List of films shot on digital video prior to 2012 explained

See main article: Digital cinematography.

Starting in the 1990s, films had been shot on digital video and videotape rather than film stock. Some of them are independent, low-budget productions, while others are major studio productions. Since the mid-2010s, most films are captured and distributed digitally.^[1] Among the 200 highest grossing theatrically released films each year, a majority of films were shot on digital video for the first time in 2013, in 2014 over 80% were shot digitally, and by 2016 over 90% of films were shot digitally.^[2]

Notable firsts

• First major studio film shot primarily on digital video: (2002)
• First film shot digitally in Official Competition at Cannes Film Festival: Russian Ark (2002)
• First nominees for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography shot mainly on digital video: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
• First winner of the Academy Award for Best Cinematography shot mainly on digital video: Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
• First winner of the Academy Award for Best Cinematography shot entirely on digital video: Avatar (2009)^[3]
• First film shot with the Red One Camera: Che (2008)^[4]
• First film shot with the Red One MX, and first film projected in 4K theatrical distribution: The Social Network (2010)^[5]
• First film to be shot mainly with the Arri Alexa: Anonymous (2011)^[6]
• First film to be shot mainly with the Red Epic Dragon and in 6K resolution: Gone Girl (2014)^[7]
• First film shot mainly with the Arri Alexa 65: The Revenant (2015)^[8]
• First film shot mainly with digital IMAX cameras: (2018) and (2019)^[9]
• First film shot mainly with the Red Weapon Vista Vision and in 8K resolution: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)^[10]

List of films

The movies listed are shot mainly digitally. The list includes films released before 2012.

