Is film cinematography worth learning?

[directedition]

I consider myself pretty competent with film and am learning everything I can about film cinematography (emulsion chemistry, camera mechanics, etc). But when I talk to professional film camera assistants they all tell me to stop wasting my time with film and concentrate on HD and Digital Cinema cameras. Am I really wasting time learning the nuances of film? Or is my time better spent learning new digital processes?

Thanks,
- James Smyth

 

[David Mullen ASC]

You need to learn both. Film will be used in professional production for at least another decade, by which you'll probably be working professionally, so you still need to learn it. But digital will also keep growing in use, so you need to learn that as well.