On*****Media Response

As indicated in "On*****Media," media, in all of its forms, is constantly striving to improve and to reimagine itself. To support this claim, the author cites the transition from paintings to photographs. Another great example of endless progression in a medium can be seen in film. Caroline, with her discussion of Wall-E, already touched on the notion I am about to address. Specifically, the creation of Pixar is a perfect example of the tireless efforts to revolutionize a medium as technology progresses. Before Pixar, animated films consisted of mostly 2D animated films, which had been around since the first release of a 2D feature film (Disney's Snow White and Seven Dwarfs). Pixar then revolutionized the animated feature. Pixar originally formed as a section of the Computer Division at Lucasfilm. During their time at Lucasfilm, the team developed a new animation program (I am pretty sure the team was given permission by Lucas himself to develop such a program). This creation then evolved, as computers did, into the Pixar Image Computer. Unfortunately, I do not have a large amount of knowledge in relation to computer animation and the way in which these programs work (otherwise, I would provide a much more colorful explanation in relation to this medium's progression). At any rate, even an individual with little experience in computer animation, such as myself, can understand the transformation Pixar films have undergone, starting with Luxo Jr. and finishing with Pixar's latest release entitled Monsters University (not to mention the progression from 2D to computer animated features). Even the most simple difference, such as more defined textures, is noticeable when the two aforementioned Pixar works are compared. To have a fuller understanding of how computer animation and Pixar has progressed, I highly recommend watching The Pixar Story. The documentary provides its viewers with the understanding of how the development of technology greatly impacted the creation of computer animation films.

And while I do agree greatly with what "On*****Media" and my classmates have said about media and its development, I cannot help but think of the viewing of The Wizard of Oz I recently saw. This showing was not typical in the sense that I just streamed the video online or popped a DVD into my computer and watched the classic. Instead, I attended a symphony concert where the Pops orchestra accompanied the film. Specifically, the film was stripped of all music and all orchestrations were instead performed live [1]. In the past few years, this type of showing has become very popular across the country; symphony halls show classic films and provide the live orchestrations. Thus, I cannot help but wonder how this relates to "On*****Media." After all, my classmates (myself included) and the article agree that media is constantly developing. So what does it mean that an aspect of media has now reverted back to the time of silent pictures. After all, "On*****Media" even mentions the presence of orchestras during the original screenings of silent movies. The article does say art is mimetic, but does it mean in the sense that art can revert back to a dated form? Is it possible that this transition backward could only have been made as a result of technological advancements (the conductor does have a computer that provides time markers to pace the orchestra)?