Technical advancements have made a huge impact on cinema and how it is presented. The movie industry has not only improved, but it has excelled in so many different areas. Each year there is something new that has been added to the technical advances of cinema that make the movies that much better. Everything from sound, to sound effects, to special effects have been thought of and made better since the beginning of the cinema world. These advancements have made their own mark on cinema history and have been expressed and improved in different ways.

         Sound has become a very important attribute made in the cinema world, and I do not think the movie world could live without it anymore. I have currently sat and watched two films in my entire life that were silent, and both of them were in this English 313 class. The Birth of a Nation, directed in 1915 by D.W. Griffith, was very boring and at time was brutal, while The Gold Rush, directed in 1925 by Charlie Chaplin, was very entertaining; and I found it funny for not having any dialogue or sound effects. Obviously both these movies would be better and hold a different more compelling meaning if they had the proper dialogue and sound effects. I think sound has had the biggest impact on the cinema world.

         The second thing that I think has had the most impact on the world of cinema is special effects. The special effects have added so much to the film industry and have pushed movies to a different level. For example, a few years ago Disney filmed a newer version of The Parent Trap, directed in 1998 by Nancy Meyers and starring Lindsey Lohan; and the film makers used special effects to duplicate Lindsey and make a twin. Another example of special effects is evident when the film makers put the green screen up behind the actors to place in something big behind them that they cannot physically include in the scene. I think this has also made a huge impact in movies, and it has made them more interesting and entertaining.

Ashley Yates

Table of Contents
1