The Dynamic Experience: New Media in Film

Since the dawn of film, people have been able to experience a world outside their own, see what visual artists wanted them to see, to see a series of moving pictures. However, a series of moving pictures does not come close to describing the experience of a modern era cinematic masterpiece. When film boomed in the very early 20th century, it was still very raw, but one of the greatest sources of entertainment, nonetheless. Over the years, this experience has evolved in realistic value through the constant progression of better sound, picture, and even computer graphics technology. However, the evolution of film stems far deeper than the aesthetic value of the piece. As a mass entertainment industry, a thrilling experience made good film. Of course, the development of these two concepts has had its milestones, where cultural innovators have created grand films worth talking about. These artistic innovators did not only use what was available to them at the time, but have risen to take the experience to the next level. From directors to producers, these figures can very well be described as the new media artists of their cultural age. New media, at any given time, creates a dynamic experience for the masses; it is the evolution of technology and how that technology interacts with the audience, as perceivers. Directors like Charlie Chaplin, Alan Crosland, Andre de Toth, George Lucas, and the Wachowski brothers, along with their production teams, are prime examples of not only cinematic artists, but the cultural innovators of their time.

In the early years of the film industry, movies were still “silent” as they did not come accompanied by synchronized speech from the characters. However, while the term holds true for the actors, silent films contained musical tracks as the primary mood setter. This lack of technology set innovation in the position of heightening the experience. Perhaps the greatest innovator during this age of cinema was the legendary Charlie Chaplin and his striking comedy performances. His fun, cheery, and –more than needed- heart warming films set the standard for comedy. Above all else, though, Chaplin’s work was a dynamic experience that can still be enjoyed today. As a child, the English born Chaplin lived a life that was far from perfect. Having lost his parents at the very early age of 10 years old, Charlie and his brother Sydney were left to “fend for themselves” (Unknown, 2010). Chaplin, however, did well to get back on his feet, or in his case, some tap-dancing shoes (zing!). Using tap-dancing as a jump-start to his career in comedy, the talented Chaplin found himself climbing the ladder until he was performing in America. After having built his career in film, Chaplin started his own independent productions where he first started his war related films. Mixing war with comedy created a “veritable mirthquake at the box office” (Unknown, 2010), as Shoulder Arms was released in 1918 (Unknown, 2010). The film revolved around Chaplin’s famous character, the Tramp, as he was serving his country in the war. Chaplin put a spin on the experience of going to war, providing comedy to the journey. Indeed, Chaplin’s film created a whole new experience in film, a prime example of cultural innovation. Chaplin “burst into a war-torn world bringing it the gift of comedy, laughter and relief while it was tearing itself apart in World War I” (Weismann, 2008). During a time of burden, Chaplin managed to bring a smile to all. His works did far more than heighten the experience as they touched the hearts of many. Chapin’s films reached out to the people, setting a new level of dynamic experience in cinema. As one of the first cultural milestones in film history, this new media artist will never be forgotten.

During an era of silent films, The Jazz Singer left the crowds awe-struck. Of course, this occurred thanks to the technological innovation of the film; it was made with Warner’s Vitaphone system, a technology that allowed sound-on-film recording. The audience was given the chance to see the very first “feature-length Hollywood ‘talkie’ film in which spoken dialogue was used as part of the dramatic action” (Dirks, 2010). The Jazz Singer hit hard at the box office, proving to be a great success among audiences. The film was revolutionary as the experience was new and engaging; sound was not only used to give musical background, but as another element in plot development. Film forever changed as The Jazz Singer marked the era that would end silent films, leaving room for talkies to take over (Dirks, 2010). Despite this, the technological development of the 1927 hit did not make it the milestone in film history. Director Alan Crosland did not stop at making simple dialogue, no; The Jazz Singer is also a musical, a truly great example of new media (Dirks, 2010). The film’s true cultural innovation came with the fusion of two artistic worlds: cinema, and the music industry. As a musical, Crosland’s film revolutionized how movies would come to entertain the public. Al Jolson’s performance in the film was spectacular, well expected from one of the most successful jazz performers of the time (Dirks, 2010). Success did not come easy, however, as Jolson was said to be a tough actor to work with. Crosland, in his earlier years as a director, has had many experiences with difficult actors, which made him more than well-suited for the job as the director of the film. Having made 6 times its production value of $500.00, The Jazz Singer easily deserves the status of being a cultural blockbuster (Backstreet, 2010).

With the rise of the television, the popularity of motion picture was slipping, and fast. During the 1950s, desperation had the film industry “trying new and different things” (Belleranti, 2007). Sure enough, the film industry boomed once more with one technology in particular, three-dimensional recording. 3-D technology was not something new, but with the combination of dynamic sound and colour, the experience quickly turned into a craze. 3-D films were everywhere, and not without great success; the cinematic style provided an even greater level of realism than that of the previous decades. The idea behind 3-D films is to mimic our natural use of sight. The human body has two eyes spaced apart, and therefore, two perspectives that, when combined within our brain, produce a three dimensional image. Belleranti explains how this may be achieved in the filming process:

The basic principal of 3-D involved using two cameras spaced apart so their images approximated what two eyes would see. The exposed film from one camera was laid over the film of the other to produce a single movie print with offset images. The print when projected would produce a double image. Special polarized glasses could then be worn, and the viewer would see a 3 dimensional scene. (Belleranti, 2007)

During this craze, one film in particular marked the pinnacle of realism in film during the 1950s. Andre de Toth’s House of Wax was introduced as a 3-D feature film that not only showed in colour, but also introduced one of the very first applications of stereo surround sound in cinematic history (Beck, 2009). With the combination of stereo surround sound, as well as 3-D technology, House of Wax had the audience seeing and hearing as if they were part of the film. The soundtrack featured directional effects during some points of the film (few, but some, nonetheless), where the orchestra “creeps and pounces from dark corners at just the right points” (Hasan, 2003). Having already used the already available technology, the addition of stereo sound brought a newer experience to the audience. Toth’s innovative work tingled the senses; the experience changed from simply viewing the film, to feeling the film.

As it is now, film has made a great progression over the ages, and the above cultural innovators have played no minor role. Each artist has set a milestone in experience; each artist has created new media. However, these artists seem very small in comparison to one of the greatest figures of film history: George Lucas. It was he who set the greatest milestone of cinematic experience, overshadowing the previous innovations. The production of Star Wars, his masterpiece film series, was an epic that has come to revolutionize many aspects of a great cinematic experience (Archer, 2010). It all started with CGI (computer generated imagery), as the 1977 Star Wars was the first film to use 3-D wireframe technology (Vreeswijk, 2009). Unlike many others at the time, Lucas was not faced with the all-too-common roadblock of the science fiction genre: the lack of technology that stopped filmmaker’s ideas from coming to life on the big screen. Star Wars created a vast, beautiful world with many futuristic aspects, while at the same time, carried no burden of surrealism; the world looked believable. With the help of CGI, Lucas was given the opportunity to let his imagination run wild, and it did. The world took shape into a dynamic experience in itself (Archer, 2010). Lucas’ work also featured striking, and clean, sound effects for his films. Having many technologies such as drones and light sabers, high quality audio was a must for the needed realistic value. In later years, he founded THX ltd., a company dedicated to providing high quality sound to high budget productions. Together, the final outcome of his 1977 film was beyond amazing, setting the standard of innovative films worldwide (Archer, 2010).

Star Wars was an epic in the entertainment industry. However, entertainment was but one of the many gifts Lucas’ films brought to the world. Star Wars was so massive that it boomed across all cultures, creating a fan base large enough to be considered its own subculture. The film was big, real big. In Devy Archer’s report on Star War’s influence on popular culture, he comments on just how big of an impact the film franchise really made:

…people’s lifestyles started to become influenced by the film. This became even more evident when the sequels hit the theatres. People dressed up as Star Wars characters, acted out scenes from the films, used quotes from Star Wars in everyday conversation… Nowadays, hardly anyone is surprised when they hear the famous “May the Force be with you!” line… Some people even consider Jedi Knight to be their religion! While there are many popular franchises, it is unlikely any will ever become as popular as Star Wars. (Archer, 2010)

The influence of the films was legendary. For the people who experienced Star Wars, it was more than a film; it was an experience that had you keep coming back for more. The story was thrilling, dramatic, but also grand compared to many other films at the time. The effort was well worth it, for the outcome was enchanting; thus, proving how well the movie works as a new media piece. Star Wars appealed to the masses, created a dynamic experience far beyond what had been seen before, and has proven to be much more than a film in terms of interacting with the audience. George Lucas, along with all the many artists that worked together to create this cinematic epic, deserve more than the title of new media artists. Perhaps…really good new media artists.

Given the result of the disaster that occurred during the Second World War, humanity was faced with the question of the century: “how long before we do that again?” The devastating effect of the many weapons produced during the war left human kind wondering whether technology would be the end of the Earth. This idea sparked the post-modern movement that later influenced the film industry in the late 20th century (Rovira, 2005). A new genre was born: dystopia. These commonly futuristic films presented a dark world where humanity has fallen into dictatorship as technology enslaves the world. Unfortunately, dystopia is far from surreal as the worlds contain faint characteristics of the modern era (Williams, 2009). As CGI greatly progressed since the release of Star Wars, dystopia was well funded in making these films look and feel realistic (Vreeswijk, 2009). In the year 1999, the Wachowski brothers released a film that combined the modern film’s cinematic genius with the dystopian genre. This was The Matrix, a major cultural innovation for the year, making the Wachowki brothers its cultural innovators. The film featured stunning CGI technology, as well as its own addition of “bullet time”, a slow motion rotating sequence that showed Neo, the main protagonist, dodging bullets with supernatural speed.

