How has technology affected the film industry?

The film industry began to boom in the 1930’s when it was first introduced to the world, as the general public were completely excited by a brand new aspect of entertainment. However it was in 1945 that the annual UK cinema admissions reached over 1,600 million this was because the cinema was the only way in which an audience could consume a film. On the other hand a lot has changed since the 1930’s, as technology has been developed faster and faster, the film industry had to keep up in order to remain successful and profitable. Technology has changed absolutely everything in some way; therefore there were many different aspects of film that technology changed eg. certain aspects of production, camera equipment etc. 

Technology has brought many fast changes to the visual aspects and form of film entertainment, for example CGI has vastly improved the quality of special effects, which means that exciting climatic scenes in action films are more realistic looking than ever. However this type of film is still more ideal to be viewed in a cinema, with a larger screen to bring out the amazing special effects and the loud surround sound to add to the experience.  Technology has firstly affected the way that a film is consumed, the producers now have to think about whether it’s more targeted as a downloadable film or as a film more suited for a cinema (such as very fast-paced action films with breath taking special effects). This is because since TV was invented in the 1950’s, there has been less interest in the cinema since technology has led to there being easier and cheaper ways to watch films. Therefore the film industry has had to adapt to making smaller budget films in order to make a gross profit such as the production company ‘Working Titles’. 

Working Titles began as an independent film company in 1983, co-produced by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe and for a number of years it was reasonably successful. However it wasn’t long before the Hollywood company ‘Universal Studio’s’ bought it, Working Titles then proceeded to make very British themed films which would appeal to an international market –particularly America since it has such a booming film industry. Working Titles proceeded to produce films such as ‘Love Actually’ and ‘Atonement’ which include British A-list actors, a romantic London setting and are often created by a very talented director such as Joe Wright, as this makes the films easy to market. For example 'Love Actually' which was an incredibly sccessful working titles film which grossed $246,942,017 worldwide, and was especially popular in America. Observing the trailer, there are definite hints to why it was so succesful in the US.  For example the trailer begins with different shots of previous successful Working Titles films, with a deep male American voice over explaining exactly what was going on. Therefore it is obvious to the audience - whatever country or culture, what the plot consists of. With the American voice over, the British accents featured in the trailer stand out more - other countries, especially America find a strong British accent adorable and iconically romantic. As the trailer progresses this shot of 'the holiday season' is featured, which is an American phrase - the trailer

uses typical American phrases to ensure that the American market are not alienated by the film but feel in a sense welcomed. In this shot and throughout the 'Love Actually' trailer, very iconic London landmarks and areas are featured, so the film doesn't merely sell the story but a romantic, snowy London. The trailer show cases all of the classic British A-list actors, such as Keira Knightly and Colin Firth and features many scenes of slapstick, family humour - therefore it's not purely dependent on language, anyone could find the humour in the film.

As technology has improved marketing has also become less challenging due to trailers easily being broadcasted across the world due to such a high level of internet access, social networking, etc. Therefore recent Working Titles films such as Anna Karenina and Tinker Tailor, have heavily relied on the internet for marketing ever since they moved to a European market. By this point, Studio Canal had taken over as distributer/financier due to the change in demand when it comes to lovable family films - ever since the use of 3D and IMAX, those audiences are looking for exciting films with amazing effects and a huge budget. Working Titles couldn't compete with the huge American names and therefore turned their attention to the European market / older market. Since recently Working Titles realised that in 2011 it was recorded that 28% of cinema goers were those aged 45+, which was the second highest percentage. Since the older generation have grown up with cinema and may have difficulty with new and complex technology, their preference has been to just go to the cinema. Therefore recent Working Titles films have been adapted to suit that target audience, such as ‘Anna Karenina’ (historical romantic dramas suited to an older target audience) which usually have a lower budget than previous Working Titles films, therefore don’t need to make as much profit to be successful. Anna Karenina works especially well for this target audience for many reasons - firstly it's based on the classic Russian love story by Leo Tolstoy (an incredibly famous writer). The fact that it's a period drama including themes of love, passion, deceit, war, represent it as a very classic romance featuring brilliant A-list actors and creative theatricality, all of which would appeal as a film that the older generation would enjoy watching at the cinema with a glass of wine. 

Digital and 3D cinema screens have also made marketing easier, as despite cinema admissions dropping from 1,600 million in 1945 to just under 200 million in 2000, teenagers and families can quite easily be drawn in by a 3D spin on a great feel-good family film. For example such as ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ which was played on 54.3% of all digital screens in 3D this is because 3D was exciting in 2011 and it offered an experience of film that a television couldn’t. Therefore despite technology changing, film doesn’t always have to make dramatic changes in order to keep an interested audience, because it will always be an enjoyable form of entertainment which brings people together in many ways.