Film may survive after all, sort of.

It appears that there may be a lifeline for stalwart American film company Kodak after all. They have had quite the struggle; filing for bankruptcy in 2012, removing their name from the once-iconic home of the Oscars, the Kodak Theater, an inability to keep up with digital competitors.

One the one hand, it’s hard to feel sorry for them. They screwed up repeatedly, for decades. But to be honest, myself and many others simply love film. It has an imperfect quality to it that coveys a realism lost with digital, and that was really brought to the front with the debate over the 48fps issue in The Hobbit (film runs at 24fps, the same speed at which the brain interprets movement). My TV is a plasma because it presents a warmer image than pure digital that makes any video viewed on it very full.

One of the things that makes great movies even greater is that they were shot on film

One of the things that makes great movies even greater is that they were shot on film

If you need further proof about people’s dedication to film, though, it looks as if some well-known film-director types including Quentin Tarantino and J.J. Abrams so love film they have agreed buy quantities of film from Kodak, even if they have absolutely no intention to actually use it. I also learned from reading the linked article that the new Star Wars is being shot on film. Now I can be a little more enthused about it, after the last three disasters.

Maybe we’ll see a revival. I hope so, I actually prefer video (maybe not pictures so much) shot on film, it gives real character.