About Film and Media in the Digital Age - Essay Example

About Film and Media in the Digital Age Author name Course title Instructor’s name Date Essay Plan Introduction The essay looks at Films in the Digital Age. The introduction seeks to guide the reader as to the subject being covered both its scope and breadth. Key features of film production and its development are given out in detail. In essence the introduction makes a brief overview of the whole topic of the advancement of film in the digital age. Discussion The essay looks at the early stages of film production and also the people who took part in critiquing of the essaying. The essay also looks at science fiction as a genre of films and which has seen a lot of development since the initial introduction of the genre into the film industry. The essay also looks at some of the films that have left a mark and specifically looks at the technology applied and the special effects in those films. The essays examines whether such ways of film production and technology have stood the test of time. The role of computers in the production of film is also examined in the essay. Conclusion The conclusion highlights the most important issues covered in the essay. In the conclusion, issues of how the whole essay is interlinked are looked at. The conclusion therefore looks at the development in the film production in a nutshell and makes highlights as to what the future could hold for the film industry. Introduction Film production refers to the process through which films are made. Just as changes have been experienced in different spheres of life, the area of filmmaking has also kept pace with the changes both in technology and also in imagination of people. We live in what is referred to as the digital age and in this age; the process of producing, distributing and watching films has been revolutionized. The advances in technology have made it possible for very imaginative ideas which are normally in the form of novels to be turned in scripts and then into films1. With the changes in the production techniques for films, audiences are able to get not only high quality pictures but also able to see the visualization of the imaginations of the authors of books. Developments in technology have meant that movies can be produced which try to depict how the future may look like2. These new production techniques are also able to make the audience to appreciate science fiction movies which are highly dependent on the latest filmmaking techniques and technologies. The essay examines films in the digital age and the transformations which have taken place. Composite images and production techniques which are being developed have played a major role in creation of visual effects3. Discussion Up to about the 1970s film makers who enjoyed monopoly in film making were the only ones who engaged in discussion of film technology. The only other people who were involved in issues pertaining to film making and technology were theorists who enjoyed close working relationships with the film makers4. The theorists also played another role in disseminating views which reflected the views that film makers held. The people involved in film making made use of journals in their discussions revolving around issues of film making such as trade secrets, mystique of film making as well as myths. Historians played the role of coming up with the perspectives of film makers with regard to the impact of technology in the making of films. Essays written by theorists such as Bazin tend to show the potential that exists in the use of technology by film makers in recreation of reality. Film makers have by and large embraced technology since they have to rely on machines in order to accomplish their tasks. The film industry has had not much choice in determining whether to adapt to change or not. The video industry has offered stiff competition to film making and therefore the kind of films produced must be of the highest quality. Improvements in technology are geared towards ensuring that the quality is improved or that film makers use less efforts in achieving the levels of quality that have previously been available5. There are different genres of films. Science Fiction is perhaps the most important genres of films. Science Fiction is based on science and in addition is delves into the world of fiction and is more often than not associated with time travel and space6. To achieve the effect intended by science fiction, the goals of the film and the narrative are built into the characters. The purpose of Science Fiction is to come up with reflections about science and also express fantasies in the field of science. Science Fiction is based on speculation and the phenomena depicted in such movies are not always accepted by ordinary science. Science Fiction films depict alien worlds, extraterrestrial life forms, extrasensory perception in addition to time travel. Science Fiction films have been utilized in highlighting issues to do with society and also politics. Science Fiction has a long history and in 1902, a film by the title A Trip to the Moon was a source of amazement to the audience since it made use of photography effects which were tricky7. The Science Fiction genre was not taken seriously for a long time. Metropolis was a major work of Science Fiction which was produced in 1927. This genre of films was largely made up of low budget but the attitude change with the production of 2001: A Space Odyssey in the year 1968 by Stanley Kubrick. The decade that followed saw science fiction films being produced and which had special effects and this attracted large audiences8. The definition of science fiction is based on the assumption that a continuum does exists between the real world and the supernatural. Science fiction film at times employs the style of a clash between images that are familiar and aliens. The advent of science was during the era of silent film and the first science fiction films were in black and white. The theme in science fiction films is usually technology and initially the intention of such films was to create humour. Some of the early films for science fiction combined horror and science fiction. During the 1060s there were few films in science fiction. The interest in science fiction saw renewed interest with the advent of trips to the moon which were manned. Some films in the 1970s explored paranoia whereby humanity is shown as being threatened by advances in technology and the ecology9. Science fiction films are usually based on speculation and have supporting elements of technology and science. A majority of films in science fiction have elements of magic, mysticism and there are people who consider such films to be based on fantasy or the occult. Science fiction film is at times driven by religious philosophy10. Some theorists in film argue that such films are different from films on fantasy because science fiction is geared towards ensuring that the audience believes in the images being viewed while on the other hand fantasy films are meant to ensure that people's disbelief is removed for sometime. In as much as science fiction films have some elements of being alien the imagery used can relate to humans and how they relate to the environment. Blade Runner is amongst the science fiction film which was produced in 1982 and was directed by Ridley Scott. The screenplay was based on a novel which goes by the title 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' which was written by Philip K. Dick. This novel was first published in 1968 and the setting for the novel was post apocalyptic which would have happened in a few years to come11. In the novel the earth and the populations on it would be destroyed by a nuclear war during a world war. The war leads to animals being endangered as a result of radiation. In the book, Rick Deckard who is a bounty hunter who faces six model androids which belonged to the recently released model. In a second plot, John Isidore, a man who has a lower than normal intelligence helped the androids. The setting of the novel is 1992 which is after World War Terminus has resulted in ruin for most of the earth. As a result of this devastation and to ensure human survival, the United Nations encourages people to emigrate to colonies outside the world. There are incentives for people to emigrate and one of them is that each of the emigrants is given a servant androidi. The population that remains is left in filthy conditions and they become sick and their genes are damages. Since animal ownership was considered a symbol of status many people who could not afford the real animals acquired synthetic animals which were cheaper. The film Blade Runner is a science fiction film and it was loosely based on the novel, Do Androids Dreams of Electric Sheep?12 The film is a depiction of Los Angeles in dystopia in the month of November in 2019. In this film, there are robots known as replicants which are genetically engineered. These beings cannot be distinguished from ordinary human adults by mere sight. The replicants were manufactured by a corporation known as Tyrell. The use of replicants on earth was banned and the only application for replicants was work which was menial and dangerous and only in off world colonies13. Some replicants did defy the ban to away from earth and Blade Runner refers to a group of police operatives that are used in hunting down the replicants with the aim being to retire them. In this film, there is a group of replicants who have escaped and are in hiding in Los Angeles. The plot of the movie is that a police officer who is retired is detained by a serving officer and taken to his previous supervisor. The arrested officer known as Deckard had been a Blade Runner and thus served the purpose of tracking down and retiring the replicants. Deckard does not initially agree to become a Blade Runner but afterwards agrees when threats are issued against him14. Technology is applied in the production of film in the digital age. One of the technological aspects applied in the production of science fiction movies is a spinner which refers to flying cars in the film. A spinner is capable of being driven like ordinary vehicles and is able of taking off in a vertical position, and applies jet propulsion in cruising. Spinners are applied for police officer for purposes of patrol on the population15. The conception and design of the spinner was by Syd Mead and it was described as an aerodyne which in essence is a vehicle capable of directing air towards the ground and a lift is created. Another aspect of technology used in the science fiction film was the Voight-Kampff machine which an interrogation tool which is fictitious. The device is similar to a polygraph and Blade Runners make use of such devices in testing of people so as to determine whether the person is a replicant. The device measured functions of the body such as heart rate, response and movement of the eyes when provocative questions were asked. The interrogation devices takes the different measures of the body and after asking a certain number of questions, it becomes possible to determine whether the person undertaking the test was a real human being or was a replicant16. Scale models are used are used in creating miniature effect. Miniature effect is created for television programs and motion pictures through the use of scale models. Scale models are used in conjunction with matte shots so as to make sure that effects amongst them gravitational effect seem real to viewers. In the making of contemporary films, computer generated imagery has superseded use of the miniature effect. If a miniature effect is to appear in a shot's foreground, it has to be quite close to the lens of the camera. Using scale models for the creation of visual effects has been used by the entertainment industry right from the earliest days of making film. Models and miniatures refer to copies of buildings, people, objects and settings. The purpose of models and miniatures is to represent things that are not really in existent17. They are also used in representing things that does not exist or they are very expensive or hard to film. Such incidents like explosions, fires and floods make use of models. