Exclusive: Martin Scorsese on the Pros and Cons of Digital Filmmaking

We can always count on Martin Scorsese to support film stock. He was among the big-name directors to rally Kodak to keep film stock alive. At the time, he said, “Would anyone dream of telling young artists to throw away their paints and canvases because iPads are so much easier to carry? Of course not. In the history of motion pictures, only a minuscule percentage of the works comprising our art form was not shot on film. Everything we do in HD is an effort to recreate the look of film.”

In the exclusive clip from “Side by Side Extra” above, Scorsese talks about the pros and cons of shifting to digital — what is lost and what is gained.

READ MORE: Keanu Reeves on Why Film Should Stick Around in the Digital Age

Scorsese is just one of the many luminaries featured in “Side by Side Extra,” a comprehensive exploration of how digital technology has transformed the way films are made. Directed by Christopher Kenneally, director of the original “Side by Side,” and produced by Keanu Reeves and Justin Szlasa, “Side by Side Extra” is now available to purchase here.

The goal of the initial documentary was to capture a moment in time when filmmaking was largely transitioning from shooting on film to digital. The upside of the digital transition, according to Reeves, is that it has helped to democratize filmmaking. 

“Because of the means of production and the scaling that digital can offer, there has been such an explosion of ways to watch stories and to create content,” Reeves recently told Indiewire.

Visit the web site to purchase the DVDs.

READ MORE: Lena Dunham on How Technology is Giving Us ADD