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NEW CONCEPTS AND PRACTICAL ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY FILM ARCHITECTURE

Film is an artistic medium which is consciously utilized to present cultural
values and reflect upon their meaning as they evolve over time and space.
Similarly, architecture can be interpreted as a practical as well as artistic
medium which itself is a conscious or unconscious reflection of cultural values
of the time and space that the structure was created.

What is the relationship between film and architecture? And what are some of the
new concepts and practical issues in contemporary film architecture?


RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FILM AND ARCHITECTURE

Film architecture can be posited to perform 2 major functions:

For architecture in film to both reflect the culture being described as well as
reflect on the culture being describedFor the film to be an experimental arena
for future architectural visions

Both functions, interestingly, relate to the old philosophical problem: does art
imitate life? Or does life imitate art? Or both?


NEW CONCEPTS

In contemporary film architecture, there is considerable emphasis on the second
function. That is, whereas in the past, there was more of an emphasis on films
depicting past and present cultures, there is an increasing trend to films which
are speculative in nature and whose architecture reflects what modern filmmakers
dream to be the future. Most obviously demonstrating this, of course, are
science fiction/ fantasy films. Although sci-fi films have been around since
over a century, it could be argued that the genre only really took off with
cult-mad popularity following in the late 20th century (think Star Wars in
1977). Architecture-wise, the film Blade Runner (1982) was beautiful and
ground-breaking, populated by a fantastic and dazzling cityscape of a futuristic
Los Angeles. Similar visions were seen in The Fifth Element (1997).

With the world's first fully computer-generated film, 1995's Toy Story, the
realm of possibilities opened up even more. Indeed, recent film releases like
Avatar (2009) and Alice in Wonderland (2010) seem highly focused on taking
advantage of technology to imagine new virtual worlds, which are no longer
constrained by the material and time limitations of a physical set.


PRACTICAL ISSUES

The computer-generated architectural structures in film today in some ways
require quite literal architectural methods to build and meticulous attention to
detail. Unlike computer-aided design in architectural practice, film
architecture has some additional challenges, however.

One of them may be most obvious when mixing CGI with real-life footage. People
must fit in doorways, and structures, however futuristic, must be realistically
proportioned and surfaces photo-realistic so as not to disturb the audience's
suspension of disbelief. It may be a matter of balancing the fantastic and the
realistic.

In addition, in computer-aided architectural design, the renderings are allowed
to be emotionally remote, devoid of life. Film architecture on the other hand
must help tell a story. The spaces created and walked through must be designed
to elicit an emotional response.

To summarize, the new challenges in contemporary film architecture revolve
largely around using computer technology to build contemporary, historical and
futuristic worlds. Practical issues revolve around:

Keeping proportions and textures of architectural structures realisticEnsuring
that artificially created structures create an emotional response that support
the story

There is a trend for films to keep exploring what is technologically possible
while tackling these new challenges. As mentioned earlier, film is being used as
an experimental arena for architecture. As such, it is pushing the mental
boundaries of both the general public and designers for what could be
aesthetically acceptable in the future reality. Will life then be imitating art
in this case? Guess we'll find out.


ILL EFFECTS OF 3D FILM ARCHITECTURE EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

Movies seen through 3D computer graphics technology have been around for quite
some time now, but it gained substantial attention and respect only after the
advent of Avatar. James Cameron's critically acclaimed film generated so much
buzz not only in a national scale, but in an international scope, as its
advanced 3D film architecture magically crossed the line between fantasy and
reality, leaving the whole world in awe. But as everyone raves and clamors about
this new technology, one can't help but wonder how it actually affects how human
beings think.


3D FILM ARCHITECTURE STEPS OUT THE REAL WORLD

As its name suggests, three-dimensional film imaging allows human beings to
watch films on three dimensions-with a visual sense of length, width and height.
Film architecture sets are eyes apart to create an illusion of depth in our
vision. Thus, through the 3D glasses we can see a more realistic version of an
illusory image.


THE DEATH OF IMAGINATION IN 3D FILM ARCHITECTURE

There have been a series of debates about whether film is a manifestation of the
excellence of the human brain or just another presumed "progressive" technology
that speeds up brain degeneration. On the one hand, the technology enables us to
turn imagined ideas into real things-or at the very least, things closely
resembling reality.

On the other hand, 3D technology is preventing the mind to explore its
imagination as 3D movies directly spoon feeds every detail to the viewer, not
giving any space for the human mind to walk and linger for a better
understanding of the film. This is in stark contrast to reading books where the
mind is allowed to critically think and liberally visualize. In effect, 3D
technology may cause people to be passive thinkers, rather than proactive.

Accordingly, 3D film architecture, while making the impossible possible in film
through its impressive technological advancements, seems to cast a curse: it may
put an end to free and critical thinking, which may further lead to serious
brain deterioration in the future.


REVERSING THE "CURSE"

But, of course, as mentioned, this an on-going debate and thus has not been
resolved yet. But if one will really mull about it, the right thing to do now is
not to argue, but dialogue. We should just think of ways how this said "curse"
can be reversed. We should think of ways how can this ingenious technology be
used in good ways rather than focus on its ill effects. For instance, the
educational benefits of 3D can be emphasized and developed instead of saying
that it might kill human imagination.

With 3D film architecture, we can simulate hard-to-understand concepts so
students can better understand them. For example, we can let students see the a
3D version of the universe, which we don't really have direct access to.
Additionally, some scientific procedures can be demonstrated for instructional
purposes, such as dissecting frogs but without actually killing a frog. This
will not only let people understand better, but it will make them more
interested and excited to learn because of the technology.

Like all technological innovations, 3D technology had its taste of criticism.
But 3D developers ought not to stop improving the technology just because of
this. Instead, they must continue to enhance it to discover more about the good
effects it can bring to the world. 3D film architecture has countless
possibilities, but we have to discover these, otherwise they will remain as mere
potentials and the "curse" will not be lifted.