16 vs 35

Very early on we made the decision to shoot on film rather than HD. Although we'd had a very positive experience working with HD on the short, it was felt that film had several advantages. First, it just looks better, bleaching out in a different way. The differences may be minimal, but they're there. They just feel different to each other. Secondly, there's something about having film on set that makes everyone react differently. Knowing that each take is burning film and so costing more adds, I find, to a level of seriousness. Finally, we felt that to keep with the indie sensibility of the band, the film should be on film, it's what the characters would want (if that doesn't sound too wanky).

With our budget we thought we cuold afford, at a push, to shoot 16mm. Camera hire has come right down, and film stock is now very cheap indeed. And London to Brighton shot on 16mm. But the other day Mike Eley, the DoP, mentioned the possibility of shooting on 35mm. It wuold certainly look better (how can it not), but it will also have not only cost implications, but workflow ones. To put it simply, it will look better but we'll get less takes.

So that's the decision we have to make this week, and I really have no idea which way to go.