DVFx, and modernization of technology: audience’s changing taste in the 21st century

The changes from analogue to digital in the film industry occurred rapidly and triggered a change in the landscape, especially in the usage of digital visual effects (DVFx). Thus, films that use the digital visual effects have developed a demand for technology exploitation among audiences. The most powerful effect afforded by digitization is the changes in the relationship between film and audience, especially in the aspect of cinema spectacle. Previously, the use of digital visual effects served merely to fix or modify damaged or negative elements in the post-production process, but it also has contributed to transformation of the tastes of audiences in 21st century cinemas. Tastes and aesthetic judgments are manifestations of aspects of class inequality and social, cultural and reproduction ideology. To evaluate tastes especially within different systems of society is not a simple matter as there has been a change in various aspects of society due to technological advances. This judgment involves complex processes and variables. This paper explored how globalization impacts audiences’ changing tastes with the juxtaposition of the digital visual effects revolution. The research used qualitative research methods, which is focus group discussions involving three groups of moviegoers from Malaysia, India and Australia. The analysis of the findings is divided into two main themes: modernization and technology. In general, the findings show that taste among movie audiences is a typical representation of the middle class society

Digital visual effects (DVFx): comparative iconography analysis in Malaysian, Indian and Australian Award-Winning Movies

This aim of this article is to investigate the usage trends of DVFx technology in Malaysia, India and Australia’s film industries. DVFx is also called creative support tools or CST. The variety of CST forms used in the production of most films has changed the landscape of production and post-production in Malaysia, India and Australia. Eleven films from those countries that have been awarded the best visual effects in local film festivals were selected as a sample to compare the trends in DVFx usage in those countries. Images and digitally generated scenes were analysed and have revealed a new level of digital creativity in the film industry. The iconographic analysis is divided into three categories based on the function of DVFx usage. These functions comprise the construction of ‘fantasy’, creative simulation and storytelling support, and visual enhancement and corrections. This study also found that the design structure is the most crucial element in a film. DVFx is used in the creation of fantasy elements through the creation of characters, settings and props. DVFx has also been used to reinforce the storyline by stimulating creativity through the creation of spectacular action scenes. DVFx have also acted as a visual enhancement tool through the animated design of the opening titles and transition scenes

Narrative techno-enhancement: the impact of the digital visual effects (DVFx) in creative narrative performance

Globalization of technology primarily in the field of film, media and communication studies has also impacted the creativity in visual presentation and storytelling. The occurrence of technological changes that involve creative work will undoubtedly lead to a new assessment of creativity. Hence, technology and creativity are likely to represent a new creative possibility and measurement in the field of film production. Digital Visual Effects (DVFx) provides new kind of creativity based on technology to the creative visual presentation and creative narrative enhancement. We have learned that story and narratives are the priorities that need to be secure in a movie; however, the spectacular element produced by using DVFx show the progress and development of technology used in the film production process, especially to the creative narrative. Hence the question that needs to address is; how these elements of technology integrated with the story and narrative filmmaking? Generally, this article will focus on the role and impact of DVFx as narrative techno-enhancement in the storytelling, and narrative presentation compared the technical visual presentation aspect. Precisely, this article analyses the impact on DVFx among professionals in Malaysia, India, and Australia’s film industries to enhance creative narrative performance. Narrative interstate relies on our understanding of the use of technology to create and convey stories. Presentation of stories also means communicating and transferring the meaning to the audiences. In addition to functioning as narrative techno-enhancement, DVFx opens the exploration of value in creative storytelling such as digital narrative and digital interactive storytelling for the audience in the 21st century

Malaysian Film Industry in transformation:challenges and potential

The aim of this paper is to discuss the challenges and potentials of the Malaysian film industry from the perspective of the industry players such as filmmakers and producers. Malaysian film industry is a relatively small industry that caters to the need of a population of only about 27.5 millions. In the context of globalization, this small local market presents a challenge for the government in promoting the industry as part of a creative industry with great economic potential. With the influx of films from abroad, especially from Hollywood, the industry is struggling to the hilt to survive, as the bigger portion of the audience prefers Hollywood to local productions. For the government, one way of achieving this is to promote local films at the international level. To understand this situation from inside the industry itself, this paper, using data from in-depth interviews with 10 industry players, discusses the challenges faced by the respondents and how they perceive the potential of Malaysian films to travel globally

