Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Technology & The Jesus Film

Today, I delve into the film industry. The year 2013 saw the discontinuation of Motion Picture Film Production by the bigwig Fujifilm

The growth in technology did not only hit the music industry. Just as the cassette tapes and CDs were overthrown by digital music downloads and streaming, the film was replaced by digital media solutions. 

It is a scary thought to know that the new generation has no idea what a cassette is and what a film negative looks like.

Recently, I got the chance to take a tour of the Jesus Film Project at the CRU offices in Lake Hart, Florida. 


I found this fascinating because I remember as a child watching the Jesus Film on what seemed like the biggest projector while sitting in a grass field. 

I remember looking at the film projector wheels turning and thinking, 

“Wow! That’s some advanced equipment, this must be a really important film!”

As they walked us through the translation process and explained why it is necessary to use the old equipment for some areas, I couldn’t help but wonder what the future of those showings was. 

Well, the team now utilizes a much smaller case that includes a pocket projector and other digital media equipment in some of the advanced areas but maintain the old equipment and films for the more rural areas around the world.


As a souvenir, the team gives out a bookmark at the end of the tour with a piece of the film negative. 

It may not seem like it now, but how rare will it be to come across film negative perhaps in 30 years to come?

The Jesus Film is based on the Gospel of Luke and has to date been dubbed into 1200 languages. 

It holds the Guinness World Record title for the Most Translated Film in History. 

Released 35 years ago, it has now been remastered in High Definition with a complete new musical score in Dolby 5.1 surround sound.


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