The Matrix’s innovative storyline followed a world where technology has enslaved (and harvested) human beings, using them as a power source for technology’s continuous reign. However, the victims of this domination were completely oblivious to the frightening turn of events by a technology that connected the subconscious to a computer; these humans were trapped in a virtual reality that simulated life in the modern age: the Matrix (Dirks, 2010). The Wachowski brother’s innovation came from the film’s conceptual genius. The Matrix succeeded in providing a dystopian experience, but also provided one with many afterthoughts that started a philosophical revolution. The Matrix had people questioning how much truth the film could hold; the experience was taken far out of the theater and into many philosophical discussions (Grau, 2006). The film delivered a true dystopian experience with its technological and conceptual innovation, a new media production that left the 21st century off to a great start. Of course, it is important to remember that, as a dystopian film, “there can be no greater warning to heed” (Williams, 2009).

Over the century, film has been an ever-changing industry where, through the decades, new levels of realism have taken the cinematic experience by storm. The evolution of technology has provided new ways for directors to bestow life onto their visions. The result of this progress is seen daily, as cunning new films arrive in theaters with great frequency, but also, with great result. Film has come a long way from the very early silent films, something that was once considered an extraordinary experience. However, this progress would be nothing without the talent of certain individuals. They were the innovators of their time, but even amongst those innovators there have been figures that reached greater heights. These were the new media artists, individuals who not only created a dynamic experience with their work, but also changed the way these films would interact with the audience. They produced films that have engaged the audience on new levels and soared high above the culture of their time, always increasing the demand for more film. As mentioned throughout this essay, five cultural innovators (with the help of their teams) have gone through great lengths to make their new media works influential. Their efforts were well rewarded as after effects from their films could be felt outside the confinement of the theatre, and in the lives of many. New Media should not be misunderstood as a mass development of technology; as beautiful as any work may be, it is the experience that truly matters, and how that experience creates a cultural impact on its viewers.

Works Cited

Archer, Devy. “Star War’s Influence on Popular Culture.”  Bukisa 12 June 2010: n. pag. Web. 07 November 2010.

Backstreet, Jack. “Alan Crosland – Biography.” The Internet Movie Database. 2010.  IMDb. 07 November 2010. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189076/bio&gt;.

Beck, Benjamin. “First 3D colour stereo sound movie.” Ben Beck’s Website. 2009. 06 November 2010. <http://web.ukonline.co.uk/benjaminbeck/firsts/talkies8.htm&gt;.

Belleranti, Guy. “3D Movies and the 1950’s.” Rewind the Fifties. 2007. 06 November 2010. <http://www.loti.com/fifties_movies/3-D_Movies_and_the_1950s.htm&gt;.

Dirks, Tim. “The Greatest Films.” Filmsite.  American Movie Classics Company, 2010. 06 November 2010.

Grau, Christopher. “The Philosophy of the Matrix.” Onward Over Land. 18 Oct 2006. 06 November 2010. <http://onwardoverland.com/matrix/philosophy.html&gt;.

Hasan, Mark. “DVD: House of Wax (1953).” KQEK. 2003.  07 November 2010. <http://www.kqek.com/dvd_reviews/h/2585_HouseWax1953.htm&gt;.

Rovira, Jim. “Baudrillard and The Matrix Trilogy.” Weblog entry. Postmodernism. 11 April 2005. 08 November 2010. <http://postmoderndays.blogspot.com/2005/04/baudrillard-and-matrix-trilogy.html&gt;.

Unknown. “Overview of His Life.” Charlie Chaplin. Date published unknown.  Roy Export Company. 06 November 2010. <http://www.charliechaplin.com/biography/articles/21-Overview-of-His-Life&gt;.

Vreeswijk, Simon. “A History of CGI in Movies.” Stikky Media. 27 Oct 2009.  northStudio. 06 November 2010. <http://www.stikkymedia.com/articles/a-history-of-cgi-in-movies&gt;.

Weissman, Stephen. “Chaplin: A Life.” The Washington Times 18 December 2008: n. pag. Web. 07 November 2010.

Williams, Rachelle. “Getting to know Dystopian Sci-Fi.” Suite101 27 Sep 2009: n. pag. Web. 08 November 2010.

November 11, 2010 | Categories: Assignment 3 | Leave a comment