Westworld is about futuristic technology, so why is it still shot on film?

Westworld is set in the near(ish) future, when technology has advanced to the point where police officers can take control of speeding cars remotely, dresses can transform with the flick of a wrist, and the super-rich can pay to visit high-tech theme parks where they meet life-like robots who eventually turn against their creators and plan a human holocaust.

Well, that second one seems pretty fun.

But the point is that Westworld is about technology run amok, and yet, the show isn’t filmed on digital, like all self-respectful shows of the 21st century. It opts for good old-fashioned film.

“We’ve worked with virtually every camera system on the market. Film is still — by far — the most beautiful and consistent medium,” Westworld co-creator and showrunner Jonathan Nolan told the Daily News. “If you want to time travel and shoot with the best digital cameras from the future, just use film now. It’s still better.”

I will admit that Westworld looks terrific — the look is probably my favorite thing about the show, with its lavish location shooting, sleek costuming and rich color palate. “Jonathan and Lisa believe, as I do, that film is by far the best way to capture any moving image,” said Paul Cameron, the director of photography on the season 3 premiere. “This season we did extensive film and digital tests to confirm. When you strive for the best emotional image, there is no denying film. When you want the best relationship to a moving picture character, there is no denying film.”

I appreciate Westworld’s commitment to producing the best image possible, although there are really cool things going on in the world of digital filmmaking. For example, did you know that The Mandalorian filmed on a giant soundstage with the images of the environment playing on massive screens behind them? And it looked great!

And as Cameron points out, there are drawbacks to using film, namely the expense. “It’s not an easy task to buy, travel and ship exposed film around the world,” he said. “It’s also getting harder to find experienced young assistants who know how to load film. We also ship our 35mm cameras everywhere we go. Also, there’s still a reverence on set when shooting film.”

But even so, film has its fans, more than you might have thought when digital came onto the film scene a couple of decades back. I remember when George Lucas was saying digital was going to replace film back when he was making the Star Wars prequel trilogy, but that very much did not happen. “Every year we seem to be surprised at how many independent and award-winning films were shot on film,” Cameron said. “Motion Picture Film is a medium that is was way ahead of its time. It took about a hundred years to perfect. I wouldn’t call it a trend. It’s a reality.”

Westworld season 3 continue continues this Sunday with “Genre.”

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