TECHNICAL WORKSHOP - The technical challenges facing film today and tomorrow

After having discussed the place of heritage in cinemas and festivals, and while a showcase presented the CPP on Thursday, October 17, it was time to look at the future of film within the film industry, and not just heritage.Benjamin Alimi, Simone Appleby, André Labbouz, Viktoria Sovak and Baptiste Heynemann moderated the discussion.

Towards the end of the “golden age” of film?

Although digital technology has taken hold, facilitating many aspects of film production, film has lost none of its appeal for professionals, particularly in the heritage sector. It's much more durable than digital, says Simone Appleby, head of the CNC's Laboratory Restoration Department. Film can be preserved for at least 100 years, and Kodak guarantees 150 to 200 years of conservation, adds André Labbouz, Technical Director for Gaumont. A quality that justifies the fact that many digital works are now copied onto film, with contract clauses requiring such copies, says André Labbouz. Similarly, Hungary has positioned itself as a specialist in 35mm copies, as Viktoria Sovak, director of the National Film Institute Hungary (Filmlab), reports, citing the many American shoots that demand positive copies. In terms of heritage, “film is the survival of the profession”, continues André Labbouz.

Although film is no longer in its golden age, with only 700,000 meters of color film and 300,000 meters of B&W film currently coming out of TransPerfect Media's laboratories, compared with 200 million in 2012, 35mm is now enjoying renewed interest from filmmakers and the younger generation. As a result, 35mm shoots are on the rise.

Interest still present, but limited

Interest is still there, but the question of film's durability remains. Today, manufacturers are limited, as is know-how. Kodak has undertaken, under pressure from the majors, to continue producing film for 10 years, and is making significant investments in the sector and in the industry in the medium and long term, but this is not enough.

Know-how is the first to be affected by digital's ascendancy over film: the professionals still trained in 35mm film processing are aging, and the younger generation can't find the keys to learning how to use projectors or develop film. On the subject of projectors, André Labbouz is very angry with the CNC for having forced cinemas in 2012 to equip themselves with digital projectors, leaving film projectors on the sidelines.

When it comes to film processing, laboratories are scarce, and so are specialists. The CNC recently equipped itself with its own laboratory to be more autonomous in the event of the permanent closure of the institutions with which it worked, particularly in their archival work, but already know their limits: if their machines are damaged, they can't get them repaired, for lack of a specialist, explains Simone Appleby. Maintenance is generally carried out by the laboratories themselves, explains Benjamin Alimi, Managing Director of TransPerfect Media. He adds that with digital machines, the question doesn't arise, whereas with digital you have to manage to find solutions.

What are the solutions for saving 35mm?

The first step is to create a directory of professionals, and thus a community, dedicated to 35mm film machines and know-how. A machine inventory is also being created, to list specialized equipment available in France and elsewhere.

Another would be the creation of training courses for film-related professions: projectionists, photo-chemists, colorists. International training courses, says Viktoria Sovak, but also public ones, asks André Labbouz, supported by the national education system and ministries. Simone Appleby points out that the CNC is questioning whether it should set up its own training program, given that there are no guaranteed job opportunities for graduates.

Another solution advocated by the CNC is to perpetuate 35mm know-how as an “intangible heritage”, as the town of Grasse has done with perfume. Such a label would mean finding ways to preserve it.

Film, the indestructible heritage of cinema

Training courses are being revived where they no longer exist, as at Femis and Lumière, and film developing courses are being offered. Personal initiatives are also flourishing, such as the creation of new silver-based papers, even though photographic paper is experiencing the same problems as film, yet has managed to reinvent itself over the years and through innovation.

Film is also regaining interest in its physicality: digital creations are copied to film and then back to digital to produce a more organic image, explains Benjamin Alimi.

However, there are still limitations, not least in terms of recruitment. There is a certain turnover, but it's difficult to attract young people because the training courses are so long. Similarly, 16mm film is facing even more serious problems, with laboratories only developing it, as printing has become too costly. For Baptiste Heynemann, moderator of this discussion and general delegate of the CST, the key lies in the identity of the industry, which can only continue to exist by taking itself into account as such.