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, a major development in miniatures was introduced. The film saw advancement in creating models which were quite convincing. During the 1970s film makers made use of miniatures to depict disasters in a number of films. With the increase in prominence in science fiction films during the 1970s miniature fabrication was taken to higher levels. Examples of miniatures include the explosion of a truck in The Terminator and the destruction of a bride in the film True Lies made use of miniatures on a large scale18. The release of Jurassic Park in 1993 saw a turning point in use of computers in creating effects in areas where previously there was the need to make use of physical miniatures. Computer generated imagery has by and large replaced use of physical miniatures. However, physical miniatures are still employed and more so in projects which require that there be physical interaction with explosions, water or fire19. There are films which have been highly successful despite the use of miniatures for a good portion of the visual effects in their work. Such films include Titanic, Lord of the Rings trilogy, Inception, amongst others. The motion pictures business also employs slurpasaur which is used in reference to reptiles which are optically enlarged and portrayed to be dinosaurs in film. Animated dinosaurs have been used in films whereby producers have made use f lizards that are enlarged optically and they usually have fins and horns glued on them so as to cut costs and adequately represent dinosaurs. Brute Force by D.W Griffith was the fist film which made use of reptiles to represent dinosaurs. The Mysterious Island, an island which appeared in 1929 made use of slurpasaurs20. However, One Million B.C a film that was produced in 1940 was the first to make use of slurpasaurs on a large scale. There are also a number of other films which have made use of slurpasaurs such as the Journey to the Center of the Earth. This film made use of reptiles which had spinal fans attached to them. These were intended to simulate Dimetrodons since they have bodies which resemble lizards21. 2001: A Space Odyssey is another science fiction film which has made use of effects. The film deals with issues such as evolution, extraterrestrial life and technology. Among the features noted in the film is the accuracy in science and use of special effects. In the film's plot, a tribe of hominids are foraging for food in an African desert. One member of the group is killed by a member an incident which is followed by the tribe being thrown out from the water hole. The tribe that has previously been thrown out learns how to use bones not only as tools but also as weapons. This is the first major film that saw the use of front projection and also retroreflective matting. The technique was used as to produce scenes in Africa where the ape-men in the movies would appear their natural backgrounds. In another film known as the Dawn of Man, front-projection system was used in depicting astronauts to be walking on the moon's surface22. This technique first developed in 2001 gained wide use in the film industry. This technique began being done away with and its place being taken by green screen system. The front projection technique made use of a scenery project that was placed at a right angle to a camera and a mirror that was half silvered which was placed in front of the camera such that the image projected forward was reflected and being in line with the lens of the camera the image was placed on a backdrop which was made with retroreflective material which was designed in a special manner. Conclusion The more changes have occurred in the field of films the more they appear to have remained the same. Most of the features in films have largely remained the same only that the technology or the means to achieve the same effect has tended to change. 2001: A Space Odyssey has had quite a lot of influence on the subsequent films that were produced. 2001 had such a great effect that some referred to it as the 'grandfather of all such films.' The advent of mobile communication devices has revolutionized the way film is produced in addition to its distribution. It is worth noting that mobile communication devices initially appeared as creative ideas for science fiction. The mobile phone went on to become a device which can be used to create moving images. Mobile phones have come in handy in capturing situations of crisis and natural disaster in areas that are quite inaccessible and the images that are captured using such media can be distributed quite easily. Mobile phones are also capable of being used as tools for film production. It is therefore evident that film production is an area that is evolving both in terms of technology and also the way that production is carried out. Film has had a lot of influence on culture and the way that people perceive the world around them. Film can therefore be said to be a powerful tool through which culture is transferred from one community to another. Films have also had influence on technology and the law regulating protection of intellectual property. This is evidenced by the fact that a company has used images from a film in a patent infringement lawsuit. It is therefore worth noting that film has been influenced and has also influenced technology. Bibliography Ascher, Steven, and Edward Pincus. The filmmaker's handbook a comprehensive guide for the digital age. (New York, N.Y.: Plume, 1999). Bennett, James and Strange Niki. Television as Digital Media. (New York: Duke University Press, 2011). Briggs Asa and Burke Peter. Social History of the Media: From Gutenberg to the Internet. London: Polity, 2010). Carpentier Nico. Media and Participation: A Site of Ideological-Democratic Struggle. (New York: Intellect Books, 2011). Dick Philip. Do androids dream of electric sheep? (London: Orion, 2005). Dick, Philip. Do androids dream of electric sheep? (London: Orion, 2005) Hassler, Donald and Clyde Wilcox. Political science fiction. (Columbia, SC: Univ. of South Carolina Press, 1997). Honthaner, Eve. The complete film production handbook. 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