Roger Deakins is Over Using Film, But Will Shoot on Any Format, Even a Cell Phone

Why is that? It's mostly because he speaks from a place of common sense, and doesn't get too worked up in the newest technologies unless they can help him achieve his vision and let him work faster. Deakins has said he isn't nostalgic for shooting on film — though he has preferred in the past using an optical viewfinder over a digital one, as that's what he used all throughout his career. In a recent article for Variety with Kristopher Tapley, Deakins talked about some of the issues he had going back to film for the Coen's Hail, Caesar!, but that he's really willing to shoot on anything.

When asked about the anxieties of shooting on film again:

...We had some stock issues and stuff like that, which was really disconcerting. And I’ve heard that’s happened to a lot of people lately, you know, stock and lab problems. That’s unnerving. I mean I never really remember having those kind of problems before. But it makes me nervous now. I don’t want to do that again, frankly. I don’t think the infrastructure’s there.

I tend to go back and forth on the format, but I absolutely believe it should remain an option for as long as possible. As Deakins says above, the infrastructure might not be there anymore. Now that so many labs have closed, the options for getting film processed, and what you can do with the film, are far more limited. This is something I've seen repeated elsewhere, and it's an obstacle that Kodak needs to overcome if they want film to survive. They are almost at a point where they need to become the biggest lab on both sides of the country, and provide the type of customer service that tons of labs used to provide. The company can still make film, but it's all of the backend and support that is in real trouble.

Deakins reiterates these issues later in the interview:

As I say, just the technical problems with film, I’m sorry, it’s over.

As for the Coens, Deakins thinks they will eventually go digital, especially because of the issues he talked about above. However, being the true cinematographer and team player that he is, he's willing to shoot on whatever format best fits the story and the vision of the director, even if that means filming on a cell phone:

I was in Albuquerque shooting “Sicario” and they were talking about it and they said, “I don’t know how you feel about it, but I think we want to go on film.” And I said, you know, “I don’t mind. I’ll shoot it on a cell phone if you like. I don’t mind. I really don’t.”

I, for one, would love to see a Deakins version of what Sean Baker and Radium Cheung did for their iPhone-shot Tangerine. Phone cameras are getting better all the time, and though this was a throwaway line from Deakins to prove a point, the true greats can shoot on anything, at any time, and still make it look good, because they understand lighting and have a unique vision. They use the right tool for the story they are telling, and learn that tool inside and out so they can push it in whatever way they have to. 

Source: Variety