Title	Cinematographer	Camera type	width=140	Lens type	width=35	Year	Notes
Setup	Mike Gunther	Red One		2011
Catch .44	Aaron Harvey	Red One MX	Hawk V-Lite V-Plus Lenses	2011
Albert Nobbs	Michael McDonough	Red One MX		2011
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close	Chris Menges	Arri Alexa		2011
11-11-11	Joseph White	Arri Alexa		2011
The Wholly Family	Nicola Pecorini	Arri Alexa		2011
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia	Gökhan Tiryaki	Sony CineAlta F35		2011
Wild Bill	George Richmond	Arri Alexa		2011
This Is 40	Phedon Papamichael	Arri Alexa		2011
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo	Jeff Cronenweth	Red One MX, Red Epic MX	Zeiss Master Prime	2011	Red Epic was used to shoot scenes in both the US and Sweden. The film was also the first to employ a workflow higher than 4K resolution from production to presentation.
The Darkest Hour	Scott Kevan	Sony CineAlta F35		2011
Final Destination 5	Brian Pearson	Arri Alexa		2011
Young Adult	Eric Steelberg	Arri Alexa		2011
The Muppets	Don Burgess	Red One MX, Red Epic MX	Zeiss Ultra Prime	2011
Hugo	Robert Richardson	Arri Alexa		2011	Winner of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Cinematography
Immortals	Brendan Galvin	Panavision Genesis		2011
Jack and Jill	Dean Cundey	Arri Alexa	Cooke S4	2011
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas	Michael Barrett	Panavision Genesis		2011
The Three Musketeers	Glen MacPherson	Arri Alexa		2011
Vicky and the Treasure of the Gods	Christian Rein	Arri Alexa		2011
Rampart	Bobby Bukowski	Arri Alexa		2011
Killer Joe	Caleb Deschanel	Arri Alexa		2011
Headshot	Chankit Chamnivikaipong	Red One MX		2011
Dolphin Tale	Karl Walter Lindenlaub	Red One MX		2011
Our Idiot Brother	Yaron Orbach	Red One MX		2011
Anonymous	Anna Foerster	Arri Alexa		2011	The first feature-length film to be shot with Alexa
Contagion	Steven Soderbergh	Red One MX	Red Pro Prime	2011
Margin Call	Frank DeMarco	Red One MX		2011
The Inbetweeners Movie	Ben Wheeler	Arri Alexa		2011
The Devil's Double	Sam McCurdy	Red One MX		2011
Drive	Newton Thomas Sigel	Arri Alexa		2011
In Time	Roger Deakins	Arri Alexa		2011
	Shelly Johnson	Panavision Genesis		2011	Underwater sequences and epilogue shot with Arri Alexa
Zookeeper	Michael Barrett	Panavision Genesis		2011
Horrible Bosses	David Hennings	Panavision Genesis		2011
	Michael Barrett	Panavision Genesis		2011
Bellflower	Joel Hodge	Custom based on Silicon Imaging SI-2K		2011
Melancholia	Manuel Alberto Claro	Arri Alexa		2011	Phantom HD Camera used for high-speed photography
Mr. Popper's Penguins	Florian Ballhaus	Arri Alexa		2011
	Amir Mokri	Sony CineAlta F35		2011	Most non-action scenes/close-ups shot with 35mm film
Return of the Moonwalker	Mike Maria	Red Epic MX		2011
Pina	Hélène Louvart Jörg Widmer	Sony HDC-1500		2011
	Dariusz Wolski	Red One MX		2011
Prom	Byron Shah	Arri Alexa		2011
TT3D: Closer to the Edge	Thomas Kürzl	Red One MX		2011
The Lincoln Lawyer	Lukas Ettlin	Red One MX		2011
Shark Night 3D	Gary Capo	Fusion Camera System, Sony CineAlta F35		2011
Sanctum	Jules O'Loughlin	Fusion Camera System		2011
Drive Angry	Brian Pearson	Red One MX, Silicon Imaging SI-2K		2011
Cedar Rapids	Chuy Chávez	Arriflex D-21		2011
Like Crazy	John Guleserian	Canon EOS 7D		2011
The Future (film)	Nikolai von Graevenitz	Red One M		2011
Sick Boy	Sean C. Cunningham	Canon EOS 7D		2011	Canon EOS L-Series lenses, StickyPod, Redrock Micro "Captain Stubling" rig and Lensbaby Muse
Sound of My Voice	Rachel Morrison	Canon EOS 7D		2011
	Claudio Miranda	Sony CineAlta F35		2010	Phantom HD Camera used for high-speed photography
