Since Erik got the opportunity to talk to Crank Writer/Director team Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, I thought it would be appropriate to post this behind-the-scenes video that i've seen around, that shows some of the techniques and equipment that they were using on this film. If you look closely you'll see that the cameras they are utilizing are consumer available cameras (In these shots Specifically, the HF10 and the XHA1), largely without any kind of add-on's that many will generally prescribe when they want you to achieve a more professional "film-look", such as 35mm Adapters, or Matte Boxes.

I find this really interesting, because while many films have been shot totally digitally in the past (many at least partially on Consumer-level gear), this is going to be the biggest release so far, that has been shot COMPLETELY with consumer-level equipment. So really, I think almost none of us have excuses anymore in regards to our technological limitations. Videocameras have only been getting better and better, and Neveldine and Taylor have proven with their latest film that these cameras are more than good enough to stand on their own on the big screen. So I definitely am going to be checking it out this Friday, and I am looking forward to seeing a film that was shot on cameras that most of us here use for our own projects, and see what they can accomplish on a Hollywood production. 

I think that this is going to be a big deal, and hopefully open up a lot of peoples eyes, and shake them out of the complacency of feeling like they can't shoot something that "looks like a movie" with their own camera at home. We all live in a very exciting time for digital cinematography, with "Slumdog Millionaire" recently winning Best Cinematography AND Best Picture, while being shot digitally (I believe the first film shot digitally to win both), and more and more films utilizing digital cameras, with audiences largely unaware of it not being shot on 35mm film... There is simply a bright future ahead of us, in regards to the flexibility that shooting digitally is going to offer us in comparison to traditional mediums. 

Am I going to predict films death? No, not at all, film is still going to be around for a long time, BUT we definitely live in a time of a great shift, and the acceptance of films shot digitally is opening the doors up to more and more people. 

Crank 2 PROVES that it's not the camera that makes the film, it's the STORY, it's making a film that people WANT to see. So I am saying, get inspired and make a great story, and stop worrying about your camera, because that time is over. 

So I want to hear what you guys think... Do you think film is going to die? What new doors does this open? What pro's and con's do you see in regards to cheaper cameras becoming better and better? Leave some comments below and let me hear your thoughts.