FREE ESSAY ON TECHNOLOGY IN FILM PRODUCTION

TECHNOLOGY IN FILM PRODUCTION

Technology in Film
Over the years film has meant many different things to many different types of people.
Cultures have been forever changed due to certain films being made. One of the things
that has maintained films to stay appealing to audiences are the continuing advances in
technology that keep films interesting, as well as challenge filmmakers to constantly
develop new ideas. I will show how technology and the use therein contributes to film and
the creative aspect that goes into producing a product that appeals to the mass public,
as well as the downfalls that technology brings with it. Also how advancements in film
stocks and processing techniques have brought us to the use of computer technology in
films.
There are a two crucial aspects of film that technology effects, these being, production,
and post-production. The easiest way that I can analyze the effect that technology has
had on film, is to use an example of a particular film, to do this I will use The Matrix.
This film is a great example of what can be accomplished with the advances in
technology.
The first and most obvious effect that technology has had on film has been the advances
of cameras and film stocks. When film was first introduced in the early 20th century the
cameras were very large and awkward in shape. This reason made transporting these cameras
extremely difficult as well as making it nearly impossible to manipulate the camera so
that creative shots could be produced. For this, films early in the century are usually
comprised of still shots with the action unfolding in front of the camera instead of
following the action with the camera. Films that were made early in the 20th century were
based solely on the action, actions of the actors to tell the story and the camera was
used much less as a means to tell a story as it was to show the story that the actors
were portraying. Today in film the camera is a large part of how the story is told. It is
not only used to help the story along but is now manipulated to create entirely different
realms with in a certain film. A good example of this is how cameras were manipulated in
The Matrix. 
With advances in film stocks as well as ways that film can be processed, it has
completely changed what can be shot on film. At first, film stocks were not very
sensitive, in that you needed a large amount of light to expose a picture on the
celluloid of the film. For this most of the early films were still shot in studios or
were shot outside, but only when there was a lot of light on the subject. If there was
not a lot of light there would not be an image burned onto the film. With the slow
development of film stocks, filmmakers were able to shoot in low lit situations and were
finally starting to be able to tell their stories in the way that they wanted to, with
out being held back by not having enough light for a particular scene. The advances of
processing techniques has given filmmakers a chance to explore their imagination and the
luxury of not having to worry about things that earlier filmmakers have had to deal with.
Filmmakers are now able to manipulate film stocks and the way that they are processed so
that they can create varied visual effects that have never been seen by audiences. With
this they are able to provoke varied responses to their audiences and are able to
manipulate film in particular ways to have certain effects on the viewer. 
With the advances in technology have come advances in the way that films are produced and
also the way in which audiences appreciate them. The implication of the computer into the
post-production of films added so many more possibilities towards how a story was told.
Computers have made it possible to create action sequences, locations, and entire realms
that would be way to expensive if not impossible to create with normal means. For this
stories have also developed, and especially science fiction stories. In most science
fiction stories they take place in exotic and mystical far off planets. With the use of
computers and software of today it is now possible to create futuristic lands as well as
whole characters.
Technology has influences the production aspect in several ways. First off in how stories
are conceived. Now that computers can create almost anything that a director would want
to see in the final product it has given directors the freedom to experiment with their
ideas as well as manipulate scenes in particular ways to provoke a certain feeling out of
their audiences. With a lot of things being done in post-production on computers, green
screen techniques have been implicated. Green screen technique is when there is a green
screen that is placed behind the action and the actors or prop is manipulated to be a
part of the background even though there is no background when the shot is being filmed,
instead there is a green screen and then in post-production the green screen is keyed out
and the background is put in. This process has changed the way actors must act. As a
whole it is more challenging for the actors because they not only have to create a great
performance but also have to do it while they are imagining what will be added later.
This makes it so much more important for the director to know precisely what will be
added later so that he is able to instruct the actors as to what the final product will
look like. Even though this is harder for the actors, if it is done correctly it
certainly adds so much to the final product.
One thing about technology within film is that a lot of the times it draws from past
experimentation and even uses techniques that were used by the first filmmakers. A great
example of this is with The Matrix. Throughout this film there was a technique that was
exploited where an actor would be jumping in the air or performing a particular act and
everything would freeze and the camera would move around the action on a 360-degree axis.
This was made possible by a technique that was ironically the first device of filmmaking,
multiple-cameras. What is ironic about this technique is that with all of the
technological advances in film throughout the years, filmmakers still resort to the
oldest most principles of the founders of film. In 1877 Eadweard Muybridge (a vagabond
photographer) was hired by Leland Stanford to prove that at some point during a
racehorse's stride, all four hooves leave the ground. "Muybridge set up 24 cameras in a
row along the racing track. He attached a string to each camera shutter and stretched the
string across the track. He chalked numerals and lines on a board behind the track to
measure the horse's progress. Stanford's horse then galloped down the track, tripping the
wires..." (Mast/Kawin, 11) eventually proving that in fact at one point the horse's
hooves all left the ground. By the use of multiple cameras Muybridge was able to show
sequential action of a particular object, the Wachowski brothers who directed "The
Matrix", also were able tot create a futuristic realm by combining camera techniques that
are over a hundred years old along with advanced green screen methods of today. 
In order to create these shots the filmmakers built a 360 degree green screen with
cameras placed strategically around the walls, with specially timed cameras, and
elaborate pulley systems, they were able to create the effect of the camera circling the
actors while the motion remained still. This gave the effect that time was able to stand
still while the actors were able to defy the laws of gravity. This is a good example of
how technology was used to enhance techniques that have been around for many years, in
order to create a certain mood. By manipulating what the audience knows as the reality
the directors were able to create something that had never been seen before, because of
this it was much easier for the audience to believe in the farfetched reality of "The
Matrix".
The remarkable thing about "The Matrix" was that the audience was seeing something that
was visually stunning and at the same time it gave the feeling that some of these special
effects were completely new to filmmaking. When in fact the creative minds behind this
film were using the simplest and oldest techniques of filmmaking, which is showing frames
from different cameras to follow action. They just expanded on this premise and added it
with today's technology to create something that was breathtaking. "The die-hard science
fiction fan will discover a plot that mixes and matches both new and old conventions of
the genre in a compelling fashion." (Berardinelli).
The advancements of technology and the use of computer graphics bring one large downfall,
the cost. None of these new techniques comes with out a substantial bill. With the rise
of pyrotechnics, and the use of computer graphics raises the cost of films substantially.
Not only do the production companies have to pay more people to create these awesome
effects but also they are paying for the research that goes into developing the software
as well as the cost of the equipment that enables them to create these effects. For this
the average cost of feature productions has risen substantially over the years. Some
people say that this is no big deal, but with this comes bigger obstacles, because with
the rising budgets it becomes more difficult to have a studio back a project, they are
easily persuaded to produce a film that has minimal effects that will only cost twenty
million dollars than one that falls into the hundreds of millions of dollars to produce.

