The Impact of Technology on the Silver Screen

By: Tho Nguyen, Blog Chief Editor

Movies are a fundamental part of the entertainment industry. Each scene vividly captures human culture; the most noble ambitions and the most corrupt motives, the acts of tender compassion and the acts of blatant dishonesty.

Photo credit: Pixabay

Nowadays, most people watch movies by opening their laptop, logging into Netflix, and streaming a movie out of a gallery of thousands. However, this was not always the case. Through years of innovation and modification and advances in technology, moving pictures have been transformed into the high-definition films we know today.

Technology has played a major role in changing the face of cinema. The advent of moving pictures in 1891 led to monumental accomplishments and memorable firsts.

To better grasp how much cinema has changed in the past century, let’s start at the very beginning. In 1891, the Edison Company was the first to create a moving picture using a kinetoscope. Film was rolled between a revolving shutter and a lightbulb, all encased in a four foot tall wooden cabinet. Only one person could view the “peep show entertainment” at a time. Although film at that time was black and white, under a minute long, and soundless, the company’s kinetoscope was revolutionary. Soon, “silent films” became the norm, drawing curious spectators to observe.

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The Lumière brothers were the inventors of the cinema; paying audiences were shown projected moving pictures. Eventually, films became longer and featured multiple shots. Suddenly, in 1895, Robert W. Paul surpassed a milestone when he crafted Come Along, Do! This was the first film to feature continuous action - a characteristic that makes videos blend flawlessly and track movement accurately. Choppy and uncoordinated films now appeared seamlessly to the naked eye.

In 1906, The Story of the Kelly Gang was the first full-length feature film, spanning over an hour and using over 4,000 feet of film. The Jazz Singer (1927) combined synchronized speech, music, and singing, thanks to the invention of the Vitaphone in 1925.

In the mid-1930s, a breakthrough in color theory cracked open the doors of possibility. Technicolor was a color process responsible for turning the monochrome screen to a multicolored one. It initially mixed shades of red and green, but the finishing touch occurred in 1932, when Technicolor added the key blue strip. Walt Disney’s Flowers and Trees demonstrated just how wide the realm of opportunity was.

All of these achievements have highlighted how technology has contributed to movie-making. However, arguably the greatest technological triumph in cinema is CGI, or computer generated imagery. CGI is the creation of still or animated content with computer software. Flying airplanes, bizarre extraterrestrials, roaring waterfalls - you name it. CGI is the secret behind the stunning visual effects in movies.

Computer generated imagery can be developed in a variety of ways: algorithms, 2D-based pixel editors, and 3D graphics software. Using a technique called compositing, more commonly known as a green screen, CGI can be layered into digital film footage.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, in 1958, pioneered CGI by rewiring mechanical computers to draw patterns on animation cels. Cels are transparent sheets of celluloid, a durable type of plastic. Another notable landmark was Edwin Catmull’s and Fred Parke’s A Computer Animated Hand in 1972, which transferred data from 350 triangles and polygons into a 3D animation program.

Computer generated imagery finally gained recognition in the 90s with groundbreaking films like Terminator II; Judgment Day (1991), Toy Story (1995), Star Wars Special Editions, and The Matrix (1999). Jurassic Park is regarded by many CGI artists as having the best CGI to date. Utilizing a mix of CGI, animatronics, and human actors, Jurassic Park brought dinosaurs back to life - down to the very last scale.

The dynamic, ever-evolving nature of technology has influenced almost every aspect of life as we know it. Thanks to new advancements, movies have shifted from blurry, colorless flicks to strikingly realistic motion pictures. Inventions like Technicolor and CGI have revolutionized movie-making, paving the way for brilliant minds to come together. The silver screen is just one of many examples of dedication and creativity leading to a brighter horizon.