Reaction: Digital Movies

The discussion of the impact that digitalization has had on the movie industry is complex and profound, and certainly extrapolated to go on. From the specific technology in use to view film, to the massive impact it has had on society, digital movies are a cornerstone in the conversation of media convergence.

I will be summarizing, analyzing, and extracting insight from a presentation by a group of students in Dr. Xia's COM 264 Introduction to Media Convergence Class. The group in question did a marvelous gaining the knowledge and presenting it to their audience in true form: with the mantra of media consumption surrounding every clip, image, design, and formatted paragraph.

The group began with a history of cinema. The information flowed cleanly and demonstrated that society's demand for immersive and creative viewing pushed the envelope of innovation; that new technologies like a full-wall movie screen was a consumer-driven demand. Such small moves create lasting effects, like the pillar of media convergence: participatory culture.

Next, they mentioned the equipment used to make movies. They focused on the trend of expensive, high-resolution cameras. They used the example of Black Swan, and how a certain scene was shot with a camera that an eager consumer could purchase at any time. They rounded this example with a lesson in media convergence that society will always demand more surreal experiences from artificial interactions, like movie-viewing.

Then, they moved on to the global impact of cinema, movie technology, and the culture that it bore. They mentioned how industries grew from it, like video games and television. They were honest about the culture phenomena that appear when certain blockbusters hit the theaters, and how much money and discussion it creates, opening the door for civic exploration.

Lastly, the group dove further into the societal aspect of digital movies, citing plenty of examples of ethical issues. Their main example was that of editing and how it can create a false sense of perfection that leads impressionable people astray from a place on contentedness and fulfillment. They showed an engaging time lapse of the editing process that captured our attention and blew us away.

Overall, this group was very successful at teaching the class the evolution of digital movies and the impact they've made, all the while tying notions of media convergence to create a complete picture.