Image of film reels

How expensive is shooting on film?

A 400 foot roll of 35mm Kodak film, which accounts for 4 minutes of footage, costs upto Rs. 16,000. For a 2 hour film, with retakes, the film roll itself will cost you Rs. 50 lakhs. Distributing the film will cost another 5 lakhs therefore, to simply create footage and distribute it you would spend Rs. 55 lakhs.

A 400 foot roll of 35mm Kodak film, which accounts for 4 minutes of footage, costs upto Rs. 16,000. For a 2 hour film, with retakes, the film roll itself will cost you Rs. 50 lakhs. Distributing the film will cost another 5 lakhs therefore, to simply create footage and distribute it you would spend Rs. 55 lakhs. This is one of the main reasons that industries were keen on shifting over to digital. Digital is a cheaper medium which allows for many retakes, easy delivery of the film through hard disks, and a less cumbersome process of projection since there is no need to switch reels midway through a film. Digital has also allowed films to advance technologically but open up new avenues such as Visual Effects, 3D projection and 4D projection. It has allowed the movie-watching experience to be more immersive.