Blue Valentine	Andrij Parekh	Red One M	Cooke S4	2010	Present-day scenes shot on Red, flashback scenes shot on 16mm
Red State	David Klein	Red One MX, Canon EOS 7D		2010	Canon 7D used only for 'running with camera' shots
Winter's Bone	Michael McDonough	Red One M	Zeiss Master Prime	2010
Sarah's Key	Pascal Ridao	Red One M	Cooke S4	2010
Jackass 3D	Dimitry Elyashkevich	Red One M		2010
Hubble 3D	James Neihouse	IMAX Cargo Bay 3-D Camera		2010
The Devil's Rock	Paul Campion	Red One M		2010
Fair Game	Doug Liman	Red One M		2010
	Glen MacPherson	Fusion Camera System		2010
The Social Network	Jeff Cronenweth	Red One MX	Zeiss Master Prime	2010	First film to feature a 2K pipeline, from production to presentation.
127 Hours	Anthony Dod Mantle Enrique Chediak	Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EOS 7D, Silicon Imaging SI-2K		2010
Machete	Jimmy Lindsey	Panavision Genesis		2010
Certified Copy	Luca Bigazzi	Red One M		2010
Casino Jack	Adam Swica	Red One M		2010
Date Night	Dean Semler	Panavision Genesis		2010
	Dante Spinotti	Sony CineAlta F23		2010
Rosario	Carlo Mendoza	Arri Alexa		2010	First Filipino film to be shot with the Arri Alexa
Yogi Bear	Peter James	Fusion Camera System		2010
Step Up 3D	Ken Seng	Fusion Camera System		2010
Death at a Funeral	Rogier Stoffers	Panavision Genesis		2010
Film Socialisme	Fabrice Aragno Paul Grivas	Sony PMW-EX1, Sony HDR-TG1E, JVC Everio, Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Samsung NV24HD, Archos 404 Camcorder		2010
Killers	Russell Carpenter	Arriflex D-21		2010
Grown Ups	Theo van de Sande	Panavision Genesis		2010
Rabbit Hole	Frank G. DeMarco	Red One M		2010
Rubber	Quentin Dupieux	Canon EOS 5D Mark II		2010
twelve	Steven Fierberg	Red One M		2010
Avatar	Mauro Fiore	Fusion Camera System	Fujinon 6.3-101mm T2 and 7-35mm T1.8	2009	First 100% digitally photographed film to win the Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Informant!	Steven Soderbergh	Red One M	Red Pro prime	2009
Youth in Revolt	Chuy Chávez	Sony CineAlta F35		2009
The Box	Steven Poster	Panavision Genesis		2009
Zombieland	Michael Bonvillain	Panavision Genesis		2009
The Final Destination	Glen MacPherson	Fusion Camera System		2009
District 9	Trent Opaloch	Red One M		2009
The Secret in Their Eyes	Félix Monti	Red One M		2009
Valhalla Rising	Morten Søborg	Red One M		2009
Public Enemies	Dante Spinotti	Sony CineAlta F23		2009	Some car interiors during chases shot on Sony XDCAM EX-1
The Girlfriend Experience	Steven Soderbergh	Red One M	Panavision C-series anamorphic	2009
Gamer	Ekkehart Pollack	Red One M		2009
Antichrist	Anthony Dod Mantle	Red One M		2009	Phantom HD Camera used for high-speed photography
Samantha Darko	Chris Fisher	Red One M		2009
Surviving Evil	Mike Downie	Thomson Viper		2009
Tetro	Mihai Mălaimare Jr.	Sony CineAlta F900		2009
	Brandon Trost	Canon XH-A1		2009	Fifteen Canon HF10 were used as Crash-Cams
The Book of Eli	Don Burgess	Red One M	Panavision Primo	2009
Knowing	Simon Duggan	Red One M		2009
Achchamundu! Achchamundu!	Arthur Wilson	Red One M		2009
Like You Know It All	Kim Hoon-kwang	Sony PMW-EX1		2009
My Bloody Valentine 3D	Brian Pearson	Red One M, Silicon Imaging SI-2K		2009
Leaves of Grass	Roberto Schaefer	Red One M		2009
neighbor	Marc Jeff Schirmer	Red One M		2009
The Spirit	Bill Pope	Panavision Genesis		2008	Phantom HD Camera used for high-speed photography
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button	Claudio Miranda	Thomson Viper	Zeiss DigiPrime	2008	Among the first two predominantly digitally photographed films, along with Slumdog Millionaire, to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography
Slumdog Millionaire	Anthony Dod Mantle	Silicon Imaging SI-2K		2008	The first predominantly digitally photographed film to win the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. Shot on multiple formats, including 35mm and digital stills.
Rachel Getting Married	Declan Quinn	Sony CineAlta F23		2008
You Don't Mess With The Zohan	Michael Barrett	Panavision Genesis		2008
Chemical Wedding	Brian Herlihy	Thomson Viper		2008
Che: Part Two	Steven Soderbergh	Red One M	Red Pro prime	2008
Che: Part One	Steven Soderbergh	Red One M	Red Pro prime	2008	The first feature-length film shot with Red One cameras
Get Smart	Dean Semler	Panavision Genesis		2008
Speed Racer	David Tattersall	Sony CineAlta F23		2008
Three Monkeys	Gökhan Tiryaki	Sony CineAlta F900		2008
Deception	Dante Spinotti	Panavision Genesis		2008
21	Russell Carpenter	Panavision Genesis		2008
Journey to the Center of the Earth	Chuck Shuman	Fusion Camera System		2008
Cloverfield	Michael Bonvillain	Sony CineAlta F23		2008	Segments, other shots include the Panasonic HVX-200, as well as the Thomson Viper
RocknRolla	David Higgs	Arriflex D-21		2008
The Bank Job	Michael Coulter	Arriflex D-21		2008
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead	Ron Fortunato	Panavision Genesis		2007
Reign Over Me	Russ Alsobrook	Panavision Genesis		2007
Youth Without Youth	Mihai Mălaimare Jr.	Sony CineAlta F900		2007
Zodiac	Harris Savides	Thomson Viper	Zeiss DigiPrime	2007
Balls of Fury	Thomas E. Ackerman	Panavision Genesis		2007
		Panavision Genesis		2007
Superbad	Russ Alsobrook	Panavision Genesis		2007
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry	Dean Semler	Panavision Genesis		2007
Next	David Tattersall	Panavision Genesis		2007
Chronicle of Purgatory: The Waiter	Jason Konopisos	Panasonic AG-DVX100 (Andromeda Modification)		2007	The Andromeda Modification bypasses the DV compression to get uncompressed 4:4:4 10-bit RGB data straight from the CCD block
Planet Terror	Robert Rodriguez	Panavision Genesis		2007
Apocalypto	Dean Semler	Panavision Genesis		2006
Once	Tim Fleming	Sony HVR-Z1		2006
Inland Empire	David Lynch	Sony DSR-PD150		2006
Miami Vice	Dion Beebe	Thomson Viper		2006
Superman Returns	Newton Thomas Sigel	Panavision Genesis		2006
Borat	Anthony Hardwick Luke Geissbühler	Panasonic AJ-HDC27 Varicam		2006	Shot with two VariCams with occasional use of a Panasonic AG-DVX100^[11]
Click	Dean Semler	Panavision Genesis		2006
Climates	Gökhan Tiryaki	Sony CineAlta F900		2006
Colossal Youth	Pedro Costa Leonardo Simões	Panasonic AG-DVX100		2006
Crank	Adam Biddle	Sony CineAlta F950		2006	Some scenes shot with Canon XL-2
Flyboys	Henry Braham	Panavision Genesis		2006
Them (Ils)	David Moreau Xavier Palud	Panasonic AG-DVX100		2006
Still Life	Zhangke Jia	Sony HVR-Z1		2006
Me and You and Everyone We Know	Chuy Chávez	Sony CineAlta F900		2005
Il vento fa il suo giro	Roberto Cimatti	Panasonic AG-DVX100		2005
	David Tattersall	Sony CineAlta F950		2005
The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl	Robert Rodriguez	Sony CineAlta F950		2005
Bubble	Steven Soderbergh	Sony CineAlta F900/F950		2005
Manderlay	Anthony Dod Mantle	Sony CineAlta F900		2005	Some scenes shot with Sony DSR-PD100
Sin City	Robert Rodriguez	Sony CineAlta F950		2005
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow	Eric Adkins	Sony CineAlta F900		2005
Collateral	Paul Cameron Dion Beebe	Sony CineAlta F900, Thomson Viper		2004	35mm used for some scenes
Land of Plenty	Franz Lustig	Panasonic AG-DVX100		2004
The World	Yu Lik-wai	Sony CineAlta F900		2004
Dogville	Anthony Dod Mantle	Sony CineAlta F900		2003	Some scenes shot with Sony DSR-PD100
