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VIDEO IS NOT FILM!
by John Porter 2005

Video is not film! Yet even people working in film and/or video don't distinguish between the two. This creates confusion. When we talk about "film", are we really talking about video?

There is growing discussion in the arts and business worlds today about the
different look, feel and response when shooting or showing film or video. (see "Staying in the picture", Murray Whyte, Toronto Star, April 12, '05). To facilitate this discussion we need to agree on what we mean by the words "film" and "video".

Film is a layer of images applied to a strip of clear acetate or polyester,
usually with sprocket holes and viewed by passing light through it. It's shadows.
Video is a strip of opaque tape, a laser disc, or a memory chip. It's electronics.
You can't put film into a video camera or player, and you can't put video into a film camera or projector.

^^^

If the word "film" commonly refers to both shadows and electronics, then we have no commonly-used word referring specifically to light passing through clear acetate. And there's no need to appropriate the word "film" for both shadows and electronics. We already commonly use "movie" and "cinema" for that.

I suggest that the medium-of-record is the medium in which the work is completed or exhibited. The shooting or originating medium is merely one of the raw materials along with effects, titles and sound which are usually combined in the completed or exhibited work. Often, program notes referring to a "film (shown on video)" really mean a
video (shot on film) because the video as shown, never existed or will exist on film.
The recent Star Wars movies were shot and produced on video, but shown on film, so they were in fact films (shot on video). Nobody referred to them as videos.

I think the reason people refer to their completed or exhibited video as "film", is for prestige or respect. The word "film" sounds better than the word "video", because
film has a longer, richer history, and a richer look. It's film-envy! But videomakers should use and be proud of video's own unique qualities. Vive la différence!

^^^

Ontario Film Act - Opinions - Histories - Reviews