This article was published in the 10th issue of Modern Film Technology 2022
Expert Review
As the concluding piece of the “Striving for a New Journey, Making Contributions to a New Era – Welcoming the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party” column in Modern Film Technology, Professor Yin Hong from Tsinghua University authored the article “Empowering Technology: The Path to a Strong Film Nation”, which resonates strongly as a witness and participant in the development of China’s contemporary film industry. The author rationally discusses the integrated development and innovative upgrades of film technology, film industry, and film market from a historical perspective, using dynamic and vivid data and materials. He proposes that art, technology, and commerce are the three driving forces leading film innovation, integrating technology empowerment into the broader context of film industry and market development. The article not only has a high position but also a broad vision. It reviews the significant role that film technology has played in the filming, production, audiovisual media, and projection equipment in promoting the development and upgrading of Chinese cinema over the past century. It elaborates on the substantial impact technology empowerment has had on various aspects of domestic film shooting, production, distribution, and projection. The author suggests that virtualization, ultra-high definition, immersive experiences, and intelligence will become important trends in film development. In the future, deepening independent innovation in film technology will provide strong technological wisdom and power for building a strong film nation. The article is thorough in analysis, objective in exposition, and combines sentiment with warmth, allowing readers to deeply understand that technological development is a core element driving and supporting China’s transition from a major film nation to a strong film nation, providing significant industry guidance and reference value.
Since the 4th issue of 2022, Modern Film Technology has launched the column “Striving for a New Journey, Making Contributions to a New Era – Welcoming the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party”, successively publishing seven key articles including “Thoughts on the Cloud and Intelligent Upgrade of Film Industry”, “Adhering to Technological Innovation to Drive Continuous Development of Film Digital Program Service System”, “The National Strategy of ‘Eastern Data and Western Computing’ Assists the Development of High-Tech Format Films”, and “Practices and Thoughts on Promoting High-Quality Development of Film Technology Journals in the New Era”, summarizing the latest achievements in China’s film technology innovation since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party, proposing strategic thoughts on the future development of film technology in the new era, which has generated positive responses for promoting high-quality development of the film industry and playing a leading role in the industry. This column reflects the eager anticipation of film technology workers for the successful convening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party and their heartfelt support for the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. In the new era and new journey, film technology workers will strengthen their sense of mission, actively promote independent innovation in film technology and high-level self-reliance. Modern Film Technology will continue to explore and practice the path of high-quality development of Chinese film technology journals, promoting the construction of high-level core journals to welcome the successful convening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party with excellent results.
—— Zhang Wei
Senior Engineer
Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the China Film Science and Technology Research Institute (Film Technology Quality Inspection Institute of the Central Propaganda Department)
Chairman of the Editorial Committee of Modern Film Technology
Abstract
Art, technology, and commerce can be said to be the three driving forces behind film development, with technology being an important engine for film growth. In the past twenty years, especially in the last decade, the empowerment of film technology has had a significant impact on various aspects of domestic film shooting, production, distribution, and projection. Virtualization, ultra-high definition, immersive experiences, and intelligence are becoming important trends in the development of modern film technology. The upgrading of film production quality, more advanced film special effects technology, independent innovation in digital cinema technology, and a more complete film technology standard system all have significant implications for the future direction of Chinese cinema. While emphasizing the impact of high-tech on film, we must also avoid an overly technological approach. Presenting the best films with the best technology, and using China’s leading technology to create outstanding Chinese films, is the audience’s expectation for the future of Chinese cinema.
Keywords
Film Technology, Film Technology Innovation, Virtualization, Ultra-High Definition, Immersive Experience, Intelligence
1 Technology: Empowering Film Development
Film is the crystallization of the industrial revolution and a product of technological advancement. A series of scientific technologies including optics, chemistry, physics, and mechanics gave rise to the art of film at the end of the 19th century. Over the past century, every advancement in film has been driven by technological development. Each technological push has further refined film in terms of creation, production, circulation, dissemination, and audience experience. In its ability to reflect reality, express human thoughts and emotions, reach audiences, and engage viewers, film has continually gained energy through technological innovation.
