Side by Side recently aired on PBS after a run on the 2012 festival circuit, and a limited release in theaters. The Academy is also planning future screenings of the film.
“We took a deep dive into the evolution of filmmaking technology and spoke to hundreds of artists and filmmakers to make this documentary,” said Reeves. “What we took away is that, right now, film is the only archival medium that is truly proven. We’d like Side by Side to be available for future generations, and we think creating film elements is the best way to do that.”
KODAK VISION3 2254 Film retains nuances in colors, contrast and other characteristics of digitally created images, and offers dye stability for extended asset life.
Technicolor New York is providing the transfer services, and the stock will be used as a master for generating prints for upcoming 35mm film screenings of the documentary. By choosing this postproduction path, the film will be preserved for more than a century.
The documentary investigates the history, process and workflow of both digital and film creation. Director Christopher Kenneally explores accomplishments by artists and filmmakers using both film and digital and how their needs and innovations have helped push filmmaking in new directions. Interviews with directors, cinematographers, colorists, scientists, engineers and artists reveal their experiences and feelings about working with film and digital.
“At the end of the day, film is still the most stable and reliable preservation medium,” said Andrew Evenski, president – entertainment & commercial Film, Kodak. “Only film offers a standardized, human-readable format that has been in existence for well over a century, and methods for retrieving content from a 35mm frame will exist well into the future. When content is preserved on film, no re-mastering is necessary.”
