Technologies in the Film and TV Industries

Technology has developed greatly over the last 10 or so years, turning the entertainment industry from very hands on, challenging and expensive to easier practices we have in the 2020’s.

Consumer products such as cameras and editing software’s have developed greatly turning film to digital technology. Companies like Nikon and Sony have greatly developed their cameras turning them into digital machines where you can take a photo with just one click. Also, companies like Adobe have greatly improved their editing software’s like Premiere Pro and Photoshop, turning them into digital platforms as well. There are many pros and many cons to this upgrade in technology, but most creatives see these changes as a good thing making this industry more easily accessible and easier to make a career from. But some industry professionals don’t like these ‘upgrades’ because it requires less skill to complete them and it challenges their jobs.

Satellite and Cable has also developed greatly since it first started with companies like Sky, BT and Virgin offering packages to customers including a wide range of channels not found on the freeview.  Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This is a good way to do this because connections are always strong thanks to internet providers setting up boxes all around the country to boost these signals. Nearly everyone thinks this is a good way of going forward because of the strong signals I just mentioned but people do not like how expensive it is to run which makes some people stick with freeview television.



The Internet has grown massively over the last 10-15 years. This is thanks to multiple sources of film and television content such as YouTube, Netflix and setups like Sky Movies just to name a few. Although these are all legal uses of the internet, the internet is also used illegally with stuff like the dark web consistently on the rise over the last few years. The Internet is especially popular with young people and scientists argue that us as a population largely depends on the internet to survive. This is also causing the older generation to rely on it more to connect with love ones during times of crisis, Covid-19 for example. As I mentioned the Internet is very much relied upon which makes it a staple for everyday life which is why so many people love it and get mad when it’s not working. This leads some people to believe that the internet is a bad thing due to our reliance on it.


There have also been technological developments in the terms of 3/4D cinema which has led to exciting viewing experiences for people all around the world. Along with this there has also been the sharp uprising of home cinema, with the wealthy amongst our society getting to enjoy these luxuries. People really like this evolving technology but don’t like how expensive they are to run and maintain.

The way technology has changed what we consume is a big factor into this emerging popularity into these technologies. Services like pay-per-view, on demand viewing and catch up have been growing in popularity over the last 5-10 years. Pay-per-view involves services like Sky Sports offer one of payments for events such as boxing. These tend to be successful because they only normally do this with popular boxers like Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua which attracts mass audiences because there is normally no other way these can be watched, legally anyway. On-demand is a way in which you can watch a show you’ve missed because you were at work, asleep etc. There is also a difference between streaming and downloading content. Streaming you need internet access or 3/4G whereas downloading you only need internet when its downloading. So, you can watch it in places such as planes and places with no internet. You are also now able to record your favourite films or tv shows but this isn’t as popular as the two I’ve just mentioned. In doing this we have given our money and watch time to services like Netflix and what I’ve mentioned above. Because they offer a lot of content, all you can watch for a cheap monthly/yearly price. These are very good places to watch films and tv shows legally. Most people really enjoy these services because of the price but some people are concerned this is driving away people who use to watch television and go to the cinema because of the popularity of Netflix exclusive films and TV shows such as Rim of the World and Stranger Things.