The origins of Chinese cinema trace back to the cultural movement around the early 20th century. Over the past century, Chinese cinema has almost completely synchronized with China’s modernization process. Each major development in film has occurred against the backdrop of significant advancements in China’s economic and social landscape, as well as the progress of Chinese science and technology. Whether during the first golden period from 1930 to 1940, the second golden period from the late 1950s to early 1960s, the third golden period in the 1980s, or the fourth golden period after the new century, these phases are closely linked to updates and advancements in film technology in China, which also correspond to some of the fastest periods of scientific and technological development in the past century.
The role of technology in promoting film development is concentrated in three areas. First, filming and production technology, including cameras, lenses, media, sound recording, special effects, and compositing. Film has undergone many significant changes from single takes to editing, from static to moving shots, from fixed-focus to zoom lenses, from 16 frames per second to 24 frames per second, from 2D to 3D, from silent to sound, from mono to stereo, from traditional special effects to CGI, and from live-action shooting to virtual compositing, which have all contributed to the film forms we see today. Second, audiovisual media. All sound and images recorded in film require breakthroughs in storage media. The technological advancements in film media have brought about enormous changes. From silent films to sound films, from black-and-white film to color film, movies have become vibrant and colorful; from film to tape, from analog to digital, the audiovisual effects of films have been greatly enhanced and amplified; digital media has also changed the way films are disseminated, allowing for easier and faster distribution through digital channels rather than traditional physical means. Third, projection equipment. Alongside filming technology and recording technology, the advancements in projection technology have also led to improvements in projection equipment. Wide screens, ultra-wide screens, giant screens, dome screens, surround sound, and 3D projection have all pushed technology toward larger, brighter, clearer, and more immersive experiences, further captivating audiences. Even amidst the fierce competition of various large and small screens today, cinemas still display irreplaceable core competitiveness due to the unique advantages brought by technology.
In this sense, the rapid development path that Chinese cinema has embarked upon since the new century is, to some extent, an inevitable result of the rapid development of film technology and its applications in China. The development of film calls for technological support, and the support of film technology also propels the development of Chinese cinema.
2 Technology Gives Wings to the Rapid Development of Chinese Cinema
Since 2002, in just 20 years, China’s annual film production has grown from less than a hundred to over a thousand, box office revenue from less than 1 billion to over 64 billion, cinema screens from a few thousand to nearly 90,000, and audience attendance from less than 100 million to over 1.7 billion, creating a “world miracle” of rapid development. In the past 20 years, the main growth in the global film industry has occurred in China, with the highest year seeing China’s contribution to global box office growth reach as high as 80%. Behind this rapid growth lies the tremendous contribution of technological empowerment.
In terms of production, starting with the first blockbuster of the new century, “Hero”, the most advanced filming and recording equipment in the world began to be used, inviting renowned cinematographers, sound engineers, and art directors to participate, creating stunning visual effects and marking the beginning of the “blockbuster era” in domestic films. After the global success of the 3D film “Avatar”, its team and technology were absorbed by Chinese cinema, greatly accelerating the 3D progress and visual effects standards of leading commercial films in China. The emergence of fantasy films such as “Painted Skin”, “The Ghouls”, and “Monster Hunt” is a testament to the possibilities brought by advancements in digital technology. In recent years, new mainstream Chinese films have widely employed world-class filming and production equipment, with the best teams and personnel involved in the creation. “The Eight Hundred” was even shot entirely with IMAX cameras, creating a more textured audio-visual experience. Various forms of aerial photography and drone filming have greatly enriched the visual perspectives of Chinese cinema. Digital compositing and virtual shooting in key films like “The Wandering Earth”, “The Battle at Lake Changjin”, and “The Sacrifice” have already reached world-class standards. Director Ang Lee’s “Gemini Man”, supported by Chinese enterprises, experimented with high specifications of 3D/4K/120 FPS, showcasing China’s exploratory spirit in production technology. Animated films such as “Big Fish & Begonia”, “Ne Zha”, “White Snake”, and “Jiang Ziya” have broken through the traditional model of Chinese animation under the support of digital technology, yielding remarkable artistic effects. The industrial and technological standards of outdoor filming locations and studios, such as Huairou China Film Base, Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis, and Hengdian World Studios, have also significantly supported the creation and production of Chinese films. It can be said that it is the progress of technology that has unprecedentedly released the themes, space, scenes, imagination, and expressiveness of Chinese cinema, providing the ability to traverse history and the future, and creating conditions for reconstructing reality and presenting fantasies.
