History of Film Production

Upon receiving the brief for our Multimedia Studies assignment, Group 11 members arranged at a date for everyone to meet together to discuss the presentation project. We all had an interest in the film aspect of the media sector, so we decided our project would relate to the film industry. Being more specific about our project topic, we chose to base our presentation on film production. With six members, it was necessary to distribute the presentation work evenly, in doing so we allocated each person with a different area that concerns film production. These topics were completed separately and then sent to an allocated member, who compiled the work into a single presentation piece. We then presented our project to our fellow students.

The Beginnings of Film Production
When we consider film production, we immediately think of the modern technology based media form. Refer further back in time, back to when inventors first considered the possibility of motion in a picture. The Zoetrope was the first successful device that could create moving pictures. The name for this device is taken from the Greek words ‘zoe’, which means ‘life’, and ‘tropos’ meaning ‘turn’. This ground-breaking invention was created in China, 180 AD by Ting Huan. This contraption produces the illusion of motion from a rapid succession of static pictures. The structure consists of a cylinder with vertical slits. Inside is a band of images. As the cylinder spins, the viewer looks through the slits, which help to prevent blurring, and the illusion of motion is created. The zoetrope was originally hung over a lamp, rising air helps to spin the device and translucent paper portrays the images. Zoetrope development continues with the linear zoetrope, which has arbit...

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...ico” was the first film in the mainstream to be shot almost entirely on digital video. It was shot using a Sony HDW-F900. “Slumdog Millionaire”, 2008, was the first Academy Award winner for ‘Best Cinematography’ shot predominantly in digital. James Cameron’s 2009 film “Avatar” was the highest grossing digital film.

In recent years, the quality, accessibility and availability of DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex) camera’s has led to a rise in popularity among cinematographers. The cameras are relatively cheap and lightweight. Quentin Tarantino has stated that digital does not take his interest when it comes to films. Paul Thomas Anderson also believes that digital projection is a “big, big no-no.. It’s just like watching the best TV screen in the world, as opposed to watching 24 frames per-second flicker through light which is a hypnotic and wonderful experience”.