Technology has brought broad changes to the film industry. Computer-generated imagery has vastly improved the quality of special effects, allowing climactic movie battle scenes and superhero stunts to look more realistic than ever. Movies such as “Avatar” have pushed the limits of what a film looks like by showing the artistic possibilities of 3-D projection.
Although movie-studio revenue has gotten a boost from higher ticket prices for 3-D films, overall attendance is down at Cinema. There are continual threats of copyright infringement, including pirated DVDs and illegal online streaming of films.
Technology is in a golden age for movie lovers. But for companies in the entertainment business, only those who think creatively about how to sell and deliver content -- such as Apple and Netflix -- will reap the benefits.
In October of 2003, Disney and Twentieth Century Fox jointly set up a company website to expand the scope of its services to the home audience via high-speed broadband internet access and computer data equipment.
Since the introduction of DV technology, the means of production have become more democratized. Filmmakers can conceivably shoot and edit a movie, create and edit the sound and music, and mix the final cut on a home computer. However, while the means of production may be democratized, financing, distribution, and marketing remain difficult to accomplish outside the traditional system. Most independent filmmakers rely on film festivals to get their films noticed and sold for distribution. The arrival of internet-based video outlets such as YouTube and Veoh has further changed the film making landscape in ways that are still to be determined.
Although some illegally downloaded films can be of poor quality, and take a long time to download, illegal sites are improving. While films recorded from inside cinemas can suffer distortion, once the DVD has been officially released, the quality of the illegal copy available online improves. Faster broadband services are advantageous to illegal as well as legal sites.
Estimates released by the British Video Association for the year 2003 to 2004 showed that the number of illegal downloads of films and television programmes may have increased to 1.67 million, three times the number estimated to have taken place the year before. This was estimated by the BVA to have cost the DVD industry in the UK £45 million in lost revenue. The DVD industry was worth around £2.42 billion to the British economy in 2003.
It is estimated that the UK film industry was worth around £4.3 billion to the UK's economy, but that in 2007, illegal copying and sharing of films may have cost the economy up to £404 million.
DVD sales have accounted for around half the profits of the worldwide industry in the last ten years.
