Evolving Media - Technology

Technological Changes in Film 

Its important to consider all stages of the film-making process:

• Production
• Distribution
• Exhibition

The main changes in technology on the production side of things have impacted visual and audio effects

JB1967

• Multi-plane animation created a rudimentary 3D effect
• Xerography quickened the animation process as it allowed animator's drawings to be photocopied onto a screen rather than the slow process of 'hand-inking'

JB2016

• Advanced CGI - John Favreau still wanted to emulate the style of classic Disney movies from the 1930s and 1940s
• All animals and landscapes created digitally
• Blue screen, puppets and actors
• Lots of post-production editing

Film Distribution has massively transformed by the digital distribution

JB1967

• Physical film reels were costly to produce and had to be transported from cinema to cinema.

JB2016

• Cinemas can digitally download the film – allowing saturation distribution at lower cost. 
• Streaming allows films to be released more widely –  particularly good for independent films.
• Digital convergence – more opportunities to create awareness of films through social media, websites and through audience-generated media. 

Film exhibition has been changed by digital exhibition

JB1967

• Films would ‘go on tour’ – takes more time to reach wider audiences. 
• Traditional exhibition process means audiences have to wait until they can buy DVDs for home exhibition. 

JB2016

• Cinemas can afford one-off screenings – senior citizen screenings, matinees, festivals, art-house films.
• IMAX and digital sound allow more high quality and immersive audience experiences – helps in the battle with home exhibition and online streaming.

Who has benefited more from technological advancements – the industry moguls or the audiences who consume films? Explain and justify your answer.

The industry moguls' main benefit would be from the profits the movies would make. The costs that surrounded saturation distribution have massively lowered thanks to the use of digital downloads. the use of digital convergence allows them to reach a larger demographic and audience of people by creating awareness of films through social media, websites and audience generated media. A larger demographic is also obtained through the use of CGI. Whilst the xenography and multi-plane animation used in The Jungle Book 1967 only appealed to children, the advanced detail and realism used in the Jungle book 2016 reaches a wider range of people, including adults and all genders. 

The audiences who consume films are benefiting from the realism, subscriptions and home exhibition. The inflation of detail and CGI used in The Jungle Book 2016 allow audiences to enjoy a realistic, thrilling film, whilst the animation in The Jungle Book 1967 may not benefit the larger, older audiences. The creation of streaming allows more copies of the movies to be showcased at a wider range of cinemas, thus creating an easier, cheaper route for watching movies. The use of digital convergence allows a wider range of people to find and hear about more and more movies.