Back then, filming wasn’t just about what happened on set. It was about what came after. Hours spent rewinding, labeling, digitizing, and transferring. What took a week to prepare is now done in five minutes, sometimes less.
I still remember the first time I worked with beta tapes. Every frame mattered because redoing a shot wasn’t just about time on set. It meant loading, recording, and waiting. Once the shoot wrapped, you’d take all that footage back to the office, fire up the decks, and start transferring. You could easily spend days just getting everything ready to edit. It was part of the process, one that taught patience, attention to detail, and respect for the craft.
Fast forward to today, and technology has completely transformed the way we work. What used to live on shelves now fits on an SD card. I can shoot, edit, and deliver content all from the same space. I can review a clip moments after it’s captured, make adjustments on set, and have the client reviewing a rough cut before the equipment is even packed away.
The biggest change isn’t just convenience, it is possibility. The shift from tape to digital has opened doors for creativity, speed, and storytelling. Brands can now tell their stories faster, more often, and with higher production quality than ever before. What used to take weeks can be turned around in days.
Yet, despite all the advances, one thing hasn’t changed. The story still matters most. Technology just helps us bring that story to life with less friction and more freedom.
All the time we used to spend prepping, transferring, and managing tapes now allows us to focus on the story even more. We have never been a fix it in post kind of company. Shooting on film and tape didn’t allow it, and even though the format has changed, the experience in storytelling has stayed. That discipline lives in every project we do today, helping us craft stories that connect, inspire, and endure.
At Forty Four Franchise Films, that evolution is what drives us. We’ve lived through the shift from beta tapes to 4K and beyond, and it has given us perspective, an appreciation for where the craft started, and a vision for where it is going next. The tools may have changed, but the mission hasn’t: tell great stories that connect with people.
