Two major changes as evident to have occurred within the film industry as a result of technological advances and the commercial elements continuing to drive their development.
The history of motion picture film, therefore, is the history of a very subtle industrial and economic combination of continuity, evolution and outright change. (Enticknap 2005, p5)
When entering the movie theatres of today, with your pop corn and choc top in hand, you seem to generally have an expectation somewhere in the back of your head that you are about to experience some pretty spectacular special effects (especially if your walking into blockbusters like Spiderman 3 or 300). But this now almost seemingly essential feature of the Hollywood blockbuster did not always exist. It is only with the development of technology (more specifically digital technology) that this idea comes to be established as almost concrete convention for a modern smash hit. However, there emerges a trend in the speculated reasoning for the development of CG/CGI (computer generation/ed image) and other related special effects and for their continual inclusion within the major Hollywood films. There also emerges a similar trend in another area of change that has occurred within the film industry as a result of technological advances; digital video recorders are now readily available to any consumer and corresponding developments in other technological contexts, such as the software development and the internet, allow for anyone to create and edit a film and then have that film viewed by others all over the world. Here the commercial idea of profit is also seen to play a significant factor in the continual development. Essentially, while there does exist other elements that are seen to contribute to the continual development of digital technology in relation to film, behind many of them is the sole commercial purpose of financial gain.
Digital technology has resulted in terms such as ‘special effects’ and ‘CG’ becoming accepted as part of everyday life. Due to commercialisation, the further development of such technologies and the inclusion of special effects have come to be established as an essential element for vast financial success of a film.
First it is recognised that the methodology of creating films is being greatly impacted through the convergence of film, television and computer technologies. As Ohanian and Phillips suggest, filmmakers are now provided with ‘a new and exciting…set of rules to understand, to use, and to break, in the quest of telling a story’ (2000, p3). As such, special effects continue to be developed and utilised because they allow for a filmmaker to bring fictional worlds and images into reality (Ohanian & Phillips 2000, p3) which greatly enhances the impact of the story being told as a viewer comes to believe that such is possible within our own reality, ‘Digital media makes commonplace the simulation of nonexistent realistic worlds.’ (Manovich 2005, pp30) This contributes to the audience’s engagement with the text, entertaining them and more often that not resulting in a particular impact. By impacting positively upon one audience a film can ensure the return of another, as the role of the film critic and social networks come into play. This then comes to the ensuing success of a Hollywood film through revenue, highlighting the notion that the continued development and inclusion of special effects within such films is a result of commercial influences. As Hirst and Harrison point out:
Hollywood is one of the commercial success stories of the twentieth century, and it
exemplifies the advertising maxim that to sell a product, you must engage and
entertain the audience. (2007, p124)
With movies such as Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, Shrek, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Spiderman and so on, occurring over the past decade it is clear that digital technology has established itself within the blockbuster framework. But while this digital technology allows for more detailed creative expression on behalf of the filmmaker, it also comes to account for the millions of dollars that are poured into cinema and the entity of the Hollywood phenomena.
Another change that the digital revolution has inflicted upon the film industry comes in the form of the development of ‘cinema’s machines’ (Utterson 2005, p2). Today digital video technology is readily available to all consumers, meaning that anyone and everyone can participate in the practice of movie making. Essentially, behind this change also comes the push of commercialisation.
Firstly, the idea that handheld ‘cam-corders’ were invented in the first place comes from the idea of production for commercial sale and profit. Secondly, the now widespread availability to all consumers of digital video recorders and related technology means that anyone can make a movie, and corresponding developments of digital technology software and internet applications means that these movies can be viewed by millions around the world. This of course is a reference to sites such as YouTube and MySpace. In reality these sites are not profitable organizations, however most people who post their scripted films on YouTube are generally seeking recognition, hoping to have their talents ‘discovered’ and ultimately come to the result of financial profit, as supported by the many resources now available which provide instruction in how to effectively utilise digital video and be successful in the field of digital cinematography. These ‘how to’ resources contain sentences like ‘This book is an attempt to encapsulate all the basic technical and craft knowledge needed to become a fine digital cinematographer.’ (Wheeler 2001, p.xvii) and ‘I want to help aspiring professionals get into the business and young professionals get better’ (May 2004, p11). On the other hand, there are those who use digital video recorders simply to document their lives so to pass onto the next generation. As May suggests:
Documenting the lives and travels of family and friends is a noble tribute to our time on this stage, a meaningful gift to all generations, worth doing and doing well. (2004, p10)
However, in the context of this essay we are generally referring to scripted films in ‘story telling’ style, not home video and therefore we come to the conclusion that advances in digital technology have shifted the means of production and distribution of film into the hands of the audience (May 2004, p9) but yet, it is still the largely commercial element of financial gain that is driving this practice.
Thanks to the digital technology revolution we can now create our own quality films and our cinematic experiences are now dramatically enhanced by the incorporation of special effects into the film industry. However, the underlying commercial driving element of these changes within the film industry is not so different to what they have always been in the ‘Hollywood’ era. Sure, most films have valuable underlying lessons or hidden meaning in regard to human kind and culture but really when it comes down to it, they are driven by the want and need of financial profit, just like everything else in our ever developing commercial world. For as long as ‘Hollywood’ exists, so to will commercial elements contribute significantly to the creation and composition of special effect blockbusters.
The following are some links related to special effects and digital video technology that may provide further information:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4206983.html
http://www.matteworld.com/film/
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002688109
http://www.pixar.com/howwedoit/index.html
http://www.fxguide.com/article408.html
create your own film special effects using this from adobe – http://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects/
REFERENCES
- Enitcknap, Leo 2005, Moving Image Technology: from zoetrope to digital, Wallflower Press, London
- Hirst, Martin & Harrison, John 2007, Communication and New Media: from broadcast to narrowcast, Oxford University Press, Melbourne Australia
- Manovich, Lev 2005, ‘Cinema and Digital Media’, in Andrew Utterson (ed.) Technology and Culture, The Film Reader, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon
- May, Pete 2004, The Essential Digital Video Handbook, Focal Press, USA
- Ohanian, Thomas & Phillips, Michael 2000, Digital Filmmaking: The Changing Art and Craft of Making Motion Pictures, Butterworth-Heinemann, USA
- Utterson, Andrew 2005, Technology and Culture, The Film Reader, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon
- Wheeler, Paul 2001, Digital Cinematography, Focal Press, Oxford
