It is fascinating to see how much technology is affecting the film industry in general. To be clear – every single detail about the latest film releases, from the moment the light enters the lens on set to the moment it is projected onto the big screen, is influenced by the usage and advancement of technology. It is wonderful to see the progress of film as a form of art that people are enjoying, now more than ever. From the independent film shot on an iPhone to the biggest studio blockbusters of all time, every aspect of these productions is touched by technology, and all in the name of making the best film possible. This can be seen as a success when you consider more and more people are appreciating the art of filmmaking.
The director Robert Rodriguez is famous for getting his shooting done rather quickly. He has described his process as one long day of work, beginning with shots and moving into editing all within the same day. He likes to be able to review his work as it’s produced so that he knows what the final product might look like. Compare that to someone like George Lucas, who spends quite a bit of time and budget in post-production, and it’s easy to see that technology has taken film in very different directions.
Technology’s greatest impact is perhaps felt in new cameras that allow cinematographers to shoot in a higher definition, letting viewers take in more of the amazing work in set design. Technology also drives entire segments of film now, enabling movies that were not possible before. Following are some examples where technology has driven filmmaking.
Technology has simplified life for everyone involved in making a movie. Just 50 years ago, cameras had to have a full crew to operate, and if they wanted to get an aerial shot, they needed an aircraft-mounted camera that was so heavy it weighed more than the plane! And once the film was captured, the editing was done by physically cutting and pasting the film together...not exactly an efficient process.
It was long, hard work that still only resulted in low-quality images.
But today, new, lighter cameras have allowed for clearer images, and shots never thought possible. Plus, with the incorporation of the cloud, editing films has never been easier. Teams from across the globe can work on a film together from anywhere, even from the comfort of their homes. This opens up a whole new world for filmmakers that never could have participated before.
In the past, editing or post-production was one of the most tedious jobs in the filmmaking process. Filmmakers had to rely on manual techniques during filming to create visual effects in movies. Thanks to advanced film-editing software products, today it is possible to create the effects of an imaginary world and fuse it seamlessly to the footage that is shot using a digital camera. This is one of the biggest leaps digital technology has brought in the process of making movies. Visual effects is a dedicated field in the movie business which has been in great demand in recent times.
The incorporation of colored frames was not the only technical revolution experienced by the cinema between the twenties and thirties. In 1927, Alan Crosland premiered his black and white film The Jazz Singer. A work which was not yet benefited from the advantages of Technicolor, but in which an essential aspect for another of our senses was changed. We changed from the silent film characterized by Charles Chaplin to one in which sounds accompanied the images projected.
The technical breakthrough that made it possible was the Vitaphone. This system, sponsored by Warner Bros and First National studios, allowed recording soundtracks and spoken texts on disks that were then reproduced at the same time as the film. Despite its precariousness, this device completely changed the industry but was soon replaced by the Movietone, invented by Lee de Forest and marketed by Fox from 1927 on with the production of Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. This second system allowed to record audio directly onto the film, an achievement that proved to be a success until 1939 when, again, innovation changed the industry one more time with another system implemented by Edward C. Wente.
Concept software has made it easier for designers and filmmakers to execute their visions digitally, and 3D printing is helping turn those digital creations into 3D objects. David Sheldon-Hicks at Territory Studio listed how 3D printing has helped movies he’s worked on and other major films from the past year. These include:
· Night vision goggles in Zero Dark Thirty;
· A full-scale tank exterior in Fast & Furious 6;
· The canopy of Peter Quill’s spaceship in Guardians of the Galaxy;
· Spaceship sets in Ex Machina and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
While home tinkerers might think of 3D printing as a way to create new tools or pieces for their creations, movie studios are stopping just short of creating full-scale tanks and ships for their sets.
(Picture credit: WhatCulture.com)
The cinema industry now uses autonomous drones that have built-in knowledge and algorithms related to filmmaking techniques. They take different angles and shots while shooting a movie. They are also GPS-enabled and can be operated through smartphones, an app, or even by a remote-control system. The filmmaker, on the other hand, can make or alter shots as per his/her requirement. The drones cruise at high speed and high altitudes, depending on the model. They a good innovation for cinema as drones are lightweight and have better maneuverability than big equipment.
Technology continues to impact our movie-watching experience more than ever before. New visual techniques, gadgets, tools to new formats of movie watching to latest online distribution channels, within just a little over a century since the beginning of the film industry, it has completely stands exposed to and transformed by technological innovations.
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