Revision technology and production
- 1. Section B exam prep Film Production and technology
- 2. WHAT IS NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGY? New media technology is a term meant to encompass the emergence of digital, computerized, or networked information and communication technologies in the later part of the 20th century. Most technologies described as "new media" are digital. This is simply a quicker, smaller, more efficient and compressed form of data-storage when compared with older analogue methods.
- 3. OLD MEDIA TECHNOLOGY? Before the introduction of digital technology all films were shot on film cameras like this one. The film would be recorded onto big reels of 8mm, 16mm or 35mm film. Once the filming was completed, it would be editing on a machine like this one (a moviola). The editor would literally have to cut and paste the film together frame by frame. Special effects were primitive and had to be created by the props department. They often looked very unrealistic, barely representing reality.
- 4. CAMERA – DIGITAL CINEMATOGRAPHY Digital cinematography has only established itself as an alternative to 35mm in the last 10 years. Instead of recording to film the footage can be recorded onto tape, hard disk or memory stick – as long as the camera is digital. It is cheaper, more portable and more durable than 35mm. The first major Hollywood film to be recorded entirely digitally was Star Wars Episode II in 2002. Since then films such as Sin City and Superman Returns have used this technology. Many films are still shot on 35mm and then digitised in post-production so they can be edited digitally. Many directors prefer the look and feel of 35mm. Digital productions can be graded to look like 35mm but many directors do not value this process.
- 5. CAMERA HD & 3D HD video is an upgraded version of digital video. It has a higher resolution (meaning more DPI or dots per inch). By having a higher DPI the picture quality is far higher than normal DV and retains a higher quality picture on a large screen. However, whilst being far easier to edit, even the highest quality HD DV is not as clear as a 35mm or 70mm film. There has also been a resurgence in 3D film-making over the last ten years. New digital techniques, using a combination of very HD DV and high quality film stock have produced better 3D effects than ever before. There is now a move towards ‘glasses-free’ 3D viewing, which using a trick of the mind creates almost holographic images.