eventually responded to the digital domain that Lucas offered them a decade ago because of its superiority to film, cinematographers maintain that shooting on film is still the best way to go.

“I liked shooting with the Sony 24P,” says Robert Primes, who won an Emmy for his work on “Felicity.” “It’s easy to use, but it’s inferior to a film camera. Digital is getting to the point where it is pretty good-looking, but the curve is not as sharp as film. Digital sees about the same in shadows as film, but not as well in highlights. And it’s not as sharp as film. For us, quantity is the thing, and we’re not swayed by this media hype.”

For all the advantages of shooting digitally (no film processing, immediate playback in high-definition, longer takes, it plugs right into the visual effects), Primes says that the Sony 24P has technical drawbacks. “Digital is good enough in certain circumstances as a viable alternative to film, like ‘Star Wars.’ Believe me, we are open to every possible new technology. We test it all the time, but don’t tell us that it’s better than shooting on film.”

Cinematographer Francis Kenny (“How High”), who has also used the Sony 24P, agrees that it’s quick and fast but inferior to the film camera. “The studios don’t even know if they want to shoot in [digital] high-definition. There are quality and piracy issues.”

In addition, Kenny laments the digital hype for what it’s doing to his craft. “Where to put light and what it means and [creating] great spatial design are what cinematography is all about. The unfortunate thing is that the ease is taking away from the discipline for young cinematographers. You should learn your craft first. Does it give you the same emotional experience? No. For feature-film storytelling, it has a long way to go.”

Roger Deakins, who was nominated for an Oscar for cinematography this year for “The Man Who Wasn’t There,” has never used a digital camera but is a great believer in coexistence. “I’m all for intertwining the two, and that seems the best way to go right now. In ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?,’ we used digital [manipulation] to get an old, hand-tinted postcard look. There was a loss of fine definition and detail, but it helped on that film. We tried a digital black-and-white test on ‘Man,’ but the resolution wasn’t good enough, so we passed.”

John Bailey, the cinematographer who shot the upcoming “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,” has limited experience with digital cameras. But after shooting one feature (“The Anniversary Party”) on digital and a side-by-side comparison of the Sony 24P and a film camera, he believes film is here to stay for quite a while.

“Celluloid is far superior for the look I need when making a high-end Hollywood mainstream film or a well-crafted independent film,” he said. “I can’t imagine if ‘Ya-Ya’ were shot on high-definition and projected digitally that it would look the same way. The film experience is a different sensation. And this film relies on an intimacy you can’t get digitally.”

According to John Fithian, president of the National Assn. of Theater Owners, the studios have begun reaching out to exhibitors “to start a dialogue about comprehensive industry-wide planning on all issues, including financing” of digital projection. But getting digital projection ready for critical mass could take up to two years, which McCallum finds absurd. “I don’t believe studios and exhibitors respect their audience enough. “It’s appalling how little is spent on R&D; in relation to the pop-cultural impact and the amount of money that goes into this industry. The studios are scared they will lose the pipeline.

“But guess what? They’re going to lose it anyway.”