Research recent technological developments and produce a webpage about the changes in technology within the television and film industries which must comprehensively explain developing technologies in the television and film industries with elucidated examples and consistently using subject terminology correctly.
The History of Film Technology
16th-17th Century: Camera ObscuraCamera Obscura (CO) was a natural phenomenon that has been used as an artistic aid since prehistoric times. Live projection of moving images occurred in the camera obscura, and the use of a lens in a CO has been dated all the way back to 1550. Mobile CO devices emerged and grew in popularity in the early 17th century, first in tents and soon in wooden boxes. The box-type camera would later evolve into a photographic camera in the 1820s and 1830s.
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1659: Magic Lantern
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/1/7/121724333/editor/magic-lantern.jpg?1560605420)
The Magic Lantern was developed in the 1650s by Dutch physicist, mathematician, astronomer and inventor, who was also a major figure in the scientific revolution in Europe. The Magic Lantern is an early model image projector that employed “pictures painted, printed or produces photographically onto transparent plates (usually made of glass), one of more lenses and a light source.” It was mainly used for entertainment purposes, developed in the 17th century, and grew in popularity with its application in educational purposes during the 19th century. In the late 1800s smaller toy versions were mass produced and the Magic Lantern was in use from the 18th century to the mid-20th, when it was quickly usurped by a more compact version that could hold many 35mm photographic slides, this came to be known as the Slide Projector.
Around 1790, multimedia phantasmagoria spectacles were developed, which used projection on smoke, animated slides, rear projection, mobile projectors, electric shocks, sounds and odours to create an all-immersive ghost-horror experience for their audiences, to frighten them. This helped spur on the development of several other popular magic lantern techniques and many mechanical slides that created dazzling and abstract effects.
Around 1790, multimedia phantasmagoria spectacles were developed, which used projection on smoke, animated slides, rear projection, mobile projectors, electric shocks, sounds and odours to create an all-immersive ghost-horror experience for their audiences, to frighten them. This helped spur on the development of several other popular magic lantern techniques and many mechanical slides that created dazzling and abstract effects.
1832: Stroboscopic Principle
The Stroboscopic “persistence of vision” animation devices used the basic stroboscopic principle that allowed the creation of motion pictures, which was discovered by Joseph Plateau in Belgium in the early 1830s. His invention, later named the phenakistoscope or fantascope “was a cardboard disc with slits through which the viewer could watch a rapid succession of sequential drawings (photography wasn't introduced yet) reflected in a mirror.” A very similar "Stroboscope Disc" was created in Austria by Simon von Stampfer around the same time.
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1860s: ChronophotographyChronophotography was recorded with posed phases ever since the 1860s and recorded in real-time since 1878. This antique photographic technique captured movement in several frames of print. These prints would then be arranged either like animation cells or layered in a single frame. In 1845 Francis Ronalds created the first successful camera able to make continuous recordings; and in 1882, Étienne-Jules Marey invented a chronophotographic gun that could capture 12 consecutive frames a second, with all frames on the same picture.
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1895: The Lumiere BrothersThe Lumiere Brothers were French inventors and pioneer manufacturers of photographic equipment who developed a method of motion picture camera and a projector known as the Cinematographe. They also created “Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory” (1895), which is considered by many as the first motion picture. The brothers also used a Kinetoscope to film some of their first films. Ever since then, the technology of filmmaking has evolved greatly in a technologically converged revolution, seeing the introduction of sound, Technicolor and many more modern editing techniques and computer technologies.
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Modern Technology
Cameras, Editing & Technologies
Camera technology has changed drastically over the past couple of decades. Due to technological convergence and media convergence, active consumers are now able to become producers (prosumers) of media and share their opinions online on social media platforms. Today there are a plethora of options for amateur and professional filmmakers, from autonomous drones, 4K+, 3D technology, smartphone filmmaking, dual camera virtual reality, drones goggles, algorithm editing, CGI and VFX, 3D printing and steadicams and gimbals, the latter of which are readily available at low, affordable costs. Along with the advancement of this technology, some of the most popular professional cameras often used in the making of big budget films are:
The editing process has also evolved dramatically, from having to physically cut and stick together film and having to edit audio on tapes or recording live sessions, to doing the same on a computer within seconds. Digital editing has provided filmmakers with a much less time-consuming and laborious post-production, allowing them to choose from a large wealth of effects, cuts, transitions, SFX, VFX and CGI. Hence, the visual and audio in films has improved, with the grain of film being replaced by the crisp and clean look of digital. However, due to the increased popularity of CGI and technological convergence, there has been an increased audience demand for good CGI and VFX. Although, despite this increased demand, for better, cleaner and more authentic content, amateur and independent filmmakers today have more resources at their disposal than ever before, and it has become much easier for filmmakers to access a high quality camera, film and edit projects from the comforts of their own home, leading to a rise in prosumers (consumers turned producers) who can distribute and exhibit their work online on social media platforms like YouTube.
