After your film test, please read the article on "The Home Video Invasion", "Blockbusters", and "CGI" to complete this course of study in film. After reading these short chapters, please post a comment and question to this post.
Sony unveiled their VTR (video tape recorder) in 1967, but it wasn't until the 1970's that it took the world by storm. The early versions cost a prohibitive $1,000 to $4,000! That's about 8-10 I-phones and at least as many TiVos. Watching movies in your home again threatened the movie industry, but under the Betamax VCR (1975) viewers could watch pornography without feeling guilty about it (the internet had not yet established itself). As fall-out, the porn and "X" film production grew and later would help release a whole host of B-films which would not receive a wide release in cinemas.
Steven Spielberg (American New Wave director/Auteur) filmed his blockbuster Jaws in 1975. The success of the book and the film began to show the possibility of mass-produced entertainment and give film a legitimacy through popular culture. There were few film programs in colleges and schools at this time. You may recall Spielberg's other work (mostly blockbusters, like Jaws).
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
E.T. (1982)
Jurassic Park
George Lucas on the other hand created the single most influential film in the 1970's with his space opera (part IV) of the seminal Star Wars (1978). Both Jaws and Star Wars became the first two films to make more than $100 million, rocketing both directors into fame!
Star Wars (1977)
Raiders of the Lost Ark and the famous "melting face scene just for fun - SPOILER."
In 1982 the film Tron (1982) effectively used CGI for its special effects. Since then CGI has been married to the Hollywood Blockbuster.
Westworld (1973)
The Black Hole (1979)
Star Trek (1979)
As you might note, CGI greatly improved the sci-fi genre.
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12 comments:
It's interesting to see how people reacted to stuff when it was just discovered compared to how they react to it. Like VCR's and Blockbuster aren't a big deal anymore. Values shifted sinc ethe 1970s. I don't know why people thought so highly of Star Wars it seems boring and plain to me now. But i think the competition between Lucas and Spielberg was funny because there movies were complete opposites. BUt other than that i never knew CGI was computer-generate images. Film stuff has a lot of abbreviations.
Question: WHy was Hollywood so obsessed with BlockbusteR? What separated it from other film discoveries?
What is the difference between CGI and animation?
It's really interesting to hear about the problems of movies that are classics now like Jaws and Star Wars, and how people expected them to flop, when they are still extremely popular today. It is also amazing how these award winning directors just sort of fly by the seat of their pants and go with the flow, doing what they feel like needs to be done and it ends up working out great for them. I guess that's the difference between talent and normalcy.
I also think that, while CGI is an amazing technology that should definitely be taken advantage of, I also worry that the visual is taking precedent over the importance of good scriptwriting and overall cinematography. There is a reason that some old movies are classics, still watched, and will continue to be watched for some time. I just hope those are the kinds of movies we are making for the next generation of filmmakers to look back on.
Question: Do the film studios hire people specifically to discover possible technological advancements that may help their production of films? If not, what is the incentive for developing that sort of technology?
The first thing that sparked my attention in reading this article is the fact that early versions of the VCR were priced between $1,000 & $4,000. Based on research that I did for my physics project, the first CD player cost around $900. That was really interesting to me. However, I'm wondering if the internet posed an immediate threat to the film/video industry? Or did this threat emerge as internet capabilities became more advanced?
Another thing that I found interesting was the impact that CGI made on the science-fiction genre. I really liked the effects that were used in Tron(1982) which really makes me understand how revolutionary these effects were in the 1970s and 1980s. How much further have we actually come in the film industry besides red-light cameras? How much further can we actually go? Just a few thoughts...
It is interesting to see how much technology has changed in such a short time. Today, we are completely reliant on our cell phones and internet access but less than 50 years ago, these concepts were completely unheard of. As a modern student, seeing consumer reactions to the VCR is understandable but sounds very old fashioned compared to what we have today.
How did AVCO make the cassettes so that they could only be viewed once? Now that most things are digital, that concept is no longer used.
