Movies on Movies: Side by Side

'Side by Side' is a documentary that examines the seismic shift in the acquisition format from film to digital. This film isn't geared toward a general interest audience and is much more of an exploration of the technical side of making films.

Film is dead. The writing is on the wall that film is not going to be the most popular acquisition format of the future (or even the 'now'). Of course film isn't dead and won't be for a long time but it will be a specialty format used for certain effects and by specific filmmakers. Over one hundred years film basically evolved slowly. Stocks got faster and grain got smaller and color film was introduced but overall the change was gradual. In the decade since the release of Star Wars Episode II, shot on the HDCAM format, digital technology has grown exponentially. It's come to the point that digital formats are exceeding the abilities of film. Just as there are advocates for the analog format of vinyl records film will also have it's advocates. Still, it's a moot point now as digital acquisition is clearly the winner and every year the stakes keep going higher and higher.

A decent film that will probably seem silly in a decade from now.

Side by Side Official Trailer (2012) from Company Films on Vimeo.