Side by Side [HD]

Film vs. Digital -- Top Filmmakers offer their Opinions
"Side by Side" examines the history of cinema, which has largely existed on film, and how the future of movies might change with the shift to digital cinematography. This is a documentary for anyone interested in filmmaking, cameras, or just people who love movies!

Almost everyone now embraces the digital methods of editing, postproduction, and color timing. It's only in the image capture that some filmmakers still prefer film. And with good reason - there are qualities to film that have yet to be replicated in digital. "Side by Side" looks at the pros and cons of going digital. For example, one obvious pro is that it is far less expensive for both the studios and independent filmmakers to shoot digitally because fewer resources are used and the day runs more efficiently (no need to change film magazines every 10 minutes). But one major concern is the storage of digital movies - there have been over 80 digital file formats over the past few decades, and most of them...

Great to hear big names talking about the tech behind the stories
It ultimately fails to deliver on the pretext of the "The Future of Digital Film" since it's really an analysis of the history and current state of film production. That aside, it's absolutely fascinating to hear from a dozen or so very big names about their thoughts on the subject of digital versus celluloid. I even thought Keanu Reeves was much better as an interviewer than I expected.

The digital notables are there - James Cameron, George Lucas and Robert Rodriguez - to promote the digital revolution but actually all of them make some extremely insightful comments. Whatever you think of George Lucas, you have to admit that the man has the finger on the technology pulse in movies and his opinions are almost prophetic in this regard. When pressed about the 'unreality' of digital processing, James Cameron gave an awesome response along of the lines of "How was anything in the movies ever real? The raining downtown midnight New York scene was shot in daytime Burbank with a...

An Insightful AND Entertaining Documentary About The Future Of Movies
I'm crazy about the movies and could talk about different aspects of the film world for hours upon hours. So any serious contemplation about the art of filmmaking has an inherent interest for me. But beyond that, "Side by Side" assembles some of the biggest names imaginable to discuss the digital revolution currently underway. Producer and host Keanu Reeves interviews such luminaries as Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Steven Soderbergh, David Lynch, David Fincher, and James Cameron for this piece. And while these are some of the biggest names (those featured prominently on the DVD/Blu-ray cover), there are plenty of other familiar faces willing to weigh in as well. With lessons in film history and film technology, the documentary is also a stunning retrospective of movies that will have you yearning to revisit many of your favorites (often with a new eye). Seriously, you should get a film school credit for watching this presentation! This is no dry lecture, however, but more like a...

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