- Arri Alexa
- Red Epic
- Red Scarlet
- Red One
- Sony CineAlta
- Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera
- Canon Cinema EOS
- Panavision Genesis
- Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2
- Kinefinity Fullframe Digital 6K Camera
The editing process has also evolved dramatically, from having to physically cut and stick together film and having to edit audio on tapes or recording live sessions, to doing the same on a computer within seconds. Digital editing has provided filmmakers with a much less time-consuming and laborious post-production, allowing them to choose from a large wealth of effects, cuts, transitions, SFX, VFX and CGI. Hence, the visual and audio in films has improved, with the grain of film being replaced by the crisp and clean look of digital. However, due to the increased popularity of CGI and technological convergence, there has been an increased audience demand for good CGI and VFX. Although, despite this increased demand, for better, cleaner and more authentic content, amateur and independent filmmakers today have more resources at their disposal than ever before, and it has become much easier for filmmakers to access a high quality camera, film and edit projects from the comforts of their own home, leading to a rise in prosumers (consumers turned producers) who can distribute and exhibit their work online on social media platforms like YouTube.
Frame Rate
Frame rates have always been an essential part of a film, and until 2012, 24fps was considered to be the ideal frame rate for the human eye to interpret smooth motion. However, Peter Jackson’s 2012 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey made use of 48fps, and was the first in Hollywood to do so. This helped revolutionize the Hollywood norm of filming at 24fps. Some viewers complained that the film seemed “too real” and life-like, making them forget that this was fantasy world. The film also had a lot of CGI to help bring the fictional characters to life, and with the help of green screen technology, virtual backlots and expensive aesthetics, the actors and the audience can both be transported to another fantasy world. This allows for the director and actors to have more creative and imaginative freedom without having to spend too much on the sets and special effects makeup.
Duplicating Screens and Applications
Applications online and on smartphones and other digital devices like the Hunger Games app and website, and the Harry Potter games and website Pottermore, make good components of a digital marketing campaign and promote the concept of the second screen at the same time. The second screen concept can be applied to the way in which the film connects with its audience through interactive applications available on people’s mobile devices. This allows for the audience to be informed and build relationships with others who have downloaded the same app. Several film-related smartphone applications also give their audiences a sneak peek at the action behind the scenes during production, which can prove to be educational and informative, it may also hype up the fans and audiences for the film and enable them to bond online over social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, sharing the app and the features within it.
Pixar & Animation
Pixar film graphics have a come a long way since the Inking and Painting Cel Animation and Pixar's CAPS (Computer Animated Production System) that cost Disney $3.9 million. The "Pixar Era" is known for its pioneering technological innovations including the smoke effect, the reconstruction of hair and facial hair and facial geometry modeling among several others that aided in the stylistic aesthetic decisions in the evolution of contemporary and historical animated feature films. Pixar made its name as a pioneer in animation technology through premises such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, A Bug's Life, etc; these creations were “based on the advances made in Westworld, a science fiction story famous for having used the first computer-generated graphics.”
In 2006 Disney acquired Pixar Studios for $7400 million due to Steve Job’s vast impact on the film industry. The development of groundbreaking 2D digital software “allowed to digitally colour hand-drawn animations. CAPS was a key to the realization of Toy Story.” Film has the ability to create the visually unthinkable, and the Chroma “can capture a background and a character or object separately, and then use 3D animation, image digitalization and computer generated graphics; three technical advances that have helped produce amazing films such as The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, 300 or Avatar.” |
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Toy Story (1995)
Toy Story is heralded as one of Pixar's greatest technological and innovative achievements. This was acknowledged by the Academy of Motion Pictures who awarded Toy Story director John Lasseter with an Oscar in 1996 "for the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film". Pixar developed special software that utilized "a very careful balancing act between the complexity of the images and animation" "logic was applied to each scene so as to identify those portions of the image that would require re-rendering between frames." "Toy Story proved that CGI could be used to tell a character-based story, and in doing so changed the world of animation forever. The "animators had 117 computers running 24 hours a day. Each individual frame could take from 45 minutes to 30 hours to render, depending on how complex. There were a total of 114,240 frames to render. Throughout the movie, there are over 77 minutes of animation spread across 1,561 shots. They had to invent a new software, called Renderman, to handle all this footage." |
A Bug's Life (1998):
"As such, much the same choices that drove the character design in Toy Story also lead them to choose hard exoskeleton bodied insects in this. But the extra computing power available did allow them a little 'soft body' extravagance with Heimlich the caterpillar" alongside "the simulations of natural vegetation and the sheer number of characters in some scenes. |
Toy Story 2 (1999):
While the screen time of the human characters in this film was much more limited, the animators achieved another milestone with their impression fabric handling routines that allowed Woody to be sewn up and repaired in the film. |
Monsters, Inc. (2001):
