Cinema/film industry has become a very conspicuous form of mass entertainment with the extent of its popularity, influence, and proliferation having a phenomenal, impact worldwide. Artistic expression and development via technological expediency has made it an unequaled facet of visual/fine arts since the inception of the 20th century.
The American (United States) film industry has been a major impetus behind the extent of cinema’s phenomenal popularity, influence, and proliferation worldwide. Since the turn of the century, the American film industry has been the top annual revenue grosser more than any other country. Today, with India and Nigeria ranking first and second, the American film industry is the third most prolific producer of films worldwide (The Independent).
A film’s true ambiance/unique aura and/or riveting affect is greatly influenced by audio/visual effects. Sound/audio effects are artificially enhanced or created sound processes/sounds with reverberation and flanging as examples. The integration of generated imagery (via computer, etc.) and live action footage defines visual effects.
Created or manipulated, these effects can create a realistic and/or unrealistic aura to a film. Animation, compositing, matte painting, front projection, optics – to name a few – are examples of visual effects. The audio visual world is comprised of microphones, audio tape recorders and mixers, sound systems, analog and digital cameras (still and video), film and slide projectors, VCRs, CD players/recorders, DVD players/recorders, multi-functional devices, computer controlled sound and video systems.
The aforementioned technology epitomizes the American film industry’s prolific and profound impact on modern audio visual style. A precursor to the video was the Kinetoscope –the first motion picture camera which was conceptualized and introduced by innovative inventor, Thomas Alva Edison. William Kennedy Laurie Dickson, an Edison employee who headed the photography department, is credited with its actual development.
The accompanying sound recording component to the Kinetoscope was the Kinetophone or phonograph, another Edison invention. Sound recording permanently changed the face of cinema and its effect. The phonograph was indicative of one distinct type of recording process – sound recorded on disc. Recording sound directly onto the celluloid strip was another.
A vital component to the revolution of television broadcasting was the development of the video tape recorder (VTR) and cassette player in 1950’s. Ampex Corporation head researcher Charles P. Ginsburg and his research team are credited with its invention. Since 1944, Ampex has been a leading pioneer in the visual information age with having assisted in the development of digital image processing, and high-performance digital storage.
A sub category or field of computer graphics is computer-generated imagery (CGI). CGI in the form of 3D computer graphics is the primary basis for special effects and virtual/computer generated environment in films (live, animation, etc.), television, art, and video games. Internet pioneer, Ivan Edward Sutherland, a leading American computer scientist, laid the foundation for CGI development with his innovative computer graphic developments in the late 1960’s.
Film/cinema, in its most basic form, is an audio visual phenomenon. A sound and sight experience, its mesmerizing effects has had a profound affect on the human senses. An array of films spanning 100 years (Gold Rush, Metropolis, Fantasia, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean Avatar, etc.) truly attests to such a fact.
Works Cited
“Nigeria’s Nollywood eclipsing Hollywood in Africa”. The Independent. 2010.
Richard Rickitt: Special Effects: The History and Technique. Billboard Books; 2nd edition, 2007.