The Digital Age Of Film Essay

Film has revolutionized the world as we know it. In the current day and age film is quite advanced. You can watch movies with special effects and insane resolution there were never thought possible before. But film has not always been this way. Over the decades since around the 1900s when the first film was made there been amazing advances in technology and in acting. An examination of the past hundred or so years will show the amazing advances film has taken to come to what we know of it today.

Although cinema is now a priority, some feel as if cinema is no longer the cinema when it was first established. Movies no longer have that special feeling like viewers once had. Today, films are not only shared within a theater, if one pleases they could always have the same experience elsewhere. Moreover, with technology expanding, it takes away the importance cinema once had. “The

In the digital era of convergent media, the most obvious about the change of cinema is the storage which rely on celluloid that you can touch in the past. Now, however, it is stored as electronic packets of 1s and 0s which is virtual. The changes of the cinema is not only about the film storage, but also the production，post-production, exhibition and distribution which is the main part of the film industry structure. In the era of celluloid, the four steps of movie is relatively independent and has its sequence. In digital movie, whereas, the connection and integration among four parts of industry structure are ever close.

Aside from basic two dimensional art, I have always been fascinated with the unique stories told through film. The way that a picture is painted through film is something that one cannot find in just any art form. Film is unique and fascinating, so I sought to find a way to unite the two worlds of film and the 2D art that I enjoy so much. My findings were that digital animation combined the artistic style that I love and the storytelling of film in a way that intrigued me beyond any other career I had researched.

“The point of theatre is transformation: to make an extraordinary event out of ordinary material right in front of an audience 's eyes. Where the germ of the idea came from is pretty much irrelevant. What matters to every theatre maker, I know, is speaking clearly to the audience 'right now. '” This quote by English playwright and screenwriter, Lee Hall, from an essay he published in the Times of London, is central to the connection between theatre and motion picture technology. Since the rise of film in the early twentieth century, these elements have been influencing each other, and working together, to elevate the storytelling and experience of each medium and, in turn, better connecting them to the modern audience. The collaboration of these two mediums has resulted in a new form of theatre, known as digital theatre, that shows “theatrical entertainment does not have to be either purist (involving only ‘live’ actors on stage), or be consumed by the dominant televisual mass media, but can gain from the strengths of both types of communication.”(Masura). Throughout this paper, the intersection of theatre and motion picture technology will be explored through their effect on each other, in storytelling and experience, and the product of their collaboration—digital theatre.

In the early 1900’s silent films amazed audiences with images, later talkies impressed with sound, today we have 3D. As technology continues to evolve so too will film genres. Genres, while having some shared characteristics, also differ in terms of stylistic devices used. For instance, the dramatic film “The Notebook” effectively uses color to reinforce theme and has plausible performers as the two main protagonists.

The art of storytelling is a primary foundation for human communication and understanding. Whether it is through myths — Greek, Roman, Egyptian, you pick — or wives tales or even Grandpa telling his old war stories, stories have power. Through technological advancements in the last 150+ years, there are multiple mediums to tell stories; film being the most potent medium used. Film has the power to not only entertain but enlighten too. Filmmakers have the ability to challenge and manipulate the power of the story through creative resistance; by exploring other elements of storytelling: location, voice, color, angles, rhythm, language, filmmakers can create dramatically different films out of the same story.

Films and movies are a composition of elements that make that essentially come together as one to form a piece of art. Although a film is not complete with missing elements, some elements when used out of place can break a movie. Some of these elements include, but are not limited to, a character’s costume and makeup, lighting, camera direction, acting, special effects, and, sound effects and music. In some films one element may be the overriding factor but when put together, these elements work together to please an audience.

Hundreds of movies are released every year. Filmmakers try to create the next jaw-dropping movie that audiences will stand in line for hours and pay top dollar to see. The key to success is finding ideas that appeal to a mass audience. Viewers are the lifeline of any production company so making something for everyone is a savvy business move for the film industry. To cover all bases, there are over fourteen different genres of movies. Film making is not a solo effort. It is a collaboration between the actors, directors, producers and other key contributors. This combined effort or mise-en-scene includes all the elements of the film to include actors, backdrops, costumes, props and lighting used to meet the director’s vision

Previously, editing used to be a challenge for most filmmakers. Often, they relied on manual methods when filming to add effects to the films. Incorporating visual effects to the film was a demanding task that

By making small but significant changes to the conventions of cinema, the artificiality of the

While Arnheim’s views on the future of film and the idea of a complete film can be somewhat insightful, I disagree with his conclusion that the introduction of sound and color diminishes the creative quality and originality of movies. He states his belief that eventually film will develop to the point where we “we have nothing to look forward to” (Arnheim , 184).

The introduction of motion picture drastically changed the world as we know it along with introducing new and advanced ways of making and presenting media to the masses. Before the introduction of motion picture the only way people were able to hear about the news or new products was either by newspaper or word of mouth. Before we had T5i’s or any other new and elaborate camera we had to film with black and white picture with no sound, like the old classic super eight film cameras. The process of editing has changed over the decades from where film was just cut and scenes would be placed right after the other with hard cuts with the raw material, literally they cut the film, to now where most editors use non-linear editing with a computer to add transitions, text, and other video effects to produce the most visually appealing and most understandable when producing a video production. The way the video productions are shown to the public have also adapted throughout its brief existence. When commercials and films first made their appearances in the early twentieth century Directors and Producers had no idea how to use color to catch the audience’s attention by using their sub conscious, they didn’t realize that the length of the production would play a role in rather a person will watch it or not. Nowadays there are entire books on how to grab the audience’s attention.

Henry Jenkins describes convergence as ‘a situation where multiple media systems coexist and where media content flows fluidly across them’ (2006: 282). An important part of the information transferred across platforms are the techniques utilised in creation. Digital technologies have no doubt had a large impact on moving images and how they are developed and produced in the modern world. There has been the introduction of inexpensive consumer digital recording devices, and the ability to create a video with mobile phones rather than needing a separate dedicated device. This has led to growth in the creation of amateur moving images on platforms such as YouTube in a variety of forms. As well as inspiring the creation of new areas of production, digital advances have enabled further evolution in more traditional areas. Early cinematic pioneers dabbled with in-camera trickery in order to create fantastical scenes and amaze viewers, and this principle carries forward to today. Matt Reeve’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) is a good example of the intriguing applications of digital technology in order to achieve these old goals in a potentially better way. As with the introduction of any new way to achieve a goal, the opportunities available to content creators have multiplied with the growth in the variety of digital techniques. The power particular innovations in technology can have in their contribution is perhaps underlined by the impact they have had in less revered

Film Industry has been expansively affected by the changes in technology. The mechanical and digital innovations give cause to the influence of equipment, distribution and the way in which films are made and consumed. New trends shape directors and filmmakers to expand creatively towards telling stories in motions. The film industry has developed to one of the most important tools of communication, it's cause so powerful affecting the way individuals and societies think, act and behave. Among the new Era approaching film, and seeing celluloid film fade is that of the Digital Era and a camera that saw celluloid films passing hastened.