Film in the 19th and 20th century was made in an analogue format, the average film was approximately 6km long (about 4 miles). Not only was this inefficient and wasteful it was also incredibly expensive. As a result in the late 20th and early 21st century, digital film began to emerge as the new preferred format. Digital filmmaking is particularly beneficial to documentarians.
Advantages of digital filmmaking over analogue format
- Digital filmmaking allows immediate playback and review for more effective filming. After the playback, digital filmmakers then have the option to reshoot immediately as the film wont need to be changed and the amount you can shoot is infinite.
- Editing digital film is much easier because analogue editing requires you to cut and stick the film physically therefore it is more destructive.
- Digital filmmaking is less susceptible to environmental condition. Shot film is very delicate so exposure to light, rotting and cracking may cause certain parts of the film to become distorted and unwatchable.
- Digital film is easier to store and is more transportable as it is lighter and smaller.
- The resolution of digital film is higher and more effective than old 35mm film quality was.
- The accessibility of digital film is a benefit as an infinite amount of identical copies can be made and will last forever.
Advantages of digital filmmaking specific to a documentary filmmaker
- Documentaries have a limited budget compared to other film genres because the audience smaller and so they require a film format so that the filmmaking is low cost and profitable.
- Digital doesn’t require specialist camera operator so the team needed to make a documentary is much smaller.
- The main advantage to documentary filmmakers is that they can film for an unlimited amount of time whereas if they were using analogue film they would have to frequently change the film thus disrupting the unobtrusive quality that enables people on camera to behave normally.
Bethany Lee's Film Studies Blog 