The ongoing slide from film to digital has resulted in the vast majority of movies being shot on the latter, newer format.  While I still think there's a noticeable aesthetic difference between the two mediums, the cost benefits of shooting on digital (along with the time-saving benefits since time really is money, especially on a film set) have definitely made a dent in the budgeting process for most projects.  Still, some directors have the clout to shoot on celluloid.  Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan come to mind and even Ti West was able to shoot In a Valley of Violence the old fashioned way.  With the amount of hits under his belt, one assumes that Kingsman: The Secret Service director Matthew Vaughn has some say in this matter when it comes to his projects, and he claims he's made the switch to digital.  Permanently.

Steve recently learned this when he spoke with Vaughn to talk about Kingsman: The Secret Service.  We'll have the whole interview up closer to that film's release in the UK on January 29, 2015 and in the US on February 13, 2015, but I wanted to share this noteworthy bit first.  Check out the amazing red band trailer for the film and hit the jump for more on Vaughn's relationship with digital filmmaking.

Vaughn told Steve that he's not as beholden to any one particular format as some of his colleagues are:

"I'm not as bothered about it - I mean, I think digital is great, because it's quicker, you can see it, you've got more control over the DP, because half the time you've got no idea what the hell they're doing [laughs].  I do think film has a magic, sort of a beauty that digital is about 5-10% away from being, but I think the advantages that you get with digital outweighs that 10% magic, and once you see how shitty most projectors are around the world, and how people have their settings on their television, you just go 'fuck it'.  That 10% of magic is destroyed on most people's viewing experience anyway, so I don't think I'll ever shoot film again."

He then goes onto elaborate how shoddy projection and miscalibrated home entertainment systems make it even more of a losing battle in his eyes:

"So you go, what the fuck did I even bother grading this movie for?  It's got a lightbulb that's dying [laughs], so it looks like a horror film.  Or it's out of focus, the sound's terrible.  Yeah, that's my problem.  So we might as well just do it on digital and be done with it."

While that may unfortunately be true for many venues, I'm glad he took the time to color grade Kingsman since the film looks fantastic to me so far.  I can't wait to see it in a decent cinema.

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