To what extent has the development in technology allowed film techniques to advance?
The past of film production will always be remembered as it is what shaped the industry to what it is today. The only difference is the use of technology in the industry and how it is being used to surpass the efficiency of the past. Technology still holds the ability to develop even more to give us further progress in filming techniques therefore improving the visual capability shown on screen. Recent developments in Virtual reality could prove itself as a form of viewing movies in the future, already proving to be a valid source of entertainment in the gaming industry (The Gate Films, 2019). It is how we use technology to develop film to greater lengths as filmmakers and artists.
The dawn of Digital video transmission came from NASA where a new computer technology allowed the analog data to be turned into digital data. This data then being synchronized in a computer frame buffer produced analog video. For TV and Broadcast systems, they accepted this use of technology and was therefore used to create what is understood as Television (B. McKernan, 2005). These digital elements erupted several possibilities for film makers to create several pieces combining image and sound in mainly the post-production phase (S. Stewens, 2017). The drive of storytelling through use of audio and 3D imagery created a further drive into the industry, but before there was analog, encapsulating Film and nondigital. Film was a physical piece of visual capture which was very tangible but chemically brilliant. It was a strict format which made filmmakers become meticulous with their work and shots were studied a lot more before being filmed (C. Versoza, 2018).
During the early stages of Filmmaking, simpler acts of filming that are relied on in the time of Drones, Cranes, Forted Cards were very difficult. Capturing an Ariel shot in the 1910’s would mean having to build camera rigs that would weigh more of that than the plane carrying the camera and the operator. Viewers of films using this technique were removed from the film atmosphere due to the camera’s picking up the surroundings of the set and props (Comcast, 2018). In modern times, the development of drones has allowed more dynamic shots to be captured. Establishing shots and Birds eye view angles often rely on the use of drones (A. Shaffer, 2017). The filming technique advances storytelling as the filmmaker allows the audience to follow the story and see where they are physically compared to having to visualize the scene with a film made in the early 1900’s and being taken out of the films experience it has built.
This advancement has allowed cinematography to be more aesthetically appealing with camera angles and shots being made possible. The film Upgrade used new technology to capture a shot using an iPhone’s Gyro and Accelerometer’s to move a camera rig through an application on the iPhone [Figure 1] (A. Johnson, 2018). The ability to use an iPhone to track a camera’s rig was impossible in the past which made shots where the camera tracks the subject's body very difficult and cost a large amount. The fees that used to apply were very large due to “the high cost to record on film, rather than digitally” (Comcast, Film then and now). The purchasing and development of film for an independent filmmaker is very expensive which halted the growth of films by them. Digital cameras allowed those independent filmmakers to begin creating films with lower budgets and build their career from there. The ease to capture moving image with colour and audio spawns a range of creative abilities that self-supporting filmmakers can develop themselves and create a knock-on effect to the industry.
The next step in the film industry was Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) and the role VFX (Visual effects) plays in films at the current age against when it was first introduced. Jurassic Park, 1993 provided viewers with the first ever fully textured CG characters. The scene shows a stampede of Gallimimus’ dinosaur creating a ground pounding effects as they run across land (Empire, 2010). For the time this was bleeding edge technology that allowed VFX artists to begin developing the skill and emerged a lot of CG based films. Toy Story, 1995 was the first fully CG feature length film which faced many challenges which were “compounded by a seriously inexperienced crew... and Disney’s budget constraints” (P. Semlyen, 2010). These challenges arose due to the inexperience of the crew with computers. Technology expansion has allowed the visual effects sector to grow to unprecedented amounts where the budgets are a lot larger to create effects and produced many VFX companies with a total of approximately 4,000 around the world (D. Kaufman, 2019). From this, the correlation between artists accessibility to computers and their technological advances allows CGI to reach new levels of quality and realism. The advancements in this section of post-production majorly outlines the technology that was limited in the past shown before the use of digital media.
Post-production includes the aural side of a film. If sound is poor quality, then the attention of the audience is withdrawn taking away from the visual proportion; “Visuals dominate the viewer’s consciousness, but the sound tends to occupy the lower levels of awareness” (B. McKernan, 2005). In Theatre experience, the auditory section is a key component that makes the audience enjoy it more. In the 1990’s digital soundtracks began improving to give viewers Dolby digital and Sony’s SDDS (Sony Dynamic Digital Sound) allowed for the audience to be surrounded by sound through theatre speakers. Sound engineers was not a common position for workers in the film industry before the 1980’s. Before then 35mm film was used to place soundtracks and SFX (sound effects) on the outer edges of the film (B. Mckernan, 2005). 35mm Film limited quality of sound, but there were two different methods of placing sound on film: Optical and Magnetic [Figure 2]. Both methods hold differenced in sound quality as well as expense and damage the sound in susceptible to (J. Tyson, 2000). Analog sound and digital sound differ largely through technology development and it has advanced the quality and efficiency. The flexibility of digital media outlines how much development has allowed this film technique; analog sound was only editable until a certain number where the physical film would begin to breakdown. Digital sound can be transferred to other systems and be adjusted throughout the filming process. The technology has also allowed the fixture of problems that arise with audio shown with “Digital systems [that] can also automatically suppress feedback and compensate for volume variations if a speaker doesn't maintain a constant distance from the microphone” (Yamaha, 2011). The advancement in this sector appears to be one of the most substantial developments in filming techniques, as sound can be a driving force to a narrative.
