Something Educational and Something F*cking Stupid: History of Film/Tech and Chimp on a Segway

Posted on August 15, 2011 in Filmmaking 360 | No Comments

The history of film is a story of technology fused with the performing arts. Boston University Film student Ryan Piccirillo explores this relationship in this in depth essay tracing story and technology through the past century.

…The development of motion picture complexity has been driven by a continuing technological evolution, ignited and manipulated by human initiative and inventiveness, which has afforded filmmakers the opportunity to practice a more complex craft to tell more complex stories. In concert with societal attitudes and proximity, this evolution has driven the development of distinct styles, movements, and methods that would have been impossible without increasingly advanced apparatus. However, while this technological progression has been linear, it has not necessarily coincided with a similar evolution of quality; the skill of a filmmaker should not be judged by the technological complexity of the production, but by the ability of the filmmaker to wield the technology of the time and of his or her choosing to effectively and clearly convey a narrative, evoke an emotion, or make an impression. Although the linear technological evolution of filmmaking has empowered filmmakers by offering a more diverse catalogue of tools and techniques, it is the filmmaker’s ability to effectively and discerningly utilize this technology within a temporal and societal context that truly drives cinematic quality, of which there has been no clear linear progression.

— Student Pulse | Read The Full Article

Okay, I realize that’s a lot of text to read… so to make it worth your while, here’s a chimpanzee riding on a Segway: