His classic movie Manhattan was a tribute to the power of black and white film. But now Woody Allen is to leave traditional celluloid behind after agreeing to use digital film for the first time.
Allen, who turns 80 in December, announced that his new film, which stars Steve Carell and Kristen Stewart, will be shot using the latest digital technology.
Allen’s collaborator Vittorio Storaro, who won Academy Awards for his cinematography for Apocalypse Now, Reds and The Last Emperor, persuaded Allen to make the leap. The director is using a Sony F65, which sells for around £20,000 and is capable of shooting at 8K resolution.
Storaro said: “I had seen that the Sony F65 was capable of recording beautiful images in 4K and 16 bit-colour depth in 1:2, which is my favourite composition. So when Woody called me this year asking me to be the cinematographer of his new film with the working title ‘WASP 2015,’ my decision was already made.
The cinematographer added: “I convinced him to record the film in digital, so we can begin our journey together in the digital world. It’s time now for the Sony F65!”
Allen said at this year’s Cannes Film Festival: “Digital looks very good to me if it’s done well. Film always looks great if it’s done well. It is more than the wave of the future; it’s the wave of the present, really. I see digital shot by good cameramen that is beautiful and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, so I don’t mind it. I like that I can edit fast.”
Allen is famed for his experimental visual approach. For Husbands and Wives, his 1992 comedy-drama, Allen adopted an improvisational style of film-making, using hand-held camera techniques.
Shooting began on the new film in August in New York and Los Angeles. The cast includes Jeannie Jesse Eisenberg, Blake Lively, Parker Posey and Ken Stott.
The F65 is Sony's top of the range digital camera for motion picture production. It has been used by the Oscar winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda to shoot Oblivion and Tomorrowland.
