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.

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.

Peter Boyce is currently General Manager of Kodak’s motion picture business in North and South America. He manages the business in the United States, Canada and all of Central and South America. He has been with the company for approximately 35 years, serving in a variety of sales, marketing and finance roles. Prior to his current assignment, Boyce was general manager of Kodak’s motion picture business in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Boyce is now located in Kodak’s Hollywood, California headquarters.

When the production challenge is ‘how to limit costs’, the answer can often be ‘shoot film’ – if the filmmaker is willing to look beyond the obvious. With film, not only does ‘one size not fit all’, it doesn’t need to because with film, there are plenty of formats to choose from.

We could talk about 65mm film as the ‘gold standard of quality’ (just ask Christopher Nolan whose cinematographer Wally Pfister ASC shot parts of ‘The Dark Knight’ and the upcoming ‘Inception’ on 65mm) – the use of Super 16 for TV origination in Europe and its growing use in the US -- or the unique look possible from Super 8 footage cut into a finished theatrical print. But for this discussion, let’s just look at 35mm film.

Currently a Product Systems Engineer in the Entertainment Imaging Division with primary responsibilities for the systems integration and imaging science on new product development programs for origination films for the Motion Picture industry.

Multiple assignments within Kodak’s Motion Picture Division, spanning Coating Engineering, Formulation Engineer, and Systems Engineer of Motion Picture films.