John Belton's Essay If Film Is Dead, What Is Cinema?

The film industry is constantly in motion. While the stories that keep the film industry money machine churning run in cycles, technology continues to evolve with every passing decade. A new revolution which is stirring as 3D and 4D releases, DSLR cameras and free Internet distribution via YouTube, etc. bring the digital age of filmmaking to not just Hollywood’s but also bollywood to the front door. As of 2012, around 60% of all cinema screens worldwide have been converted from film to digital projectors. Over half of those digital screens are outfitted with stereoscopic (3D) projectors and it is said 2015, it is expected that almost every cinema screen will be digital and that film projection will all but die out. Digital cinema is a lot more

Consumers are the ones who are most affected by this shift of the technology, there have been a time as John Belton in his essay says “If Film is Dead , what is Cinema? “, during the first early few years of the boom of this technology , technology itself emerged as the attraction to the spectators, they didnot only come to see the individual films but also the machines. For the consumer, digital projection in the cinemas meant superior quality of images that were not subject to deterioration with the passage of time but also color, sound and wide screen played differently with digital cinema. It also gave viewers access to 3D films, which took film viewing to dizzying new heights and the to feel the difference between the quality and creation of jarring images on the screen which was meant keep them in the awe even after leaving the

Opponents to digitization feared that new technology would primarily– threaten creativity, lead to exploitation of creators and would lead to a socio-economic crisis caused by loss of jobs, lowering of revenues etc. (here) However, digitization has brought to fore a large pool of talent that can and has contributed to enhancing the levels of creativity in these fields. Also, these industries by tapping into revenue streams of digitization have and can make whooping profits. Moreover, as many have argued (here), the issue of exploitation of creators may not be directly related to digitization of content and may be more appropriately addressed by ensuring balanced contracts. With regard to the socio-economic impact of digitization, the numbers clearly show that inspite of digitization, the entertainment industry is prospering and fears of loss of revenues and loss of jobs may not be well placed. Therefore, though the landscape for artists has changed due to the emergence of new technologies, the way forward is mould policies to tap into and adapt to these new technologies and