Technological developments in the film industry

1. Technological developments in
the film industry
Giulia Aarsman Aulino

2. Advances in Technology that have Revolutionized the Film Industry:
The history of film is full of advances that have changed the film industry ever since, both in the way it is produced and in the
way in which the audience has enjoyed it. From the first Lumière brothers projections to modern computer-generated graphic
films, the industry has not stopped creating better films.
● Late 1800’s: Movie Camera
The movie camera, a camera that could capture a sequence of photographs onto filmstrip really quickly. The Lumière brothers
held some of the earliest screenings of projected images in 1895, where their film, The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station,
was well known because it showed a train entering a station.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dgLEDdFddk&feature=emb_title

3. ● Synchronous sound – 1920s
This era was famous for over the top acting, the use of titles between shots, and live-music which accompanied to films in
theatres. Recording sound effects, such as dialogue and adding music all started with the major motion picture The Jazz Singer
1927 which is considered as the first film to have synchronised dialogue and singing. Dialogue became a key component of
films marking the beginning of ‘the talkies’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkyvstNrkHo&feature=emb_title
● Colour – 1939
Colour changed film for the better. Not only because it gave the ability to mimic life more realistically than ever before, but it
also led to more narrative possibilities, such as The Wizard of Oz 1939 which famously portrayed Dorothy’s Kansas in black
and white.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkZcYMy85lY&feature=emb_title

4. ● Green screen – 1940
Early digital composition started in the 1940s with the ‘traveling matte’ – a process that was used to overlayer backdrops with
actors performing against a blank, coloured wall. These screens colours have changed throughout the decades, but the process
and effect have remained the same. It is a time-consuming technique, which is a scene filmed against a green screen, then
re-filmed with a filter on the lens that removes all green areas. It allowed for actors to be anywhere and also create optical
illusions, which also saved on production costs. The fantasy film The Thief of Bagdad (1940) is the first to use a blue-screen
effect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugMmyjCdpoQ&feature=emb_title
● Lightweight/portable equipment – 1950s-1960s
When lightweight cameras and smaller sound recording devices became available, there was a change in the style and themes
explored in film. The most famous movement to make use of is this technique change was the French New Wave starting in
1950. The revolutionary movement made use of the new equipment that could capture images on location and a documentary
style that allowed filmmakers to explore social issues where they happened. This weird style of filmmaking influenced many
modern filmmakers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2hDR_e1o1M&feature=emb_title

5. ● Camera rigs: the dolly (1907) and steadicam (1976)
The dolly is the placing of the camera on wheels that move along tracks. The smooth movement means that you can follow
people walking and talking, such as a lá The West Wing, especially when you combine it with a crane. One particularly
difficulty is the effect on film by using the ‘zolly shot’, where the cameraman zooms while moving a camera on a dolly to get
shots like the one below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv41W6iyyGs&feature=emb_title
● Digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLR) – 1969 (HD video in 2009)
The move from film to digital cameras has a huge impact in cinema history, especially for amateur and budget filmmakers. The
ability to record onto memory cards and internal storage, and not use chemicals, saved on production costs and time. Each new
model of DSLR further reduced the quality difference, indicating that digital cameras will overtake film cameras as the
industry standard in the near future.

6. ● Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) – 1973
The sequel of Futureworld 1976 and Tron 1982, then 3-D was introduced to the mass markets. Science fiction and fantasy
filmmakers were happy because they finally had the tools to visually depict the world and themes their characters explored.
Pixar created the first feature-length computer-animated movie in Toy Story 1995 and nowadays it’s more and more
uncommon for films not to make use of CGI, as it often saves on production costs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UPXqL_Vm5M&feature=emb_title
● The internet – 1990s
The internet has changed the film industry, and changed the way films are consumed and distributed. Now there is instant
access, worldwide distribution and everyone with a phone are now all players in the video-creation game. What was once a
medium of the few, those who could afford the equipment and is now the most decreased medium available. New formats, such
as web shows, podcasts and new ways of accessing video, such as streaming and downloading means that the power has shifted
from the industry to the consumers.

7. ● Now and the future
The industry has to realise that the medium is moving into an age of digitally made and digitally distributed movies.
Technology is having its most profound and pronounced effect on film in this day and age. It’s an exciting age in film history
and for the digital era.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr1l1NgQH4s&feature=emb_title
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2_vB7zx_SQ&feature=emb_title

8. Explore how developments have been received in different markets and by
different audiences
Different Markets:
● USA
● Europe
● China
The global film market has experienced a positive trend over recent years due to the significant components: box office revenue,
admissions , total number of screens and total number of films made.
China, Europe and the United States are considered for 66.4% of box office worldwide in 2015, including 49% of admissions,
70% of total number of screens and 38% of the total films made. The statistics persuade an imbalance in the global market,
especially in the relationships between the regions. This imbalance is creating significant problems on political, cultural and
economic levels. The United States has been the market leader for a long time. The European market share of American films
was 63%, 17 of the top 20 films were either American productions or co-productions. In 2015, the American market share
was 64%, and 18 of the top 20 films were American.

9. Chinese national films gained market leadership and grew progressively stronger in 2014 and 2015 with shares of 54.5% and
61.5% of the market. The wide majority of films imported by China were from Hollywood. In 2015, 9 of the top 20 films in
China were produced or co-produced by American companies, such as Universal, Walt Disney and Paramount.
In Europe, cultural motives have persuaded over economic and political ones. Europeans have always considered films primarily
as works of art, expressions of a nation’s tradition and culture and of a people’s creative sensibility.
China, the United States and Europe have different points of view. China will prefer to have a film industry that keeps its
national traditions, helps to build a national identity and strengthens social bond. The United States will prefer to protect the
freedoms of communication of its screenwriters and film directors. Europe will prefer to protect the national language and
culture of each country, the artistic abilities of each country.

10. Different Audiences:
● Children (5-11 years old)
● Family groups
● Teenagers, young couples, students
● Adults
The concept of Audience Development has become more generally defined during the past decade, and surrounds the aspects of
marketing and education. The main considerations for audience development can be:
● Audience retention
● Added value
● Frequency
● New audiences
● Cultural diversity
● Social inclusion
● Rural inclusion
● Geographic reach

11. The categorisation by ‘attitudes’ helps to identify the small but important group of enthusiastic people who watch films. Apart
from being regular attenders these individuals are often the opinion leaders who influence other less committed people to
attend. They can be categorized in:
● Cinema enthusiasts
● Socialites
● Reluctant
● Non attenders