Digital Noise

When shooting on film really does become a distant memory and the film world becomes fully digital (a possibility that has edged closer with the announcement that Technicolor will follow Deluxe and close their Pinewood lab) I think the things I'll miss most are the things that give away the physical presence of film.. the grain, the dirt, the bob and weave of the projector, hand cranked end rollers. And the things that you can't control that are very hard to recreate convincingly in a digital environment.. lens flares, exposure pops at the end of a camera roll etc.

Most of these things don't have an equivalent in the digital world. Seeing a big neg scratch across the image on an old print is far more forgiving than frame dropout on a digital projection or download and actually adds to the film's charm.

Digital noise can be attractive but it's hard to use creatively without it being interpreted as a mistake unless it's used explicitly such as in the teaser trailer for Man of Steel, Zack Snyder's forthcoming Superman reboot or this strangely hypnotic music video for Rad Times!