I found it ironic that Jaws, one of the most popular blockbusters in film history, came into existence almost by accident. Spielberg describes how he chanced upon the unpublished book manuscript in an office and spontaneously "swiped the damned thing." Even more ironic was the fact that many studio execs, along with Spielberg himself, expected the project to fail after numerous complications and setbacks.
I also agree with Molly that fancy visual effects threaten to overtake the importance of good screenwriting, plot development, and sincere characterization. I particularly noticed this in the excitement over "Avatar." Admittedly, I have not seen it, but after seeing a preview for it in theaters several months ago, my first thought was "this looks stupid." When I asked people who had seen "Avatar" about the film, they had little to say about the narrative structure, but gushed on about the dazzling special effects. To me, this is not enough.
A question: Is there a limit to CGI? I mean, are there ALWAYS ways to make an image look "more real"?
I found the article about Blockbusters to be very interesting because it gave a more in depth look at the road to popularity for these films and at the fact that they were not expected to be successful. I also found it interesting that VCRs were originally so outrageously priced, especially because they are now obsolete. It illustrates how fleeting technology truly is.
Question: How do VCRs use magnetic technology to show films?
I was pretty shocked to learn that VCRs cost so much money when they were first created in the sixties. Because our old VCR, which we probably bought for a hundred bucks at most, is practically ancient, I find it hard to imagine a time when a bulky old box was considered a luxury. As for the "blockbuster" article, I was also surprised that people had such little faith in Jaws when it was first being filmed, but I guess that goes to show how it doesn't matter how big a budget a movie has, because viewers will go to see what they want. No one expected Zombieland to be a hit, but it ended up being massively popular. And although CGI is now one of the most popular way to create films, I still think that regular animation is still "watchable" and it doesn't limit a filmmaker's creativity. I must admit, though, that CGI films are usually more impressive.
Question: Why is it necessary to keep creating new technology when there is nothing wrong with what we have?
It was interesting to see how expensive the tape recorder was when it first became available. Now the quality is a lot better and the prices are lower.
It was also interesting to see the hype for the CGI when now even many independent companies have access to even better technology.
Question:
If there is so much research occuring with new technology why haven't there been even more technological developments with film? Have there been? Why don't we hear about them?
Life, technology and values have changed dramatically since the 70s! I think its incredible that VCRs used to be so expensive. CD players used to be just as expensive. The competition thing was kinda annoying because i think it was really ego driving...Spielberg lost some respect. Though i do believe that Star Wars was one of the greatest movies EVER...Everything is always a competition and i kinda wish that there was no major drive besides inspiration.
How do you make a cassette only play once?!
Shana Harris
I found it interesting that blockbuster was very popular back in the 70s. Its also funny how people were so fantasized with VCR's, and now we have DVD players. It is crazy how technology changes through the years. Between the two movies Jaws and Star Wars, I believe that Jaws was my favorite and Star Wars was was not a favorite of mine but I know many people who love the original Star Wars. I wish movies today were made like the movies back in the 70s. They would be a lot better than they are now. The CGI technology was also very interesting. The effects that they used were cool. Do they still use CGI technology today?
I didn't know about the problems with shooting Jaws, but I did know about George Lucas's fight to make Star Wars happen, and even seem like a serious production. (Even the actors found it hard, at times, to take it seriously.) It seems like, after reading this article, it came really close to not being made. It
seems almost surprising, especially after the poor rough-cut screening, that it was produced at all, but let's be thankful that it was.
Or, should films-lovers be thankful? The article makes a good point; films like Jaws and Star Wars have had a profound influence on how movies are marketed, and they probably have weakened the integrity to a certain extent.
Technology has changed so much for this generation VCR's aren't something we are excited about because now we have blue disk and DVD but back then the VCR was a huge deal and even though these films might seem "old" they still are classics and very popular which is understandable because the audience wasn't distracted by 3-d effects and movies today have all these different visual effects that it takes away from the plot.
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