The advancement in film technology has unlocked the potential of filmmakers the world over.

There have been many technological movements in film to swing the needle towards it as a science. To accentuate it further, the construction of a film can be thought of as a mechanical process in as much as the equipment used to capture footage through a lens to create a print or image that plays frame by frame is designed as though it’s actually a moving piece. In essence, an illusion of reality tricking the mind into thinking it’s ‘live’.

All the moving parts of the camera, the lighting rig and the software in post-production are more examples of evidence to suggest the medium of film has more in common with the likes of WIRED, Stuff or Computeractive than it does with The Art Newspaper, Aesthetica Magazine or The Great Discontent. Perhaps if that’s the case then it would be considered more prestigious as a subject of study inside and outside of the classroom than it is thought of today. Unless you’re a film critic chances are, you’ll see film as a mere form of entertainment to please the masses for a couple of hours before doing something more ‘meaningful’ and ‘academic’. Forgive me for saying, but I sense an elitist attitude from those who turn their noses up at film for thinking of it as a bottom feeding form of intellectual pursuit.

From Disney’s pioneering days of developing the multiplane camera to computer generated imagery used to blur the lines of reality, it’s fair to say that film has undergone a technological transformation over the years. Cinema verité gave prominence to a new form of cinema that allowed us closer to the subject matter with smaller and lighter cameras. The digital age has given rise to new filmmakers able to afford equipment and become social media sensations utilising all the new tech has to offer them at the download of an app.

How else can film be considered anything but a science – one that’s firmly situated around technology?

Infographic created on [Photopea](https://www.photopea.com/)

From the first captured footage screened to the masses in an auditorium to video streaming platforms such as Cinnamon.video placing control into the hands of the creators reaching out to you in your very homes or through your mobile devices, technology has had a profound impact on the industry.

Three Benefits of the Digital Age for the Independent Filmmaker:

1. Affordable Prosumer Hardware Products: the cost of video recording equipment pre-digital was financially inaccessible for amateur filmmakers or hobbyists. Today you can purchase cameras at relatively low costs and achieve the look and feel of cinema with some tweaking in post. The cameras today are lightweight and compact, allowing more freedom for the filmmaker to experiment with style. And with the improvement in smartphone technology, filmmakers have even more choice!

If you were were concerned about the affordability of a helicopter to capture the sprawling city through an aerial shot to establish your narrative's location, then fret no more. You only have to look at how Hollywood are now utilising drone technology to reduce their own costs. Drones are now affordable for the enthusiastic amateur filmmaker and photographer.

2. Non-Linear Editing Software Makes it Easy: analogue editing was cumbersome and time consuming. Since moving to digital, professional editing software packages such as Final Cut Pro and Sony Vegas have been designed for all users to download onto their own home computers.

Special effects are now achievable through affordable packs. Apps such as Action Movie FX, FX Guru and Videorama have revolutionised the home entertainment editing market. Take a look at some of the top app editing products:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PELmOrlZlZw

3. Marketing & Distribution is Now in Your Control: since the advent of the internet, it is no longer a requirement to spend millions of dollars producing print-based campaigns or hiring out advertising space on traditional television broadcast for trailer time. The internet is unregulated and to a large extent 'free'. Video streaming platforms have a wide reach and accept digital file formats.

Imagination is now the only barrier to entry into the film industry. With open source software available to creators, digital technology has transformed the way we consume content.

Header photo by Noom Peerapong on Unsplash

Subscribe to read part 2 – Film as Art – and let me know which side of the bread is buttered for you by checking out the Twitter thread:

https://twitter.com/BurntEnds88/status/1321064890149330944

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