Changes and Evolution in Audiovisual Production: The impact of digital and virtual technologies on standards and practices

Since the birth of Cinema, audiovisual production has been shaped by rigorous standards and processes: very well known books and studies about Movie and TV production have been released over the years, teaching the job divisions on sets, the organization of the projects in the pre, mid and post-production phases, costs and budget managing and more. Today, the audiovisual industry faces radical changes due to the introduction of technologies that allow the production workflow to be less constrained by the old waterfall approach of old standards and to become more collaborative and agile. Virtual technologies, real-time rendering engines, and computer manipulation and simulation are the main tools leading this evolution. The professionals involved in production are evolving along with the processes. Among the different formats, some general trends can be observed, such as a contamination of professional figures from the software and game development world, alongside a transformation of traditional expertise, which now tend to specialize more deeply in particular fields of their work. Significant changes can also be observed in distribution practices: online streaming platforms are modifying the classical approach of movie distribution, while interactive and immersive works still struggle to be experienced by large audiences. Last but not least, conservation, preservation, and accessibility of flat works benefit from digitalization: stable and distributed storage infrastructures can contain digital versions of audiovisual content, guaranteeing conservation safety and easy access via online platforms. Meanwhile, works involving a good amount of coding and programming can benefit from the software and game development practice of creating design and code documentation. This research analyzes the implications of these changes, comparing them to the old standards and practices of the audiovisual industry, and aims to theorize what the future of audiovisual productions will reserve us. All the concepts and observations result from an investigation period at the National Film Board of Canada and subsequent analysis and elaboration through bibliographical resources.