	Robert Rodriguez	Sony CineAlta F900		2003
Once Upon A Time In Mexico	Robert Rodriguez	Sony CineAlta F900		2003	Was filmed in 2001 but released theatrically in 2003
Pieces of April	Tami Reiker	Sony DSR-PD150		2003	Filmed in 2002 and released in 2003^[12]
Virgin	Benjamin Wolf	Sony DSR-PD150		2003	Shot in 2002 and released in 2003^[13]
Unknown Pleasures	Yu Lik-wai	Sony DSR-PD150		2002	Other scenes shot in Digital Betacam
	Robert Rodriguez	Sony CineAlta F900		2002
Russian Ark	Tilman Büttner	Sony CineAlta F900	Canon ENG	2002
	David Tattersall	Sony CineAlta F900		2002	Cited by the British Film Institute as "the first digitally shot blockbuster to hit cinemas."^[14]
9 Songs	Marcel Zyskind	Panasonic AG-DVX100		2002	Other scenes shot with Sony DSR-PD150
Full Frontal	Steven Soderbergh	Canon XL-1s		2002
	Ellen Kuras	Sony DSR-PD150		2002
Tadpole	Hubert Taczanowski	Sony DSR-PD150		2002	Shot with three digital cameras^[15]
24 Hour Party People	Robby Muller	Sony DSR-PD150		2002
28 Days Later	Anthony Dod Mantle	Canon XL-1s		2002	Some shots in 35mm
Xuxa e os Duendes	Cezar Moraes	Sony CineAlta F900		2001
All About Lily Chou-Chou	Noboru Shinoda	Sony CineAlta F900		2001
The Anniversary Party	John Bailey	Sony DSR-500		2001
By Hook or By Crook	Ann T. Rossetti	Sony vx2000		2001
The King Is Alive	Jens Schlosser	Sony DSR-PD150		2001
The Center of the World	The Chau Ngo	Sony DSR-PD100Sony DVW-700		2001	Used Digital Betacam for some scenes and the Sony DRV-100 for others^[16]
The Wager	Arnar Thor Thorisson	Sony CineAlta F900		2001	Shot in 2001, released in 2004
Vidocq	Jean-Pierre Sauvaire Jean-Claude Thibaut	Sony HDW-F900 CineAlta		2001
You Got Nothin	Cliff Hsui Jonathan Zames	Sony HDW-F900 CineAlta		2001	Shot in 2001, released in 2002.
Xtracurricular	J.P. Lipa	Sony HDW-F900 CineAlta		2001	Some scenes shot on Panasonic AJ-HDC27 Varicam and Sony DSR-500WS. Shot in 2001, released in 2003
Tortilla Soup	Xavier Pérez Grobet	Panasonic AJ-HDC27 Varicam		2001	Home video release from 35mm Interpostive
Bamboozled	Ellen Kuras	Sony DCR-VX1000		2000	Some scenes shot in 16mm
Chuck & Buck	Chuy Chávez	Sony DCR-VX1000		2000
Dancer in the Dark	Robby Müller	Sony DXC-D30WS		2000	Musical numbers shot with 100 Sony DSR-PD100s
Our Lady of the Assassins	Barbet Schroeder	Sony HDW-700		2000	Premiered September 1, 2000 (Telluride Film Festival)
Ivans Xtc	Bernard Rose	Sony HDW-700A		2000	Premiered September 12, 2000 (Toronto International Film Festival)
Everything Put Together	Roberto Schaefer	Sony DCR-VX1000		2000	Shot entirely on HD in the summer of 1999, premiered in 2000^[17]
Solid Ones	Matthew W. David	Sony HDW-700A		1999	Shot entirely on HD in the summer of 1999, premiered in 2000
God Wears My Underwear	Leslie Streit	Canon XL-1	Canon EOS zoom	1999	Shot in 1999, released in 2005
The New Women	Larra Anderson	Canon XL-1	Canon EOS zoom	1999	Shot in 1999, released in 2001
The Last Broadcast	Lance Weiler	Sony DCR-VX1000		1998	For some sequences a toy video camera from Tyco was used^[18]
The Book of Life	Jim Denault	Sony DCR-VX1000		1998
Festen	Thomas Vinterberg	Sony DCR-PC3		1998
The Celebration	Anthony Dod Mantle	Sony DCR-PC3		1998
The Idiots	Lars von Trier	Sony DCR-VX1000		1997
Hope	Pete Anderson	Canon GL1		1997
Windhorse	Steve Schecter	Sony DVW-700WS Sony DCR-VX1000		1996	Premiered 1998 at the Santa Barbara Film Festival
The Demons in My Head	Grant Hoy	Sony DVW-700WS		1996	Premiered 15 June 1997 at the Sanctuary Cove Village Theater, Queensland, Australia.^[19] Also first feature film to be online edited in a computer and projected digitally^[20]

