Changing Technology in Film

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George Lucas: The Third Pioneer From silent films to talking films or black and white to color the film industry has gone through many changes throughout its history. But one of the “newer” revelations has been the addition of computers and CGI into film production. George Lucas was one of the first directors to implement the use of this technology into the creation of films. He has been described by Fairchild as, "a deeply imagistic artist, a director whose cinematic imagination is ignited by visions of extraordinary intensity.” Lucas is in some ways a pioneer for pushing the industry into its next big change. Fairchild has, “described Lucas’ vision as Blakean not because it imitates Blake’s or is influences by it but rather because they are visions of shared archetypes: innocence, experience, initiation, toe pastoral.” Even though Lucas may have propelled the industry to the next phase as we can see it now, his move was frowned upon during the time of his transition in the late 1970s. Until Lucas’ radical change, films were made the old fashion way. Taking the time to build full sets in studios, wasting money, finding places to film on location, taking the time to travel to location to film it. It was a process that was getting old and expensive. Lucas wanted a change. So he decided to take some of the location filming and the set building out to save time and money. He decided to use computers to create the image he wanted on the screen. Computer Generated Imagery better known as CGI was formally established in the late 1970s. James Sterngold said about George Lucas on his view of technology that, “In his eyes, digital technology, by reducing the need to shoot on exotic locations, build expensive props and film certain scenes over and over, is a practical tool, a means of telling stories on as grand a scale as a director wants, but on a reasonable budget.”

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