List of films shot on digital video prior to 2012
Since the 1990s, more and more films have been shot on digital video and videotape rather than film stock. Some of them are independent, low-budget productions, while others are major studio productions. Since the mid-2010s, most films have been captured and distributed digitally.[1] Among the 200 highest grossing theatrically released films each year, a majority of films were shot on digital video for the first time in 2013, in 2014 over 80% were shot digitally, and by 2016 over 90% of films were shot digitally.[2]
Notable firsts
[edit]- First major studio film shot primarily on digital video: Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
- First film shot digitally in Official Competition at Cannes Film Festival: Russian Ark (2002)
- First nominees for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography shot mainly on digital video: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
- First winner of the Academy Award for Best Cinematography shot mainly on digital video: Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
- First winner of the Academy Award for Best Cinematography shot entirely on digital video: Avatar (2009)[3]
- First film shot with the Red One Camera: Che (2008)[4]
- First film shot with the Red One MX, and first film projected in 4K theatrical distribution: The Social Network (2010)[5]
- First film to be shot mainly with the Arri Alexa: Anonymous (2011)[6]
- First film to be shot mainly with the Red Epic Dragon and in 6K resolution: Gone Girl (2014)[7]
- First film shot mainly with the Arri Alexa 65: The Revenant (2015)[8]
- First film shot mainly with digital IMAX cameras: Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019)[9]
- First film shot mainly with the Red Weapon Vista Vision and in 8K resolution: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)[10]
List of films
[edit]The movies listed are shot mainly digitally. The list includes films released before 2012.
See also
[edit]- List of large sensor interchangeable-lens video cameras
- List of motion picture topics
- Filmizing
- Russian Ark - The first feature film shot completely in uncompressed high-definition
References
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- ^ Follows, Stephen (2019-02-11). "The use of digital vs celluloid film on Hollywood movies". Stephen Follows. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
- ^ "Oscar Breakdown: Best Cinematography". Archived from the original on 2014-04-25. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
- ^ Jeppsen, Matthew (January 26, 2010). "Steven Soderbergh featurette on shooting Che with RED by Matthew Jeppsen". provideocoalition.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-10.
- ^ Billington, Alex (15 April 2010). "Fincher's Social Network to be First Movie Shot & Shown in 4K". FirstShowing.net.
- ^ "Anonymous: ALEXA's first feature film". www.arri.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14.
- ^ "David Fincher's "Gone Girl" 1st Feature Film Shot Entirely in 6K". 4K Shooters. 13 August 2014.
- ^ "ALEXA XT and ALEXA 65 on "The Revenant"". arri.com. October 26, 2016.
- ^ "Marvel's 'Avengers: Infinity War' to Be Filmed Using the IMAX/ARRI Digital Camera". Marvel. May 7, 2015. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016.
- ^ Kamen, Matt (January 7, 2016). "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be first film shot in 8K". Wired UK.
- ^ Lei, Alex (September 30, 2024). "Before Megalopolis Put a Mic in the Theater, Twixt Was Meant to Be Edited on the Fly". Paste.
- ^ DeMott, Rick (September 20, 2011). "American Zoetrope Taps AJA Hi5-3D for Stereo Previews of Coppola's Twixt". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
- ^ Weintraub, Steven (2011-07-12). "Director Steven Quale Interview FINAL DESTINATION 5". Collider. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
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- ^ ""Skyfall" the biggest Bond yet". Arri. October 31, 2012. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
- ^ Sarti, Doug (2010-08-24). "Survival of the Dead: George A. Romero's career with flesh-eating zombies". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
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I enjoy shooting on digital, especially Genesis. It's so much quicker.
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- ^ Bria, Bill (April 20, 2022). "Michael Mann Didn't Want Public Enemies To Be Just Another Period Piece". /Film.
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- ^ Douglas, Edward (November 19, 2007). "On the Set of Gerard Butler's New Sci-Fi Action Flick!". ComingSoon. Archived from the original on December 9, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
- ^ "Samlejescene med masser af håndarbejde". AudioVisuelle Medier (in Danish). May 2009. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
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- ^ Hart, Hugh. "Knowing Director Alex Proyas: Digital RED Camera Rocks". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
- ^ Desowitz, Bill (May 12, 2008). "'Speed Racer': Go Go Go Anime". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
- ^ Holben, Jay (August 1, 2025). "Speed Racer: A Need for Speed". American Cinematographer.