In terms of projection, technological advancements have transformed Chinese cinemas from traditional to modern. Not only are there many screens in China, but the level of digitalization is also high, achieving nearly 100% digitalization, surpassing even North America, the largest film market in the world. These digital screens not only facilitate projection but also ensure stable quality while providing possibilities for upgrading projection technologies. 3D screens, IMAX, and China’s own CINITY projection system have made China’s cinema and projection market the most active and widespread region for the application of new technologies globally. For instance, regarding the CINITY projection system by China Film Group, according to data provided by Fu Ruoqing, from its launch in August 2019 to June 2022, the CINITY system was installed in over 70 cinemas across more than 30 cities in China, producing and screening 127 films, including 12 high-frame-rate versions, with the box office revenue of individual screening halls being 2.5 times the national average per screen. These achievements are all results of technological innovation. Currently, LED movie screens are also being tested and trialed, and advancements in cinema equipment and technology are allowing audiences to enjoy the highest quality viewing experience in theaters, which is, in a sense, a crucial condition for films to be recognized as films and cinemas to be the primary window for movies. In this regard, the overall upgrade of projection technology in Chinese cinemas has already drawn many viewers back from their televisions to theaters, and will encourage more audiences to look up from their phones to the big screen.
It can be said that in the face of competition from mainstream Hollywood films, Chinese cinema has not only maintained its competitiveness but also retained its market advantage in box office share, which is closely tied to the technological advancements in Chinese cinema. In 1994, when many Chinese audiences first saw the breathtaking spectacles and explosions in the Hollywood film “The Fugitive” on the big screen, and in 1997 when they witnessed the historical recreation of the sinking of the Titanic in “Titanic”, they realized the “backwardness” of Chinese cinema, fundamentally rooted in technological lag. After over 20 years of efforts, especially in the past decade of global learning and exchange, from borrowing to independent innovation, leading domestic films have reached or are close to world-class standards in production quality. Films like “The Wandering Earth”, “The Battle at Lake Changjin”, and “Operation Red Sea” present scenes, actions, spaces, rhythms, shapes, and images that can reach the level of “what can be imagined can be done, what can be done can be seen.” Nowadays, over 70% of shots in many films have undergone digital compositing and processing, expanding themes, enhancing visuals, and improving quality, reflecting the powerful supporting force of technology behind the overall uplift of domestic cinema.
3 Virtualization, Ultra-High Definition, Immersive Experiences, and Intelligence are Becoming Trends
From production to projection, from production equipment to presentation media, from pre-production technology to post-production technology, significant progress has been made in Chinese cinema over the past two decades, especially in the last ten years. The National Film Administration has outlined new plans for the future development of film technology in China in the “14th Five-Year Plan for Film Development in China”, clearly stating, “Actively grasp the development trends of new technologies, establish and improve the independent innovation system for film technology, achieve key breakthroughs in key technologies and equipment research and development, further enhance the level of film production and special effects quality, and promote the audiovisual effects, viewing experience, operational supervision, and service guarantee capabilities of cinemas to reach internationally leading levels.” Film technology development is always changing rapidly. From a strategic perspective, China’s future goal of becoming a strong film nation is, to some extent, inseparable from the “leading level” of technology.
Film constantly evolves in the dimensions of art, commerce, and technology, often encountering conflicts and integrations, yet consistently reaching new heights, forming a quadrilateral of development power that drives film to its current state. Under the influence of various new technologies, many experts believe that the future of film will bring about some predictable major changes:
First, films will become more visually driven. “Nothing is impossible”; on one hand, there are scenes that we could not capture in the past, and with technological assistance, cameras and drones can allow us to “go to the sky and the ground”, breaking down “dead spaces” and capturing the broadest visual content; on the other hand, there is the ability to recreate. As long as it is imagined, even things that do not exist in the world can be created. Increasingly, more visual content in films is presented through post-production digital technology, and with the popularization of 5G, this capability will continue to enhance. In terms of themes, the rise of fantasy genres, disaster films, and magical films is closely related to technological progress: technology can create everything, including the metaverse. For instance, while “Gravity” is primarily composed of long takes without extensive editing, all long takes were shot on a set, performed on a gimbal, and ultimately synthesized in a virtual space. Recently, films such as “The Captain”, “The Heroic Rescue”, “The Climbers”, “The Sacrifice”, and “The Eight Hundred” feature 70% to 80% of their scenes undergoing post-production compositing. In other words, films are becoming less reliant on real scenes. From a macro perspective, technology brings infinite possibilities for the visual presentation of films. From a micro perspective, if audiences watch Ang Lee’s “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” and “Gemini Man” in 4K/120 FPS, they will notice that the micro-visual presentation has completely changed, imposing new requirements on acting, art, makeup, and all scenes. Audiences can even see the capillaries on actors’ faces. In the grand picture, every detail, whether in the foreground or background, even those previously overlooked by the camera, is now clearly presented before you. Thus, it will have a disruptive impact on the entire aesthetic form of film, as time-based viewing has now gained a stronger spatial aesthetic control. This encapsulates the idea that “there is nothing that cannot be done”. The visual advantages, empowered by technology, will make the presentation of films more aesthetically appealing.
