By Glenn Estersohn, June 2002 Why shoot digital? Producers and directors are discovering persuasive reasons, including new creative options, better suitability for digital effects, greater fluidity in shooting and instant "dailies." But sometimes, the bottom line is the bottom line. Time and again, it can all come down to cost. In a perfect world, shooting digital can save money in three important ways. 1. Lower costs for camera rental, shooting stock and processing. 2. Fewer shooting days. 3. Lower postproduction costs. But as we'll see, the real world isn't perfect. And the savings are often "spent" in other ways. Of course, trading off cost against other considerations is nothing new. 16mm, Super 16mm and 35mm film have always offered the producer a hierarchy of quality versus cost. The ultimate choice has largely been made on the basis of aesthetic aspirations versus budget limitations. Digital and film formats are so fundamentally different that head-to-head comparisons can be misleading.But in practice, producers are coming to consider specific digital formats as potential alternatives to specific film formats. This makes for a rough equivalence. In that vein, we can look at the hierarchy of film formats, lining them up against the digital formats that typically end up in contention. The Digital Corollary of 16mm For example, 16mm film clearly contends with DV-based 4:1:1 digital formats. DV, Sony DVCAM and Panasonic DVCPRO 25 all share a few common technical attributes. To squeeze all that digital information onto quarter-inch tape, all these formats use digital subsampling and 5:1 compression. Together, these techniques reduce the number of bits to be recorded by 85%. And to minimize the real estate for each recorded bit, these formats use metal tape technology. Consumer DV and professional DVCAM digital videocassettes both use Advanced Metal Evaporated (AME) tape, while DVCPRO uses metal particle tape. The result is 40 or more minutes of digital acquisition on a tape you can slip into a shirt pocket–with room to spare. Some back-of-the-envelope cost comparisons (see charts) make at least two digital advantages clear. Based on street prices in New York, DVCAM tape with IC Memory is 97% less expensive than 16mm stock, developing and dailies. And tape without IC memory is less expensive still. In other words, digital practically eliminates stock and developing costs. While precise head-to-head comparisons are difficult to define, the cost of DVCAM camera rentals runs roughly 60 to 80% less than 16mm rentals. 16mm DVCAM Stock Eastman 7293 EXR 200T Sony PDVM-40MEM with IC Memory Feet 400 233 Minutes 11.11 40 Cost $126.56 $24.95 Stock Cost/Minute $11.39 $0.62 Developing/foot $0.14 $0.00 Developing/Minute $5.04 $0.00 Video Dailies/foot $0.15 $0.00 Video Dailies/Minute $5.40 $0.00 Total Cost/Minute $21.83 $0.62 Digital Savings 97% Considering stock, processing and dailies alone, DVCAM tape is 97% less expensive than 16mm film. Sources for this and the following media price comparisons: for film stock, Kodak New York sales office (212) 631-3400; for tape stock: B&H Photo, New York, (single unit price), www02.bhphotovideo.com; for film developing and dailies: DuArt Film and Video, New York (212) 757-4580. 16mm DVCAM handheld DVCAM high end Camera Rental, average of prices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles Aaton XTRProd, Arriflex 16SR-3 or Panaflex 16 Sony DSR-PD150 or DCR-VX1000E (Note: Cameras accept Mini cassettes only; maximum record time 40 min. in DVCAM mode or 60 min. in DV mode.) Sony DSR-500WS (Note: Camera accepts both Mini and Standard cassettes.) Rate Card daily rental, including batteries, charger, AC power, lenses, tripod, fluid head and (for film cameras) color video assist. $1,310 $305 $533 Digital Savings 77% 59% The savings in camera rentals are almost as dramatic. Note that camera rental prices vary greatly from city to city and between the published rate card and the "going" price. Variations in lens assortments and accessories can also make head-to-head comparisons tricky. Sources here and below include Abel Cine Tech and LVR (New York), Fletcher Chicago and Clairmont Cameras (Chicago), Panavision and Plus 8 Video (Woodland Hills, Hollywood and Los Angeles). No wonder the DV-based formats have been a slam dunk for a growing list of independent productions, documentaries and short subjects, in addition to such theatrical features as The Anniversary Party (DVCAM), Time Code (DVCAM), Original Kings of Comedy (DVCAM and DV) and Bamboozled (DV and 16mm). According to Bamboozled director of photography, Ellen Kuras, ASC, the choice of DV was dictated by director Spike Lee's desire to shoot affordably and quickly, covering each take from multiple angles. "We used up to fifteen simultaneous cameras for the performance scenes," says Ellen Kuras. Of these, the eleven were DV and four were 16mm film. "In other scenes, we would put a camera on the ceiling, or two Sony Handycams on a conference table, back-to-back." Many of these unconventional shots made it into the final cut, contributing to the unique look of the movie. Here an innovative but expensive shooting technique was made affordable by the cost savings of digital media. Cinematographer John Bailey, ASC has shot more than 40 feature films, including American Gigolo, Ordinary People and As Good as It Gets. He shot The Anniversary Party for Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming in DVCAM using the Sony DSR-500WS. Says Bailey, "Despite an 'A list' cast, we had a limited budget and an extremely short shooting schedule. Because much of the cast were personal friends, Jennifer and Alan thought that a video shoot would create a more informal atmosphere–like a high class 'home movie.' That's why we chose DVCAM."