Innovation from Advances in Technology

From the article “The New, Faster Face of Innovation” from the Wall Street Journal, Brynjolfsson and Schrage proclaim how the progress of technology has driven the innovation in marketing and customer insights. The advances in technology allow companies to derive customer insights faster and efficiently; thus, introducing new, innovative products to the markets faster. Although some companies still implement traditional marketing research methods such as surveys, interviews, and photojournals that can take a significant amount of time to collect and analyze, companies have started using digital in-store cameras to track customers’ movements, habits, and behaviors, as they shop. A computer can then provide information on the customers’ gender, movements, and behavior in store that marketers can analyze and derive insights from efficiently. As the world relies heavily on computers, digital information can be efficiently transferred at greater speeds and with ease in comparison to hard copied information. As a result, companies such as pharmaceuticals can access patient prescriptions efficiently and order the right amount of supplies to tailor to their specific customer demands. Also mentioned in the article, companies such as Wal-Mart can easily experiment changes in logos and displays in each of its stores and then compare the changes in sales between each of the stores with the ease of transferring digital information.

Up was the first Disney-Pixar HD 3D movie I have seen and thought to be innovative and creative. This movie highlights the innovative and creative potential of using modern technology.

The movie companies such as Disney-Pixar, over the years, has included significant innovations in its products or movies through the advancement of technology. Since its invention, many movies were recorded on expensive film. Before production could begin, the story, action sequences, script, title, etc. were analyzed to predict the movie’s future success. However, the movie producers can create movies faster and cheaper with the onset of technologies such as digital recorders, CGI, and computerized special effects. By recording the movies digitally, these movies can quickly be copied onto high definition digital film and transported to various movie theaters across the world. This allows for faster and more pre-screening opportunities that allow for a larger pool of subjects to rate the movie. Current major movies such as Up can be distributed around the world and premiere in theaters at the same scheduled time. Whereas in the past, only a few number of films were created and circulated around the world. Thus, some countries could not view the movie until months after the initial premiere of the movie in another part of the world. The digital recordings of the film can be easily copied onto digital films to provide faster and efficient accessibility.

Additionally, the digital recordings of Up and other modern movies can be easily burned onto DVD’s and Blue Ray’s. Thus, Disney-Pixar, as well as other movie companies, can release these movies into the retail market faster, in an effort to further increase sales. If a movie was not successful in theaters, then the movie maybe quickly released on DVD format. For instance, Equilibrium is a 2002 film that was made straight into DVD. Instead of premiering at a movie theater, the movie producers feared that the movie would fail at the box office, due to the much-anticipated premiere of The Matrix Reloaded. Before digital recordings, many films were copied onto videotapes, which were released months after theater screenings and did not offer high quality picture or sound. In this modern age, movies can be edited with a few clicks of a mouse and copied onto cheap, flimsy plastic discs. It seems movie companies are now basing their profits on the sales of DVD’s and Blue Ray’s, more so than the screening in movie theaters. By offering special editions and editor’s cuts, movies such as Bladerunner are still being sold throughout the world, even long after its premiere. These special edition versions can be quickly and cheaply edited through powerful digital computers and sold at a higher profit margin, in comparison to past techniques of film editing and copying.

The technology used to produce such movies as Up provided profound innovation and creativeness to the movie industry. Not only does movie directors have to focus on the image quality and acting, but they must also focus how to provide quality 3D experience to the viewers. With CGI and advances in special effects, the actors in the movie are now more involved in action sequences that no longer require stuntmen to risk their lives from running through expensively rigged bombs and dangerous explosions. In The Matrix Reloaded, the actors were hooked onto wires and performed in front of a green screen, which can digitally project the environment onto the actual movie. These advance technologies allow for more freedom to create innovative and creative scenes. With a few clicks of a mouse and video software, Up depicts a 3D adventure of an old, retired man flying a house on balloons, while saving a little boy scout and a rare animal from dangers. The advancement of technology allows the directors of the movie to be more creative and innovative. In the past, the creativity was limited to the actors’ or stuntmen’s abilities. Jackie Chan, in his own movies, was limited to his own physique and abilities as a martial artist to jump so far as to the nearby building in a flying kick position. Although animations or cartoon films were available in the past, they did not provide innovative high definition 3D views. Ultimately, modern movies such as Up continue to push the envelope of innovative and creative movie experiences.

In turn, the innovation and creativity of movies, like all other products, services, or experiences, are affected by the advancement of technology.