Let's Get Digital!

For all you tech geeks out there, you'll be happy to know that the first digital movie, was Sci-Fi! George Lucas kicked off the digital cinema charge in May of 2002 with "Star Wars: Episode II, the Attack of the Clones" the first big budget live action movie shot entirely on digital video. (howstuffworks.com) The reactions to this new technology sparked a rise in interest, and the digital movie industry took off with a flash.

The basic idea is to use bits and bytes (strings of 1s and 0s) to record, transmit and replay images, rather than using chemicals on film. (howstuffworks.com)  Anybody who knows computer coding could tell you exactly how difficult this kind of thing is to produce. The idea behind the new digital technology is that no information is lost in the process of transition, unlike the previous use of analog technology (film).

My generation knows that VHS tapes (that used film) degrade over time, and become grainy as the film is replayed over and over. Digital technology is an entirely different language than the analog technology, and DVD players never actually touch the information, unlike VHS, that slides along a projector-like viewing system... effectively weakening it.

The rise in DVD technology sales and production changed the movie viewing world, and practically became limitless in ways to improve. The first ideas for 3D came with the idea of adding depth and shadow to pictures, as if it was real life. In the early days of working with 3D, the glasses came out, one lens red, one lens blue. On the picture itself, the image was created with three different layers, the picture that the designers wanted people to see, then a slightly off kilter red outline, and a blue one. The result was an optical illusion in the brain that, through the glasses, made the image appear to jump out. (howstuffworks.com)