The Impact of Technology on Film Production

Technology has changed everything. In just a physical sense, there is the possibility of a lot more, and a lot less being done. Take cameras for example, it used to take four men to operate a camera. Now, with high definition, handling a camera may only require one man. That means 75 percent of the workforce is looking for a job. The medium has changed. The types of entertainment people seek have changed.
With the introduction of digital cameras, film production is done with less effort. The process of editing movies in the 60’s and 70’s involved physically cutting film tapes and sticking one end to the other for a continuous story line. But with the introduction of digital cameras, spinners are no longer needed at cinemas or theatres. Although one can’t argue the fact that spinned films are still rated for their level of clarity and stability. A spinner, when projected unto a big screen, needs 35mm spacing of film so that the quality on the big screen is at high resolution. However, digital cameras do not need a millimetre spacing to show quality images, hence it is relatively cheaper to use.
Movie editing has changed with the introduction of digital cameras. The old idea of cutting tapes and rejoining one end to another has been eliminated. Computers are now used instead to edit movies; hence a lot more work can be done in a film production.
Technology has also changed the way films are distributed. A more advanced way of getting produced movies around the world is still ongoing and even at this point there are considerably large methods of film distribution. The web is one of the fastest methods of distribution mainly because people have more access to the Internet than other source of information like TV, radio or newspapers. Mobile phones, also known as “Technological Convergence” can now easily access the Internet; hence people can go on the web to connect with workstations or perform work functions while on the go. This is rather more comfortable hence smart phones are widely used by almost everyone.
Technology also has its negative impacts. The process of film exhibition involves moviemakers being able to show the best of their production to their audience. But the issue of “piracy”, illegal copying of movies for DVD distribution has left most producers thinking. According to Wikipedia; “The practice of labelling the infringement of exclusive rights in creative works as "piracy" predates statutory copyright law. Prior to the Statute of Anne 1709, the Stationers' Company of London in 1557 received a Royal Charter giving the company a monopoly on publication and tasking it with enforcing the charter. Those who violated the charter were labelled pirates as early as 1603”; piracy has been a big issue for a long time. Movie producers hence came up with a solution, 3D. With the introduction of 3D technology, it became hard for pirates to copy movies from theatre screens. 3D movies became very popular only a few years ago and since then it has been used very frequently at theatres. Even entertainment companies implement 3D technology by producing 3D TVs, 3D toys etc. But yet again, a few movies are still pirated with 3D technology. Although this is still an ongoing process and 3D pirated movies are not all too impressive in quality. Most people these days; prefer to watch a movie in its normal view rather than in 3D. It is widely debated this is due to the 3D glasses people are forced to wear when watching a 3D movie. But this has only given the movie pirates more films to copy and sell.