Research into the impact of digital technology on contemporary Hollywood cinema

Abstract

Since Jurassic Park (dir. Steven Spielberg), released in 1993, the use of computer generated images, or COl, in mainstream Hollywood cinema has become a dominant tool in contemporary flimmaking.
Until now the impact of CGI has been scarcely written about, mostly confined to small sections of academic publications, film
magazines, like Sight and Sound, film journals, such as Screen, and the Internet.
I have taken the information, which I have gathered from the sources available discussed, in detail the impact of CGI, in terms of the reasons for its use and how successful films which feature it have become.
Whilst doing this project I have found out exactly how important CGI has become in terms of sheer volume of films, which feature it and financial success at the US box office.
I have also taken individual films and catalogued them into certain generic categories to identify what trends there are. Within these films I have also identified where CGI is used and for what reason.
These findings are indicative of the way COL has taken over oldfashioned special effects in contemporary Hollywood cinema and is being favoured by filmmakers as the most effective method to combine spectacle and narrative.