Analisis penggunaan kesan khas visual digital (Dvfx) terhadap genre Dan naratologi filem pendek

Revolusi perkembangan teknologi di dalam dunia perfileman khasnya telah membawa kesan yang sangat mendalam terhadap penerbitan sesebuah filem. Sedar atau tidak pendigitalan atau teknologi akan mengubah lanskap pembikinan, pengedaran dan penerimaan sesebuah produksi filem. Penggunaan kesan khas visual digital (DVFx) misalnya, secara tidak langsung memberikan kesan terhadap aspek naratif serta estatik filem berkenaan dan juga tafsiran terhadap genre. Sejajar dengan perkembangan semasa, takrifan genre di dalam dunia perfileman turut mengalami situasi yang sama malah menurut Mcclean (2007), takrifan genre juga adalah berbeza mengikut sudut pandang pemain industri, pengkarya dan juga sarjana-sarjana filem malah dari kaca mata khalayak sendiri. Pengkaji telah membuat analisis terhadap filem-filem pencalonan akhir kategori filem pendek terbaik dalam Festival Filem Pelajar Malaysia dan corak penggunaan teknologi kesan khas digital (DVFx). Selain itu, kajian ini juga melihat corak penggunaan DVFx tersebut yang telah memberi implikasi dari aspek genre dan naratologi terhadap sesebuah filem pendek yang dihasilkan

Transformasi penyiaran televisyen melalui internet: kajian perhubungan kepuasan terhadap pengguna remaja

The emergence of Internet had brought a lot of changes in the mass media landscape. The conventional media had moved to a digital format and formed a media convergence that can attract audience’s interests especially the youths. This study chose a new medium that resulted from the combination of Internet and television, namely television portal to assess the levels of gratification of the medium usage among youths. Assessment made by exploring the relationship between the gratification sought (GS) and the gratification obtained (GO) for four measures of gratification, namely the need to obtain information, entertainment, interpersonal utility and also interactivity. This study also assessed the gratification that is acquired between the use of two television portal; RTM as a public broadcasting station and TV3 as a private broadcasting station. The findings showed there is a significant relationship between GS and GO for all four measures of gratification in this study. This study concluded with suggestion to RTM to improve the weaknesses that was identified in the effort to exploit the new media in order to capture and attract youth audience to expose them with the RTM’s programs

Penerimaan dan cabaran inovasi muzik digital terhadap industri muzik di Malaysia

Muzik merupakan elemen penting yang banyak mempengaruhi sesebuah masyarakat melalui penyesuaian budaya dan kreativiti. Hal ini dilihat sentiasa berkembang dan berinovasi seiring dengan perubahan dan perkembangan teknologi. Kemunculan muzik digital memberi impak yang signifikan terhadap pemain industri muzik di Malaysia untuk beradaptasi dengan perubahan oleh perkembangan teknologi. Makalah ini membincangkan aspek penerimaan dan cabaran inovasi muzik digital dalam kalangan penggiat industri muzik di Malaysia. Perspektif inovasi disruptif yang diperkenalkan oleh Christensen telah digunakan sebagai kerangka kajian bagi mengupas dengan lebih jelas aspek penerimaan inovasi ini. Seramai lima orang pemain industri yang terkemuka di Malaysia telah ditemu bual sebagai informan bagi mendapatkan data terhadap aspek penerimaan berkenaan. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan pemain industri di Malaysia menerima revolusi pendigitalan yang berlaku terutamanya dari aspek kemunculan platform penstriman digital seperti TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram dan SoundCloud yang memberikan akses yang lebih mudah kepada peminat serta dalam masa yang sama membantu penerimaan sesebuah karya. Kekuatan dan kelemahan struktur industri muzik tempatan juga dapat dikenal pasti di mana walaupun peralihan kepada digital sangat mencabar, gambaran ekonomi keseluruhan menunjukkan impak yang positif. Secara keseluruhannya pemain-pemain industri tempatan menerima perubahan inovasi muzik digital di Malaysia dengan beradaptasi dalam perkembangan teknologi. Inovasi ini dilihat sebagai peluang yang luas bagi pemain industri dengan mencapai pemahaman yang lebih mendalam terhadap landskap semasa dengan mengambil langkah yang bertepatan untuk memastikan perkembangan berterusan dalam industri muzik di Malaysia

