Does the fact AMC is a movie channel affect how Mad Men is produced?
WEINER: No, it doesn’t, but they made sure I shot on film. They really did not want an HD program sandwiched in-between movies. That was a relief, because I always wanted to produce it on film. QUESTION: Why did you want to produce Mad Men on film? WEINER: It’s the aesthetics. I’ve now come to realize, and I think that they proved this technologically, that a sampling of the world that goes on in film at 24 frames per second has been perfected to produce a lifelike experience, the way that you would see it with your eyes. There’s nothing that competes with it. I can tell the difference, and until I can’t tell the difference (between film and video), I will stay with film. Also, I don’t think the great cinematographers are comfortable working with video. They don’t get the looks and blacks they want. There is rigidness to working in video, maybe because it doesn’t have the chemical elements. It’s just not the same thing. When I shot my $10,000 movie, I shot it on (KODAK) Plus-X and Tri-