Narrative is what gauges people in a theatre experience where the audience wants to be immersed in the visual experience. Over time the development of technology has allowed 3D films in theatre as well at home on Televisions to become a more mesmerizing technique in film. The film The power of love, 1922 was the first film which successfully screened 3-dimensional movie (J. Patterson, 2009). This film had the audience wear two panel stereoscope glasses that provided the compatible 3D viewing with the projector. The aspect of placing spectacles to view in 3D was improved further when a new pair of glasses were created. The technology allowed more of the public to be interested in watching the 3-dimensional films in theatre; “more consumers and theater owners were receptive to the new technology. 3D glasses were becoming popularized among children.” (S. Palace, 2019). Cinema/theatre today is a recognized concept by everyone, and 3D films are key component to keeping that business in its best state of appealing to customers. Steven Spielberg (Director) provided a speech where he believed that a theatrical experience should always remain and not allow the streaming side of films to slowly reduce cinema (A. Pulver, 2019). Experiencing film at home has improved with the invention of 3D Televisions which provide viewers with the comfort of their home but a cinema type projection. With technology development, it holds disadvantages and advantages with 3D world of films. It can provide a breathtaking record setting product; Avatar, 2009, Gravity, 2013, How to train your dragon, 2010 (Empire, 2016). This advancement outlines how its co-insides with film products to make them higher grossing, but streaming does cause the decreasing in film consumption the way the makers wanted. This technology has been used very successfully by platforms that want filmmakers to be given more ways to show their art (Netflix, 2019).
Narrative is what gauges people in a theatre experience where the audience wants to be immersed in the visual experience. Over time the development of technology has allowed 3D films in theatre as well at home on Televisions to become a more mesmerizing technique in film. The film The power of love, 1922 was the first film which successfully screened 3-dimensional movie (J. Patterson, 2009). This film had the audience wear two panel stereoscope glasses that provided the compatible 3D viewing with the projector. The aspect of placing spectacles to view in 3D was improved further when a new pair of glasses were created. The technology allowed more of the public to be interested in watching the 3-dimensional films in theatre; “more consumers and theater owners were receptive to the new technology. 3D glasses were becoming popularized among children.” (S. Palace, 2019). Cinema/theatre today is a recognized concept by everyone, and 3D films are key component to keeping that business in its best state of appealing to customers. Steven Spielberg (Director) provided a speech where he believed that a theatrical experience should always remain and not allow the streaming side of films to slowly reduce cinema (A. Pulver, 2019). Experiencing film at home has improved with the invention of 3D Televisions which provide viewers with the comfort of their home but a cinema type projection. With technology development, it holds disadvantages and advantages with 3D world of films. It can provide a breathtaking record setting product; Avatar, 2009, Gravity, 2013, How to train your dragon, 2010 (Empire, 2016). This advancement outlines how its co-insides with film products to make them higher grossing, but streaming does cause the decreasing in film consumption the way the makers wanted. This technology has been used very successfully by platforms that want filmmakers to be given more ways to show their art (Netflix, 2019).
Filmmakers and directors have an altered take on film and digital due to the way physical film worked through their culture and how it is becoming the inferior use under digital film. Due to the way film is developed chemically when light reacts to it there can be image alterations, grain, more noise in the image and this comforts several Directors and cinematographers. “The texture and the grain structure of film...personally I’d hold on to...it’s a comforting thing to me, and it feels more tangible” (R. Morana, 2012) The quality has improved via digital but removed the natural blemishes on film development which holds dear to several art makers hearts. It brings in the question that is the filming technique of shooting digitally being limited by the cinematographers who believe greater in film or does digital development continue its growth without the artists that use it. “It was an accepted truth that you didn’t shoot films that you were serious about on any kind of video format” (G. Gilmore, 2012). Around the uprising of digital format, it received criticism from those that used it, due to its lower cost and easier workflow but this development allows for a larger production force for movies. The debate in the digital vs. Film usage did begin to change and favor digital as it allowed actors to stop waiting around, gave directors time to cut and roll the recording immediately. (J. Malkovich, 2012). The Multi-camera aspect of digital allowed takes to me more consistent and presents multiple shots and save a lot of money (D. Boyle, 2012). The efficiency became a key advancement in filming and proves to me the reason why Directors feel this revolution should be developed further with the help of technology. The technology has provided this new form of creation, but it has been taken and manipulated by the artists to create movies as we see currently. Technology continues to advance but the crew on a movie set take it further.
The advancement in filming techniques is allowed by the development of technology however, the workforce behind the techniques are what go beyond technique expectations. Technology has given a starting point to all filmmakers except, the way the technology is used to capture moving image, editing it and adding visual effects is all acted upon and mastered by the crew. Without the Director, Cinematographer, Editor, Sound engineer, etc. There would not be advanced techniques like there has been, developed over time to today’s standards. Filmmakers are the ones that use technology as a catalyst to create their art and it’s clear that as technology develops so does humankind to work alongside the developments.
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