Animating hair takes up vast amounts of computing cycles to calaculate, move and render, however in Monsters, Inc. Pixar decided to overcome this seemingly impossible feat. The protagonist of the film was covered with long fine fur and several scenes in the film required the fur to be moved by the wind, by hand, al the while looking realistic. The rich aesthetic quality was achieved through the development of special hair simulation software that controlled hair movement. |
Other Technological Mentions:
Finding Nemo (2003):
- Movement of bubbles - Movement of currents - Different sea surfaces |
The Incredibles (2004):
- Full human characters - Long flowy hair - Realistic fabric folding and tearing/stretching |
Cars (2006):
- Complex interactions between objects - Handling reflections and imperfections. - The surfacing of the cars built up from successive layers of gloss paint, nicks and scratches and then further degraded with dust and other damage |
Ratatouille (2007):
- Sub-surface scattering for the food props - Creating more depth and dimension on screen |
Wall-E (2008):
- Subtle atmospherics and lighting - Emulation of the 70mm camera traits typical of Super Panavision 70 shot science fiction movies of the 60s. |
Up (2009):
- 20,622 individual balloons supporting Carl's house - The physics of the house and its contents - The first Pixar feature in 3D, using Disney Digital 3-D (additional problems regarding textures and scene design) |
Digital & Ultraviolet Filmmaking
The production of Blu-ray discs has allowed consumers to watch films and videos whenever and wherever they would prefer to. The Blu-rays can also be purchased, stored and accessed within the cloud online. This provides viewers with a great amount of entertainment and liberating the way in which they consume it through platforms like Hulu Plus, Crackle, iTunes, Fandor, etc. The dolly and steadicam are inventions that revolutions camera techniques and is now used in nearly every piece of film created. These technologies allow for smooth movement when following a character or their conversation with another on screen and for tracking and panning shots. A dolly can either be placed on a crane, or on a track with wheels, or a combination of the two. Whereas the steadicam is able to provide the same smooth movement with hand-held shots, popular films such as The Russian Ark and The Shining have made use of this. The great shift from film to digital cameras gave filmmakers the ability to record onto internal storage on memory cards, as opposed to on chemicals, reducing overall time, costs and usage of resources during production. The first ever CG image was featured in the 1937 science fiction flick Westworld, followed by Furtureworld, Tron, Jurassic Park and endless more. This revolutionary technology is now used heavily in blockbusters, and the demand for good CGI is high, as shown by the top 10 highest grossing films globally, all of which contain CGI in them. Green screen technology also falls into the same popular trend, both CGI and green (or blue/gray) screens enabling filmmakers to create unrealistic, fantastical and creative imagery in their films. The internet has changed how films are produced, distributed, exhibited and marketed, thanks to social media and online streaming platforms like Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, HBO Go and numerous others.
Streaming Services
New technology in the past couple of decades has prompted the emergence of SVoD (Streaming Video-On-Demand) services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and several others that have gained popularity and led to a steady decline in the popularity of traditional pay television. In the UK the number of subscriptions to television streaming services like Netflix has overtaken those to traditional cable, marking a major shift in the UK's viewing habits, according to OfCom. Netflix itself was founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in 1997, and the website has now become the world’s leading internet entertainment SVoD service.
Netflix reached 1 million subscribers in 2003, which rose to 4.2 by 2005, and in 2007 the company introduced online streaming services to consumers; later 2016 saw the company reach a worldwide status, bring their entertainment services to a total of 190 countries around the world. Netflix became available on the Apple iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, the Nintendo Wii, and other Internet-connected devices. 2011 onwards the service began to expand itself internationally. Over time the service added several critically acclaimed and award-winning TV series including House of Cards, Hemlock Grove, Arrested Development, Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, and over 1,000 originals. Netflix won its first Oscar in 2017 for The White Helmets for Best Documentary Short Subject. Netflix became the most nominated service at the 1018 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards with 112 nominations, taking home 23 accolades.
Today with over 148 paid subscribers over 190 countries, Netflix has made a name for itself as a pioneering streaming service leading the charge towards the shift from cable to digital streaming. Netflix’s net worth as of June 06, 2019 is $155.53 billion as it gains more competitors like Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Prime, and the much awaited Disney+.
Netflix reached 1 million subscribers in 2003, which rose to 4.2 by 2005, and in 2007 the company introduced online streaming services to consumers; later 2016 saw the company reach a worldwide status, bring their entertainment services to a total of 190 countries around the world. Netflix became available on the Apple iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, the Nintendo Wii, and other Internet-connected devices. 2011 onwards the service began to expand itself internationally. Over time the service added several critically acclaimed and award-winning TV series including House of Cards, Hemlock Grove, Arrested Development, Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, and over 1,000 originals. Netflix won its first Oscar in 2017 for The White Helmets for Best Documentary Short Subject. Netflix became the most nominated service at the 1018 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards with 112 nominations, taking home 23 accolades.
Today with over 148 paid subscribers over 190 countries, Netflix has made a name for itself as a pioneering streaming service leading the charge towards the shift from cable to digital streaming. Netflix’s net worth as of June 06, 2019 is $155.53 billion as it gains more competitors like Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Prime, and the much awaited Disney+.