From IBM to MGM : cinema at the dawn of the digital age / Andrew Utterson.
Publisher: London : BFI, 2011Description: viii, 171 p. : ill., ports. ; 24 cm001: 25598ISBN: 9781844573233 (pbk.) :; 9781844573240 (hbk.) :Subject(s): Tectonics | Digital cinematography -- History -- 20th centuryDDC classification: 791.4365Item type | Current library | Collection | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Book | MAIN LIBRARY Book | 791.4365 UTT (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 099458 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Andrew Utterson's unique study charts the beginnings of digital cinema, addressing both how filmmakers used new digital technologies and how attitudes and anxieties about the rise of the computer were represented in films such as Lang's Desk Set, Godard's Alphaville, Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and Crichton's Westworld.
Includes bibliographical references, filmography and index.
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- Acknowledgments (p. vii)
- Introduction (p. 1)
- 1 Computers in the Workplace: IBM and the 'Electronic Brain' of Desk Set (1957) (p. 16)
- 2 From the Scrapheap to the Science Lab: The Pioneers of Computer Animation (p. 33)
- 3 Tarzan vs IBM: Humans and Computers in Alphaville (1965) (p. 55)
- 4 Digital Harmony: The Art and Technology Movement (p. 73)
- 5 'I'm Sorry Dave, I'm Afraid I Can't Do That': Artificial Intelligence in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) (p. 92)
- 6 Expanded Consciousness, Expanded Cinema: A Techno-Utopian Counterculture (p. 113)
- 7 To See Ourselves as Androids See Us: The Pixel Perspectives of Westworld (1973) (p. 128)
- Conclusion (p. 144)
- Filmography (p. 153)
- Bibliography (p. 155)
- Index (p. 167)
Reviews provided by Syndetics
CHOICE Review
Much has been written on the impact of the digital revolution on film and the film industry, but few authors have so thoroughly examined the origins of this relationship as Utterson (Canterbury Christ Church Univ., UK). In this entertaining, thoughtful introduction to the impact clunky robots, large mainframe computers, and early artificial intelligence had on cinema, the author explains how early advances in computing impacted characters, story lines, visual effects, and themes. In addition to exploring the on-screen impact of technology, Utterson provides an excellent history of early digital animation in terms that those unfamiliar with computers will easily understand. He analyzes classic films of many genres--and images of many of the films--in a way that will help readers better understand the many social factors at play during the time of filming. This volume will serve as an excellent resource for the beginning student, and advanced scholars will find it thought-provoking and well researched. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. B. H. McMillin Illinois State UniversityThere are no comments on this title.
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