Award winning cinematographer Ben Richardson (Beasts of the Southern Wild) recently spoke with us about his role in a recent short film produced for Rachel Antonoff's fall 2013 collection. This is not your typical fashion film, I assure you!

Directed by Lena Dunham, Best Friends is a mock nature film in which we observe the inner workings of friendship. To achieve the desired look, the film draws authenticity from shooting on 16mm film, as well as lighting and styling. The narration lends a touch of realism as well!

Few can build more tension than a field level camera focused on a tight spiral in slomo as the receiver enters the frame with arms stretched to connect. Since 1962 NFL Films has been capturing and archiving over 100 million feet of 16mm motion picture film. Over the course of the season, cinematographers and camera crews will add millions more.

In doing so they have amassed 107 Emmy® awards recognizing their brilliant approach to the larger-than-life portrayal of a game. Seven weekly programs, like "Inside the NFL", and more than 10 specials pull footage for broadcast. I guess it goes without saying that the crew at NFL Films is nothing short of amazing!

The indie flick Fruitvale Station premiered at Sundance and will soon be headed to theaters with a deal with The Weinstein Company.

Fruitvale Station is the true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.

In recent months, there has been a perception that there has been a massive shift to digital, and that’s not true. In the US and Canada, between all the major networks (including HBO and the other channels) we have about 40 shows on film. 24 is still on film, and there was a thought that the original CSI: Las Vegas was going to go digital, but as they got going with the series, digital just didn’t work out for their needs. So CSI: Las Vegas is still shooting film.

At the moment, one hour dramas on US TV are still very much 3-perf 35mm. Castle; Grey’s Anatomy; Private Practice; Desperate Housewives; Brothers & Sisters; Lost; The Mentalist; Fringe; Mad Men; and Two and a Half Men are all returning shows shot on 3-perf 35mm. HBO is shooting loads of 35mm 3-perf at the moment. New series shot on the same format include: ; Hung; Boardwalk Empire; How to Make it in America; Wonderful Maladies; Treme; and others.

As a follow-on to last week’s film formats for TV post, I would like to take a broader view of what people are shooting in the feature film arena these days:

Let’s start with 65mm color negative. The big, recent example of 65mm use is on The Dark Knight. It’s not an entirely 65mm production. The 65mm was cut into a number of 35mm shots, like the Bank Heist and the Batmobile chase scenes. 65mm was chosen to do this because it simplyis the best. In the opening sequences of The Dark Knight you can just see the quality that 65mm brings to the screen.