- ^ McLean, Thomas J. (October 31, 2008). "'RockNRolla': Slyly VFX'ing the Streets of London". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
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- ^ Solis, Jody Michelle (February 2007). "Exclusive Interview with Thomas Ackerman: ASC Cinematographer for Balls of Fury by Jody Michelle Solis". StudentFilmmakers Magazine.
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- ^ Marlin, Natalie (14 May 2022). "Why I love the DIY filmmaking of Once". Little White Lies.
- ^ Perez, Rodrigo (March 24, 2022). "'Inland Empire' Restoration Trailer: David Lynch's Surreal DV Nightmare Comes Back To Theaters In April". ThePlaylist.net. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ Seibold, Witney (2022-11-13). "Why David Lynch Chose To Shoot Inland Empire Digitally". /Film. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
- ^ "Miami Vice in HD". Digitalcontentproducer.com. May 23, 2006. Archived from the original on October 5, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
- ^ Restuccio, Daniel (June 1, 2006). "COVER STORY: 'SUPERMAN RETURNS'". Post Magazine.
- ^ Rowe, Robin (July 1, 2006). "Post-Production Does the Heavy Lifting on Superman Returns". Cinemontage.
- ^ Department, CWB News (2007-02-16). "Borat & Panasonic's AJ-HDC27 VariCam HD". Cinema Without Borders. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
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- ^ "THE PUFFY CHAIR - STREAM MY REELS - Grind My Reels". Grind My Reels. 2013-04-08. Archived from the original on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
- ^ Publishing, Bloomsbury (2019-07-25). The Cinema Book. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-83871-869-5.
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- ^ Screen Digest. Screen Digest Limited. 2003. p. 135.
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- ^ Goldstein, Patrick (2002-07-09). "Digital's 'Tadpole' Phase". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
- ^ Bankston, Douglas (1 July 2003). "Anthony Dod Mantle, DFF injects the apocalyptic 28 Days Later with a strain of digital video". TheASC.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2007.
- ^ Jones, Ralph (2023-06-27). "'28 Days Later': The Oral History of Danny Boyle's Genre-Redefining Zombie Masterpiece". Inverse. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
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- ^ Coll, Thomas (23 April 2024). "'All About Lily Chou-Chou': Shunji Iwai's dark portrayal of the internet generation". Far Out Magazine.
- ^ "INTERVIEW: Wayne Wang Journeys to "The Center of the World"". IndieWire. 2001-04-20. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
- ^ Segall, Miriam (2007-08-15). Career Building Through Digital Moviemaking. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-4358-4405-6.
- ^ Pavlus, John (February 2002). "The Dogma Movement Tackles Comedy". American Cinematographer. Vol. 83. p. 12.
- ^ Rife, Katie (August 14, 2020). "Lossy, translated: Why filmmakers embraced digital video in 2000". AV Club. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
- ^ Lindsay, Greg (January 2002). "Digitally Essential". The Independent Film & Video Monthly. Vol. 25. p. 3.
- ^ Rochlin, Margy (2001-12-23). "FILM; From Switzerland With Lots of Buzz". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
- ^ Hardy, Jason (2000-04-04). ""Julien Donkey-Boy" very disturbing film". The Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved 2025-10-19.
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- ^ Taylor, Drew (2025-02-03). "GKids to Release Hideaki Anno's 'Love and Pop' in North America After 25-Year Wait". TheWrap. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
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- ^ "The Demons In My Head: A New Hope? A film by Neil Johnson". frompage2screen. October 4, 2021.
- ^ IMDB[better source needed]
External links
[edit]- American Cinematographer article about Star Wars: Episode II
- American Cinematographer article about Collateral
- DigitalCinemaNow article about "HD 2K 4K Digital hi-end cameras"
- HD Magazine "All about HD in all its guises - capture to distribution"
- Official Panavision Media Center & Reference Library
- Light Illusion Various Tech Papers about Digital Cinematography and Digital Film
- Official Sony Professional Website