Second, films will offer a greater sense of immersion. The audience’s viewing concepts need to be reconstructed, which includes the emergence of 3D and 4D films. 3D not only brings higher box office results but also introduces VR, AR, MR, and artificial intelligence (AI) that create simulated realities, providing a more immersive viewing experience. In other words, films create a scene that immerses viewers, including potential future interactive works. However, interaction should not disrupt the uncontrollability brought by linear narratives. If the narrative is self-manipulable, it becomes a game; the function of a game lies in controlling the world, while the charm of storytelling is precisely because you cannot control the world, which satisfies your aesthetic needs. Therefore, linear narratives cannot objectively be replaced by interactive narratives, although interactive narratives can introduce new forms of expression. Future screens and sound environments will undergo significant changes, all contributing to increased immersion. Films are changing the aesthetic of audiovisual experiences. For example, comparing the sound of Chinese films from the past two years with those from five years ago, the entire sound system has undergone a revolutionary change. The layers, complexity, spatiality, and perspective of sound have all greatly improved compared to the past, marking immense progress in Chinese film industry. The future audiovisual immersion of films will only increase with the support of technology.
Third, there will be more windows for film dissemination. Technology is changing the way films are distributed. The mobile internet allows us to watch films anytime and anywhere. The internet greatly extends the long-tail effect of films and enhances targeted delivery capabilities. However, cinemas will still hold an irreplaceable position for a considerable time. On one hand, future films will diversify across screens; on the other hand, I firmly believe that cinemas have a priority status, as only cinemas can create synchronous topics and cultural phenomena. However, the convenience of ubiquitous media will significantly expand the reach and coverage of films outside cinemas, especially with the emergence of intelligent recommendations, which will further strengthen the ability for films to find suitable audiences and for audiences to find satisfying films.
Fourth, film production methods will become more intelligent. Various future technological impacts, particularly the advancements in artificial intelligence built on the internet, will have a significant impact on the film production field. As Liu Da pointed out in an article, “Drawing on the advanced ideas, concepts, and key technologies of the metaverse, leveraging the cloudization and intellectualization upgrades of the film industry as a focus, will drive the quality and efficiency improvement of Chinese cinema, which is essential for building a strong film nation.” Indeed, film production forms will become more internet-based, allowing pre-production planning to post-production to be completed in the cloud. The transmission and processing of materials will be more secure and faster. Currently, rendering a film takes dozens of hours, but in the future, it could be completed in just a few minutes. Once a story outline is finished, it can be visually presented with virtual shooting images. If a cyberpunk style is desired, lighting, color tones, camera movements, and scheduling methods already have standardized and convenient configuration modes. Technology will bring increasing convenience and support. Film creation will benefit from the globalized, specialized, data-driven, standardized, and procedural transformations brought by the internet. The future industrialization will be based on cloud computing platforms, and the future film production methods will involve multi-point collaboration, allowing directors to shoot simultaneously in multiple locations, as seen in “The Sacrifice”, which was shot by three directors separately and then combined, marking a departure from the past single-machine operations. It will no longer be the case that all personnel gather in one place for shooting; future collaborations will occur in the cloud across multiple points and possibly globally. As the demand for production software, management software, and systems rises, many excellent management platforms and software from abroad are being introduced to China, which is also independently developing more suitable application platforms. Internet-based point-to-point interactions, cloud integration, multi-point collaboration, big data computing, and intelligent processing will dramatically alter and reconstruct the production and dissemination models of films.
