Film is dead By Akona Matyila “Go digital or die” believes acclaimed British DP, digital cinematographer and documentarian Phillip Bloom. Apparently that is the reality that filmmakers around the world are facing in this ever changing world of digital media that we consume everyday. “Kodak and Fuji are bankrupt, no one is producing film anymore….cinemas are tossing out their film projectors and going digital” says Bloom. I could help but feel nostalgia for a world I hardly knew, sad that I possibly would never experience the feeling of filming on celluloid, let alone watching a film I directed on a proper silver screen. I grew up in a family where lack of toys afforded us the luxury of being creative. One of my very first memories was watching my uncle snapping away on his rugged Kodak stills camera, darkening his rustic shack and developing pictures for us within what seemed to be minutes. Those were the days before VCR’s and VHS’, which seemed quite alien to us. Realistically, one can’t ignore the advantages of filming digitally. It is cheap and practical, it affords you a lot of freedom to be creative, shoot quickly, post production turn-over is lightning fast compared to the development and treatment of film can take a while. I could go on….. I was quite inspired by Phillip Bloom, his confidence and wealth of knowledge was quite refreshing and beneficial for a young filmmaker who is still trying to find his voice. I expected the man who has worked with the likes of George Lucas to be quite intimidating and I expected most of the information to fly way over my head but he was quite accommodating and open, more than willing to share his knowledge and ideas. He takes the hocus pocus out of making films, demonstrating that film truly is a very accessible medium where everyone has a voice. Filming is not only about using the latest camera but treating it as an extension and an aid in telling a story. Durban has always had a reputation of not being fully behind and fully supportive of arts. The poor attendance of the workshop was evidence enough to the claim. Understandably, R1600 is quite a sum to spend on a one day workshop, where most of the information is readily available on Phillip Bloom’s website but it was quite encouraging to be in the same room as other like-minded folk. There seems to be an abundance of talent in KZN and looking at fellow filmmakers around me I could not help wondering about the lack of collaboration in our industry. Everyone seems to stand alone as we tend to focus solely on what we are doing. We need more workshops such as these, seminars, competitions to build a community that works together in putting our local film scene on the map if we are to be taken seriously like the rest of our counterparts. “It’s really easy man…..just go out there with your mates and shoot” says Bloom Check out Phillip Bloom at: http://philipbloom.net/