Technology has influenced the way in which audiences appreciate film in many different
ways. Now that movies like "The Matrix" have hit the theaters, audiences are starting to
expect more from films. Some of the average movie goers would consider great classics
like Citizen Kane boring, mainly due to the fact that there are no computer generated
images or large explosions. This is due to the fact that films are increasingly becoming
dependant on computer-generated images. On one hand technology has helped the film
industry a great deal to create images that were never before possible, but on the
negative side of this is that audiences are to easily influenced by what is visually
stunning to them and not what is the most important aspect of a film which is the story.
For this it has put a lot more pressure on filmmakers to create films that not only have
dazzling special effect but also incorporate them into the story in such a way that it
adds to the story and is not the entire basis for the film.
Computer generated images are starting to show up in more and more films that are being
produced. The reason for this varies from film to film. Sometimes the reasons are
obvious, because there is no other way to create the realm that the director wanted,
other reasons that are now developing is the creation of extras. This although a
painstaking process in post-production, is far cheaper to do than to hire thousands of
extras for a particular scene where they only need to make it seem as though there are
that many people. 
Since computers have been implicated into the process of filmmaking there have been
countless numbers of films that have succeeded in adding special effects but at the same
time not taking away the concentration on the story. This devise is a powerful tool in
creating different stories that can be told and it has been accepted as such. There is no
telling where it will go from here, but some predict that computers will take over the
need for actors and location filming. This is such a farfetched idea and will never
happen, it may change the way in which filmmaking is done but it will not take away the
human aspect of filmmaking.
Other effects that technology has had on audiences are the quality of the sound as well
as the picture. Over the past ten years filmmakers have realized that audiences want to
be blown away, literally. Sound has become an incredibly important aspect of film
production, more so than in the past. In the past audio was considered to be something of
an added bonus. For many years during the production of film, sound was looked down upon
as something that needed to be done, only few directors actually thought about what
should be recorded to stimulate certain emotions. For most directors sound was the last
thing on their minds and because of this the final product had a cheap feel to it mainly
because the audio was so distracting to the audience that it took away from the whole
experience. Lately, due to the technology that has gone into sound recording, there has
been a large concentration on the audio that is recorded and played in the film. This
gives the director more options as to how his audience will feel at a particular time.
Theaters have been equipped with elaborate sound systems such as, Dolby Digital Theater
Sound, and have strict standards of sound quality such as THX; these new devices help to
recreate the audio that the director wants the audience to hear. With this new
concentration in sound recreation as well as recording techniques it gives the audience
the opportunity to feel as if they are a part of the film instead of just a viewer.
Filmmakers have finally realized that a film with great sound lets the viewer escape into
the films world more easily and gives them a heightened experience.
With all these advances in film technology, there have been countless numbers of films
that have changed the way that audiences view films. This technology has given filmmakers
a chance to venture out into worlds that were never thought attainable, as well as given
filmmakers freedom over their thoughts. It has shown us that no matter how much
technology springs up, that no matter what, it can only be used as a tool to better a
film and that the story is still and will always be the most important aspect of a film.
These tools help to create a seamless world that the audience is able to escape into, and
because of technological advances there will be many more interesting stories, as well as
many more techniques that will be created for filmmakers to manipulate and have at their
disposal.
Bibliography
Bibliography
1. Berardinelli, James. "The Matrix", a Film Review.
http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/m/matrix.html
2. Mast, G., Kawin, B. A Short History of the Movies, 7th Ed. Massachusetts: Needham
Heights, 1986.
3. Douglas, J., Harnden, P. The Art of Technique. Massachusetts: Needham Heights, 1996.
4. Bordwell, David. On The History of Film Style. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Massachusetts, 1997.
5. Dowdy, Andrew. Movies Are Better Than Ever. William and Morrow & Company, Inc: New
York, 1973.