4 Art, Technology, and Commerce: The Three Carriages Leading Innovation
Art, technology, and commerce can be said to be the three driving forces behind film development, empowering Chinese cinema to transition from a major nation to a strong nation. Promoting the quality upgrade of film production, accelerating the development of film special effects technology, advancing independent innovation in digital cinema technology, and improving the film technology standard system are all of great significance for the future direction of Chinese cinema. Of course, we need to pay attention to the impact of new technologies on films, but we must also avoid an overly technological approach; a film dominated by technology will lose its soul. Stories will change, and the ways films present stories will also change. Cameras, sound systems, production systems, post-production systems, and playback systems will all change due to technology, but the demand for good stories will remain unchanged. Ultimately, technology must return to aesthetics, returning to the presentation of “good stories”. Using the best technology to present the best films, and employing China’s leading technology to create outstanding Chinese films, is the audience’s expectation for the future of Chinese cinema.
From the perspective of film history, there has always been a dialectical relationship between technology and art, innovation and demand, development and benefits. In the digital age, technology must seek a balance between respect for and dissolution of film aesthetics during the innovation process, which also includes balancing costs. For example, 3D technology emerged long ago, but it was not widely applied until there was sufficient demand; only when the film technology market in various countries reached a saturation point and needed new technology to drive consumption did 3D technology become widely adopted. Scientific research incurs costs, and innovative applications have their rhythms. When director Ang Lee created “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk”, he believed that this film could drive the entire film industry to upgrade, leading everyone to shoot in 4K and 120 FPS. However, unexpectedly, after the film was completed, Hollywood remained unmoved, and the domestic film industry in China did not catch up either, primarily due to the imbalance between costs and demand. A series of technological changes and equipment upgrades should not be overly advanced; high resolutions can also lead to some degree of distortion, creating a sense of “detachment” and “alienation” for audiences. Being overly advanced can sometimes harm the rhythm of the industry and the rhythm of art; thus, this balance is also a consideration for the application of technology. Scientific research and innovation require foresight, while the application and popularization of scientific technology require favorable timing, location, and harmony with people.
Of course, regardless of how film technology develops or how forms are restructured, linear storytelling remains the core of film’s charm. Future films may seek more experiential elements and may give rise to game films, VR films, interactive films, and various new film forms, with the influence of the metaverse becoming evident. However, the primary reason audiences seek films is that they provide a linear, subjectively uncontrollable story, allowing viewers to experience a new, unpredictable, and tumultuous life. Audiences gain unexpected surprises and satisfaction from stories that are “uncontrollable”, transcending the limitations of life that cannot be repeated, reversed, or hypothesized. The charm of film lies precisely in the fact that story development is not subject to our will; it is this uncontrollability that provides a shared experience and a common dream. If everyone in the cinema creates different story forms through their interactions, the resonance and symbiosis of films would cease to exist. While interactive forms may increase the audiovisual content of films and expand consumer groups and scales, they cannot replace the mainstream status of linear storytelling itself. “Watching films” rather than “playing films” will remain the mainstream of future cinema. The ways of telling stories will change, and stories will also change, but the demand for good stories will not change. Film technology must serve the purpose of telling good stories, so that we can truly create excellent films.
Commerce paves the way for films, while technology empowers art, which is the path for Chinese cinema from history to the future. In production, convenience, speed, versatility, efficiency, and intelligence will be the future directions of film technology development. The technological innovation of films is always in progress, and the artistic charm of films will continue to endure and remain irreplaceable.
References
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[1] Yin Hong, Liang Junjian. The Road of Reconstruction: Chinese Film Creation Since the New Century [M]. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 2021: 10.
[2] Motion Picture Association (MPA). Theme Report 2021 [R/OL]. https://www.motionpictures.org/research-docs/2021-theme-report/.
[3] Fu Ruoqing. The National Strategy of ‘Eastern Data and Western Computing’ Assists the Development of High-Tech Format Films [J]. Modern Film Technology, 2022(7).
[4] National Film Administration. Notice on Issuing the “14th Five-Year Plan for Film Development in China” [EB/OL]. https://www.chinafilm.gov.cn/chinafilm/contents/141/3901.shtml.
[5] Liu Da. Thoughts on the Cloudization and Intelligentization Upgrades of the Film Industry [J]. Modern Film Technology, 2022(4).
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