Full Editorial
Actors aren’t the only ones playing roles in the movies. Sophisticated semiconductor technology also has a part to play. Computer-generated imaging effects are perhaps the most visible home that integrated circuits have made for themselves. Watch any modern Hollywood action movie and you’re likely to see explosions and vehicles that were added in via CGI. Entire movies have been made with digital animation. While these made headlines at one point, they’ve since become commonplace.
Every effect that relies on some form of computer processing uses semiconductors. Microchips are made from multiple semiconductor-based transistors piled on top of each other. Studios that incorporate automatic background fill technology use computer chips in the same way. In fact, they’ve become so ubiquitous that they’ve caused concerns because some report that semiconductor-based workflows are so good at this point that they can practically make movies autonomously. That being said, they’re also found far away from the effects lab as well.
Semiconductors in Cameras and Props
Take a look at any modern digital camera system. The lens lets light into sensors, which are based on semiconductors. Chips built into the sensors form an image based on how they interact with the light. New materials have dramatically improved the way that these sensors function. Engineers recommend that modern silicon carbide modules go into the manufacture of any such device. Directors and producers have relied on such cameras to provide cinemas with clearer images and they’re also used in the automotive and telecommunications fields.
Developments in any of these areas will usually improve technology in all of the others. Sound film equipment originally grew out of the old Bell telephone system. Today, the sound gets recorded using solid-state microphones connected to digital audio processing gear. Each of these devices needs a healthy helping of transistors, which again require semiconductors to work.
Prop departments have started to use them as well. Imagine someone had a laser sword in a science fiction movie. Chances are that the prop would be a combination of a light-emitting diode and a chromakey shift system that allows producers to add a flashy light over the more modest one on set. Even representatives of these departments might struggle if it weren’t for semiconductors.
The Future of Semiconductors at the Movies
Some engineers have suggested that synthesized broadcasters could eventually augment or replace human ones. Graphics processing units that were originally designed to calculate the position of objects on a screen are equally good at producing artificial voices. This usage requires the application of large numbers of transistors, but ironically it was once popular in the past with those who make fantasy films. It’s also been used to create full CGI characters that interact with live-action ones on the set.
Generating credits and other onscreen text requires semiconductors too, since these workflows are based on relatively complex digital equipment. While the tastes of the moviegoing public might change all of the time, the future of semiconductors in the motion picture industry certainly seems safe for the foreseeable future.