The importance of usability features in enhancing online communication satisfaction

Web 2.0 is providing more responsive, interactive and online platforms of participation and engagement within users in organizations. The growth of the Internet gives a significant contribution to the development of online systems. The acceptance and usage of online system in organizations depend on various key factors such as ease of use, interactivity and usability. This study evaluates the importance of usability of online information management systems (IMS) in the context of user attitudes to online communication satisfaction which drives usage. Based on a survey of 223 employees at four research universities in Malaysia, this study adapted the communication satisfaction and usability to examine the online satisfaction in using IMS. The results indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between usability and online communication satisfaction toward IMS usage. This study reveals the importance of usability in understanding the requirements in improving communication satisfaction, especially in developing online systems

Evaluation of factors influencing audience perception of Nollywood movies

The Nollywood phenomenon has remarkably become an international moviemaking culture, serving as one of the determinants of Nigerian perception formation on social and educational behaviours. Globalisation in the film industry impacts audience taste and perception, not only in the global free market but also among niche audiences. This audience segmentation occurred due to globalisation, enabling cross-border production or transnational cinema. This research investigates how the Nollywood audience in Nigeria perceives its movies and the factors that influence their perception. Audience perceptive elements in this research are classified as tripartite (education, entertainment, information). Using a semi-structured questionnaire, 387 were distributed, but only 367 were valid. The study employs a descriptive and regression analysis to showcase the frequency of audience perception and compare how effectively the factors affect audience perception. Based on the descriptive analysis, the results showed that Nollywood movies are mostly entertainment, followed by educative and informative. In addition, the regression results revealed that factors such as the level of income, occupation, tribe, the language of movies watched, triggers watching movies, genre, streaming platforms, time (weekdays, weekends, and times watching movies in a week) significantly influenced audience perception. Whereas time constraints (watching during weekdays and weekends) weakly influence audience perception. The findings suggest a need for Nollywood movies to pay more attention to audience expectations and experience in their dissemination to enhance audience perception of the movie industry

Dokumentari the Kinta Story (1949): representasi dan konstruksi citra warisan di sebalik teknik penerbitan filem dokumentari sejarah (The Kinta Story (1949): heritage representation and image construction behind a historical documentary film production)

The Kinta Story (1949) sebuah karya Filem Negara Malaysia (pada ketika itu dikenali sebagai Malayan Film Unit) yang mengisahkan perjuangan penduduk, pelombong dan pihak berkuasa (British) dalam mewujudkan skim menghapuskan kekacauan komunis di kawasan perlombongan bijih timah di Lembah Kinta. Setiap aspek yang divisualkan dalam filem dokumentari ini menjadi perlambangan kepada perjuangan mereka menentang ancaman pengganas komunis. Teknik penerbitan dianalisis bagi mengenal pasti mesej tertentu yang ingin disampaikan penerbit kepada penonton melalui enam sekuen filem dokumentari tersebut. Rentetan daripada faktor sosial, teknologi dan pengaruh budaya luar yang mempengaruhi tahap literasi dan pembinaan makna penonton, maka filem dokumentari The Kinta Story (1949) telah menjadi bahan sampingan secara senyap menyuntik nilai pensejarahan dan kekejaman komunis di mata masyarakat. Persoalannya, adakah mesej yang ingin disampaikan oleh filem dokumentari ini melalui teknik penerbitan yang ditampilkan dapat mencapai kumpulan sasarannya? Analisis pembinaan makna di sebalik teknik penerbitan ini adalah berdasarkan kepada pendekatan Blumenberg (1975), Floch (2000) dan Zettl (2005) yang meliputi jenis syot, pergerakan kamera, kedudukan kamera serta teknik penyuntingan yang digunakan. Kewujudan indeks seiringan dengan linguistik dalam sesebuah wacana membolehkan penonton memahami setiap persembahan visual dengan mengaitkan setiap indeks tersebut dengan keadaan dunia yang sebenar. Implikasinya, dapat menambahkan lagi persembahan semulajadi yang menjadi daya penarik ke atas filem dokumentari tersebut. Hasilnya teknik penerbitan yang digunakan dalam menghasilkan filem dokumentari ini telah berjaya menghasilkan sebuah filem dokumentari propaganda untuk mendapat sokongan rakyat dalam menghapuskan ancaman komunis