See also

• List of large sensor interchangeable-lens video cameras
• List of motion picture topics
• Filmizing
• Russian Ark - The first feature film shot completely in uncompressed high-definition

External links

• American Cinematographer article about Star Wars: Episode II
• American Cinematographer article about Collateral
• DigitalCinemaNow article about "HD 2K 4K Digital hi-end cameras"
• HD Magazine "All about HD in all its guises - capture to distribution"
• Official Panavision Media Center & Reference Library
• Light Illusion Various Tech Papers about Digital Cinematography and Digital Film
• Official Sony Professional Website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hurley. Michael. 2 January 2014. Studios Abandon Film, Small Theaters Struggle -- And There's a Happy Ending. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160201064107/http://www.indiewire.com/article/as-studios-abandon-35-mm-film-small-theaters-struggle-to-transition-to-digital. 2016-02-01. Indiewire.
2. Web site: Follows . Stephen . 2019-02-11 . The use of digital vs celluloid film on Hollywood movies . 2019-10-23 . Stephen Follows . en-GB.
3. Web site: Oscar Breakdown: Best Cinematography. dead. 2014-04-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20140425053422/http://filmschoolrejects.com/features/oscar-breakdown-best-cinematography.php. 2014-04-25.
4. Web site: Steven Soderbergh featurette on shooting Che with RED by Matthew Jeppsen . provideocoalition.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130210232827/http://provideocoalition.com/freshdv/story/soderbergh_on_shooting_che_with_red . 2013-02-10.
5. Web site: Fincher's Social Network to be First Movie Shot & Shown in 4K | FirstShowing.net. 15 April 2010 .
6. Web site: ARRI Group: News . www.arri.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714164645/http://www.arri.com/en/news/anonymous-alexas-first-feature-film/ . 2014-07-14.
7. Web site: 13 August 2014. David Fincher's "Gone Girl" 1st Feature Film Shot Entirely in 6K | 4K Shooters.
8. Web site: ALEXA XT and ALEXA 65 on "The Revenant". arri.com.
9. Web site: May 7, 2015 . Marvel's 'Avengers: Infinity War' to Be Filmed Using the IMAX/ARRI Digital Camera . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20161220093105/https://news.marvel.com/movies/24583/marvels_avengers_infinity_war_to_be_filmed_using_the_imaxarri_digital_camera/ . December 20, 2016 . Marvel.
10. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be first film shot in 8K. Wired UK.
11. Web site: Department . CWB News . 2007-02-16 . Borat & Panasonic's AJ-HDC27 VariCam HD . 2023-08-11 . Cinema Without Borders . en.
12. Web site: Pieces of April (2003) . 2022-11-16 . shotonwhat.com. 15 June 2019 .
13. Web site: Meyer . Andrea . 2003-10-22 . 'Virgin' makes its own miracle . 2022-11-16 . Variety . en-US.
14. Web site: 10 great early digital films . 2023-04-15 . BFI . 13 May 2022 . en.
15. Web site: Goldstein . Patrick . Patrick Goldstein . 2002-07-09 . Digital's 'Tadpole' Phase . 2022-11-16 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
16. Web site: 2001-04-20 . INTERVIEW: Wayne Wang Journeys to "The Center of the World" . 2022-11-16 . IndieWire . en.
17. News: Rochlin . Margy . 2001-12-23 . FILM; From Switzerland With Lots of Buzz . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-11-16 . 0362-4331.
18. https://books.google.no/books?id=9jcYfsgKFGwC&pg=PA88&dq=Last+broadcast+Sony+DCR-VX1000+Tyco&hl=no&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiKvfTug92GAxUNHBAIHfRAAgAQ6AF6BAgHEAI#v=onepage&q=Last%20broadcast%20Sony%20DCR-VX1000%20Tyco&f=false Inventing The Movies: Hollywood's Epic Battle Between Innovation And The Status Quo, From Thomas Edison To Steve Jobs
19. Web site: The Demons In My Head: A New Hope? A film by Neil Johnson . October 4, 2021 . frompage2screen.
20. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387160/trivia/?ref%20=tt%20trv%20trv IMDB